2. amps-preamps
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Kenwood KA8100 & KT7500

These oldies but goodies will soon be mine.Can't wait and in preparation I have of course been reading till my eyes get blurry.Seems the older Kenwood stuff if well respected and especially for delivering a respectable bass response.Just read the damping factor on the KA8100 is 50@8ohms.I'll be running a set of Klipsch KG4's initally and then some Klipsch Heresy's.I like to listen to the local jazz station which comes in real strong on my current gear.The signal to noise ratio is 115dB.What do you think of those numbers?With 75w per ch at 8 ohms with .03% THD
What can I expect considering the age of the gear and of course assuming its in running although not "new" condition.I realize some caps may be leaking and would like your opinions on what symptoms that may display.In the absence of any symptoms should I do a complete recapping.I mean the capacitors are all 32 years old or so and way past their expected life span.
I'll hang up and listen for your answer.
gyrene
kotta's avatar
kotta
649 posts
 
I bought the KA-7100/KT-7300 new in the 70's. First off, they built like tanks and I never had any sort of problem w/them. Numbers mean very little to me. It's how they sound w/the rest of your gear. I wouldn't worry about the capacitors if its sounding fine. (Now if you handy w/soldiering and you want to change out the capacitors that would be fine but I would not drop too much $ into these pieces. I personally would change out the speaker bidding posts to either: vampire BP-Hex's or Superior Electric BP-30's. Both are great upgrades. IMO. the Superior Electric sound slightly better but they accept only 14ga. or smaller bare wire. Overall not bad sounding pieces if you have the space!
beernut's avatar
beernut
297 posts
 
I am still a fan of vintage audio gear myself. I remember those Kenny pieces, pretty solid gear. As stated above, caps may be an issue and binding posts are awful on most gear of that vintage. Those were bare wire days.You are right, they could give up the ghost at any time which is always the risk. You might get some noise from the volume pot and switches as well. Caig's usually is the cure there. The Klipsch are quite efficient, you will have plenty of juice. Good Luck.
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