Kenwood receivers

[sla429]

Hearing some positive comments about Kenwood amplification. What would be the best choice in their receiver line-up? Thanks

 

[Sir.Byrd]

http://thevintageknob.org/KENWOOD/KR9600/KR9600.html

 

[Tinyelvis]

Fellow AK'er Whaleman had this fella on display. Sweet looking machine

The Model Eleven III was at the top of their line and it is also known as the venerated KR-10000 III.

 

[denniswilson]

I have a Kenwood KR-7600 that sounds wonderful. At times I perfer the 7600 over my Pioneer SX-939.

 

[Chap]

Wow !

Deos this machine need a commander ? I will sacrifice myself if needed !

I had a KT-8007 before that I sold ( stupid ) and I now owned a KA-4006. Both with these big "dented" buttons and believe me these Kenwood years were their best. This 8007 tuner was absolutely great and the little amp I now have KA- 4006 ) is only about 35 40 watts per channel but it's pure delight ! I also repaired a 700M which is a huge power amp with HUGES VUs and it sounds really, really goooood ! kenwood can beat a lot of other company like Marantz and pioneer of these years. Later on, they lost quality years after years to become quite the lowest of the commercial stuff today.:tears: I think.

This model 11 is a pure beauty !!!

 

[KingBubba]

The KR-8050, KR 9050 and the Kr 8010 are also well thought of.

 

[howie123]

I've had my KR-9600 since it was new in 1977... It's a powerful (160 WPC), great sounding receiver.

 

[SDA SRS 1.2]

I've had my KR-9600 since it was new in 1977... It's a powerful (160 WPC), great sounding receiver.

Same here - had mine since new in 1978. Excellent, but highly under-appreciated receiver! :thmbsp:

 

[radiation8]

tinyelvis, thats a awesome Kenwood.

I have always been a Kenwood buff, from tuners(have an audio puirst as some werre called), to AV rcvrs, my curent Kenwood has less than 0.08%THD at full power, might not be older, but Im here to say it wont be a bad choise.

 

[Sir.Byrd]

Or there are plenty of lower end Kenwood receivers that are very sweet too, and they are pretty cheap do the the higher demand of other brands.

 

[howie123]

Same here - had mine since new in 1978. Excellent, but highly under-appreciated receiver! :thmbsp:

I still have my receipt from February, 1977 (see attached). The 9600 cost me $500 at that time and that was as great price back then ($750 list, I think). And that was when $500 was $500. ;-)
Sorry for going a bit OT, btw....

 

[sla429]

kENWOOD

Thanks everyone. I am going to pick one up an see for myself.

 

[gkimeng]

Hearing some positive comments about Kenwood amplification. What would be the best choice in their receiver line-up? Thanks

I bought myself a 35WPC KR-5400 as a graduation present back in 1975, and it gave me 30 years of trouble-free service until a Bekins mover ran it and my AR amplifier over with a forklift. I still miss them both.

 

[gearhead]

Or there are plenty of lower end Kenwood receivers that are very sweet too, and they are pretty cheap do the the higher demand of other brands.

It seems everybody is willing to pay big bucks for the top of the line gear, while something in the 25-70 wpc range can't be given away.
I had a very nice Kenwood receiver I sold to an AKer, I forget the model.
It was around 40 wpc, and sounded nice, had an excellent tuner, and even had pre-outs.

 

[Sir.Byrd]

It seems everybody is willing to pay big bucks for the top of the line gear, while something in the 25-70 wpc range can't be given away.
I had a very nice Kenwood receiver I sold to an AKer, I forget the model.
It was around 40 wpc, and sounded nice, had an excellent tuner, and even had pre-outs.

The KR-4070 is 40 wpc.

 

[johnda]

I have a Kenwood KR-6600 (in my Sig picture) Also a KR 7600 that I gave to my son-in-law because it would not fit in the new cabinet. The 6600 is 60 Watts/channel and the 7600 is 80 Watts/channel. Both have been armor proof and never given me any problems, they also sound GREAT!

 

[karlo]

i have the Super Eleven . it's ok , but i prefer my 80's-90's yamaha stuff's sound.

the super 11 has too many bells and whistles , i'll just never appreciate...
fluoro power meters, graph eq. , mic inputs , 3 phono inputs , 3 prs spkr outs, reverb, mixer, blender,
salad shooter........ it's FreaKin' HUGE, weighs about 40# , 2 feet wide.

i'm a source/amp/speakers kinda' guy.

 

[Fred Longworth]

Once again, I'm going to be the odd man out.

Kenwood receivers and integrated amplifiers from the seventies and early eighties often packed the parts in their power amp sections very close together. To make matters worse, the amplifiers often run hot -- hotter than similar Marantz, Sansui and Pioneer designs. Add to this the fact that 85-degree capacitors were usually used, and that Kenwood often strived for "DC to light" designs, requiring the use of vast numbers of small film and ceramic capacitors to keep the amplifiers from oscillating out of existence.

What this adds up to is that after cooking for 30 years or so, many Kenwood pc boards are vast collections of parts which have significantly changed value, or have even failed altogether. And, to the dismay of owner and technician alike, these self-cooked machines often pursue their "second career" as giant oscillators. This would suggest that a technician or hobbiest ought to simply change out most or all the parts on the board. But wait . . . Kenwood rarely has a pc board where the actual parts on the board match the schematic diagram. So what drum do you march to? -- the schematic or the board itself?

So, I am wary of many Kenwood models -- e.g. the Super Eleven (no suffix).

* * * * *

But before they incinerate, they do sound good.

Fred

 

[Rome]

I remember listening to the Indian Summer album by Poco that a dear friend of mine had in the 80s. He had a KR-4010 & though I am not a country rock fan, the Kenwood sure put out a nice sound.

Rome

 

[flatmap]

The Kenwood models I've come across seem to all have most wonderful, sensitive, and clear tuners.