Kenwood XD-A701 Audio Shelf System
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- Number of Discs: 3
- Functions: CD Player
- Output Power: 80 Watt PMPO
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For the serious listener on a budget
Pros
Great sound. very reliable. Great value.
Cons
Not good for outdoor use.
Recommended it?
Yes
I bought this product off Netmarket.com back in 1999, and have grown to love it. So here I am, discussing all about it, in a format that I have made my template for writing epinions.
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Here's all that's good about this system:
1. 5-speaker good power system at low cost. Unless you are throwing a garden party, or have a house as large as Bill Gates's, this should be good enough as a starting system for a normal living room. This is not a weeny 100-Watt system - the wattage totals to a healthy 230-Watt, split into 80-watt each stereo speakers (the ones in the front), 70-watt each surround speakers (these were increased from 30 watts in the XDA700, which is now off the production line), and 30-watt center speaker.
2. Good acoustic. I don't like messing around with my music too much - there are systems out there that do a lot of funky things, like adding beats at the end or superimposing a beat on the song. This does not do all that. But there are a number of very good filters to choose from: DSP (Digital Signal Processing), allowing you to choose effects like Live and Hall, Dolby Pro-logic, making full use of the 5-speaker system, and Stereo, which shuts off the center and surround speakers and delivers it all from the two high power front speakers, creating a more base sound effect. There's also a Direct Play mode where the filters are all shut off and the music played as-is. I particularly like the stereo mode for delicate classical music, since the surround sound effect simulation often introduces some white noise (to create the live effect, I think) that does not sound good with classical. With dance / rock, I bring on the Dolby Pro-logic, or the DSP Live modes.
3. Fully loaded cassette deck. This is becoming de-facto in systems of this kind, and needs no explanation - twin decks, with full auto reverse functionality, Dolby-B noise reduction, Song search (where you can forward or reverse one track at a time), etc.
4. 3-CD changer - this is really cool on this system. Yes, I know, most systems have 3- or more CD - changers built in, but there are quite a few that do not allow changing the other CDs when one disk is already playing. This is stupid - this means I have to have 30-second pauses between listening to new disks, specially when I'm using this as a DJ equipment for small house parties. For large parties, I highly recommend at least a few CD players - I have noticed that people on the dance floor have a tendency to bash up the DJ, or walk out of the floor, if the music stops for even 5 seconds, when the party has really kicked in. In these situations, with a mixer, you can start playing the new song as the old one is waning to an end, so the beat is never off.
5. CD Player features- these are now standard, like random play, Programmable play, Repeat play, etc.
6. Tuner features - the manual says this unit can do a lot of things with the special information European channels transmit, like displaying the name of the channel, etc., but I guess that's not available in the US, so that's that. The radio is nice, specially if you plug in the FM antenna wire. For a better reception, try getting yourself a more powerful FM antenna.
7. Jog dial - I really like this feature - the jog dial allows selection of a number of things, depending on the mode - in menu mode, this allows scrolling through the choices, and on reaching your preference, you press the 'OK/select' button. While the CD is playing, just rotate the jog dial to select the track number.
8. Nice display - the display is nice, not overly crowded, and informative just about enough.
9. Cool looks - this looks pretty good on your living room entertainment rack - specially the speakers, specially if you take off the front grille. Be careful - opening up the grille will mean exposing the speakers to more dust, and will require more cleaning.
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_____________T_H_E______B_A_D________________
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What's bad about this system? Let me think.....
1. Simulated surround - the 5-channel output, i.e. with the center and surround speakers require additional information from the media being played. In case of DVDs, this information comes by default. In CDs, only those specially marked with this feature have this information - for the rest, the system simulates the surround effect. This may not sound so cool, specially for Pink Floyd songs. This is not a negative aspect of this system - it's a negative for all 5-speaker systems. If the music does not sound good in 5-speaker (Dolby Pro-logic mode, etc.), shift to the base Stereo mode.
2. Not high power enough - this system will not suffice to get the crowd moving and grooving in an open air party. Good enough for lounge parties, though. What do you expect for less than $400 anyway!
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____________T_H_E______R_E_S_U_L_T_____________
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In conclusion, I think this is a great system to start off your life - when you have enough money to spare, you can build up a component system - till then, this will hit the sweet spot in the price-performance curve, and keep it there as long as you want it to.
_______________________________________________
_____________T_H_E______G_O_O_D________________
_______________________________________________
Here's all that's good about this system:
1. 5-speaker good power system at low cost. Unless you are throwing a garden party, or have a house as large as Bill Gates's, this should be good enough as a starting system for a normal living room. This is not a weeny 100-Watt system - the wattage totals to a healthy 230-Watt, split into 80-watt each stereo speakers (the ones in the front), 70-watt each surround speakers (these were increased from 30 watts in the XDA700, which is now off the production line), and 30-watt center speaker.
2. Good acoustic. I don't like messing around with my music too much - there are systems out there that do a lot of funky things, like adding beats at the end or superimposing a beat on the song. This does not do all that. But there are a number of very good filters to choose from: DSP (Digital Signal Processing), allowing you to choose effects like Live and Hall, Dolby Pro-logic, making full use of the 5-speaker system, and Stereo, which shuts off the center and surround speakers and delivers it all from the two high power front speakers, creating a more base sound effect. There's also a Direct Play mode where the filters are all shut off and the music played as-is. I particularly like the stereo mode for delicate classical music, since the surround sound effect simulation often introduces some white noise (to create the live effect, I think) that does not sound good with classical. With dance / rock, I bring on the Dolby Pro-logic, or the DSP Live modes.
3. Fully loaded cassette deck. This is becoming de-facto in systems of this kind, and needs no explanation - twin decks, with full auto reverse functionality, Dolby-B noise reduction, Song search (where you can forward or reverse one track at a time), etc.
4. 3-CD changer - this is really cool on this system. Yes, I know, most systems have 3- or more CD - changers built in, but there are quite a few that do not allow changing the other CDs when one disk is already playing. This is stupid - this means I have to have 30-second pauses between listening to new disks, specially when I'm using this as a DJ equipment for small house parties. For large parties, I highly recommend at least a few CD players - I have noticed that people on the dance floor have a tendency to bash up the DJ, or walk out of the floor, if the music stops for even 5 seconds, when the party has really kicked in. In these situations, with a mixer, you can start playing the new song as the old one is waning to an end, so the beat is never off.
5. CD Player features- these are now standard, like random play, Programmable play, Repeat play, etc.
6. Tuner features - the manual says this unit can do a lot of things with the special information European channels transmit, like displaying the name of the channel, etc., but I guess that's not available in the US, so that's that. The radio is nice, specially if you plug in the FM antenna wire. For a better reception, try getting yourself a more powerful FM antenna.
7. Jog dial - I really like this feature - the jog dial allows selection of a number of things, depending on the mode - in menu mode, this allows scrolling through the choices, and on reaching your preference, you press the 'OK/select' button. While the CD is playing, just rotate the jog dial to select the track number.
8. Nice display - the display is nice, not overly crowded, and informative just about enough.
9. Cool looks - this looks pretty good on your living room entertainment rack - specially the speakers, specially if you take off the front grille. Be careful - opening up the grille will mean exposing the speakers to more dust, and will require more cleaning.
_______________________________________________
_____________T_H_E______B_A_D________________
_______________________________________________
What's bad about this system? Let me think.....
1. Simulated surround - the 5-channel output, i.e. with the center and surround speakers require additional information from the media being played. In case of DVDs, this information comes by default. In CDs, only those specially marked with this feature have this information - for the rest, the system simulates the surround effect. This may not sound so cool, specially for Pink Floyd songs. This is not a negative aspect of this system - it's a negative for all 5-speaker systems. If the music does not sound good in 5-speaker (Dolby Pro-logic mode, etc.), shift to the base Stereo mode.
2. Not high power enough - this system will not suffice to get the crowd moving and grooving in an open air party. Good enough for lounge parties, though. What do you expect for less than $400 anyway!
_______________________________________________
____________T_H_E______R_E_S_U_L_T_____________
_______________________________________________
In conclusion, I think this is a great system to start off your life - when you have enough money to spare, you can build up a component system - till then, this will hit the sweet spot in the price-performance curve, and keep it there as long as you want it to.
