Kenwood KR-V9020 A/V Receiver, 130WPC, 1990

Well, summer will be here soon. Which is one more reason to listen to great music loudly. And if it’s the way I like it, it’s going to be a little bit inaccurate with some equalizer added, obnoxious pressboard party speakers and a result that probably varies quite a bit from how the music originally was actually intended to sound. But that’s what makes us all so special and unique, right?
A friend of mine tipped me off to this receiver, the Kenwood KR-V9020. This is from the 1990/1991 model line and he had the sister model in high school and I vaguely remember it.
I truly think it’s the tail end for Kenwood receivers with a lot of buttons and the big VFD display. 130WPC, discrete transistors, many inputs, and a fair amount of buttons that allow you to do everything you want to do. The bouncing spectrum analyzer is the icing on the cake. A year or two later, Kenwood would have a similar receiver, but without the display and the buttons, and if you lost the remote, you’d be crippled to perform many of the functions.
So I had put this model on my eBay watchlist and ironically ran into it at a pawn shop in Michigan City, Indiana last weekend. It just happened to be there along with a bunch of other newer receivers.
“Who wants this old thing” I somewhat eluded to, and talked the clerk down a day later for one crisp bill, and I had it in my hands without a receipt. That’s the way of the working world isn’t it?
Anyways, as I do with all newly acquired equipment, I downloaded the service manual off of Hifi Engine amd a re-biased it. It was only a little off. Quite a powerful unit and was very clean inside. Just a quick vacuum and some dioxit on two potentiometers.

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

One of the higher models, it is loaded with so many features

[@76calidude]

I have this same exact unit with matching 6 disc CD changer and dual cassette player. My parents bought them second hand back in the early 90's. It's definitely a monster of an amp. Hooked up to a pair of mid 80's Sansui 3 ways and a Sub... watching StarWars is on a whole other level! Everybody loves it that comes over

[@user-de9md7vs9d]

I have the 9010 and a 9020 two excellent powerful 130w per channel receivers, My 9020 in it's original box with packing and has the remote, paperwork, antena. This unit sold for around $1000.00 new.

[@RockCity1111]

Very nice unit. I'm a sucker for a equalizer that moves . Thanks for the help with my Pioneer sxv90. I bought a soldering gun and when it get here I'm going to look at the transistor board u told me about

[@davismv]

Let me know how it goes and reach out if you have questions. Take your time. If in doubt don’t solder or measure with things. Watch CZcams videos about soldering and fixing cold / broken solder joints.

[@RockCity1111]

@davismv thank very much. Ive had it 6 months and was waiting until I found someone with one of the svx models and had asked another but they didn't know much about the inside so I set it aside for a bit until yesterday when I decided to try again and that's how I found your channel. I've been watching how to solder and the way to go about it. I will let u know how it goes and if I run into anything. Thx again. 😊

[@afelcandy]

What's is this over the hood ?!? A fan to keep the unit cooler ?!?

[@davismv]

Yes, a small computer fan. I run this on my receivers to ensure they stay cool. It’s. It’s not always necessary but something I like to do.

[@afelcandy]

@@davismv Mine is HDMI equipped and I put a fan over its hood to suck the hot air inside the cabinet since day one. If just for peace of mind's sake, too... 😬😬

[@davismv]

There will be people that disagree out there, but I will tell you he is the number one enemy for stereo components whether they be vintage or brand new. Even a receiver that’s not an enclosed cabinet can benefit by having fresh air being pulled through it.