Customer Reviews

JVC RX-8040B 6.1 Channel Surround Sound AM/FM Audio/Video Receiver (Black)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Absolutley fantastic receiver for the money.First off this receiver is used to power Paradigm monitor 9 mains, cc-370 center,adp-350 dipoles and hooked to a M&k v76 sub and a 65" Mitsubishi H-D monitor.I was looking on replacing an Onkyo seperates set-up (m-5160). It is used both for home theater and music.I live in a studio apartment in Brooklyn and needless to say I allready freak my neighbors out with alot of late night explosions and loud daytime music.So I wanted ample power to continue to do so.After comparing all the usual a/v brands.The sound,output and specs are all so close in this price range that it made little sense on going overboard and springing on another set of seperates or picking up a Pioneer Elite receiver however the vsx-1014 came in a close second at $100 more than the 8040.A few notable specs on this receiver are:Texas Instruments 32/64-bit Floating Point DSP,1800 MIPS...Output at clipping 1khz one channel 8 ohms 154 w...Output at clipping five chanels 8 ohms 63 w....Distortion at 1 watt output 0.03thd...Noise level 16-bit signal 70.01db....Excess noise 16-bit with sine tone +3.8db...130 watts x 2 RMS 8 ohms from 20hz to 20khz 0.08thd....Weight is 26.7 lbs and it has headphone and phono outs...Anyway you get the idea,all specs are very respectable and better than most.Even higher priced units.Tony Cordoza in his review of this receiver for Sound and Vision Mag."Once set up,I found the JVC pleasant and straight forward to use.In a word likable"."The rx-8040 cranked out ample power for movie and music listening and sounded great in every mode"."I was highly impressed by the quality of playback of DPL IIx 7.1 channel of stereo sources,such as Music Choice on digital cable".I couldn't agree more.Some of the more unique features of this receiver is its RF remote.I can be sitting on the stoop outside and still operate the unit through walls.Speakers are also individually adjustable + or - 10 in volume which makes balancing the soundfield pretty easy.What I don't like about it is pretty minimal.I think the bass management could be a little better (lowest crossover of 80hz) and a switchable outlet on the back would have been nice for powering another amp for the 7.1.Also you can't control center width from the remote.It's hard to complain about a $300 receiver that does so many things well.Anyway if your considering a receiver that has very clean output and handles all current DSP modes you can't go wrong with this one.However spending the extra time properly setting up a receiver is a must.I would suggest picking up a Radio shack #33-2055 digital SPL (sound pressure meter)....Buona fortuna

The other reviewers have gone into great detail about this receiver and its tech specs. It packs a ton of features into a great price. We just built a new home, and our builder's A/V Installer recommended this unit highly (and at a price of $500).

I want to point out one issue that hasn't been mentioned here or in the unit's paperwork.

I decided to go all out and I bought digital interface cables to connect our DVD player, CD player, and satellite dish to the receiver. It worked well and the sound was great. Only problem is that the digital inputs DO NOT WORK with the multi-room sound. So, I get great sound in the primary room, but nothing (except the tuner) in the other rooms. Switch back to standard RCA cables and everything works in all rooms. The sound difference is barely noticeable (my wife says she doesn;t hear the difference).

So, buy this receiver, but save your money and don't splurge for digital audio cables!

Stereo receivers are pretty complicated devices with all of the home-theater options they have to perform. Its a bit of a gamble to buy any of them. I downloaded the manual and this model looked particularly full-featured. It was even better when it arrived. I really really like the built-in equalizer. Most receivers just have a bass and treble button. This receiver also has a particularly good remote. It uses radio frequency rather than infrared, so it has a strong signal that goes thru walls. This means I can point just about anywhere and the remote will work. The remote also has a small LCD display but unfortunately it isn't back-lit so that feature is just OK. The receiver is a third larger than my Sony receiver so be sure it fits where you are going to place it. It is also quite heavy. Any complaints? Not really. For the price, it has tons of analog and digital connections, good wattage, and a better than ususal remote. Be prepared to spend at least an hour setting it up. My 4 years-old old Sony receiver sounded worse so I am glad I replaced it.

wow,this is a great surround sound receiver.bought it at a great price through amazon.com.I recommend you buy from them.they are trustworthy and ship very fast.I got mine in 5 days from purchase date,during the christmas shipping rush.As for the receiver,it has a lot of power,I'm running mine through a bose acoustmass 15 home theater speaker system.make sure your speakers can handle the power.It also has a lot of sound options.If you're familiar with hooking up surround sound systems,you shouldn't have a problem with this one.you can't beat the price for a receiver that has this much power.I researched receivers for about a month and kept coming back to this one.Go for it!

It took me a long time to figure out exactly how to set up the A-V wiring on this unit... especially the digital audio ins. The manual is not helpful at all in this regard. For instance, to properly receive the digital audio signal you must ALSO have the analog paths connected. This is breifly mentioned in a sidebar deep in the manual.

PLEASE NOTE: This unit is NOT a video transcoder! Composite video in DOES NOT get fed to the S-video or component video outs and vice-versa. This limits routing the best quality signal to your TV and can really complicate your wiring.

Plan on spending an extra $80 on cables to properly use this receiver.

Otherwise, it's great sonically and has functions and configurations for everyone's needs. I especially like the Zone 2 function so I can listen to iTunes music on the patio while someone else is watching video or listening to a CD.

I've had this unit for about 6 months and it has been quite good to me. Sound is great to my non-audiophile ears. Plenty of inputs. Only (small) beef with the thing is that if I use the RF antenna the unit doesn't seem to respond to my universal remote control (a logitech harmony). Otherwise I'm quite pleased.

I am very happy with the sound quality of this receiver. I matched it with a set of JBL SCS300s and the system provides that full, low volume clarity I was looking for. However, hooking up the video was impossible and after working with JVC tech support for 45 minutes, they advised me to take the unit in for service. (JVC wanted me to drive my brand new $275 receiver 30 miles away for repair. I don't think so.)

For clarity, here's how I had the video hooked-up: Cable box to receiver composite video jacks, DVD to receiver COAX Video jacks, and VCR to receiver COAX video jacks. I tried a single S-Video cable output from the receiver's S-Video Monitor Out jack to the TV. No video signal from either the cable box, DVD, nor VCR. I then tried a single COAX cable from the receiver's Video Monitor out. Same thing; no video from any source. Lastly, I tried composite video cables from the receiver's Composite Video Monitor Out. In this configuration I could get the video from the cable box, but not the DVD nor VCR. (I always had audio from any of the three sources.)

I don't think the receiver has a problem. I think it's a configuration/set-up problem. But since I can't figure it out, and JVC can't figure it out, it's no good to me.

I'm contemplating returning the unit.