Does Anyone Else Have a Pair of Kenwood Model Sevens?

[Big Tuna]

I have a pair of Kenwood Model Sevens. When I first saw them I was drawn to the impressive build quality and their hulking size. They are not Monstrously huge, but big genough to make most people who see them go, oh my gosh, those are big! 130 Lbs each, billet aluminum driver frames, Lumber core construction. These were the speaker that spawned the LS-Series that Kenwood promoted towards the budget minded consumer. Although at a MSRP of nearly $3000(1975-77 Dollars) per pair, they were hardly bugdet-priced, lol! Kenwood used the Model seven as the backbone to build the LS-400 series, with the same design concepts in cabinet construction, with true triple & quadruple crosslaid lumber core baffleboards that are superior to plain ole MDF baffles when it comes to sound transients and distortion characteristics. Crosslaid lumber is how soundboards in grand Pianos are constructed. Very flat and uniform sound dispersion. The wood-fiber blended pulp Kenwood used for the High, Mid & Low driver cones, was a "secret recipe" of sorts, that they did not reveal. The woofer of the Model Seven weighs by itself 27 Lbs, and has the same "secret" pulp construction that were used with the woofers of the first line of the LS-Series, LS-403, LS-405 & LS-406. Thereafter, the letter A suffixed the models and then, with the "A", "B", & "C" Suffixed LS-400 series, they started using that "secret" pulp for the cones of the Mids & tweeters. When my brother went to the Stereo Shop to buy his 1980, he assessed the speakers they had in the demo room, and the ones that made the strongest impression of sound quality, power delivery, clarity, detail and muscle, were the LS-408B's, and mind you the room was FULL of nearly every brand of speaker at that time from 1979. At that time he did not, nor did the dealer, know of the Foundation for that LS-408B, the Expensive "Model Seven" because they were only available in European markets and Japan. Strangely, the Sevens were built and designed in Japan by Kenwoods own Engineering Team, while the LS-400 Series were built entirely here in the USA. The entire line was only made from 1975 to 1980. 5 short years for one of Kenwood's greatest acheivements in the world of loudspeakers. Any other LS-Series Kenwoods you might know of, or see, do not share any characteristics in design, materials or sound quality with the Sevens and LS-400 Series, However, the LSC-Series and LSK-Series-B used the same mid & tweeter cones after the discontinuation of the LS-Series in 1980. Now, without further adeu, here is a Pic of my Model Sevens:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/CharlieHorse1992/Picture636.jpg
Here is another pic of a LS-408B
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/CharlieHorse1992/Picture512.jpg

[Socal Sam]

Big Tuna, thanks for sharing your Kenny speakers. I had always wondered why Kenwood was not known for speakers but apparently it was not for lack of effort. If you were a well-heeled Kenny fan, you went home with the TOTL 700 Supremes in wood cases and the Seven. Now that would have been something special.

[Mark J]

I stand by my evaluation of these before Big got them fully functional in that they were way better than the Yamaha NS-1000. This 4-way Kenwood had a sound quality I would like to hear again. Now I just have to make it to BT crib with some favorite software to hear these monsters.

The driver repairs you had done, any problems or is all good on these speakers now?

I'm glad they made it into the hands of someone that cares. Thanks for posting.

[Scorpion8]

I had always wondered why Kenwood was not known for speakers but apparently it was not for lack of effort. ....

None of the big electronics firms were, as speakers were always regarded as an after-thought for Sansui, Pioneer, Technics, etc. The speaker-houses of the day like AR, Infinity, Genesis, etc put more money into speakers than they did electronics, with the exception of Quad or Linn probably. That's what made building a coherent-integrated system so much fun, in matching various compaonents.

[Socal Sam]

None of the big electronics firms were, as speakers were always regarded as an after-thought for Sansui, Pioneer, Technics, etc. The speaker-houses of the day like AR, Infinity, Genesis, etc put more money into speakers than they did electronics, with the exception of Quad or Linn probably. That's what made building a coherent-integrated system so much fun, in matching various compaonents.

Actually, Yamaha was a notable exception with the NS-1000M and the Be drivers. Interestingly, Yamaha's consumer electronics was not as good as the monsters from Sansui, Marantz, and Pioneer. However, Yamaha did have a professional division which pushed along speaker development.

[Socal Sam]

I stand by my evaluation of these before Big got them fully functional in that they were way better than the Yamaha NS-1000. This 4-way Kenwood had a sound quality I would like to hear again. Now I just have to make it to BT crib with some favorite software to hear these monsters.

The driver repairs you had done, any problems or is all good on these speakers now?

I'm glad they made it into the hands of someone that cares. Thanks for posting.

The is very high praise for the Model Seven.*Hi5*

[Scorpion8]

Actually, Yamaha was a notable exception with the NS-1000M and the Be drivers.

True, but Yamaha pushed them more as studio monitors than home-use speakers. I recall seeing lots of studios big and small with the ubiquitus white coned speakers in the background. But you didn't see many sent home with Yammie electronic gear.

[Socal Sam]

True, but Yamaha pushed them more as studio monitors than home-use speakers. I recall seeing lots of studios big and small with the ubiquitus white coned speakers in the background. But you didn't see many sent home with Yammie electronic gear.

Ah yes, the NS-10M. Super bright and literally ear-splitting. I'm told they were sales duds in the home arena so Yamaha pushed them into the studios. They were heavily promoted and I presume discounted.