Is This Kenwood KR 9000G Worth the Trouble?

IraGress

Active Member
I would love one of these beauties, but this one is listed as parts/repair.
All the seller will say is, "we have determined it is unable to fully function as intended", which could mean anything from burned-out bulbs to catastrophic damage.
And it'll probably cost me over $200 after delivery fees.
How much would you guess it might cost to repair in the worst case scenario?
I should probably forget about it, right?
(The unit that's lit up is just a stock photo.
The other is the actual unit in question. )
 

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Those are the military edition of the Model 9, which are pretty rare. However, it might double the cost to get it going again. Most likely worth it, but it depends on how motivated you are. I love my Kenwood receivers from that era.
 
Those are the military edition of the Model 9, which are pretty rare. However, it might double the cost to get it going again. Most likely worth it, but it depends on how motivated you are. I love my Kenwood receivers from that era.
I know.
I researched the receiver quite a bit. I've just never had any audio equipment repaired before and had no idea of the cost range.
If repairs double the cost, I suppose it would still be a fair deal, but I think I'll pass.
Thanks. :)
 
I would love one of these beauties, but this one is listed as parts/repair.
All the seller will say is, "we have determined it is unable to fully function as intended", which could mean anything from burned-out bulbs to catastrophic damage.
And it'll probably cost me over $200 after delivery fees.
How much would you guess it might cost to repair in the worst case scenario?
I should probably forget about it, right?
(The unit that's lit up is just a stock photo.
The other is the actual unit in question. )

I can assure you there was nothing seriously wrong with the one in the first photo because I won the auction after bidding a little higher upon noticing the preamp outputs were not shorted closed. First thing I did was close the circuit and it she fired right up. The worst thing about this unit has been the inside was VERY dirty. Several hours and a big box of q-tips later she looks much better and most of the bad smells are gone. The little gear in the tuner was stripped so I bought a Kenwood air capacitor from a parted out unit that looked similar and it worked fine. Then restrung it with quality braided fishing line. First time restringing a tuner. Total PITA. Replaced almost all the lamps. I just started on the dried out woodwork. The sticker residue came right off with no staining using goo-be-gone. One bad chip to fill and color match. Then maybe some Howard restore-a finish if the 10 coats of lemon oil I put on it doesn't get er done. The unit sounds nice but has a slight hum. Filter caps probably need to be replaced. Not counting the filter caps, I'm all in for around 260. I'm happy with that but damn this thing is big. Even bigger than my SX-1050 but what a looker. Just a few more hours on the KR 9000G and Onkyo is moving out to the garage. I'll post an "after" picture when I'm all done. Thank you IraGress for not driving up the price to much and then outbidding me. ;)
 
Just picked one up in Mint condition from the lady that bought it in the px in Germany. What a beast. Even makes my Sansui G 7700 look small. Couldn't be happier. Seems like the cost of these keep going up and fast. Good luck in your search. IMG_20180422_133314361.jpg IMG_20180422_133314361.jpg
 

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Thanks, it's nice you can still find a jem now and then. I've been collecting for years, prices and popularity have jumped in the last few. Keep rockin.
 
Worth the trouble?
For looks, yes
For sound quality, no

I picked up a Super Eleven a few years back very cheap. From my research the Super Eleven and 9000G are very similar. I really liked the looks but was never satisfied with the sound. To me, the mids were weak and the bass was boomy no matter what speakers I ran. Wound up selling it to an acquaintance as part of a whole system with a pair of CV VS120s, and a NAD CD player. Last time I talked to the guy, he still swears it's the best system he ever heard.
 
Being a Kenwood fan I would say go for it! I have the Eleven G and it is beautiful but had to put work into it due to bad solder joints and some bad caps so after about $250.00 it works great and sound good too!
 
Any of the old unworked on receivers are going to need work. I kept my, still working, SX-1250 and SX-1280s unused for at least 5 years before I built up enough cash to have AK guru mattsd do a full rehab on both of them, one year after another. I did not want to use them and have something go really wrong with them and bump the repair cost up even more, especially the 1280 with it's unobtanium output transistors. If you catch this Kenwood receiver, there is no reason you can't set it aside for a period of saving, before you send it out to the guru of your choice.
 
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