Question Speaker recommendations for Kenwood KR3200

Wristy

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Aug 1, 2020
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Howdy guys, fresh on the scene here.

I recently inherited a Kenwood KR3200 receiver and KP3022 turntable. I’m In the process of pulling it apart and restoring it to its former glory, having someone else more qualified work on the electronics.

This brings me to the hot topic of what speakers I should buy for it to enjoy them. My budget is around $400 for a set of bookshelf speakers. The amp puts out 13.5 watts at 8ohms (I’ve been told that’s important).

thanks in advance!
 

Gray

Well-known member
Howdy guys, fresh on the scene here.

I recently inherited a Kenwood KR3200 receiver and KP3022 turntable. I’m In the process of pulling it apart and restoring it to its former glory, having someone else more qualified work on the electronics.

This brings me to the hot topic of what speakers I should buy for it to enjoy them. My budget is around $400 for a set of bookshelf speakers. The amp puts out 13.5 watts at 8ohms (I’ve been told that’s important).

thanks in advance!
Howdy and welcome to you Wristy.
In your position I'd be looking at something like this:
Significantly below your budget yet likely to be good enough (maybe even for an amp upgrade if you ever wanted to in future).
 
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Jimboo

Well-known member
Personally I would send it to the skip. But , you know retro can be fun and they have some charm. I would go the whole hog and find some speakers from back in the day and if that retro look is your bag then it would compliment the setup.
I don't think modern speakers suit the look.
 

Wristy

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Howdy and welcome to you Wristy.
In your position I'd be looking at something like this:
Significantly below your budget yet likely to be good enough (maybe even for an amp upgrade if you ever wanted to in future).

thanks for the rec Gary, they look like a good bang for buck speaker. Unfortunately they’re not as good in Australia as elsewhere but they do just fit into the budget.

do you have any thoughts on the Q Acoustics 2030i? They seem to be a winner in the past and a little better on the wallet over here.

Personally I would send it to the skip. But , you know retro can be fun and they have some charm. I would go the whole hog and find some speakers from back in the day and if that retro look is your bag then it would compliment the setup.
I don't think modern speakers suit the look.

Appreciate the angle Jimbo. I am still juggling with going a better speaker to use on this amp or rid of it like you said and invest in something better.

For shits I’ve actually been toying with the idea of retrofitting a better amp into the Kenwood case.

Are there kits like this available or does it require some Audio electronics know how and piecing parts together?
 

Gray

Well-known member
Never heard Q Acoustics myself, but plenty of fans over here.

No shortage of amp kits and modules available to fit inside the old Kenwood.
Would take a bit of effort modifying controls / wiring to in / out sockets - so you'd really need to want to do it.

Have a look at something like the Topping MX3 and you might decide to forget about the Kenwood. altogether.
 
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Wristy

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Never heard Q Acoustics myself, but plenty of fans over here.

No shortage of amp kits and modules available to fit inside the old Kenwood.
Would take a bit of effort modifying controls / wiring to in / out sockets - so you'd really need to want to do it.

Have a look at something like the Topping MX3 and you might decide to forget about the Kenwood. altogether.

Thanks Gray.

The MX3 looks like a nice little unit, bummer there’s no photo stage but something compact to go with it will look neat.
 

Gray

Well-known member
Thanks Gray.

The MX3 looks like a nice little unit, bummer there’s no photo stage but something compact to go with it will look neat.
Yes, I've seen some good reports on that particular model. You get a lot for your money with those little class D amps. I bought one for someone on a very tight budget and was surprised how good it sounded....for £20!

Bear in mind that, assuming it works, the Kenwood could work perfectly well as a phono preamp - by going from its (fixed level) 'rec' output into an analogue input on any amp without a dedicated phono input.
No visual match for that MX3, but the ultimate old / new tech combo (y)
As a bonus, the Kenwood tuner would also go through the external amp (and you wouldn't be limited to a 13.5 watt output - higher power would benefit any new speakers).
 
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Wristy

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Aug 1, 2020
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Thanks for the advice.

To follow up on this, I’ve decided to add to the budget and look at spending around $1500.

My toss up now is go for a split system with a new amp and speakers or ditch the amp and go active like the Kef LSX and a phono box.
 
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