Kenwood VR6050 receiver(refurb) for $99 @eCost

[Urge24]

Just got mine in yesterday, and spent all last nite getting everything in order. The unit that was shipped to me was in near mint condition, only a few minor blemishes on the top covered by a black marker. Everything else, remote and manual was there and in great shape. After getting things tweaked, I'm very impressed.... for $99.00 this has blown my expectations out of the water, I'm really glad that I waited and got in on this instead of spending a couple hundred more on the lowend Pioneer VSX-d912 I was looking at getting. Great unit, great deal.

 

[letsgetsilly]

Just ordered mine for 102 final price. Here's to hoping for a good one....

 

[terthen]

argh! i can't resist! i was looking for a cheap surround sound system, but i figure spend another $100 and get a nice one instead... argh! another $100 gone...

 

[CroniX]

I ordered one yesterday and recieved it today. I have been using a Harman Kardon AVR 120 for about a year now and wanted to try out this Kenwood because of the extra power. My Kenwood arrived in near mint condition. Just a couple of scratches. These are my inpressions so far. This thing is a bit difficult to set up but I think I almost have it completely set up. Sound quality is pretty good but I cant seem to get bass and treble tone ajustments to work in any sound mode except stereo which seems to be limited to 2 front speakers. If anyone here has figured it out please help me. So far my HK avr 120 with 40 watts per channel seems to sound much cleaner and plays very close to the same loudness. I thought I needed the extra power because the room that I have it set up in is fairly large 18 feet by 35 feet. I will end up ebayin one of these receivers but im still not sure which one. If I can fix this problem that im having with the bass and treble ajustments I may just keep the kenwood.

 

[xoque]

So now that they're back in stock again... we review the question.. is there any good speaker deals going on?

There's of course the fluance 5 piece set thats been talked about, for $200 here: http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

Any other good sets for cheaper? And a good subwoofer on sale?

 

[Bri79]

I just ordered one. Good deal.

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: CroniX
So far my HK avr 120 with 40 watts per channel seems to sound much cleaner and plays very close to the same loudness.

Rent, borrow or buy a decibel meter and test them side-by-side or one after the other to see how they max out, power-wise, on the same piece of music/movie. I use the opening scene in Private Ryan. Use earplugs.

 

[lzpoof]

Originally posted by: agent2099
Thanks. Ordered the speakers. I have a feeling the bass will be enough for music. I'm just worried about the LFE channel with movies - I have a feeling that it will sound really odd w/o the sub. If I need a sub for movies i'll probably pick up the Sony SA-WM200.

Go for the big Sony sub, that's what I'm using. You may also want to invest in some front channel speakers with dual woofers... Music tends to sound a bit hollow on the low end if you don't. Not a big fan of the 'front-large/normal' setting on kenwood receivers.

 

[mbackof]

On the home theater boards, Fluance are generally considered the lowest cost speakers you can get with good sound. Anything lower and your sound quality will likely suffer.

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: lzpoof

Originally posted by: agent2099
Thanks. Ordered the speakers. I have a feeling the bass will be enough for music. I'm just worried about the LFE channel with movies - I have a feeling that it will sound really odd w/o the sub. If I need a sub for movies i'll probably pick up the Sony SA-WM200.

Go for the big Sony sub, that's what I'm using. You may also want to invest in some front channel speakers with dual woofers... Music tends to sound a bit hollow on the low end if you don't. Not a big fan of the 'front-large/normal' setting on kenwood receivers.

I would get the bigger one, but I don't need the extra bass. I assume the only difference is the quantity of the bass, not the quality? Because more bass is something I don't need.

 

[laredo1]

I got mine, it looks pretty good.
While I have not set it up yet. I have 2 infinity alpha40 speakers
but i have no speaker wires to connecnt them together.

can anybody lecture me what kind o f wires should i buy for this receiver and my speakers and where can I get those wires?

thanks,

I appreciate it

Have a nice day!

 

[lzpoof]

Originally posted by: agent2099

Originally posted by: lzpoof

Originally posted by: agent2099
Thanks. Ordered the speakers. I have a feeling the bass will be enough for music. I'm just worried about the LFE channel with movies - I have a feeling that it will sound really odd w/o the sub. If I need a sub for movies i'll probably pick up the Sony SA-WM200.

Go for the big Sony sub, that's what I'm using. You may also want to invest in some front channel speakers with dual woofers... Music tends to sound a bit hollow on the low end if you don't. Not a big fan of the 'front-large/normal' setting on kenwood receivers.

I would get the bigger one, but I don't need the extra bass. I assume the only difference is the quantity of the bass, not the quality? Because more bass is something I don't need.

larger speakers generally have better low frequency response, not just for loudness but also frequency range.... hency why 5 1/4" car speakers may only go down to 70hz but 6X9 can go to 40hz or lower. This difference can become quickly apparent during the LFE portions of a DVD in the quality of the sound. Not sure on these models but they may also have different features.

 

[CroniX]

This is the second day that I have my receiver and now I notice that I hear a few pops in my speakers when I turn my reciever on. After about 3 minutes I hear no more pops whatsoever. Any idea what could cause this guys? It seems like after the amp warms up a bit its good to go.

 

[Mikey100]

This is one more WONDERFUl Anandtech "deal."

I ordered one, on Sat, and then one more on Monday, and
BOTH of them showed up on Wednesday. Re-furb'd, but
looking like factory "re-packs."

Complete, working superbly, like brand spanking new.

This was an EXCELLENT deal and they lots more left.

Thanks, Guys !

Always My Best ........

Mikey

 

[MaxDepth]

I downloaded the PDF, but I cannot see where I would plug in the SAT video. Video 2?

 

[TKHDebater]

whoooo! i just ordered the kenwood..... now if only i had $250 more for the Fluance.....

 

[Sarge1]

Ordered the Kenwood Monday, got it Wednesday. Looks to be in brand new condition except for a couple of scratches on the top, near the back. Will hook it up and get back with a report later today or tomorrow.

 

[ECHO]

just my luck... I've been debating whether or not I should pick one of these up and now that I have decided to grab one, the price has gone up to $109. I know it's only 10 bux but...hey...IT'S 10 BUX!!!

 

[Bri79]

I got mine Friday. It looks good and everything works so far.

 

[KawLiga]

I have an old set of 5 speakers. Fronts are big floor standing 3-ways (tweeter, 4.5, 12) rated at 8 ohms and 150 watts. These should be fine with the Kenwood. My center is rated at 30 watts and the rears at 10 watts. Is there any way to use the smaller speakers by turning down the level from the receiver? The center and rears havent been used in months so I can continue to do without them till I can get a new set of speakers.

Thanks
kaw

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: KawLiga
I have an old set of 5 speakers. Fronts are big floor standing 3-ways (tweeter, 4.5, 12) rated at 8 ohms and 150 watts. These should be fine with the Kenwood. My center is rated at 30 watts and the rears at 10 watts. Is there any way to use the smaller speakers by turning down the level from the receiver? The center and rears havent been used in months so I can continue to do without them till I can get a new set of speakers.

Thanks
kaw

Yes, you can adjust the levels. The manual is not terribly clear on this but go into the "test tone" menu on the receiver. Set it to manual. Then you can scroll through to each speaker and adjust the levels accordingly.

 

[rneily]

I just got mine Friday, and it looks great! No problems, one small scratch, but it's barely noticable!

This is definitely a great deal!

 

[DamnDirtyApe]

I just got mine in, and unfortunately the rear-left speaker output doesn't work at all. I called up e-cost, and got the "final sale" spiel, despite the fact that they don't actually mention that it's final sale when you make a purchase. I also called Kenwood, who will not provide any sort of warranty because e-cost is a non an authorized internet dealer.

However, since I'm Canadian I have to deal through the "borderfree" service, which seems to be somewhat separate from the rest of e-cost.

Definitely buyer beware though... this company will sell you as-is merchandise without telling you, then hide behind the fine print buried deep in their website.

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: xoque
So now that they're back in stock again... we review the question.. is there any good speaker deals going on?

There's of course the fluance 5 piece set thats been talked about, for $200 here: http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

Any other good sets for cheaper? And a good subwoofer on sale?

Try the SKS-HT500 they are $180 after you register. However one reason I didn't get these is I like the look of floorstanders, and I don't want to worry about buying powerful, sturdy stands to get these heavy speakers to ear level.

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: DamnDirtyApe
I just got mine in, and unfortunately the rear-left speaker output doesn't work at all. I called up e-cost, and got the "final sale" spiel, despite the fact that they don't actually mention that it's final sale when you make a purchase. I also called Kenwood, who will not provide any sort of warranty because e-cost is a non an authorized internet dealer.

However, since I'm Canadian I have to deal through the "borderfree" service, which seems to be somewhat separate from the rest of e-cost.

Definitely buyer beware though... this company will sell you as-is merchandise without telling you, then hide behind the fine print buried deep in their website.

That sucks. I would dispute with your credit card company. If you check the website for thier onkyo receiver, it says on the bottom of the page "AS IS." However ecost is an authorized dealer for onkyo so you still get a 1 year mfr warranty. If it does not say "as is" on the kenwood receiver page, I would print it out and see what your CC company can do about it.