Customer Reviews

Kenwood VR-9070-S 7.1-Channel THX-Certified Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

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I purchased the VR-9070 nine months ago after finally deciding to upgrade from my ten year old Kenwood KR-V6070. Desire for Digital sound had finally crested enough for me to plunk down the dough even though my old receiver was still in great working order.

I looked at a few Sony models before settling on this Kenwood due to its price and how well my 10 year old Kenwood receiver had faired. For the price I was surprised to find a THX certified receiver that matched all my other criteria (Dolby/DTS digital decoder, adequate wattage, subwoofer connection & silver casing).

The 9070 sounds great in Digital & Pro Logic settings. I did notice a significant drop off of deep bass compared to my other receiver and I ended up purchasing a JBL sub sooner than I anticipated in order to rectify my bass needs. DVDs sound great in big action scenes, and there is good separation between channels.

The menu is rather unintuitive and difficult at first when attempting to change settings. I am rather disappointed there isn't a simple bass/treble feature. Instead, there are several different settings to navigate through in order to tweak your set-up.

I had some difficulty getting the Digital audio signal from my DVD player to work at first, but finally figured out that if your DVD player has a digital decoder built in as most do these days, then it has to be turned off for the 9070 to recognize and output a digital signal.

The aluminum case is heavy-duty and looks sleek. The flip down cover on the front keeps it looking nice and clean. The blue led display is just the right brightness and looks slick with the silver case. I only wish the connections on the front were also covered.

It does run rather hot, especially in Digital mode. I have about two inches clearance above the receiver and have had no problems with overheating even when running it over 4-5 hours. It does exude quite a bit of heat though so good ventilation is needed.

The only downfall to the 9070 I have experienced so far is the remote. Its small type is hard to read, impossible in the dark, and has almost no contrast to the color of the remote. The LCD screen might as well not be there, its only function is to display what mode the remote is in, and even then it only stays on for a few seconds. Not to mention that the screen, nor any of the buttons is backlit. The remote feels cheap in comparison, and should have a more user friendly appeal. Luckily my universal remote covers the basic volume functions so once my settings were locked in I rarely have use for the remote.

Overall a great receiver for the price.