Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have a Kenwood Model Eleven III I bought new in '78 for about $375 in the Navy Exchange. A friend has a 9600 he bought new in '79 for around $700. My brother just got a 9600 from e-bay 4 or 5 months ago for $275. I also have a Pioneer Spec-1 preamp that has been the control center for my office sound system for the last decade. I have had to clean controls on all 4, but that is all that was needed. Ever. My Eleven III is driving a pair of Klipsch KG-4's, the 9600's are driving Cerwin Vegas. I also have a 1988 Carver C-1 with an M 1.0t driving another pair of KG 4’s that has never been touched in 20 years. There is no substitute for quality and power!! Either ante up the big, big bucks for McIntosh or the like, or find one of these rare, vintage beauties! They REALLY don’t make them like they used to. For over 30 years we have enjoyed these receivers.

Price Paid:  $15.00 from thrift store

Summary:
I bought it today and haven't had a chance to use it yet. I only tested it in the thrift store with one cheap speaker to every channel to know that they all worked. Since then, I've been reading these reviews. I haven't had a decent reciever in years. I sadly went down the 'plastic fake' route for Dolby Digital. I'll have to incorporate the two somehow. Should sound magnificent. Wasn't built on slave labor like today.FIFTEEN DOLLARS DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Strengths:
real power.

Weaknesses:
none. equipment was real back then.

Similar Products Used:
N/A

Price Paid:  $400.00 from iwakuni japan

Summary:
kenwood kr 9600 purchased in 1978. is the best sounding stereo receiver i ever owned and never had a reason to buy another. this receiver still looks and sounds great and if something should go wrong i will get it fixxed.

Strengths:
great power, great looks, great sound.

Weaknesses:
it's to powerful for most speakers.

danfalk

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.89 of 5, 9.00 votes

Price Paid:  $198.00 from ebay

Summary:
This receiver has the best punch of any receiver I have owned. I would compare it to the pioneer SX-1050/1080/1250/1280. All of which I have heard. I wish I could put them all in one system one at a time for evaluation. But all these high power low distortion machines are sonicly wonderfull. I am a Pioneer fan for sure but this Kenwood 9600 sounds equally as good even though it uses smaller capacitors in the power supply.( 4)10,000uf the pioneer sx-1250 uses(4) 22,000uf. But the sound doesn't suffer at all. I see a lot more broken Pioneer receivers on Ebay than broken Kenwoods. There just may be way more pioneers out there. Also the Pioneer uses discrete components and the Kenwood has 2 big ICs for outputs. Very reliable it seems but not avalable anymore. If they never break I guess it dosen't matter. The Kenwood has very good specs .0025% distortion at rated power. Thats magnificent! I have only owned mine for about a month. Love It! I prefer a metal case instead of a wood case to mess up.The midrange contol and 2 loudness controls are nicer than Pioneer. At $198 its a steal. The aluminum face is much more rugged on the Kenwoods. If you can afford the Pioneer SX-1250 or 1280 go for it. If you like the look of Kenwood (which I do ) you will love the sound. For about half the price. I would rate this receiver dead even with the Pioneer SX-1250. Do to the lower distortion and better reliability it evens out the larger components the pioneer used in the SX-1250.

Strengths:
Powerfull, perfect sound. Nice features, midrange control, 2 loudness settings, power meters. Turned it up to one half volume with my HPM-100 speakers and I thought my walls were going to shake loose from the floor. Run Volume below 3 most of the time and thats plenty loud with full solid bass. No distortion, None, nata, Since there is never a need to turn it above half volume it will never clip.

Weaknesses:
Your wife and kids will have a hard time getting you away from it. You play with your stereo too much. Really the only weakness is that some parts are only available as used only. As with every single vintage receiver made.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer SX- 750 thru 1250, Kenwood Kr-6600 many more. I am a stereo nut.

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Bucky

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $325.00 from eBay

Summary:
After my Nikko two channel receiver calfed on my, I headed off to the local electronics chain. Once there I was looking for a two channel but was told technology has far surpassed that and ended up leaving with a high priced Yamaha Surround receiver. As soon as I had it all hooked up I was dissapointed in the sound. When my wife had asked me what I thoughtof the new receiver. I told her either my hearing is going or this new technology isn't all it's craked up to be.It sounded ok as a surround system for movies, and had all these different effects, for Stadium, Concert, etc. Simply put, the sound was off from what I was used to. It wasn't until a friend told me about the Vintage analog receivers from the seventies and very early eighties, that I started online researching. After price watching the Kenwood KR-9600 seemed like a logical choice, and eventually ended up with one from eBay. At first I was a little set back from the size and weight, but all was forgotten once she was all hooked up and set to go. The sound was better than anything I could have imagined, crisp and clear with several different settings and filters. If you are not thinking you need that kind of power but want good sound, remember it is better to have 160 watts rms per channel at a two volume rather than 60 watts rms at an eight volume. By the way the 5 fm gangs this receiver has can pull in stations from Mars, where others won't come close. Grab one if you can find one, as they are getting scarce.

Strengths:
Quality unit, controls, Sound is awesome, great reception, clear Highs with good mids and base. Seperate controls for all three.

Weaknesses:
Size, Weight and no remote. Parts may be hard to come by

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer SX-1250 and Sansui G-9000..all are great sounding but i still prefer the Kenwood.