Product Review -
Kenwood THX Certified Audio Visual System - November, 1995
By Daniel Long, Singapore
Kenwood THX certified Audio Video system; KR-X1000 Audio Video receiver, KM-X1000 Stereo Power Amp (bridged to drive passive subwoofer), LS-X1F LCR loudspeakers, LS-X1S Surround loudspeakers; all THX certified.
KR-X1000 - 125 watts rms output per channel at 6 Ohms (Stereo mode); 130 watts rms output per channel LCR, 80 watts rms output per channel surrounds, all at 6 Ohms (Surround mode). Inputs/Outputs: 5 audio video inputs (including 2 record-out capable loops and 1 camcorder input on front panel), CD, 2 tape decks, phono; 1 monitor out. All video input/outputs come with S-video and composite on RCA. Line level input/outputs: sub-out, all other channels with pre-out and main-in. size 6 5/8" H x 17 5/16" W x 16 13/16" D, weight 36.4 pounds, black metal chassis, non-grounded AC plug, with AC outlet (1 x 200 W max.). US$1100.
KM-X1000 - 130 watts rms output per channel at 8 Ohms (Stereo); 270 watts rms output per channel at 8 Ohms (Bridged); size 4 7/16" H x 17 5/16" W x 15 1/2" D, weight 29.4 pounds, black metal chassis, non-grounded AC plug, US$450.
LS-X1F LCR loudspeaker - 3-way, 5-speaker system (magnetically shielded), Acoustic Air Suspension enclosure; 2 x woofer 5 1/8" cone, 2 x mid-tweeter 1" dome, 1 x dome high-tweeter; impedance 8 Ohms (nominal), 3.8 (minimum); sensitivity 87 dB at 2.83 V/1 meter; frequency response 80 Hz - 20,000 Hz (no tolerance given); crossover 2 kHz, 6 kHz; size 17 7/8" H x 8 7/16" W x 10 3/8" D, weight 18.7 pounds each; enclosure finish high density particle board laminated with PVC sheet, felt-coated baffle panel. US$500 each.
LS-X1S surround loudspeaker - 3-way, 6-speaker system, Acoustic Air Suspension enclosure; 2 x woofer 5" cone, 2 x midrange 3" dome, 2 x dome tweeter; impedance 8 W (nominal), 3.5 (minimum); sensitivity 86 dB at 2.83 V/1 meter; frequency response 125Hz - 20,000 Hz (no tolerance given); crossover 300 Hz, 3.5 kHz; size 12" H x 9 9/16" W x 5 13/16" D, weight 12.8 pounds each; enclosure finish high density particle board laminated with PVC sheet; (LS-X1S(B) - black, LS-X1S - white). US$600/pair.
SW-X1 passive subwoofer - Bass reflex, floor type; 1 x 12" cone; impedance 8 W (nominal; minimum not specified); sensitivity 85 dB/W/1 meter; frequency response 20Hz - 5,000 Hz (no tolerance given); 150 W maximum input power, 75 W rated input power; maximum SPL - 2 units required to meet THX specifications for rooms bigger than 3,000 ft3; size 19 1/4" H x 19 1/4" W x 20 1/16" D, weight 57.2 pounds each; enclosure finish high density particle board laminated with PVC sheet; US$500 each.
If you're reading this, and you haven't been on the moon for the past 2 years, then you know what THX is and what it means to the consumer shopping for a home theater system. Before I go into the review proper, I shall first categorize the different people that may put this system on their lists. First, there are those who've read a lot about home theater systems but don't want to put together a combination of components from different manufacturers because they don't want the hassle of figuring out how much power, how sensitive, how big, how small etc. These can also be divided into two sub-categories: those who already have a decent music-only system (of separates) and those with a decent Sony/JVC/Technics (or other such) mini-compo. The next group would be the dedicated music-only audiophiles who happen to have kids and/or also like watching movies but are too lazy to go to the cinema. They have an expensive multi-kilobuck system in the den but want to set up a home theater in another room so they can have friends/relatives over for a night of action and excitement with Arnie/Mr T-Rex/Darth Vader.
If I've described you above, read on; if not, read on anyway! I promise you'll not be disappointed.
The Kenwood THX system:
I first heard the entire system at HEX 5 (Singapore, September
1995), and it (not to mince words) blew me away. I was impressed!
I have always had a Kenwood in my system, because they provide a
24 month warranty on all their electronics. But this was serious.
I would've spent the money on the Kenwood THX system because it
was the best-sounding THX setup at the show! And it was a paltry
Singapore Dollars$6969 (US$4150; US$4650 for system with a pair
of SW-X1's) for everything above (except only 1 sub, but they
throw in an LD player).
I sought eagerly to get it home for a review. And here I must thank Anthony Margil (of Margil Hi-Fi, Singapore) for putting me in touch with Kenwood, Singapore and to Michael Seet and Sean See (of Kenwood Singapore) for graciously lending me the whole shebang for 2 weeks. Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you!
Setting it up:
Nothing to it, really, just that you might want help unpacking it
all. I set up the LCR (Left, Center, Right) speakers where my
normal references are. The left and right speakers are about 6'
2" apart (center-of-baffle to center-of-baffle) and the
center speaker was placed atop my trusty Toshiba TV, firing
downwards at my listening seat just over 8' away. The rear
surrounds were placed on chopping boards mounted about 6' up at
the sides and 6' also from my seat. Next were the connections. My
LD/CD player (a Kenwood LVD-9200 karaoke machine) was plugged
into the THX receiver's Video 3 input (Videos 1 and 2 are
playback/record loops for VCR's). The speaker connections were
then all made. The speakers themselves all appeared to be fairly
good quality with sturdy gold plated five-way binding posts. At
the juice end, no such luck. To reduce costs, Kenwood has elected
to use bare-wire only connectors (screw-in type), so I had to cut
my wires! I understand in overseas markets (including the USA),
the very same models come with banana and spade lug capable
connectors (binding posts). Sigh! The KM-X1000 amp was run in
mono (bridged) to drive the sub. All the electronics were
finished in attractive (!) black, although a gold version series
is available (those are nice).
The KR-X1000:
You can have Home THX Cinema, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby 3 Stereo,
DSP Logic, Mono, or straight two channel Stereo. Levels are
easily set either from the main panel or the universal remote
(which you can program to work with your TV, VCR's, cable, tuner,
LD player) but you can only do this from one of the processing
modes; in Stereo, you can't. Which means to boost the sub-level
(via the sub-out line output), you have to change to one of the
surround modes and do it there. Levels are held constant for any
of the modes. There's also a straight-line button which,
according to the manual, bypasses the tone controls for better
sound. It works with all inputs but I couldn't detect any
differences in sound quality, when the tone controls were set at
0 influence.
Using the Kenwood with movies:
For such an inexpensive system (less than US$4700 for everything
above, including 1 pair of subs), on movies, the Kenwood THX
system was nothing less than amazing. I played through several
laserdisc favorites, including The Lion King, The Abyss, Jurassic
Park, Terminator 2, Memphis Belle; the Kenwood was dynamic when
required, and subtle as needed. The underwater scenes before the
crane hits the drop-off in The Abyss, and the jungle scenes in
Jurassic Park, before Nedry ("Ah ah ah! You didn't say the
magic word!") became dino-dinner, illustrate this. This is
where the THX dipole surrounds proved superior to my discrete
ones. However, over the weekend, I heard an AC-3 demo which
indicated that discrete surrounds may be better in AC-3. The
scene, in True Lies, was the Harriers' missile attack on the
terrorists on the bridge. There was intense action music from
both rear channels (small Yamaha discretes) and these contributed
greatly to the excitement. I doubt dipoles would have done as
well. As an aside, I think with AC-3, calibration (which in the
case of the demo I mentioned, was poor) of the speakers is very
critical. When the missile in the above mentioned scene was
fired, it actually "disappeared" sonically as it flew
from in front of the viewer towards the back. In other words, the
handover, if you will, of the signal from the fronts to the rears
was anything but smooth in the AC-3 demo. I doubt you would
notice such a sonic artifact with Dolby Pro Logic decoding. How
about the main action? It was ably served by the LCR's and the
sub. Check out the Sarah Connors' nuclear explosion dream scene
and the flock of "chickens" scene on Jurassic Park. I
use the former because it has everything a surround sound
aficionado could want. The fire-storm literally fries your
tweeters, and the exploding trees/buildings/ people as well as
the intense percussive soundtrack make your innards rumble. The
flocking scene should come as a wave of sound first concentrated
at the front, then as the "chickens" pass Dr. Grant and
the children, you should feel as well as hear that you are caught
in the stampede. The Kenwood THX system handled everything and
eagerly awaited more. I only made observations during my second
watching of every movie. I was too busy enjoying the movie to
write anything!
However, in implementing THX's mandatory 7 kHz roll-off to compensate for smaller living rooms, I feel it is a little too aggressive on the Kenwood system. Dialogue had a nasal character which I think is a result of this roll-off. Also, one sub isn't really enough. Turning up the sub-out level resulted in too much mid- as well as low-bass. This muddied dialogue further and made everything bass emphasized (including footsteps and slamming doors, etc.) After about a week of intense auditioning, I hooked up my HSU HRSW12V (driven by it's own dedicated amp) in parallel; in my 2500 ft3 (approx.) listening/living room, the low-bass was now smoother and at the same time, more visceral. I place the HSU just to the outside of the right speaker about 2' from the corner and the SW-X1 just to the inside of the left speaker. I used Home THX Cinema mode for most movies. I think if you buy the KR-X1000, you won't be using the Dolby Pro Logic mode very much. I find the THX mode more spacious, and the rears are steered faster (missile scene in True Lies as mentioned above). Also, while THX darkened things sonically a little, I found Dolby Pro Logic a little too steely.
Music:
Listening to music in the various modes (to recap, these are Home
THX Cinema, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby 3 Stereo, DSP Logic, straight
two channel Stereo, and Mono), I think you'll have to experiment
to see which you like (or dislike) for the different types of
music you listen to. Me? I liked Home THX Cinema for live
recordings of acoustic jazz that have a wider than normal
soundstage (e.g., Clifford Jordan Quartet, Live at Ethell's,
Mapleshade 56292). Dolby 3 Stereo is good if you have your left
and right speakers a little too far apart or on recordings that
are a little too aggressively Stereo (try a re-released-in stereo
Beatles CD); just ease down (about 2 dB from flat) on the center
level. On some others, straight Stereo was the best. I didn't use
Mono much. Having said this, when I was done with the Kenwood
system and moved my usual setup back into place, the differences
between it and my Audiolab 8000AII/KM-X1000/Mirage1090i/HSU
HRSW12V/Kenwood LVD9200/RegaPlanar3/RB300/ATel-cheapoMM on music
was clear. My stuff had more space behind and to the sides and
imaged better. It also had a smoother top-end. However, on
torture tracks (no. 9 on Reference Recordings' Pomp and Pipes),
the Kenwood could go louder and seemed marginally more
effortless. Ultimately, the Kenwood was more fatiguing in the
long run.
Conclusion:
For a better-than-decent THX home theater system, I can't
recommend the Kenwood system enough. For US$4650, you have
everything you need for very good movie action sounds in a large
room (in fact, it sounds better in a large room). When it has to,
it also does delicate. However, on music, I'm afraid you need to
look elsewhere, as the Kenwood system doesn't cut it in that
regard.
Click HERE if your browser does not support tables.
Hz/dB: | 20 | 25 | 31.5 | 40 | 50 | 80 | 100 | 125 | 160 | 200 | 1k | 2.5k | 5k | 10k | 12.5k | 16k | 20k |
Stereo: | 74 | 68 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 69 | 68 | 65 | 61 |
THX mode: | 68 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 79 | 74 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 67 | 64 | 61 | 60 |
P.S. Hope U can understand the table. For example, at 50Hz, in
Stereo mode, the response was 72dB, in THX (surround) mode, it's
also 72dB. At 200Hz, its 72 and 73dB respectively.
Daniel Long
Singapore
© Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997
Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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