S
skinnyfat
Guest
Having used this amp for about 2 years i've gotten to know it quite well, so for anyone wanting to start in HC this is the real entry level amp.
Rated at 5 X 100 watts RMS into 8 Ohms. This is somewhat optimistic and in truth it probably only feeds 60 W rms into 2 channels @ 8 Ohms. 5 Channel power output is in the region of 26 Watts RMS. Considering the yammy 540 rds puts out 35W into 5 channels its not doing too badly.
Connectivity is basic at best.
No s-video switching here just plain old composite.
1 optical and 1 co-ax digital in
No 5.1 channel in or out so no DVD - A or SACD
5 analogue audio in and 1 out.
Speaker terminals are a little better than the standard spring-clips usually found. Only problem is I had to drill their holes bigger to fit my speaker cables in !!! Front three bi-wired as well so even more of a problem.
Sound formats:
DD, DTS, DD PLII, PCM - THAT'S IT !!
DSP programs - 5 in total and I dont use any of them, they just aren't convincing enough for me.
Setup:
Setup is a breeze using either the 'jog' control on the facia or the buttons on the remote. Individual speaker size, distance and level can be set. It also remembers different settings for different inputs. however you cant assign different settings for different sound formats (DTS vs DD)This is a nice feature and not common on recievers this price! Another feature which is uncommon at this price is 'dynamic range compression' which chops the highs and brings up the lows for softer volume levels. Nice for late night viewing.
A nifty button on the facia is 'subwoofer out' which switches the sub out on or off and redirects the LFE to the appropriate speakers. Nice for stereo music.
The display is dimmable via a button on facia or remote.
The remote is somewhat small with small buttons and can be a problem if you have big fingers. I have often pressed two buttons at the same time and can be frustrating. The remote can control other JVC products if you have them and I do for the DVD player and it works well. The only feature missing from the remote is the subwoofer out (on/off) which means you have to go to the amp each time you need to use this feature.
Overall performance is impressive all things considered. Expect to pay R1700.00 - R1800.00 fir this amp or its replacement, the 5042. It struggles with very complex scenes like those in LOTR and Star wars if pushed too hard. Unfortunately it did no justice to my speakers and went into protection mode when pushed hard. I dont have a SPL so I dont know at what vol it clipped. Volume on reciever runs from 0 -50 not in dB. Protection kicked in at 33. Prefers 5.1 to stereo but will still give a good go in stereo.
Overall:
For the price, its great and would recomend it over the entry Sony's and Kenwoods any day. It has remarkable ability and if you're venturing into HC for the first time and dont want to rob banks, this the absolute minimum standard to go for.
Mine is now doing duty in my bedroom, can you believe ?
Skinny
Rated at 5 X 100 watts RMS into 8 Ohms. This is somewhat optimistic and in truth it probably only feeds 60 W rms into 2 channels @ 8 Ohms. 5 Channel power output is in the region of 26 Watts RMS. Considering the yammy 540 rds puts out 35W into 5 channels its not doing too badly.
Connectivity is basic at best.
No s-video switching here just plain old composite.
1 optical and 1 co-ax digital in
No 5.1 channel in or out so no DVD - A or SACD
5 analogue audio in and 1 out.
Speaker terminals are a little better than the standard spring-clips usually found. Only problem is I had to drill their holes bigger to fit my speaker cables in !!! Front three bi-wired as well so even more of a problem.
Sound formats:
DD, DTS, DD PLII, PCM - THAT'S IT !!
DSP programs - 5 in total and I dont use any of them, they just aren't convincing enough for me.
Setup:
Setup is a breeze using either the 'jog' control on the facia or the buttons on the remote. Individual speaker size, distance and level can be set. It also remembers different settings for different inputs. however you cant assign different settings for different sound formats (DTS vs DD)This is a nice feature and not common on recievers this price! Another feature which is uncommon at this price is 'dynamic range compression' which chops the highs and brings up the lows for softer volume levels. Nice for late night viewing.
A nifty button on the facia is 'subwoofer out' which switches the sub out on or off and redirects the LFE to the appropriate speakers. Nice for stereo music.
The display is dimmable via a button on facia or remote.
The remote is somewhat small with small buttons and can be a problem if you have big fingers. I have often pressed two buttons at the same time and can be frustrating. The remote can control other JVC products if you have them and I do for the DVD player and it works well. The only feature missing from the remote is the subwoofer out (on/off) which means you have to go to the amp each time you need to use this feature.
Overall performance is impressive all things considered. Expect to pay R1700.00 - R1800.00 fir this amp or its replacement, the 5042. It struggles with very complex scenes like those in LOTR and Star wars if pushed too hard. Unfortunately it did no justice to my speakers and went into protection mode when pushed hard. I dont have a SPL so I dont know at what vol it clipped. Volume on reciever runs from 0 -50 not in dB. Protection kicked in at 33. Prefers 5.1 to stereo but will still give a good go in stereo.
Overall:
For the price, its great and would recomend it over the entry Sony's and Kenwoods any day. It has remarkable ability and if you're venturing into HC for the first time and dont want to rob banks, this the absolute minimum standard to go for.
Mine is now doing duty in my bedroom, can you believe ?
Skinny
