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Did Kenwood have a good reputation...

Here is my experience, however small it may be.

70ies: I have a KR-5200 receiver. Very well-build and super-heavy. It has had relay and potentiometer issues, so did not go into a system for too long in my house, but it has been pretty good when it worked. I'll try to get it working again this winter.

80ies: a friend of mine picked up a KA-52 (IIRC) silver-plastic-y integrated from the mid 80ies I'd guess. While cheesy looking from the exterior, the low-profile power transformer in it is quite hefty and gives the unit a heavy feel. Nice big Elna supply capacitors and discrete outputs mounted on substantial heatsinks. I serviced it and gave it a bit of a listen, seemed to do a good enough job for sure.

90ies: I use a KM-X1000 stereo power amplifier in my main system at the moment. 130WPC, brigeable to 270W mono, THX-certified. It's from the mid-90ies, where it was marketed as an amplifier for subwoofers and rears, but does a hell of a good job at stereo. Not everyone's cup of tea, as some will deduce that THX = low distortion + low noise + high damping factor = lots of negative feedback, but I like it very much. And I also like SE tube amps. :D Why would I stick to a belief system that allows me access to less toys? ;)

az
 
Redcoats - thanks for the history lesson. I bought my KA-7002 bitd and played it hard for several years without any issues. It is solid, well built, dependable, and the feel of the controls is better than my G-8000. I think that people not familiar with the Kenwood brand in the 70's, today think of Kenwood as being a car stereo company first, rather than a very well respected home stereo manufacturer IMHO.
 
Just bought a nice A-93 integrated amp for little money. Sounds very clean, excellent 2.0 as well as 5.1 options, nice construction quality. I like it, just wish I had the remote.
 
I have a few friends with 70's Kenwood receivers, KR-6050 and KR-8050.When comparing them to the Pioneers from the same era, the Kenwoods sound great and look fantastic, but the Pioneers are a much better built beast in my opinion.The knobs on the Kenwoods seem more mushy and wobbly, with the Pioneers having solid, firm clicks.
 
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Seriously, I really like my Kenwood KL-777x speakers (Kabuki) hooked to a pair of front channels on my Sansui QRX-6500.

Very well made with some unique features, according to the marketing hype.

They sound as if they want to be "opened up" and when they are they really shine. :music: Regards.
 
Kenwood

I've always thought that Kenwood equipment played a second fiddle to much more well-known brands. One of my brothers had a Kenwood portable CD player from the 90s. That thing was incredibly overbuilt and for a portable, it sounded pretty good.

I have an analog tuner of theirs (don't know the model #) from the early 1980s. I'd say it is an incredible piece of gear. Until I got my Sony XDR-F1HD, I didn't have a tuner that would match it. Even so, the Kenwood remains a very good tuner and it has that nice analog feel...flip the knob and watch the dial pointer go sailing to the next station you want to hear. :music:
 
I bought my KD500 turntable back in '81. Made with some kind of concrete composite. Very heavy and solid. Came without a tonearm, so I fitted a Grace 707 on it. Works flawlessly. Very low wow and flutter.
 
I have a KR-A5050 50wpc stereo receiver. It may not be top notch in hi-fi sound but its pretty darn close, and at times, it can even out-power my new Yamaha V-667BL 7.2ch 95wpc home theater receiver. That is 50w being louder than 95w. I think its worthy of an applaud from me.
 
Kenwood is one of the biggest names in car audio industry and all of their products are quality ones.I am using KENWOOD XR900-5 AMPLIFIER.
It is no surprise that XR900-5 is highly rated among the fans and it is a compact and affordable option.
The output is 600W mono + 75W 4 channel amplifier and it has built-in low and hi pass and even a bass boost. It comes with full 24-month manufacturer’s warranty and it is easy to install by yourself. It is a highly recommended product for its price and there are no reported problems by users and sound quality is very good. If you need compact and cheap car amp this can be a perfect solution for you.
 
I have three Kenwood mid-70s silver plate pieces, KA-3500 and KA-405 integrated amplifiers, and a KR-2600 receiver. While none of these are powerhouses, they sound wonderful and have a real pleasing visual appeal. They seem to be no nonsense, no frills workhorses, built before most of these companies were bought by marketers who slap brand names on generic equipment. My opinion of course.
 
alteclipsch said:
I have three Kenwood mid-70s silver plate pieces, KA-3500 and KA-405 integrated amplifiers, and a KR-2600 receiver. While none of these are powerhouses, they sound wonderful and have a real pleasing visual appeal. They seem to be no nonsense, no frills workhorses, built before most of these companies were bought by marketers who slap brand names on generic equipment. My opinion of course.
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My little KA-3500 will celebrate our 40th anniversary this fall. In 40 years, I've had to dust it a couple times.

I just last week got a C2 preamp from an AK'er on Bartertown. It is wonderful. Maybe edged out the tiniest bit by the Mac tube C2500, but, hey...
 
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I use the KA-3500 as my bench amp. It's a little killer. The only thing it lacks is speaker protection. I built a little protection kit from Rod Elliott, but haven't gotten around to installing it.

I have had two KR-4070 receivers (no speaker protection either) and gave them both away, not because I didn't love them, but because they are ideal for young people who are "getting into vinyl." The phono sections are probably nothing special, but overall these units can take lots of abuse. The tuner in the 4070 is particularly good, and this may be due to Kenwood's extensive experience making commercial and ham radio equipment.

But I have to say that the few Kenwood pieces I have used, and they were all toward the lower end of the line, weren't as well-finished as, for example, my Pioneer SX-636. No problem with build quality or performance, just overall fit, finish, and feel.
 
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c.coyle said:
I use the KA-3500 as my bench amp. It's a little killer. The only thing it lacks is speaker protection. I built a little protection kit from Road Elliott, but haven't gotten around to installing it.

I have had two KR-4070 receivers (no speaker protection either) and gave them both away, not because I didn't love them, but because they are ideal for young people who are "getting into vinyl." The phono sections are probably nothing special, but overall these units can take lots of abuse. The tuner in the 4070 is particularly good, and this may be due to Kenwood's extensive experience making commercial and ham radio equipment.

But I have to say that the few Kenwood pieces I have used, and they were all toward the lower end of the line, weren't as well-finished as, for example, my Pioneer SX-636. No problem with build quality or performance, just overall fit, finish, and feel.
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Not sure I agree. I have a SX 680 and a KR 4600 and the Kenwood has a better tuner wheel feel and just feels like it is built a bit better. I love them both and use the Pioneer as a computer amp because I like the meters, but the Kenwood gets rotated in and out of my one of my three vintage setups. My Kenwood KR 850 (early 80s 75WPC) has a lot of cool features but was the first of the Kenwoods that went with plastic faces and knobs (although still silver looking) and although it sounds awesome, it feels like crap.

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I sold hi-fi between '76 and '82. During that time, I considered Kenwood and Pioneer to be, what today could be called the Toyota and Subaru of stereo components. They were good and rock solid, but they were not Lamborghinis, nor were they fiats. Same goes for Hitachi, Sherwood, Sony (though Sony went pretty downhill beginning in the early 80's to the point where I wouldn't touch their stuff at the time)
 
Back in the 70's Kenwood was respected as the solid, no frills, deal in audio. Less flash than Pioneer, less innovative than Sansui, less storied than Marantz. They used tried and true designs and were well built, solid performers.
 
chef free said:
Back in the 70's Kenwood was respected as the solid, no frills, deal in audio. Less flash than Pioneer, less innovative than Sansui, less storied than Marantz. They used tried and true designs and were well built, solid performers.
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Well said, I agree 100%.
 
As others seem to have implied, when I think of Kenwood and quality it's more a 70s thing than an 80s. However, there are almost always exceptions to anything audio, and perceptions are often skewed.
 
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