KA-501/601

[Dave47]

In my haste the last few months I picked up a number of amps and tuners. (all Kenwood) that include the KA-501 and KA-601 - along with a KT-615 tuner. They all work perfectly and are very good cosmetically.

Searching on AK I don't see a lot of folks restoring these. Or even a lot of threads about these. Are these amps considered inferior to the KA-X100s? I see a lot of restoration threads for the X100s. Did the KA-X01 line not sell as well? Are there less out there? Were they built better? I don't personally think they look quite as nice but they still look good. And mine sound great as well.

Now having said that if I ever decide to get rid of some gear I would probably start with these but only because I have a a few of the earlier KA-X1000 and the matching tuners.

 

[turboyam]

The quality started to go down in those MOTL models back then. I did a full restaure on a KA-501, 701 and a KT-615. Great amplifiers and tuner.
Not up to the 9100, 8100, and the likes tho.
These are all very easy to work on.

 

[dlrhawks]

I own a couple KT-615's and like them for what I use them for, which is local FM sports talk radio tuning as well as having pretty darn good AM tuners (using a CCRadio antenna booster). I don't use them for a whole lot of music listening. They're fine for that, just not as good as it can get for music.

Reason I chose them is they're numerous, therefore inexpensive - and have a good amount of features for an inexpensive tuner. Going towards a 7500 or 8xxx series, prices are ridiculous by comparison. Just wish they didn't have the flush housings compared to my KA-7100/8300's I own.