Kenwood, Pioneer ect

MacLeod
MacLeod Posts: 14,358
edited March 2005 in Electronics
Ive been curious about something lately and thought Id get y'alls input. In the car audio world, Kenwood and Pioneer make excellent receivers. JVC and Panasonic are close behind with very respectable entries.

Ive notices that these brands seem to be shunned in the home audio community.

Is this just my imagination or are their HA receivers sub-par to guys like Onkyo, Yamaha or Denon?
polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
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Post edited by MacLeod on

Comments

  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited February 2005
    Definitely sub par. Not exactly what you'd call High Current or low distortion recievers. In the mobile world, those are considered just OK and really not much better than that (for people with high tastes that is). I wouldn't own anything other than an Eclipse or Alpine (to bad Nakamichi stopped making quality decks) these days. Same with Home audio... I wouldn't own anything other than a Denon IMO. I owned an HK and just didn't think it had any life to it. Very warm but just left me wanting more. Yamaha has always sounded extremely processed to me but has a set of nuts under it. Onkyo sounds real nice but personally, they're to bright for my tastes. I went with Denon because they sound amazing and have a lot of depth to them. The only other brand I'd personally look into would be Marantz (which is rumored to be owned or backed by Denon).
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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited February 2005
    Different strokes for different folks.

    Over at audiocircle.com, all the praises are on the various chip-amped receivers from JVC and Panasonic. You will hardly see any mention of Denon, Yamaha, or Onkyo. Pioneer is getting a notices wit its 1014 receiver, basically a Elite model but priced at it's regular line's price.

    BTW, Marantz, Denon, McIntosh, and Rio are owned by D&M Holdings.
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2005
    I would consider (my opinion, mind you) that Pioneer, Technics, Denon, Kenwood, Onkyo, Sony, and Yamaha are all in the same "tier" of equipment. There are good and bad examples of each throughtout their individual product lines.

    Are some better than others? Thats a seriously subjective question. Everyone has their preferences; I for example, like Yamaha and Denon in that particular tier of equipment. Some people think Yamaha sucks, hey...to each his own. Just remember in audio there's no free lunch---you get what you pay for, most of the time.
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited February 2005
    i kinda see what MacLeod is asking. it wasn't really that long ago that Pioneer and Marantz ruled the home audio market. ie. 60's and 70's respectively. I guess that times change. Both of those well respected names in audio.. can no longer boast the way they did back then. What happen?

    Did Marantz going overseas basically kill their quality? Perhaps.

    Those Pioneers and Marantz from that era still hold up well today. Yes a bit outdated in terms of features.. but their sound is for the most part unmatchable with todays. digital equipment.

    maybe analog rules.. ;)
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2005
    Yeah, you see a lot of Pioneers and Kenwoods in the systems for guys that buy the HT in a Box setups but for audiophiles you pretty much only see the exotic lines.

    I think Toxis makes a good point. In car audio we really dont have any "exotic" head unit manufacturers. Alpine and Elcipse are mainly considered the top of the line with the Pioneer Premier line well respected. Brands like Nakamichi and Denon used to make em but now theyre pretty much done with the CA scene. So that leaves the mainstream guys like Pioneer and Kenwood the only choices really.

    Plus a home receiver is also your amp. In car audio, you dont see many, if any Pioneer or Kenwood amps out there in serious systems. Now for car audio amps, theyve got plenty of exotic lines like Tru Tech, Brax and Helix to name a few.

    Another funny thing. Sony has respect in HA but is almost considered Bose in CA. Except by me, Ill always be a Sony fan. Theyve always been good to me.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited March 2005
    Marantz was almost lost in the early to mid 80s, until Philips purchased it and positioned it as its top-of-the-line electronics brand. Within the last couple of years, Philips sold its interest in Marantz to a holding company that also owns McIntosh (purchased from car audio manufacturer Clarion) and Denon. Marantz still manufactures some of highest performing components around, from SACD players to amps. It even reaffirmed its 2 channel roots by producing a stereo-only SACD player as its current top-of-the-line deck. It also just introduced a brand-new turntable.

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