thebes Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) This, integrated amp, along with its respective tuner was given to me a little while ago. I like it because it has nice vintage bling, solid metal knobs, solid wood end-pieces and it has a high/low phono setting so I could play a LOMC with it. However, the sound is less then stellar, very grainy and very ss-like, and not in a good way. I saw that one of these had sold recently on Ebay and the guy actually put in what he did to restore it; Here's what he says he did: "Only quality components used throughout the amp. many of the old transistors were changed with modern low noise equivalents and gain matched hfe per pair. pre-amp: 2SC871 with 2SC2240BL 2SC458 with KSC1845 amp: 2SA493GR with 2SA1015GR 2SA743 with KSA1220AYS 2SC983 with KSC1845 All electrolytic capacitors have been replaced. All tantalum capacitors as well as caps in the signal path have been upgraded with Wima polypropylene film. A Triac has been installed to aid in the longevity of the power switch. new relay has been installed." I have the schematic, but I don't know if I would have to do any adjustments once the components were replaced, and the difficulty level of performing the same, so any advice would be appreciated. Edited November 8, 2015 by thebes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) Hey Marty, I would say that if you are up to doing the work on the internals, then it is definitely worthwhile. The Kenwood amps from that era are very highly regarded, not to mention those two units look great! Regarding adjustments required, Don't know what kind of test equipment you have, but some of the more complex adjustments may require an O'Scope, tone generator, etc. I'm sure you may already be aware, but AudioKarma has an entire section devoted to Kenwood. You should be able to find lots of info there. I just recently acquired a KA7001 and it's matching tuner. Doesn't have the sweet hardwood end caps, but it still looks pretty cool. It's now in line for a winter project. Have fun with it. Edited November 8, 2015 by jimjimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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