Kenwood Receivers
Of receivers and fast food steak; the Kenwood story
Kenwood is an established name in both home and car audio circles. It established itself as one of the top rated car audio manufacturers for a variety of car stereo product lines and has been a trusted name in that field for many years. Kenwood has been a household name in the home audio market since the beginnings of transistorized electronics.Kenwoods earliest amps and receivers are some of the most sought after pieces of equipment among audiophile collectors and like most older gear the simple technology it was based on is straightforward, long lived and very reliable. Todays Kenwood product lines are linear; there arent a lot of different home audio offerings, and the relative market space they compete in is the kind of stuff youd find at the big box stores, competing for your attention with cheaper Sony products. However, like Sonys ES line, Kenwood also has its high-end line, Sovereign.
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The other significant detail is that that component is a THX-Select certified product. THX-Select or even THX-Ultra shouldnt be deemed the end all in product quality, but it helps to establish that the product is built to the standards of an objective third party. However, since THX certification has divided into Select and Ultra (Select being the mainstream quality equipment), critics have complained that Lucass THX standard means even less today than it ever did. Not so long ago, you couldnt find receivers for under $500 that were anywhere near being even THX certified so a $350 receiver (no matter how good it is) for the price that bears the THX logo means either Kenwood has made one hell of a product on a tight budget, or the THX standard has become so much more meaningless.
For no-compromise, high end quality reminiscent of Kenwoods glory days, you need look no further than their Sovereign line that features the VR-5700 and VR-5900 model receivers. The 5700 is a receiver that will set you back just under $2K, but the 5900 will set you back even more. These are high end THX-Ultra certified receivers for the consumer who doesnt mind spending a little extra on the latest features. At these prices youre getting a receiver that looks as impressive on your equipment rack as it will perform. The curved black face receiver is big and looks heavy (just over 40lbs). It seems to have its own gravitational pull that screams for attention. When youre buying equipment at the $3000 range for a single component (as in the 5900), Kenwood has put itself into the realm of the higher end gear where there is stiff competition from the likes of Rotel, Adcom and B&K who specialize in this range. Although these brands wont tend to flaunt a THX-Ultra certification on the face of their components, theyre second to none and should be auditioned along with Kenwoods highest end Sovereign.
This is not a scientific method, and ultimately an audition, personal needs and features should dictate your decision. When it comes to spending the extra money on Kenwoods top of the line Sovereign, one companys flagship products price converges with another companys lowest end product. The lower end product (from a high end company) is built by a company thats comfortable designing much higher end gear to a higher standard. Usually, these are smaller companies that specialize in truly high end gear and tend to be more detailed in their engineering and design. Even in their lowest end product you can often benefit from this, as a consumer.
So, is it better to buy a steak from a fast food restaurant or a burger from a fine dining establishment? The choice is yours.
