2. In Use

• Terk VR-1 TV Volume...
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Installation is very simple with the fold-out "Owner's Manual" showing diagrams for TV input, TV output (line level - not speaker!)and Tape Monitor hook-ups. The only control you get is a bypass / On switch on the front and sole indicator is a power LED.

I hooked it up and moved the switch to the On position and settled in for an evening of TV watching, uh, testing with my resident TV volume adjuster - my wife - as an expert reviewer. Aside from a noticeable volume increase from the bypass to On modes, our first impression was that the VR-1 wasn't working.

As the evening wore on (and after many back-and-forths between the couch and VR-1 to switch it in and out for comparison), we concluded that the VR-1 was indeed doing its job, but that its job definition was incorrect. We have gotten so accustomed to jamming the TV volume during commercials down lower than our normal listening level (who wants to listen to commercials anyway?) that we found ourselves still hitting the remote's volume-down button.

We tried to do it the VR-1's way during commercials, but found the result - although steady as advertised - still too annoying. We actually ended up trying the VR-1 for about a week before finally pulling the plug on it, since we were still manually turning the TV volume down during commercials anyway. We couldn't decide whether it's the way that commercials' audio is already compressed, their use of loud music, or both, but commercials still seemed louder.

By the way, having the front panel indicator light only when the product is On would have saved me more than a few trips between couch and the VR-1 during testing. The VR-1's effect is so subtle that you find yourself wondering whether it's really on until you get used to how it works. And who can see an unlit switch in a room darkened for TV watching?

The Verdict

It works as advertised. But you'd better like your commercials to be as loud as your programs.