Kenwood DP-7090 (c. 1996–1998)
The Kenwood DP-7090 was the company's top-tier CD player of the late 1990s. It sold in Japan at ¥69,800 (around 1997). Enthusiasts have taken to it. One Russian-language forum called it "one of the most interesting CD players from Kenwood, if not the most interesting," and another described it as the highest model in the company's lineup for its year.
The headline feature is the "32 fs Fine D.R.I.V.E." system, which pairs Kenwood's D.R.I.V.E. architecture with a 32-times oversampling, 22-bit digital filter. The player uses eight Burr-Brown PCM1702 DACs, four per channel, feeding a 1.4 MHz / 22-bit data stream. Kenwood claimed a signal-to-noise ratio of 120 dB (EIAJ), dynamic range of 100 dB and total harmonic distortion of 0.002% or less. The transport is a Sony KSS213 series mechanism.
The chassis got serious attention too. The disc mechanism sits in an aluminum case, covered by a PCB, with another case layer on top. Kenwood said this multi-layer structure suppressed vibration and reduced unnecessary servo current. Outputs include coaxial and optical digital jacks, both gold-plated, plus a variable analog output and a headphone jack with adjustable level. There are also editing features like CD peak search and auto space, aimed at people dubbing to tape or MD. The unit weighs 7.6 kg and draws 12W.
Owners praise its "accurate, gentle, airy" sound, and service manuals are readily available in PDF form. The Stereo.ru forum (accessed via archived discussions) noted the appeal of the 32x oversampling and 22-bit output, though one member admitted to only having read the praise rather than hearing the unit firsthand. A 2000-era diyAudio thread weighs it against the Marantz CD-6000 OSE as a modding candidate.
Known Specs
- D/A conversion: 22-bit, 32fs (1411 kHz) oversampling
- DACs: 8× Burr-Brown PCM1702 (4 per channel)
- Frequency response: 4 Hz – 20 kHz (EIAJ)
- S/N ratio: 120 dB or more (EIAJ)
- Dynamic range: 100 dB or more (EIAJ)
- THD: 0.002% or less (1 kHz, EIAJ)
- Outputs: variable analog (0–2V / 0.3kΩ), coaxial, optical, headphone (20 mW / 32Ω)
- Dimensions: 440 × 148 × 366 mm; 7.6 kg
- Power: 100 VAC, 12W
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