[Kensai]

Are these things really that bad? Anyone here actually willing to admit having ever owned/used one?


I'm just wanting to amp an old 2 channel setup in my office and do a little powered AV swtiching. I'm not intending to use any of the receiver's processing, and I'm not doing anything fancy with it. I'm currently using the sub off a Creative Inspire 4.1 system to amp my big old Fisher speaks, and I believe this is proving woefully inadequate. The detail is there, but only if I go stand with my head just a couple feet away from the speaks. If I turn up the volume enough to actually hear the detail from my normal seat, its simply too loud, making it hard to catch the detail again, plus adding quite a bit of audible hiss to the output.


I can pick up a closeout KLH receiver with Svideo swtiching for about $100 locally right now. I could really use the powered svideo switching, and would like to improve the sound of that set up, even if its just marginal. $100 is really on the outside of the range of stuff I could just spend frivolously like this just at the moment, so will this help, or do cheap KLH receivers just sound so bad as to be worthless?


Thanks for any input.

Kensai

 

[Patrick C]

All amplifiers are the same so don't worry. Just see the 5 page thread below.


I didn't think KLH made receivers? Their website doesn't show any? Are you sure it's KLH?


Maybe its a re-badged Kenwood (which they sell with their HTIB), which would be ok for $100.00. In any event, I like KLH as a company. Their products are inexpensive, but they tell you so up front. I think they make good products at the price point and are fair and honest. They are clearly not as good as more expensive speakers, but they don't pretend or try to be. If they manufacture a receiver (and I doubt they do), I suspect it would be reliable if nothing else.


pc

 

[Kensai]

Thanks, pc, for that. I'll try to find the thread your talking about and peruse that as well. I'm not sure what's actually inside the boxes, but Best Buy around here most definitely carries a couple varieties of KLH receiver at any given time. If they're actually Kenwoods, that's cool by me. If I can still get the close out model that has the SVideo switching for this little, that may be exactly what happens in short order.


Kensai

 

[Patrick C]

Kensai,


Sorry my sarcasm didn't come through regarding the thread below. There is a thread going on regarding whether all amplifiers are equal and its gotten kind of heated.


No need to bother looking for the thread


pc

 

[Stereojeff]

They're not from Kenwood. They're built in a factory in China that reportedly builds for Thompson. I haven't inspected them, but I believe the stereo receiver is rated at 100 watts per channel at 1 kHz and 10% THD. Don't know what it's real power/bandwidth/THD would be under normal use.


Jeff

 

[phyre3]

Ouch 10% THD at 100 watts. Now that is definetly audible. I wonder what it is with say 20 watt peaks.

 

[Kensai]

pc,


Found the thread and read it. I figured you meant something like that. I obviously wouldn't know about being able to hear the difference between amps (I mean I canibalized a $60 set of crap PC speakers to amp a pair of huge floor standers built sometime in the 70s and I'm considering a $100 receiver as an upgrade), but I understand being able to hear the difference in how something sounds and a tiny bit about statistics, psychoacoustics and consumer psychology. I, being one person am not statistically significant, so I always post solicited advice with a disclaimer and give a bit of my own background so that folks needing help can tell fairly quickly if what I'm saying has anything to do with them or not. I use a Sennheiser DSP360 to create a virtual surround field from my 2 speaks in my little office space. I generally like the sound better than the straight sound, but if it seems muddy, I switch it off and turn up the volume a notch. The speaks I have are huge, basically part of my office furniture now. Regardless of what I use to drive them, it will be hidden, so I've already set myself on a "look" and a certain set of "ergonomics" concerning this gear. I simply want a better sound for $100 or less, so those would be all of my actual criteria here. All told, that means that while I think there could be a difference in amps (mostly I think that low quality amps may be introducing noise), I won't care to try to tell the difference between amps unless I'm getting muddy sound or hissing, like I am now =-p If people really want a definitive answer on what is best or better, they're going to have to rely on statistically correct testing based on a broad sample of individual test victims, probably using a better methodology than that outlined in the challenge. Otherwise, we're basically all going to consume according to our budgets and our perceived needs, right?


Jeff,


Thanks for tracking that down for me. Thompson is a bit crappier than Kenwood in my books, so I'll have to try to A/B the thing with whatever else Best Buy has on the shelf, hooked to the same speakers. Of course they only have FM radio pumping through them, but I will visit during a lunch break so the store will be relatively quiet.


Kensai

 

[Kensai]

phyre3,


Yeah, that's what I'm wondering. I think the 100watts/channel is marketing. All the other receivers in its class and general price range are all 80watts per channel with a lower THD number, so I'm guessing that those same amps, if allowed up that high would break up as badly.


I don't think I would ever get something rated to 100watts up past maybe 20-30% of its volume range anyway (probably more lik 10%under normal circumstances), so that's not likely to be an issue, unless, of course, that THD number doesn't drop rapidly as you back off from the full 100watts.


Kensai