A tug of war for somewhat over 7 decades and you still find it difficult to bet on one when doing up your vehicle’s aftermarket stereo – yep, I’m talking about the two gentle giants: Pioneer vs Kenwood Car Speakers.

When it comes to car audio or other music systems, these two names are synonymous with excellence; if it’s just about speakers, they are on top of the game.

Ranging from a vast array of varieties to cutting-edge functionalities, ever-reliable builds to groundbreaking specs, and much more, both these brands are in a close battle to leapfrog each other in one way or the other.

The detailed showdown, they say? Stay glued.

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Pioneer Vs Kenwood Car Speakers

Came into being in 1938 and 1946, respectively, Pioneer and Kenwood have so much in them to be set against each other.

But when it comes down to only the car speakers they both produce, there may not be much to brag bigger for any one of the two multinationals.

#1. Car Speakers’ Performance and Sound Quality

Let’s compare.

Pioneer Car Speakers

Pioneer’s speakers, as the company’s name suggests, are easily the pioneers or trendsetters in the industry. The speakers here are of exceptional quality for entertainment purposes, educational institutes, and more.

As for the brand’s car speakers, depending on their price tags, they pack into them a lot of groundbreaking engineering. Their low to mid-end speakers may be leaving a bit to make you desire more, but you know “you get what you pay for”; all in all, Pioneer is still a premium house of engineering.

Ranging from technologies like the immersive “wide sound” and “fluent off-axis frequency kickback” to the “digital signal processing” mechanism, Pioneer’s car speakers are the masters at producing high-fi live-like super-loud surround sounds.

Kenwood Car Speakers

More like (and less unlike) the Pioneer’s speakers, those of Kenwood are also phenomenal at throwing crisp, crystal-clear sounds. Being relatively budget-friendly, these speakers though may only lack a bit of intensity and balance elements.

But it doesn’t mean that is a permanent dearth. Kenwood has a solution for a vast array of price points so its high-end speakers also pack all the cutting-edge specs possible and thus work perfectly like, if not better than, Pioneer’s nets.

Most audiophiles know and like Kenwood for its cost-effective yet high-res car door speakers.

#2. Design and Build Quality

Also important to know.

Pioneer Speakers

Known to produce cool and frilly gears, Pioneer tends to work out more plans for the design and features of its products. The car speakers coming through Pioneer’s house thus flaunt more of a fanciness element in addition to their exclusive inner specs.

You can easily find a Pioneer speaker with exceptionally optimal RMS and peak power requirements, wider frequency ranges, superb sensitivity, minuscule mounting depths, and likewise construction perks.

In addition, you’ll find a lot more other innovations in high-end speakers here as well, for example, carbon composite for woofer cones and dual voice coils, etc.

Kenwood Car Speakers

In the Kenwood arena, you’ll find the engineering focus tilting much more towards the build sturdiness, durability, and reliability of the products instead of fanciness or add-on perks.

In comparison, Kenwood’s car (and other) speakers are made out of high-quality materials that are sure to withstand the toughest of tests and threats. Nevertheless, Kenwood still never gambles on the looks and features of its speakers (or other products) as well.

#3. Pricing and Value for the Money

Important to consider.

Pioneer Speakers

These may somehow be the most expensive of the two but considering the above factors, you should understand why. Pioneer, being actually the pioneer of this specific industry, is regarded as a top-tier producer of stereo setups and thus a bit high-priced as well.

However, to make sure you get the perfect value for your bucks, Pioneer has a vast array of speakers tagged at all price points. Ranging from high-end custom-fit components to all the different stretches (i.e. TS-Q-level speakers, TS-Z, G, D, E, TS-A, Pro-Series, and Emotion), Pioneer is catering to the needs of all sorts of stereo lovers out there.

Kenwood Speakers

Kenwood car speakers are often considered to be the perfect budget alternatives to their Pioneer counterparts. Though that doesn’t altogether imply that Kenwood is inexpensive; for the same amount of bucks you may still feel like you’ve a lot more options at your disposal in the Kenwood territory than the other one.

With its multiple lines of products including E, X, PS, KSC, KFC, and Excelon speakers, Kenwood also tries to fulfill the demands of its universal clientele. However, Kenwood is primarily known for its car audio products, unlike Pioneer’s rich product diversity for home theatres and more as well.

Example/Hands-On Comparison

To make for a more practical and detail-oriented approach to how the Pioneer vs Kenwood car speakers do when set against each other, here’s an example:

Pioneer’s TS-G650 Vs Kenwood’s KFC-1666S

In a head-to-head comparison of these two widely popular car speakers, the TS-G has got a lot more to offer than KFC, and that – for just a few extra dimes.

Measured at 6 and a half inches, both these are 2-way speakers with the Pioneer’s TS-G featuring a 1-3/16” Balanced dome tweeter for high-res highs compared to KFC’s 1” dome. The tweeter composition is also different with the TS-G flaunting the best of the two (i.e. PET magnetic build plate) compared to KFC’s submissive PEI build.

In addition, the Reinforced IMPP woofer composition of TS-G also offers more stiffness to the cone resulting in low sound coloration compared to KFC’s simple polypropylene construct. The rubber-coated surround covering of TS-G650 adds more to that excellence than the mere treated cloth for KFC-1666S.

In the sensitivity and frequency range coverage, though the Kenwood’s gimmick is winning with 90dB and 37Hz to 22KHz on offer compared to the Pioneer TS-G’s 88dB and 33 – 18KHz. However, this means that the Pioneer will throw a rather deeper bass than the KFC-1666S.

Finally, again you see Pioneer leading the way with its TS-G showcasing maximum RMS and peak power handling capacity than the Kenwood’s 1666S. And in the mounting depth department, as is Kenwood known for door speakers and so, the KFC again makes for the better of the two.

All Other Best-Selling Speakers of Both Brands

The same goes for all the other best-selling speakers of both these brands. With the Pioneer’s gimmicks a few quarters sourer to those of Kenwood, the former are the definite winners too – if it’s for that exact tier.

Just in case you wanted some for hands-on practice, you can compare Pioneer’s TS-A-Series 3-way & 5-way, TS-F (2-way) speakers with Kenwood’s KFC-HQ718, KFC-6965S, 6966S, or KFC-6973 speakers.

Pioneer Vs Kenwood Subwoofers

Going down the road from high and mid-spectrum frequencies as we talk about subs now. Well, there is not much of a difference between the two giants here as well.

We all know that bass is the heart and soul of your stereo setup; it’s much more than that when it comes to automobile speakers. A great subwoofer can make for a more-than-memorable journey with its perfect throw of low-frequency notes further enriched by cabin-gain effect, etc.

Anyway, as for Pioneer vs Kenwood subs, both brands have something to offer to everyone. Pioneer is somewhat more specialized in power subs, whereas Kenwood offers a rather vast array of options offering different designs, specs, sizes, mounting depths, etc., to choose from.

Pioneer is popularly known for subwoofers with rather deeper, richer, and superbly accurate bass compared to Kenwood. That’s not to say Kenwood’s subs are not good at their work or output poor bass.

Pioneer’s subs also come with max power handling capabilities making for compatibility with more powerful amps, so they easily translate those excessive energy packets into extra-correct and more intense bass tones.

You also find a lot of boxed subwoofers with Pioneer but not with other brands. This results in Pioneer’s subs staying fixed in place for much longer terms, and you just need to “plug-n-play”.

Lastly, here again, you’ve got something from everyone i.e. both the brands offer subs for all the different price points.

Pioneer Vs Kenwood Specialties – A Brief Comparison of the Brands

Pioneer and Kenwood are the two widely-known car audio brands with their histories dating over 7 decades now. Both are well respected and there is nothing like good or bad in them. It’s just that one brand may be doing one thing in a better way, whereas the other may be leading the race in another area.

Just like that, here’s a brief comparison of the specialties of both these big guns and how have they been doing for this long.

Pioneer

Some key strengths of, Pioneer – the brand, include:

1. Pioneer, as already discussed, is a brand more for some modern tech-savvy type of people who also love more design innovations and sleek aesthetics.
2. They treat the car audio (coaxial & component speakers, amps, receivers, etc.) as one stretch of their business and have a fair share of products in other areas as well i.e. home theatre setups, headphones, disc drives, DJ equipment, and more.
3. The company specializes in the R&D department instilling cutting-edge technologies into its products on an almost daily basis. For example, advanced automobile navigation systems, wireless multimedia connectivity, voice control stereos (Apple CarPlay as well as Android Auto), touch-enabled multimedia panels, multi-room audio, etc.
4. Pioneer is majorly known as a trendsetter in the industry and thus has a consistent dedication to producing exclusive and top-notch gears via stringent quality control measures.
5. The brand boasts much wider compatibility as far as its car audio systems are concerned; you name a car and highly likely that a Pioneer car stereo will be compatible with the model.

In a nutshell, there’s always some innovation going on when it comes to Pioneer and its range of products.

Kenwood

For Kenwood, their specialties lie in:

1. The focus, on products here, tilts more toward the build quality, so we can ideally say, “Kenwood prioritizes lasting and functionality over fanciness”. And that’s an extra point as Kenwood also doesn’t hesitate to invest in all the aforementioned avant-garde technologies.
2. Kenwood’s highest business comes from their “car audio” line of products, but they also have their share in other things i.e. HT setups, megaphones, etc.
3. Like Pioneer, Kenwood also has something for everyone. Nevertheless, it’s best described as the budget alternative for Pioneer and caters to the needs of an even bigger market. So, if you’re looking for great, reliable, and high-end gadgets with a tight budget, Kenwood may be your best bet.
4. Kenwood has got an absolute upper hand when it comes to the cars’ double-din stereos.

Closing

Now that I’ve discussed in so much detail about Pioneer vs Kenwood car speakers, subs, brand strengths, etc., I hope you have enough support to decide upon which of the two biggies to go with while doing up your stereo setup.

Nonetheless, music is more of a subjective thing, so what is maybe a perfect flow of notes for me the absolute fail for you, isn’t it? Anyway, you still have enough to compare the two and work out your plans.

It’s not that hard, have a nice day.