I picked up a FREE Kenwood KR-5400 and 4- JBL P20's. The speakers are in near perfect condition.....a bit dusty but wipe clean instantly.

The receiver however was a different story.... it was so dirty I couldn't tell what condition the face and wood side panels were in! :no:
It is missing the power switch cover, but she came out (after a nice bath) to be in near perfect condition also! :banana: Fired her up and :thmbsp: Sounds beautiful!!

So I hooked up all 4 JBL's to her, one pair on A and one pair on B. It's odd though when I play both at the same time it doesn't sound as good as just one pair. :dunno: I had them stacked....maybe that was it? Maybe the fact they are 6ohms is my issue? I only have room for one pair in the bedroom anyway.

The receiver is nice and "warm". I have everything set flat, no loudness. It produces magical sound really through those JBL's and what I'm guessing is about 35 watts. I'm quite happy with this setup actually and I'm still a bit surprised :yes:

See if they're all wired in phase with each other. Also check to see if your receiver puts A + B in series when both are selected.

je

Good score! I have the 5400 as well, and I concur that it has a nice warmth to it. Do you find that the bass is a little emphasized? I know it sounds pretty sweet hooked up to my Qa's

I'm another happy 5400 owner, have mine hooked up to Infinity RS5001's right now and it sounds great. And yes, she is rated for 35 watts. Picked mine up at a yard sale about 10 years ago and can't part with her.

Steve

Well....had a bit more time with it. Right now I have it hooked up to my Clements and she's purring.......but doesn't seem to have a problem roaring too. I did come to find the bass a tad "emphasized" with the JBL's. I was curious so brought out the Clements (a very neutral speaker).....that's the ticket! :tresbon:

Nice pickup, IFlop! I have been impressed with quality of the FM tuners in those Kenwood x400 series receivers.

Pics?

Two pairs of 6 ohm speakers wired in parallel does not equal goodness on a low powered receiver, so it will sound pretty bad. Best run one pair for now.

Nice score!

It's odd though when I play both at the same time it doesn't sound as good as just one pair. :dunno:

Its called combing effect. Where two speakers playing the same information work against each other and cancel certain frequencies.

Its much better if you just run two speakers.

Look it up, combing effect is something not many people ever pay attention to:no:

Its called combing effect. Where two speakers playing the same information work against each other and cancel certain frequencies.

Its much better if you just run two speakers.

Look it up, combing effect is something not many people ever pay attention to:no:

There is also a chance that the one of the 2 pairs is wired out of phase with the others which would ad to this as well as if the receiver was not good at running low impedances.

Another option is that there are differences between the speakers, meaning that perhaps one or more of them need a recap or something along these lines.

Well this little thing has kept me in aww from the first minute.
Is it possible to like the sound better than anything I've personally owned....
With a simple dipole antenna the meter is pegged on nearly every station!
FM like I've never heard before :music:
Simple looks, no nonsense.....just good old vintage power.

I opened up the JBL's to make sure they were wired correctly inside and not out of phase there..... everything checked out good. So I wired all 4 of them up and turned her on....still doesn't sound as good as just 2. Oh well...

Them I A and B'd the JBL's and the Clements. Thats when this got interesting

The JBL's are "raw and gritty" not necessarily in a bad way mind you....
Just "in your face".... if that makes sense.

Then to the Clements (same size as JBL's)... WAY different
Don't laugh......very smooth and almost sounds like they are powered by tubes. They aren't a very efficient speaker but DAMN that's the set up I'm going with. :yes:

So 1 pair of JBL's to my dads shop....kind of a shame really because they are minty. I gave my sister a Sansui 7070 not too long ago and she could use a set.

It was funny too...the guy I got them from was so happy they were going to a "stereo guy" (that's me :music:) I thanked him many times and he said
"life has been good to me and I just want to pass on the karma". I laughed and shook my head. He asked jokingly "what's that about" to which I replied.... "If you only knew"

I have a set of P20's and they are a decent speaker.Raw and gritty could be an apt description.I have used four speakers at times and at times it may work.For the most part two speakers is the way to go.