Kenwood KR-6170 stereo receiver demonstration part 1

Here is a demonstration of a Kenwood KR-6170 that has been in our family about 30 years.
Also shown are the cabinet and speakers. I made an error in the narration when I said the speakers are TEAC. They are in fact Sansui speakers.

[@professordumbledorf]

This Kenwood unit is the exact model my brother bought in 1970 while he was in Vietnam.He wrote to us that it was the Jaguar of all the receivers they could order. It is huge and sounds magnificent when its cleaned up. He sent it home to the states after playing it just a few hours. Unfortunately he never lived long enough to enjoy it so I inherited it in 1971 when I was 13. I still have it and aside from having a small piece of wood scraped off of the side it still looks and sounds untouchable

[@rich_edwards79]

Came here after seeing one of these for sale for £250 on a FB buy / sell group in the UK. It has inputs for lead and bass guitars, mics and a foot pedal, presumably it could be used as a guitar amp as well as a high-end home AV receiver. I guess you could connect it to a cassette or RtR tape machine and record your jamming sessions! Very nice machine, it's older than you think (1971) which makes the feature list all the more impressive! If I played electric guitar I'd be very tempted to buy the one on FB, as it is I have no use for it :(

[@MrComaToes]

Hey fella, back in 1975 I bought my first HIFI unit, a used Kenwood KR 6400 receiver for $325... as I understand it looking at some info online, your KR-6170 was made in or around 1968 and would been about $270 new! The way inflation was in the 70's that would have been a very high end piece in 1968. The REVERSE feature seems pretty unneccessary today but you have to remember that STEREO was still a fairly new thing in 1968 and people were playing with the sound. The REVERSE feature does just what you'd think it does switches the right and left channel! I still own my first Kenwood receiver but it's in the back room under a pile of other audio equipment and I can't remember if it has the REVERSE feature, (but it may), though by the late 70's REVERSE features on receivers went away, pretty much. Your receiver was amazing in that it could be used as a PA system, as a guitar preamp among a bunch of other features. It's a pretty rare electronic piece and more than likely was something that was brought back by a military man on the way home from Vietnam... it seems like the two documented KR-6170 receivers I've seen mentioned were brought to the states by returning servicemen. So there you go.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

That's exactly where this one came from. My dad worked on Redstone Arsenal here in Huntsville, and bought this, including the cabinets and speakers, from a co-worker who "brought it back from Korea" That was about 1975. The only clue that backed that up was a freight sticker on the back that was one of the airlines. I think it was TWA but labeled "Trans World"..so it obviously made that trip many years ago. Good info!

[@drrtsports1]

i just got one and i am amazed he kicks my Vincent SV 226 right in the ass... Did Stereo really get better the last 50 years?!😆 this receiver has a full stage with an airy sound, good mids, great punch, really pleasant to hear, only the heights could be a bit more defined if we speak "high end", without the other features that where ahead of time, ( i dont use yet ), i can tell the interested, i wont change this Receiver against any new one below the 1000 Euro class, You wont find better sound today unless You spent bigger...

[@oonha1]

I still have one of these.Bought new in 1973(overseas). There were only 7 made.Had enough power to blow a picture window out,I know I did it,lol,when I got back here. I had it priced,they valued it at $2000 new.This could be used for all kinds of recordings.It has it all.

[@MrComaToes]

Oh, by the way Kenwood called your KR-6170 the "Jumbo Jet" I would imagine that was as a result of the sensation Boeing's new 747 Jumbo Jet was causing around that time... Oh and the foot switch would be a guitar footswitch

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

@taigkyo Not sure of it's intended use. When depressed it seems to alter the sound output, but only minimally.

[@DShdw1]

I had that exact stereo in the army, i belonged to the audio club, where you can buy for below wholesale,i believe it had 250 watts max, but the stereo seperation was awesome..

[@taigkyo]

What does the REVERSE selection do? (Between MONO and STEREO)

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Well, it went to someone that had a use for it. I would not have used the reel-to-reel player at all. I'll get a closer look at the wood for you.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

@Neuronaluniverse I think it would be useful for someone that teaches a dance class but for home use there certainly isn't much demand for a rhythm generator.

[@Neuronaluniverse]

I knew kenwood on the 80th but I never did not hear nothing about a stereo receivers with any rythme machine!!!!

[@kenwood3439]

Sweet you took me you are in heaven buddy !! Yes its wood !! um I wood guess its the bestest of the bestest man They were harmonised with a class I supposeth .taste and legacy of musik ..as

[@webdemarcio]

neither did I

[@oonha1]

switches sides L is R and R is L.