Kenwood Stereo Receiver KW - 60

Mark Davis

Mark Davis

Active Member
I have a opportunity for one of these units.Does anyone know anything about it.

Whay year made? Any Good? I know it is a tube receiver. It appears to be in good condition.

Powers up thats all I know. Also would I need a additional amp to go with this?

I have a opportunity for a Kenwood Stereo Integrated Amplifier MODEL KA-3700. It appears to be in good condition. It powers on also.
 
I have a KW-60 in the shop now. You'll need to have all the grey Caps replaced as they are junk after all the years. It is 25 Watts RMS with 30 total per channel. You won't need an an additional amp. I bought mine without listening to it and the right channel wasn't quite up to par. I did like what I heard though. I can solder, but this was more than I wanted to tackle.

Mine though doesn't have the multiplex stereo Fm added. If the one you're looking at doesn't, then forget FM Stereo. Back in those days to get Stereo they put the Left Channel on the FM dial and the Right Channel on the AM dial to get Stereo. I bought it for vinyl and not for the receiver part of it.

I've read good things and not so good things about it. some person from Japan paid over $1,200.00 for one on the fleabay not long ago if that says anything. Probably was more as a collector than anything.
 
What would a no higher than ????? price to pay for one?

All switches moved freely the tuner moved smoothly no knobs were missing.

Just no way to test it although it does power on. I am looking at eeverything needing replaced anyways.
 
Mark Davis said:
What would a no higher than ????? price to pay for one?

All switches moved freely the tuner moved smoothly no knobs were missing.

Just no way to test it although it does power on. I am looking at eeverything needing replaced anyways.
Click to expand...

Better to ask in the Dollars and Sense forum.
 
The Kenwoods from the tube period were not entry level units. They were close to the quality of the Fisher receivers. Of particular interest are the transformers which were excellent. Japanese home audio was a little behind the USA in terms of popularity but they also continued manufacturing longer than the americans. Anyway, if the price is right they are worth the money.
 
Well didn't think to put a price out there. I paid $105.00 for my KW-60 and it had the supply caps replaced. He was asking $175.00. Cosmetically it's probably a 7/10. The face is nice, but there's some issues with the paint on the metal case.

Don't throw away those tubes until checked. The factory matsushita power tubes are quite good. New power tubes run from 35 to 80 each. I got lucky and received some NOS Military Russian tubes made in the 80's from the wife's cousins in the Ukraine. I want to stretch out the life on the factory tubes, so change them out.

The KA-3700 is SS and 20 watts rms.
 
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I would have to agree that the Japanese audio equipment was not appreciated for what it actually was. I sold audio equipment at E. J. Korvette during 1966-67 before the army got me. We sold a lot of Fisher, Harman Kardon, Empire, HH Scott etc. But truth be known, at the time I was biased (pun intended) to prefer USA manufactured equipment. Only with the ability to purchase on eBay, have I come to appreciate the vintage Japanese electronics. I agree that the vintage Matsushita tubes were every bit as good as most American manufacturers.

On the bench right now is a Sansui 1000 (not 1000A). Oddly enough, the gray Suzuki coupling capacitors are not leaky. But they are being replaced. I finally have received my filter capacitors, yet to be installed.

Another nice reciever is the Kenwood 1100u. I have one in queue and look forward to listening to it as well.

Enjoy your vintage Japanese equipment!!!
 
I have a recapped Kenwood/Trio Wx-400 , seems to match the schematic of a KW-55 . The tuner is incredible first off but they are very nice sounding units! Nothing wrong espescially at the prices you can find them at. poor mans Fisher!
 
I have a mint KW-60 which I've owned for a couple of years. I bought from a cool Vietnam Vet I drove ninety miles to meet. I enjoyed talking to him, but in the back of my mind all I could think about was getting home to hook it up. I had Guy Lauten replace ALL the gray caps, and tune it up. He thanked me for letting him work on it, and called it museum quality. That said, it sounds fantastic! I have it on an a system with my 1979 Hersey's. The tube sound is lovely. My other system is MacIntosh solid state. Whenever I do a blind A/B test, it often wins. Almost never find one for sale. I wouldn't take a thousand dollars for mine.
 
Great to find this thread. I've owned a KW-60 for almost one year and finally got it over to Mike Urban at Vintage Hi-Fi to check her out. Really psyched about my first tube receiver! I love the looks of this unit.

 
Mr.White said:
Great to find this thread. I've owned a KW-60 for almost one year and finally got it over to Mike Urban at Vintage Hi-Fi to check her out. Really psyched about my first tube receiver! I love the looks of this unit.

Click to expand...

Those things weigh a ton. The build quality is very good too. Lots of features and doo dads is kind of problematic but if they all work then its a plus. The Sansui tube stuff is probably top of the line for home audio from Japan perhaps slightly below Luxman.
 
primosounds said:
Those things weigh a ton. The build quality is very good too. Lots of features and doo dads is kind of problematic but if they all work then its a plus. The Sansui tube stuff is probably top of the line for home audio from Japan perhaps slightly below Luxman.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it as far as the weight. I had it stored up high and the few times I had to move it I made my wife stand behind me while I was on the ladder in case I fell backwards. I'd be curious to hear Sansui tube gear from that era. I bought a SS 2000X many years ago and had it restored specifically because I read that it had a tube-like sound. I love my 2000X and would never part with it.
 
Sansui tube equipment is very collectible and even better sounding. Sansui AU70 is about 25 watts/channel powered by 7189 tubes and its much bigger brother the AU 111 is about 50 watts/channel sporting 7581 power tubes and the humongous output transformers. They are very rare and priced around 3000 for a decent one. They also have power amps that are just as highly regarded.
 
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timsclips said:
I have been enjoying my KW-55 for over a year. It is from about 1965 and uses el-84 tubes.
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I was under the impression that my KW-60 was from 1966 but yesterday I saw a pdf of Audio Magazine from 1962 and in there was an ad for the KW-60.
 
Dandy said:
Can't go wrong with those EL84 tubes. What work did Mike Urban do on your unit?
Click to expand...

Troubleshoot & locate open B+ dropping resistor, 1K ohm 2W wire wound
Replace failed coupling capacitors, (2) 0.022 & (2) 0.005 uf
Install silicon diode bias supply, (4) IN4002
Clean all controls & switches
Tuner alignment for best reception
Test all functions
 
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