Kenwood VR-7070 receiver - $298 or less

[JRez]

6thave.com has this incredible receiver on sale again. I picked it up the last time when it was at this price, but it didn't have 6 cent shipping on it... for $298.06, it's nothing short of incredible! THX Select certified, PLENTY of inputs, and component video switching (BE WARNED: 10MHz bandwidth). To sweeten the deal, Kenwood has a $50 rebate on it that expires on the 30th, bringing the final price down to $248.06. I have a copy of the rebate form, but would need someone to host it. The rebate form specifies that the receiver has to be purchased from an authorized dealer - which 6thave is.

 

[deahdeen]

Too bad Kenwood hasn't updated their component video switching. !0Mhz bandwidth isn't very good. You'd think they would have fixed this since it is a major weakness in their product lineup. 30MHz is what you need to pass signals that are worth having component video outputs in the first place. Maybe next year....

 

[T2T III]

This is quite a good price for this receiver.

 

[BigSmooth]

KILLER DEAL. This is a VERY full-featured and great sounding receiver at this price point. The video switching is a bit of a downer but 10 mhz will actually work fine for anything except HDTV. Many people don't even need video switching anyway.

This is a receiver that actually lives up to its rated power output, and it's even THX Select certified if you put value in that. It's got a full set of preouts and a nice learning/RF remote.

Check out reviews of the 7070 (and last year's model, the VR-6070) at Home Theater Forum and AVS Forum. 95% of buyers I've seen have been extremely happy with their purchase.

 

[htne]

It is NOT 6thave.com, it is 6ave.com. Direct link to the Kenwood VR7070 is here

And here's a link to the product page at kenwoodusa.com -- kenwoodusa.com

 

[huesmann]

Thanks for the links, dude.

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: BigSmooth
This is a receiver that actually lives up to its rated power output

Do you have any data to back that up? Not crapping, just inquiring, wondering.

Edit: the only thing I've seen is this. As you can see, the Kenwood receivers aren't consistent across the lineup in living up to their rated power.

 

[FFactory0x]

i own kenwood vr-507 and must say. kenwood makes beutiful revievers. The power is very clean as well so when they list 100watts per channel you pretty damn close to that. Mine is 5x100watt @ .007%thd which kicks azz. Cost around 250-300 but ill be damned if you could do better last year at the time and find something with a lower thd

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: huesmann

Originally posted by: BigSmooth
This is a receiver that actually lives up to its rated power output

Do you have any data to back that up? Not crapping, just inquiring, wondering.

Edit: the only thing I've seen is this. As you can see, the Kenwood receivers aren't consistent across the lineup in living up to their rated power.

If you look at the numbers in that link for the VR-6070, Sound & Vision measured the actual power output at 92w x 6. This receiver is simply an updated version of that. It has the exact same amplifiers (and power supply AFAIK).

 

[huesmann]

Hmm...sounds like I shoulda waited for a deal like this instead of getting my HK AVR525.

 

[Fant]

POWER RATINGS
- Stereo Power: 100 Watts per Channel (FTC, Left/Right, 20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (Center): 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (Left/Right): 100 Watts + 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (LSurround/RSurround): 100 Watts + 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.7% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (Selectable--Subwoofer/Surround Back): 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)


Is it just me or does 0.09% THD for fronts and 0.7% THD for rears sound not very good?

 

[FFactory0x]

.09 is not that bad. But come on, you have to have an ear of the gods to tell the difference. I liten to audio a lot and unless you have multi $1000 speakers you wont here anything. You'll blow your ears out well before they distort

 

[FFactory0x]

Buy this reciever. You will fall in love with it

 

[Stevem627]

I have the VR6070 and love it. The VR7070 doesn't have as nice a remote as I understand, but it is a GREAT value at the price. I use a separate amp for the pair of rear surrounds. I run this with a Klipsch Synergy speaker setup (SF2 front, SC-1 center and SB 2's for all four surrounds) and everyone who comes over is QUITE impressed with the sound. Not a lot of money with this receiver since they were closing out the speakers at Tweeters. If you want nice on the cheap quality sound this will do...it's not in the same class as high end receivers but neither is the price.

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: Fant
POWER RATINGS
- Stereo Power: 100 Watts per Channel (FTC, Left/Right, 20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (Center): 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (Left/Right): 100 Watts + 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (LSurround/RSurround): 100 Watts + 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.7% THD, 8 ohms)
- Surround Power (Selectable--Subwoofer/Surround Back): 100 Watts (20Hz - 20kHz, 0.09% THD, 8 ohms)


Is it just me or does 0.09% THD for fronts and 0.7% THD for rears sound not very good?

Yes, the 0.7% THD rating for the rear channels is not very good for a modern receiver.
However, I've seen this discussed a number of times on the HT message boards and it seems no one who owns one of the Kenwoods has any audible problem with distortion in the rear channels. I'm no audiophile, but I personally tested it out by switching back and forth between my old Yamaha and my 6060 and I could not hear any significant change in distortion in the rears. My speakers are decent Boston Acoustics, BTW.

 

[deahdeen]

Originally posted by: huesmann
Hmm...sounds like I shoulda waited for a deal like this instead of getting my HK AVR525.

I had bought the VR6070 last year but returned it and bought a HK AVR325. I'm much happier with the HK, but the Kenwood does come with a sweet remote. The HK remote isn't anything special except the EZ-set function is a nice toy.

With the HK you can assign any digital input to any source. So you could have any digital input hooked up to any source on the receiver(dvd, cable, cd, vcr, etc.) and if you have two component video devices that you want switched through the receiver you don't have to worry about which kinds of digital outputs they have and whether or not you are going to be able to connect them.

I just looked it up and the component videos on the 7070 are DVD and VID3. The digital ins for these two sources are optical inputs. If you get a component video source that only has a digital coaxial out, you can't use the video switching for it. I had a HD cable box that only had digital coax out so I couldn't use the video switching on the VR-6070.

Some people might think this is a non-issue for their needs. But some people might want the added flexabilty of a different receiver. I'll stop rambling now.

 

[Fant]

Yah I hate that about my current VR-2090 receiver...all recievers should let you combine any audio and video source and create your own label for it.