Kenwood Sovereign 5900? (1 Viewer)

[Geri]

I'm considering buying the Kenwood 5900 since it is very
heavily discounted at the Kenwood outlet store. Does anyone have any experience with this unit?

I have a room that is 17' x 23' with cathedral ceilings. We will mostly use the receiver for home theater, but with some occasional music listening. We'll have a front projector (Epson TW100). Don't know about speakers yet, but since the projector will be arriving soon we need to get the receiver now, and will update the speakers later. (Right now we have 2 big ole BSR speakers).

I've also found the Pioneer 45TX is selling for an attractive price ($900 from local authorized dealer). But isn't more watts per channel better? The Kenwood has 135
watts per channel and is THX Ultra certified.

Any advice is most welcome.

--Geri

 

[Ted Pugh]

I would tend to stay away from the Kenwood line. I was reading a comparison in one of the magazines concerning a number of manufactureres and the Kenwood was rated near the bottom for sound and reliability. I believe the problem they had was the power supplies and the boards were not isolated. Do some research and I think that will help you out.

 

[TylerN]

I own the Kenwood (Sovereign) 4700 and like it very much. The features and price pretty much sold me when i was researching a new unit, and when I auditioned it against Denon and Marantz, the Kenwood made my smile. Great receiver, built like a tank (and weighs about the same). The D/A converters are fantastic, excellent sound. Plenty of power, rated all channels driven. The 5900 is the newer bigger brother of my receiver, i'm sure you'll be more than satisfied.

Be aware that the Sovereign line of Kenwood receivers is completely seperate from their other models. (Think Elite and ES). I was told they are even built in a different factory. They can't be deemed "just another Kenwood." Come on, this thing has hand polished mahogany side panels!

Don't worry about reliablity, with a 3 year factory warranty the Sovereign series are built to last. They are a rare sight, if you find one for a good deal, take it. You won't be dissapointed.