Heavy

My ears

This Mfer is BADDD!!!! Had one when I was 20, sold it for some weed. Lots of head bangin and bangin otherwise to this monster. The young chicks loved all the lights and dials. Anyways, 20 years later I see the same receiver on eBay. Suffering from mid-life crisis, reminising the good ol'' days, I''ll bid till I win this beast. When I get it plugged in and pumpin here I guess I''ll feel 20 again.

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New Junk.

power, quality of the phono section, FM, and durability

53 lbs and will not fit in a standard rack, noisy volume control (I use a Yamaha surround processor to control volume, so no matter)

160 wpc and .003% distortion and low IM distortion is what got me interested, but I found the phono accuracy and s/n, FM capture ratio, sensitivity and selectivity to be up with the best 20+ years later! Lots of use, had the amp tested a few years back at a McIntosh clinic, flying colors!
This is a tank, and refuses to die! I have used it almost daily for years, used to drive it very hard in the old days. Provided sound for some dorm parties, a few weddings... even my own 10 years ago.
I can tune in a distant college station that is right next to another station, and use the analog tuning to "de-tune" from 91.3 to maybe 91.25, which keeps out the interference from 91.5. Wouldn't be able to do that with a digital reciever, and I like that station a lot!
This was top-of-the-line, Stereo Review loved it, I still have the review. Great specs, even to this day. Built to last, obviously. Drove my ADS 1590 without a hitch, but I now use an Proton amp for them and the Kenwood powers the surrounds.
Related equipment:
Yamaha DSP-(100?) (second-generation, I don't use any video)
Yamaha CD changer
Proton Power amp
ADS 1590 towers (2-10", dome mid and tweeter)
Audio Control 101 EQ/RTA (not needed with the 1590s)
Monster cable, gold interconnects

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Sherwood 8900 60wpc, but had this since new in 1978!!

AMPLE POWER WITH TUNER SENSITIVITY

HAD TO MAIL ORDER THE BULBS(HAVEN'T BEEN MADE IN 10 YEARS).. VINTAGE ROUGHLY TRANSLATES TO "NO REMOTE CONTROL"

I sort of hate you people..

Since reading the reviews on "vintage" stereo equipment, I have turned into a neo-crackfiend-stereophile-used equipment junkie. I was quite happy with my little 20+ year old Marantz SR2000.. I would listen to local Jazz and Classical music, the pleasing sounds wafting down from my apartmet and falling on those who would chance by.. even though I didn't know my effective THD, WPC or dB sensitivity range. So, now.. after several purchases and side by side comparisons.. what is the big deal?? One sounds a little "tinny".. another gives you a little "hiss".. well, maybe its the speakers or maybe the only appreciable difference I can hear is an overall warmth of tonal ranges, minimal hiss or static or whatever you "philes" call it.. and what I have ultimately achieved with the KR9600 is a likeable sound when I boot the beast up. You can tell the difference even if you are not articulate enough to express your findings in the venacular of the purists.

The KR9600 is my new "current" favorite. Although I can almost sense a richer sound from the Marantz 2238b, the KR has a more sensitve tuner and ultimately that is what I am interested in.. FREE MUSIC. I have aspirations of someday moving into a remote area where I can crank up the KR, play it all day without having someone knocking on my door. I have used the Marantz with a Yamaha CD player and am pretty pleased with the sound.. the fact that I am not going to part with my 2270 is a testament to my audio addiction.

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ELEVEN G - KR6600 - MARANTZ 2270,2238B,SR2000

TONS OF UNBELIEVABLE POWER!

Shipping weight?

OH MY GOD! HUGE!!!! BEAUTIFUL!!! GO BLOW OUT YOUR BUDDY'S
'1000 watt' SUBWOOFERS!! I bought this baby off ebay and have to say that I am not in any way sorry to have paid $300+ !!! These baby's have power unknown to anyone who has thought they've heard POWER. EXTREMELY well made Kenwood quality equal to that of Marantz. The guy/girl who posted the review saying that they don't have a ton of power with inefficiant drivers is wrong. Not a bad guy/girl probably, just wrong. They act the same as any other amp/reciever with crap drivers, except they blow them out. I have nothing negative to say about this unit and hope for your sake that you own one or are planning on it. Get some HUGE speakers though. Here are a few specs from a sale site...AM FM Stereo Receiver

FEATURES 1. Front end features ultra-sensitive 2-stage
RF amplification, 3 Dual Gate MOS FET circuitry and
5-gang variable capacitor. 2. 8-element Ceramic Filter
and low distortion Quadrature Discrimi-nator ensure high
IF selectivity. 3. Excellent stereo separation is due to
superior Phase-Lock-Loop (PLL) circuitry. 4. Independent
Low Pass Filters are made available in both Left and
Right Channels. High stability output circuitry is due
to Operational Amp. 5. Independent Equalizer Amplifiers
are built in for Phono 1 and Phono 2. 6. Buffer Amp
features output selector control which guarantees
stable operation. 7. Triple Tone Control incorporates
Tone Defeat (Skip Circuit). 8. Final Power Output Stages
employ the reliable Parallel Push-Pull Circuitry which
used Darlington ICs. 9. Dual Power Supply System has
practically eliminated Dynamic Crosstalk. 10. Reliable
Protection Circuits are made available independently for
both Left and Right channels. 1 1. Unique sound
injection system permits microphone mixing with other
program source. 1 2. Sturdy Power Meter enables checking
large dynamic power. 1 3. 2-Way Signal Meter permits
reading FM Deviation Level. 1 4. Other Features include:
* 2-step Loudness Control
* Built-in De-emphasis to match any Dolbyized FM broadcasts.
* 20 dB Attenuation Control
* Low Filter, High Filter
* FM Muting
* Connecting Terminals for three pairs of speakers.
* Selector Indicator
* FM DET OUT
* Wide dial scale and smooth flywheel-action Tuning Knob
for easy tuning.
* Mode Selector
* Speaker Indicator
* Handsomely Styled Handles or Wood Case


I listen to mine with a Kenwood KX-1030 cassette deck, a Pioneer PD-4700 single cd player, - (I played a cracked cd through this and it sounded new), a pair of Kenwood KL-999Z
6 speaker 5-ways with 16" woofers, and a pair of Kenwood KL-888X 5-way 5 speaker setup with 14" woofers. I will admit that the efficiancy levels are - 999Z=98 db. and 888X= 97 db. - BUT I have used less efficiant speakers in the past.
I have had the police over twice while I WASN'T throwing a party. Anyway, a steal at any price under $800.00! (Not that they bring that.) 10 STARS - 'cuz I can't give it 11.

P.S. ANYONE who can afford one should buy one.

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NONE - Well, maybe my Kenwood KA-7100 (+ 100 watts)

Powerful - but not as powerful as people here say. It will NOT drive inneficient speakers to big volumes well.

Old and clunky looking - would look nicer if small and black Sony style - maybe a big cube shape :) Also tuner has no presets - but I never even listen to radio who cares. Dial it in

Certainly the most powerful receiver I've come across. It sounds better than just about anything - extreemely clear - lots of point to point wiring inside helps this, and good circuitry and stuff.

This is NOT as powerful as people say. You can drive pro sound gear to loud levels with a portable radio amp! LOL That is the point of prosound - super-efficient drivers. Put something with 88 or less efficiency - it will run out of power :P It's a different story when you hook 4 X 18" drivers as this guy did - at average 97db each, you are talking 103 DB effieicncy - or about 32 times the efficiency of typical high end speakers! LOL Do the math :)

Anyway yeah great receiver but not the holy grail let me put it that way :) If you have efficient speakers it's great. If not, get some of those new fangled thousand watt things :) Get ya some slam with those :)

P.S.: I play my bass through mine also - sounds great :) Deffinately better than anything by Carver let me put it that way. Tighter, cleaner.

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In a class by itself - but early Fisher or Marantz sounds about as good - anything from the 70's ius good amp wise basically - more care back then.

The biggest, baddest receiver Kenwood ever put out. This receiver kicks some serious butt! I love them so much I have three of them. Large 25" wide with super beefy chrome handles. Warm blue glow that radiates beautifully in the dark. Big chunky aluminum construction for faceplate and knobs. 4 meters for everything. Power rating is 160wpc that compares nicely with my Pioneer SX-1250, SX-1980 (rated at 270wpc but power diff not as noticeable as you may think, if any), Marantz 2385 or the Sansui G-9000 receivers. Sound is excellent. Very responsive tonal controls, all the customary switches and doodads. Overlooked by many but those that have them love them. My favorite workhorse receiver by far. Pioneer receivers go down all the time and the Sansui receivers need constant cleaning/attention or they don't work. But these things just keep on ticking......

I was under the impression that the KR-9600 product was discontinued some time ago, but as it appears here I will add a review. I had used the 9600 for some time, and it is truly one of the most powerful all-around amplifiers that I owned. The clean and clear output during high-current requirements is probably due to the 2 discrete output transformers and electronics. It has driven everything from my Maggies to my Bass Guitar stacks (in a pinch it drove all 8, 18" speakers one night without even flinching. Unfortunaltely the sound is too clean sounding for most live performances.) It is unfortunate that Kenwood did not continue in this line of design, as this is one very fine piece of equipment. It also serves very well as a power amp for an additional set of front speakers attached to a surround sound system.

This is the best reciever kenwood ever made have to agree with norm, also have pioneer and sansui This kenwood never needs attention the switches are never noisey like my pioneer or sansui. This unit has two power supply`s and huge heat sinks no need for fans.I have mine connected to two jbl L100`s ,I used to have it connected to the old AR9`s , this unit will make just about any decent speakers sound great.10 STARS

Super strong,solid quality.tons of power,clarity

Large and heavy (very minor problem)

This is unbelieveable ...I have used them (2) for more than 10 years and never felt they were anything but perfect..never a problem..perfect tunner..really high quality and very crisp...super definition...
I like the power supply being split and the available power output, although I have never pushed the unit to anywhere near its max....it would tear down the walls and bring the police...this is a monster in a box...needless to say..it may be old stuff...but WOW do I love them...this is a best buy at twice the price.

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Smaller Kenwoods, sony etc.

Ballsy!

Hernia you get if you have to move it?

Been using one of these monsters for awhile, now. Gobs of power for a receiver, lots of headroom, sounds great, too. Ironically, this receiver puts out less heat while playing than either my Technics SA-404 or the Sony 100x5W Surround receiver do while idle. I love this thing. Too bad I'm borrowing it.... ;)

Brighter side to it is I just bought a Kenwood KR-9050, waiting for it to get here. Ten stars for the old 9600, though. They sure don't make them like they used to.

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Little Technics, and a Sony