Is a blue LED in Kenwood Model 600 blasphemy?

[saabracer23]

Hey all, so I thought I would post a few after pics of a Kenwood Model 600 rebuild I did. The customer said they think it would be cool if I could incorporate a blue led somewhere. After shaking my head in disbelief, I wanted to do my best to make it look classy.

The original lamp has an amber glow to it and I found that they got the color from using a white translucent diffuser and put a drop of amber glue on the tip of it right in front of the bulb. I scraped the glue off, built a small rectifier circuit using a capacitor and diode as the original lamp was powered with ac, and it doesn't look half bad. You'll notice the face is a little scratched up, bummer. Let me know your thoughts.









Dan

 

[avionic]

To each his own..Looks fine to me.But then.Its not a yamaha.

 

[UncleBingo]

All blue LED's are blasphemy. It looks good, though.

 

[gort69]

I think it looks real nice.

I see you got the same mish-mash of filter caps I got - did you get them from Mouser? I had some stickers made to tidy up the look a bit.

 

[saabracer23]

I think it looks real nice.

I see you got the same mish-mash of filter caps I got - did you get them from Mouser? I had some stickers made to tidy up the look a bit.

View attachment 1176405

Haha yeah I did get them from mouser. Those are nice stickers, get them from a local source?

Dan

 

[gort69]

Nah - online. There's about a million outfits who can do it. Cheap.

 

[Blue Shadow]

If the led is not overly bright there is Kenwood precedence for blue indicator lamps. The KA-6000 among others had blue indicators.

 

[Tim64]

Looks good not like those laser beam intensity ones you find on Chinese made gear. I've changed a few of those out for mellow yellow led's.

 

[EngineerNate]

That's the least objectionable blue LED I think I've seen to date, but in general I'm with @UncleBingo. Blue LEDs are grating on the ol' Mk1 eyeballs. I get enough blue light from the screens I stare at all day.

 

[sregor]

FWIW it looks like the lamps on the KA-7002 (or maybe older KA-6000)

 

[Archguy]

A lot of people think that anything is blasphemy if it's not original, but I'm finding that I like blue LEDs since I got a Cambridge amp in the rotation. They're not very bright, but they're a calming, soothing color in a darkened room and after all, red is the universal color symbolizing hazard. Amber I'm sort of on the fence with. Took some stained-glass paint recently to darken some LEDs.

 

[Bob]

if it enhances the experience, extends the soundstage, increases the dynamic range, sharpens
the foreground/background, heightens the performance, then go for it.

 

[Archguy]

Um....sure!

Could happen!

 

[robgmn]

The KA600 wasn't the ONLY one with blue indicators.
I have a 7002 that has very blue ones.
(borrowed pic)

 

[audiobliss]

Hey all, so I thought I would post a few after pics of a Kenwood Model 600 rebuild I did. The customer said they think it would be cool if I could incorporate a blue led somewhere. After shaking my head in disbelief, I wanted to do my best to make it look classy.

The original lamp has an amber glow to it and I found that they got the color from using a white translucent diffuser and put a drop of amber glue on the tip of it right in front of the bulb. I scraped the glue off, built a small rectifier circuit using a capacitor and diode as the original lamp was powered with ac, and it doesn't look half bad. You'll notice the face is a little scratched up, bummer. Let me know your thoughts.

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Dan

Very nice, I had a 600 for like 30 years, just sitting at my brother in law house, just going to waist. I eventually took it back with the intention to rebuild it. When I opened it up and saw all those leaking caps and loose solder joints everywhere, I just closed it back up and sold it to a guy in the UK.

That was my first midfi amp back in the seventies. I still have the tuner.

 

[Alobar]

To each his own..Looks fine to me.But then.Its not a yamaha.

You bet your sweet bippy it's not!!

I think it looks great.. I would do it with my 700C but then it wouldn't match the 700M slightly greenish glow..

 

[Alobar]

Very nice, I had a 600 for like 30 years, just sitting at my brother in law house, just going to waist. I eventually took it back with the intention to rebuild it. When I opened it up and saw all those leaking caps and loose solder joints everywhere, I just closed it back up and sold it to a guy in the UK.

That was my first midfi amp back in the seventies. I still have the tuner.

Midfi? They would have been a pretty pricey midfi unit! But then there is no set definition or spec for mid fi..

 

[Tube Sound]

A blue light on a Kenwood Supreme is still a Kenwood Supreme. The beauty is not in the light. Purple and pink work. If midfi, OK. The greatest midfi I've ever owned.

TS

 

[sdw54]

KT 7001 has blue indicators for Muting, Multiplex plus dial lighting and meters. No problem...

 

[Gazdatronik]

I put laser bright white LEDs in my Apt Holmans, they have grown dimmer in 10 years.
I was a young'n.