Question KRF-X9050D

SchwarzeAdler

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Hello everyone,

I am looking to upgrade my home TV and because of that I am also considering other potential upgrades, such as my AV Receiver. I own a pretty old Kenwood KRF-X9050D receiver that still works just fine, other than the remote which one day decided it was going into retirement. Given my lack of expertise in this area, my question to you is is it worth it to upgrade at this point? Are there new features/improvements that make it worth it or should I be content that this dinosaur is still kicking?

Here it is: https://manual.kenwood.com/files/B60-4958-00.pdf

Thank in advance!
SA
 
That is a very old piece of kit. However, if you are happy with how it sounds, you can keep it if that is what you want to do. You could connect everything to the TV and output the sound from the TV to the AVR via optical.

If you do want to upgrade the AVR - what speakers do you have and how much is your budget?
 
Hi Rambles. It is a very old piece of kit indeed. :laugh: I actually had the Kenwood in mycellar for many years and had forgotten about it. But when I finally had a setup where I could use it again I decided to dust it off and hook it up. Therefore I needed to get new speakers though, so the ones I have are actually not very old at all.

They are the harman/kardon HKTS 5: https://eu.harmankardon.com/HKTS+5.html

Thanks,
SA
 
As a follow up to your suggestion, Rambles; I currently have a MacMini, TV and PS4 all pushing audio through the AVR. There is no real way around that (I think) as these are all part of my living room setup. So it works, I am just wondering if there are features I am missing in these new versions of AVRs. I don't think I would use Bluetooth, for example, but that is something my T-Rex does not have but which I have seen in some of the newer ones.
 
The speaker system seems okay, and should work with any modern AVR.

If you do get a new AVR it would give you HDMI switching, so you connect everything to the AVR via HDMI, the AVR processes the sound and passes through the video to the TV. You would also get access to newer HD audio codecs, room correction, as you mention, bluetooth, and the ability to stream music / radio from the internet.

Might you want to upgrade your speakers?

You could maybe add a couple of better speakers for your front left and right to improve the music experience, or are you only wanting to use the system for movies / tv?
 
Thanks Rambles. I really appreciate your feedback.

I use the system overwhelmingly to watch films and tv shows via the MacMini, and only rarely to listen to music with it.

I have noticed that the 4 small speakers (2 front & 2 rear) don't have much kick and sometimes it is hard to notice they are even on (though I confirmed they are) but I chalked it up to either "that's how it is supposed to sound" or the fact that I stream via my MacMini and not all sites I use are pushing the best quality. This is what makes me a but disappointed with the whole setup but if it is indeed a streaming site issue, then there is no reason to spend more on a new AVR and/or speakers.
 
Do you mean streaming as in films and TV from places like Netflix / Amazon Prime?

If so, the best quality soundtrack usually available is Dolby Digital plus, but you need an HDMI connection to get that. If toslink is the best quality connection that you can get at the moment, you will be limited to SD audio (eg Dolby Digital).

However, with your speakers, I don't know how much of a real life, audible difference you would notice between the two formats.
 
I do use Netflix,yes. Otherwise I stream from another site that aggregates from many other premium sites. More third partyish. And then there is a bit of YouTube. Those are the main players.

From the looks of it, based on my usage, I guess my current kit is good enough. I am not viewing Blue Ray discs and other Netflix no other site that I use is probably pushing the quality of content needed to get some noticeable change in sound and I am already using HDMI from the MacMini.

I guess I'll just get the new TV and enjoy.
 

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