JVC RX-D201 7.1 Channels Receiver

First of all I am not an audiophile. A matter of fact an audiophile will probably rip his/her hair out of there heads after reading this review. Basically I was looking for an inexpensive (cheap) 7.1 surround sound receiver.

Something that would fulfill my wants and needs, while price wise not causing my wife to inflict bodily harm on me. I already own a 5.1 receiver, but I wanted to add more punch to my home theater. My home theater room is pretty large at 14'x 30' so I really wanted to add 2 more speakers to the room. Thus giving me 3 front speakers plus a subwoofer, 2 side surround sound speakers mounted to the wall, and 2 back surround sound speakers sitting on speaker stands.

I purchased this JVC receiver from a web-sight called Ritzcamera.com for only 169.95. They offered free ground-shipping and no sales tax. I did pay an extra 14.95 for 2 day business shipping. I figured the less bouncing around it does in the back of a Fed-Ex truck the better. The receiver was received 4 business days after I made the order over the net.

The first receiver I ever bought was a JVC 16 years ago, and it still works great. So I feel confident in buying JVC products. Ok time to cut the crap and get to the specs.

This receiver offers and delivers,

-This Is a 7.1 channel receiver that puts out 100 watts per channel.

(SURROUND MODES)
- Dolby Digital
- Dolby Digital EX
- Dolby Pro Logic II
- Dolby Pro Logic IIx
- DTS
- DTS ES Discrete 6.1 and DTS ES Matrix
- DTS 96/24
- DTS NEO:6

(DAP MODES)
- Hall 1
- Hall 2
- Live Club
- Dance Club
- Pavillion
- Theater 1 and Theater 2
- All Channel Stereo
- Mono Film.

For those scratching there heads (DAP) stands for "Digital Acoustic Processor" Its a sound field simulation technology to recreate the sounds of the various rooms I listed above.

(INPUTS)-(OUTPUTS)
- 2 Digital Inputs - 1 optical - 1 Coaxial
- 1 3D Headphone Plug In
- Component Video - VCR/DBS-In DVR/DVD-In Monitor-Out
- RCA JACK - TV-In DBS-In
- S-VIDEO - DBS-In VCR-in DVR-out rec. DVD/DVR-In
Monitor-Out
- AUDIO - VCR-out/in DVR-out DVR/DVD-In
- SUBWOOFER - Out

other features include,

-(Quick speakers setup)-
- This helps to quickly set up speakers based on there
- distance and size of the speaker.

-(Effect DAP Modes)-
- This allows you to adjust the effect level from 1 to 5.
- The higher the number, the stronger the DAP effect
- becomes.

-(Room Size Dap)-
- Again this uses a 1-5 level adjustment the higher the
- number the larger the virtual effect of the room becomes,
- giving you the feeling of being in a larger room

-(A/V Compu Link III)-
- The Compu Link Remote Control System allows you to
- control other JVC audio/video components through the
- remote sensor of the receiver.

-(USB Port)-
- The JVC has a front panel USB port that allows
- you to connect your computer to the receiver. This
- allows you to listen to music from your PC, or MAC. This
- was a cool selling feature that I wasn't looking for,
- but I am very glad to have it included.

-(Wireless Remote)-
- Performs fine. Besides JVC products it will work with
- most major brands of Tvs,DVDs,VCRs etc... Looks wise
- it's nothing to get excited about, Buttons are small,
- but it does the job, and thats all that matters to me.


As you can tell this receiver has many features, not all of them listed of course, but I wanted to give you a taste of what your getting for only $170.00.

(PERFORMANCE)-

CD's sound excellent and DVD movies sound even better. Again I'm not an audiophile so I'm not going to tell you the bass sounds tight and the tweeters sound crisp. Why?

Audiophiles start hair pulling now....My speaker setup is this, my 2 front speakers are 15 year old Pioneer speakers, My center channel is a 1 month old Athena Speaker, My Subwoofer is a 7 month old Sony, The 2 side speakers are 3 year old satellite KLH speakers, and my 2 back speakers well... there made by Infinity.

It's what you would call a mess of speakers. So am I getting the best possible sound out of my system? Probably not. But hey I think it sounds great.

(LOOKS)

You have your choice of Black or Silver. Since my DVD player is silver I went with black...just kidding. I went with Silver which I think looks very sharp.

The other 2 receivers I have are black so I welcome the change. The vents on the JVC are located on the sides of the receiver so the top is completely enclosed. There is a fan inside the receiver to keep the circuitry from over heating. The led lights are an attractive blue and can be dimmed.

There are no numbers on the dials, but volume control goes to 11. Sorry bad "Spinal Tap" joke. Volume control does go to 50. I've only gone as high as 30 when watching movies.


(DIMENSIONS) You'll love this.

-Width 17-3/16"
-Height 3-5/8"
-DEPTH 14-3/16"
-Weight 15 LBS.

You won't find another 7.1 surround sound receiver this small. I remember setting up the receiver and than bringing my wife downstairs to show her. Her first response was "where is it?" I told her you looking at it. She thought she was looking at our silver DVD player.

(SUMMARY)

As far as I know this is the cheapest and smallest selling name brand 7.1 receiver out there. I was looking for one specifically for my home theater, and I believe I scored a bullseye with the JVC RX-D201S.

Only thing that might put off some buyers, is that it only offers clip connectors for your speaker wire. Clip connectors are all I've ever used for the past 16 years and I have had no problem with them.

The receiver comes with a 40 page very detailed and nicely illustrated manual. Also includes an antenna which I don't use and you can preset 15 AM and 30 FM channels.

Again at $170.00 good luck in finding a better deal for a 7.1 receiver packed with this many options. This is the perfect home theater system for me. Attractive receiver,compact,and plenty of power for a large room. And yes this is a Brand new system this is not a refurbished/used price.