JVC does not get much respect

CharlieBee

Well-Known Member
I have a few JVC pieces,

a JVC JL-F30 Automatic Turntable Belt Drive,

a JVC XL-M405 Mult 6 disc CD Auto Changer and

a JVC TD-W209 Dual Cassette Deck (1 Reversing).

All seem well built and perform very well. I hardly ever see any comments on JVC components.

Anybody else had good experiences with JVC?

Charlie
 
I have a "vintage" JVC 6 disc CDP ( XL-M505 I think) that is tough as nails and sounds as good as decks costing twice as much. The problem with JVC (Japan Victor Company) is they made some real trash along with some very nice pieces. :yes:
 
I always like the late 70's-early 80's JVC stuff...have a ton of brochures on their audio gear,always wanted what I couldn't afford...did lots of drooling over the brochures (don't worry,wore "drool-guard" to protect brochures from moisture :yes: ).I have a couple of their 4-channel receivers,a nice 2-channel amp,and some cassette decks...great stuff as far as I'm concerned :music: Rob
 
I've unfortunately experienced much of that "trash" over time. I imagine, like many other companies that lost their way (Sansui during the making days, Advent around the TV making days), at one time some trick gear was produced.

I'd grab any nice JVC gear I find for low $$$. The problem seems to be finding the "nice" stuff.
 
My first integrated was a JVC, I thought it was wonderful, AR turntable, home made speakers - 17 year old heaven.

Just found an RS-5 receiver, can't wait to check it out. Could find zero info on it.

Here's a pic I swiped of my first.
 

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Big fan of the Digifine components. I had a JVC XL-Z1050TN a little over a year ago. It was the one on stereophile's list back in 94. It was rather large and weighed about 20lbs. Very attractive as well. I would have kept it but I perfered the sound of my Elite PD-59 and had to make a choice.
 
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I bought a new, TOTL JR-S501 in 1978. Tough as nails 120 wpc into 8 ohms, rated at 160 wpc into 4 ohms.
Unusual looks, you either liked them or not. No knobs, all push buttons or sliders, but not over done. The SEA amplifier was a real equalizer, not simply tone controls.
I do have a very nice JVC cassette deck, the TD-R441, and it is a very nice deck.
 
Hello Charliebee, my roomie has a jvc A-X1 intg. amp and an A-X3 intg. amp, he got out of the navy in early 80's, not a great time for the big names!! I have to say these are great sounding amps. I have hooked them up to my Martin Logans and they have nothing to br shamed of. You never see them for sale though, even at swap meets, that could be a good sign!! However, I'm a Marantz guy myself. If I found a working JVC before they put the 5-band EQ I would enjoy the hell out of it!! Peace Craig
 
stuwee said:
Hello Charliebee, my roomie has a jvc A-X1 intg. amp and an A-X3 intg. amp, he got out of the navy in early 80's, not a great time for the big names!! I have to say these are great sounding amps. I have hooked them up to my Martin Logans and they have nothing to br shamed of. You never see them for sale though, even at swap meets, that could be a good sign!! However, I'm a Marantz guy myself. If I found a working JVC before they put the 5-band EQ I would enjoy the hell out of it!! Peace Craig


My first real peice of equiptment was an A-X1.... I still have it :) :music:
 
I have a JVC JL-A40 direct drive auto return turntable with a Stanton 681EEE cartridge that I bought new in 1976. It still works great but it is now just my backup table. I put a string on the reject lever so I can turn the table off without having to lift the dustcover. Brilliant! :D :smoke:
 
Yup, they made some good and some bad, like many builders. Their video products that I have owned over time have been great (they developed VHS). They also made some top-notch portable stereos (boomboxes) in the 80's.
 
I've had my JVC JL-B31 TT since I got it new in '77. Been a great TT,(the only one I've had), and it's still going strong. Never had a problem with it, Don't know 'bout there other stuff, but my TT has been great. Plays & sounds as good as ever.
 
JVC stuff, at its best, is as good as anything. I have a TD-w828 twin cassette deck and a JVC tuner which are both superb. I love their amplifiers as well - very musical sound. Yes, they've produced some less good stuff, but so has every manufacturer. Look at the current Pioneer stuff - their mini/micro hi-fis are badly made, and sound bloomin awful.
 
Many of the 70s and early 80s manufacturers went on to produce crap at some later date in their coorporate evolution. Some to the point where they went out of business because of it. At least JVC has survived. More to the point, quite a bit of JVCs late 70s and early 80s gear was a little odd ball from a design - appearance perspective. Audiophiles or pretend audiophiles want something that looks the part and on that front JVC never quite delivered. Certainly on paper the specs of the JVC stuff handily stands up to it's competition from that era. Perhaps another contributing factor to its less favoured status is that it doesn't really have a characteristic sound. It kind of falls in the middle, half way between Sansui and Pioneer and in the process sounds good but not particularly distinctive.
 
I had a late 80's JVC single-disc CD player that was a POS. Darn thing would skip for no reason, or load a disc and then just not play. Had it repaired under warranty twice, replaced with another unit the third time and still had the same problems each time. Turned out that the first production run of this particular model was just fine, but the second run (of which my unit was one) had all sorts of problems. I got a full refund on it and replaced it with a Pioneer 6-disc changer that is still going strong today.

That said, I also had a JVC Hi-Fi VCR that was great, lots of features, good picture and sound, and tough as nails. It got zapped by lightening twice (replaced a power relay the first time, but fried the tuner the second go-round) before it finally gave up the ghost.
 
Having had at least one JVC component in my system since 1977 I have to say that they do not get the respect they deserve IMHO. Currently have a JR-S600 that is absolutly wonderful. also a QLA-2 TT and when I wanna hear what it sounds like in a storm drain an ECA-102 Reverb amp :banana: That i picked up for 5 bucks from a guy that needed "medication" back in '79. The JR-s's are built like a tank and are very pleasant to listen to at low or high volume.
 
I just picked up a JVC TT, L-F41. Nothing fancy but it appears to be well built and it's in great condition. Does anybody know anything about it or what year it was made?

Thanks
 
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