Underrated Kenwoods?

I'm not a receiver guy so no comments there, but I have had and still have several integrated units.

The little KA-4006 has a schveet sound signature that works beautifully with Klipsch speakers.
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Then there's the outstanding KA-7300 with it's clean architectural layout of it's true dual mono design paying obvious homage to the legendary Supreme 600.
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There's no denying the beauty of a nice Kenwood silver stack with the KA-7300 at it's heart along with the matching KT-7300 tuner and KX-1030 tape deck, just need to add my KD-500 to complete the bedroom setup.
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having the matching rack handles sure helps..to empty the wallet:banana:
 
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hi all, (not my pic but the link does have y pic fro years ago)

i have a kenwood LVD-Z1 ,i have not seen one before other than the one i have, i have seen pics on the net but thats it,has any one used any other units from the same line??
the amp and cd player look very cool,
i got it years ago not running, since then i have given it a recap and its still going strong,link to the day i got it and showed it off on audiokama,
those were the days
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kenwood-lvd-z1-the-new-player.610118/
 
Thinking of buying a mint kr 11000gx. Not restored, original and working. What would be a fair price?
 
teisco said:
Thinking of buying a mint kr 11000gx. Not restored, original and working. What would be a fair price?
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That model is extremely rare in the US, along with the KR-9600 it is one of the most if not the most sought-after Kenwood receiver of the era. A unit in mint condition would likely set you back $1,500 to $2,000.
 
Roadrash said:
That thing is very nice! Congrats!
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It's a beaut... and a beast! It doesn't show on the pic but it's very large, like all Kennys from the KR-6600 up. My 6600 weighs over 50 lbs and it's only 60wpc. The g/gx models were the last to be manufactured before Kenwood adopted the cost-cutting measures that marred its name forever. Same thing happened with all Japanese brand names. They went from high-quality to mass-market el cheapo components like plastic front ends and tiny little PSU's that boasted power figures with little relation to reality. Like 100wpc units that weigh 19 lbs and such.
 
rschweitzer said:
In my opinion, I think all Kenwoods are underrated and have been for years. Pricing has also been low and that has been nice. Over the past 6 months, prices have been climbing, but still reasonable.

I have a 4600, 8010, 7050 and 8050. All them restored and updated. 8010 is in use in my studio. The 7050 drives Bose 901s in a home theater configuration.

8010 and 7050 pictured.View attachment 2490583 View attachment 2490584
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I also have a KR7050, unfortunately the frequency scale was erased during cleaning by the previous owner, so if anyone has one let me know, that would be great because I find it very beautiful
 
In the last decade I have acquired two Kenwood "rock" style turntables. I never paid much attention to them in the 70's, but do now!!!
 
My nominee for a little guy is the KA-3700. Just 20W/side, but with that and only 0.08 THD it definitely "punches above its weight."

Sorry about that.
 
cgutz said:
I never paid much attention to them in the 70's, but do now!!!
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That's because back then we didn't know about the unfathomable depths to which quality would plummet in the following decades. In the 70's every component that cost over $200 was considered good quality but the same gear nowadays would be considered not just good quality but downright premium and/or high-end. They sound the part like Kenwod's silky sound sig. If Pioneer was king then Kenny was pope lol. To Pioneer's credit tho was their "silverface" aka the 50 series initially launched in '76 a good 2 years before its competitors.
 
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jeeem said:
My first real stereo system was built around a Kenwood KR-5400. I've always loved the look of Kenwoods, as well as their sound -- and I actually prefer the handsome appearance of many Kenwoods (and Sansuis and Pioneers) to the more in-demand Marantzes (whose pretty faces are certainly nothing to sneeze at).
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70's Marantz looked like Coney Island what with all those lights so bright one would (almost) need shades to look at. Sounded good tho, as long as you didn't crank it too loud lest it sounded much worse than the stately-styled Kenwood or unassuming Pioneer receivers, to name but a few. These sounded at ease even when pushed (within reason). Unlike the Japanese manufacturers, who toed the FTC line to a point where they were rated so conservatively it was almost ridiculous, Marantz tended to overrate their receivers. This lead to unfair results (at the expense of Marantz) in comparative reviews.

Reviewers had to benchmark those receivers to get the actual figures otherwise you'd end up pitting a Marantz 2270 ,for example, against a Kenwood KR-6600 that was actually pushing 75 clean continuous watts a side without much effort, while the 2270 which in theory had 10 watts on the 6600 but in reality performed well... but was clipping at 58 watts. The Kenwood would inevitably be deemed a better value for similar quality components. The latter had the most clean power and the smoothest SQ when played plenty loud in college dorms. It reeked of beer unfortunately.
 
Psssst! Let's not tell anyone about what a great deal these Kenwoods are. I'm wanting to add to my collection. For now all I have is the KR-7400 but I'm looking around for another KR or a KA.
 
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