Should I get this fixed? (1 Viewer)

[Jonny K]

I have a Kenwood 1080VR receiver that doesn't work correctly, and I'm quite annoyed about it. Here's the story:

Several years ago I was looking for a receiver. At "Visions", and electronics store, I found this receiver. It was selling for $500 Canadian (when the normal retail is $1000 or so). The sales guy seems pretty confident about it, and told me that it was selling cheap because it was a demo model with no manual, no remote, and Kenwood no longer made them (I guess they must have just stopped). So, I bought it (with an extended 5 year warranty for an extra 70 dollars). At the time, it was a pretty awesome deal because I wasn't planning on spending too much, yet I got an even better piece of hardware for the same price. Luckily, they threw in a remote, and I was able to get a manual.

It's a Dolby Digital receiver (no DTS) with 120W X 4 power (the rears are both 60W). From what I understand, that's pretty good power.

http://upload.kenwoodusa.com/pub/97b...e/avcomp97.pdf

But after getting it home I had some problems. I can't remember what exactly, but I know I took it in countless times for repair. One thing I remember is that the bass wasn't right. It seemed that the sub wouldn't work at all. Turns out, after taking it in a few times they finally clued in an set the surround speakers to "Small" in the settings, and suddenly there was bass. (back when I was new to HT). Another thing they fixed was when you turn the volume up and suddenly you can hear a clear jump in volume and clarity change when you move 1db (as if it's switching circutry inside).

Anyway, I've been using it normally since then, but I've been noticing a few things don't seem right. For intance, on the front of the unit there are bass and trebel controls (-10db to +10db), yet they don't seem to make any difference. But the BIG issue is with my new Tempest sub.

I built myself a DIY Tempest, and it was supposed to be such an awesome sub. Yet I've had horrid problems getting good bass from it! I thought I had built it wrong. It would work perfect for DVD, but playing CDs it would distort like mad, and I'd have to turn the bass way down. Then I notice that when I change the bass setting on the receiver, the bass will actually jump higher when I turn the DB down from +7 to +6 (huge jump), or when I turn the volume down from -29 to -30 I'll get a jump. Something is funny here...

Well today, on a hunch, I hooked up an OLD sony stereo to the sub (with a CD player plugged in). Guess what? The bass is insane! It's everything it should be! I can put a really insane booming CD in there, and there's no clipping or distortion!

*gives receiver evil stare*

SO, it seems that this receiver is really a piece of junk. I'm very annoyed. I still have the extended warranty for a year or so, so I've been wanting to take it in and basically tell them "fix everything". Yet my dad is convinced that I won't get anything from these guys, and tells me that I'm just wasting my time. If I don't use my warrenty, I'll get a credit back at the end of the period...yet I still want this thing fixed. But it doesn't even have DTS. I'm wondering, should I take this old receiver in to get it fixed (and it probably won't be), or should I just write it off? Being the poor student that I am, I'm really not in a place to buy a new receiver at the moment.

Crap!

Thanks.


Jonny K.

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

Jonny,
I had the big brother to your the 1090VR that was the flagship, First thing to keep in mind is that Kenwood rate the power at 6 ohms and not 8, It's not a huge diffidence.
It's been along time ago, I think it was Sam's club that was selling the closeout 1090VR at $395 usd several years ago. For the money it was a fine deal & not bad sounding, I see them now at local pawn shops selling in the

 

[Jonny K]

Yeah, I have a decent remote. It's just like the 1080VR one except it's not lit. But thanks for the offer.

And regarding getting somebody to help me...you guys are it. I'm the only person I know who's into HT.


Jonny K.

 

[Jamey F]

Where are you located? Perhaps someone here isn't too far away and could help you out in person.

I'm not familiar with that receiver so I can't help much. One thing, those tone controls (bass, treble) probably only affect the main speakers and not the whole setup. I would set those flat, and try to restore all factory settings to default values. After that, setup all speakers as small with bass being redirected to sub only (not sub and mains). See if that makes any difference in the sub performance.

 

[Jonny K]

^ That's exactly how I have it set.

Anyway, after listening to a bunch of CDs with this other radio using the sub, I've convinced myself that I can never go back now. The bass is insane. For instance, I go upstairs after listening for a while and find closet doors have opened themselves, and a fire extinguisher has fallen off it's hook on the wall. It's that insane.

I've already taken the receiver out of it's place and gotten it ready to take in for service tomorrow. Chances are good that they'll ship it to Kenwood for repair, and I won't see it for a month or so. :frowning:

By the way, I'm in Calgary, Canada.

Thanks,


Jonny K.