Kenwood DP-7060 (1994–1995)
The Kenwood DP-7060 is a CD player from the mid-1990s, sold in Japan for ¥60,000. It is built around Kenwood's D.R.I.V.E. (Dynamic Resolution Intensive Vector Enhancement) system, a proprietary signal-processing scheme meant to improve how the player handled low-level musical detail. The D.R.I.V.E. processor sat between the 8× oversampling digital filter and the 20-bit input DAC. It used adaptive filtering in real time to improve micro-level reproduction and response to transients. The DAC itself was a bit-stream 1-bit converter (the TDA1547). The audio stage used SuperC capacitors originally developed for Kenwood's high-end L-series. The chassis was a 1.6 mm steel affair, with digital servo, an OEIC pickup, and separate digital/analog transformer windings.
Specs were respectable for the period: frequency response of 4 Hz–20 kHz, S/N ratio of 105 dB or better, dynamic range of 100 dB or more, and total harmonic distortion of 0.0017% or less (all EIAJ). The player offered a variable line output (0–2.0 V into 0.3 kΩ) — two identical line outputs on the back, which Kenwood suggested could feed amplifiers in different rooms — plus a headphone output and an optical digital output. Output level could be adjusted via remote control in 1 dB steps down to −60 dB, though the manual reportedly cautioned against using that control for anything other than matching levels with other components, since significant attenuation was said to compromise sound quality. The remote also handled random play, A-B repeat, and a level-controlled editing mode for cassette dubbing that allowed track programming down to the minute within a 99-minute window.
The front panel was clean and minimal, with a group of buttons for basic display functions and, notably, no musical calendar. Hi-Fi World (December 1994) was complimentary, noting the DP-7060 had "one of the most lucid mid-ranges of any of these players" and caught fine detail like a performer's breath or the clunk of music stands.
Known specs:
- Noncontact optical readout (semiconductor laser), CLV 200–500 rpm
- Frequency response: 4 Hz–20 kHz (EIAJ)
- S/N ratio: 105 dB or more (EIAJ)
- Dynamic range: 100 dB or more (EIAJ)
- THD: 0.0017% or less (EIAJ, 1 kHz, THD+N)
- Variable output: 0–2.0 V / 0.3 kΩ; headphone: 20 mW (32 Ω)
- Optical digital output: −15 to −21 dBm (660 nm)
- Dimensions: 440 × 127 × 319 mm; weight: 6.5 kg
- Power consumption: 16 W; includes remote control
Documentation on this model is thin - no service manual content has been extracted. Production years are generally given as 1994-1995. Used prices are scarce. One Russian classified listing asked about 21,000 ₽, and a Japanese auction bid sat at ¥1,400, but there's no reliable market consensus.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.