As funny as this might sound, I just got my grandmother's Kenwood speakers...

My grandmother has always been a cool granny.

From owning a Neon Sport to having some great audio gear, she's the grandmother anyone would love to have. Today, while visiting her, I noticed her speakers - Kenwood KL-777X. Horn midrange, two paper cone tweeters, immense 15" woofer. I remember being a kid, and my uncle telling me how he would "bring down the house" if I misbehaved (by turning up the volume control on his *huge* Kenwood amp). Hey, I told you I was young.

Anyway, I noticed the speakers had been unused for years, and I asked my grandmother if she wanted me to take a look and find out if they still worked. She told me I could keep them if I could help her find something a bit smaller (she's just fed up with them now).

So, I might keep them - or return them. I have no clue about their perceived / real performance - bear in mind, I used to listen to them when I was the size of the cabinet itself! All I know is, they must have been built around 1977 (no date on the back or anywhere else), Kenwood's logo is completely different to today's Kenwood, and the speakers are made in Japan.

I wonder - could they be used as a starting point for a vintage stereo pair??? How can I approach 26 year old speakers?

Thanks for any help!!!

 

How strange! I just bought a pair of KL-777As at a yard sale yesterday. I'm sure they are similar beasts. You'll have to listen to them and see what you think. I actually bought them just to resell. I heard them at the yard sale and I wasn't impressed. Too boomy, not very detailed or balanced, flat, and cheap sounding. Then again, I was listening to satellite radio through a new Harman Kardon receiver as they were demoed for me, so you really can't tell with that grade of source. I don't think these are all that efficient, so I'm not sure if they would be good for low powered tube amps or not. Another thing that gave me an early warning sound that these speakers weren't too hot was that they weren't very heavy at all. This made me think cheap magnets and cheap cabinets. Still, I've not given them a fair chance or even heard them in my system, so I honestly have no grounds to give you a serious opinion. I've been too lazy to go and unload them from the car and hear them, since I've already got them sold.

 

What a nice Grandmother!
In case anyone is wondering what they look like I have attached a picture.
I remember these from the 70's. They should sound really good and the price is right. I do not think they have a flat frequency response, yet they may have the peaks and valleys in places that sound just right like the famous JBL Century L100 from the same time period. These are sought after like the similar Pioneer model and are worth over $100. I would say to not overdrive them by allowing the amplifier to clip on the bass notes, other wise hook them up and enjoy.

 

Javier,

That's real cool of your grandma. Just make sure she didn't blow out the drivers from all that Led Zep she was listening to!

JimW.

 

Clay,

THose speakers look *a lot* like the KL-777X! The bass driver is almost identical, except this one is black with a silver dustcap and black surround. The tweeter / midranges are completely different, though - instead of those two midranges, the 777 has 2 tweeters, and instead of the two tweeters, it has a horn midrange. It also has the ubiquitous "clear - soft - normal" switch.

James, my maternal grandmother loved the Beatles and such (cool grandma!). My paternal grandmother was a bit different - though she gave me my first "real" system (a Technics turntable, cassette player and integrated amp - I still have it today, after 20 years!), she listened to Supertramp, Queen, and the like.

Wow. Now that I think of it, I was very lucky to have such nice grandmothers.

ps - And I got a terrific idea. Use the Kenwood speakers with my vintage Technics system! It'll look pretty cool (not as cool as Steve's vintage system, but it'll be a start!).

 

Finally - pics of the things.

(Bear in mind I used my cell phone camera, since I was already running late!)

The speakers - in the background, you can see a Behringer UltraCurve Pro:



Speaker with cover off - 15" woofer, horn midrange, two cone tweeters, L-Pad (Soft, Normal, Clear settings).



Now, imagine being a kid, 2 or 3 years old, and standing next to these speakers. Now you know how, some 26 years later, I feel when I see them (shock and awe? )

 

I had my technics amp checked. So it was time to try out the Kenwoods!

1st impression: BASS. These things HAVE bass! And they are *very* efficient (I'd say in the 90 dBs range).

2nd impression: They are loud!

3rd impression: They sound pretty good!

So I set up a small seat, made out of pillows, a couple of meters away from them...

1st impression: These things sound ugly!

2nd impression: These things hurt my ears!

3rd impression: How technology has advanced!

How do they sound? Bass is bloated and slow. I'd say the woofer is ported to 45-50 Hz, and it's completely underdamped. Bass response is best described as a series of completely unrelated sound following one another. It really sounds ugly... so ugly it's sad.

Midrange is completely out of whack - it's piercing, strident, and way overblown when compared to the bass and highs. It basically ruins what could be a decent speaker - if you cover the horn midrange with some cotton, the things actually sound OK. Mids sound as plasticky as the horn midrange they come out from.

Highs? They won't offend. A bit low on volume, yet... nice. I guess it's the only thing the speaker does just fine.

Overall - I'd say I enjoy a smallish set of Definitive Technology Promonitors (80) a lot more than what I could enjoy these speakers.

It actually made me sad. I remember them sounding completely out of this world. How the mighty have fallen.

 

If you are not going to keep them or return them then EBAY.

It is surprising how much these types of speakers bring on ebay.
I have seen similar Pioneer ones go for over $100 pair.
Just need really crisp pictures. If you do not have photoshop lite to enhance your ebay pictures send em to me and I will auto enhance em and send them back.