Kenwood KL-555S/"Kabuki".

bd1886

Super Member
Not all "Kabuki" is all that bad! I picked up a stereo set which included 3 components.

Kenwood KA-5700 Amp.
Kenwood KT-5500 Tuner
Kenwood KL-555S Speaks

Reason I grabbed these was to gift forward (to a friend of my sons) for doing some PITA work on my car. Asked him what he wanted and he said that that was for me to decide "just as long as it was from the classic period".
Had in mind 2 other options with piecing together either an Onkyo 2500 MKII or Pioneer SX-750 with some small ADS or KLH speaks, but this set came across my path and felt this best because:

1. Came from the original owner who was US Military and brought this back in that whole "audio wave" that created the era.
2. Very Minty!
3. Boxes,manuals,bonnets,receipts dated 1977.
4. Ease of finding suitable matching components.


After pouring through quite a bit of info found here,a good detailing and listen, couldn't help liking everything well enough to accept my initial judgement as a good one. Tuner pulls in very well,plenty of true quality oomph from the amp......speaks rate a high OK only but controls on the amp and speaks gave plenty of adjustment to make them very decent rockers! (Grills off do that "looks thing" too and the sound stage is very strong and centered.)

How have you folks found Kenwood speaks in there relationship to other speaks of similar type and intent? I have all kinds of nice speaks but find these still totally fun and enjoyable. What Kenwood speaks are better from this era?
 
The amp and tuner are excellent .. those 555's are good party speakers like you say .. that 5700 puts out about 40Watts/chan. I've had a whole bunch of that series of speaker and they are great to rock a party but serious listening is up to the individual. I'm not a Kenwood speaker fan so I can't say much about others.
great grab by the way.

John M
 
My son and I were listening to that setup in the worst possible environment so we had to spend some time listening and a couple beers to even make the first step to an eval! The "up side" was the raw stud walls (and the sloped dirt floor/detached garage of his) brought back "Pong and same beer/Kenwood" memories!!

I couldn't be more happy for the kid and going to do a tear down/Deoxit 101 with him this evening......sounds like these pots need the skill set for sure and close to perfect listening space awaits (in the house) after the lesson. Times like this makes me really appreciate these "little shits that can" for hauling, unlike other gear we have huh?
 
Kid's schedule hasn't allowed him to grab this setup yet so have been rotating in some ADS,JBL Monitors,medium sized Dahlquist.....that little KA-5700 is one winner and going to grab 'em.
 
Not all "Kabuki" is all that bad!
...
How have you folks found Kenwood speaks in there relationship to other speaks of similar type and intent?

From what I have seen most of the later KL series Kenwood speakers are pretty bright compared to other manufacturer's output at the time. Pioneer from the time that I have personally heard was mixed results, and Sansui seemed very... dead. The Kenwood speakers have good extension at the low end, but it is not very forward about it. Hence why people call them Kabuki.
Do not be confused by anything I am saying - most people do not like the sound of the (later) Kenwood KL series (as I have heard them) without at a minimum the loudness button depressed or switch on.
I have not auditioned the earlier style personally, but I imagine that the highs are a little more subdued. So you are probably in a better spot for most people's taste as those are earlier production which I do not believe "suffered" from the same treble forward sound.
Has anyone else listened to them (or anything similar) critically in recent years?
 
Been awhile since having ears on that setup! Funny thing is I’m sure I would still enjoy that setup....Kenwood rockers and all.

Time for “cork sniffing”......but sometimes? Dego Red (from a bucket) can be enjoyable!
 
I don't have the Kenwood speakers but I do have the KA-5700. It is a pretty little amp with good sound. I am running a pair of Infinity CS-3008's though. I do have a couple sets of vintage Sansui "Kabuki" speakers and they just seem dullish.
 
.....but they are so beautiful! A dream speak of mine are the SP-5000. (Overseas/Asia issue only.) Huge, curved egg crate front, and much better than many other....whatevers. Rare (and would love to enjoy them faults and all.)
 
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