Kenwood basic amp M2A

dmax99

Lookin' For Live
Anyone have one ? There's one sitting in a pawn shop nearby for 180.00, before dicker.I've found that they have around 220 watts rms at rated capacity.THD is .004.Beyond that I know nothing.David
 
I think the price is probably high compared to ebay. I never had an M2 but I had an M1A. A really nice sounding amp with my Polk Monitor Series 2 speakers. I thought the bass was better than my current amp but that may be my ears playing tricks on me. I got rid of mine because I didn't like the idea of the output ICs being proprietary Kenwoods. I guess I'll have to live with my mistake.

If you can talk him down, snag it. Otherwise leave it. Pawn shops around here expect to get ebay prices for audiophile gear. A local store has had a pair of Maggies ($600) and an Adcom 545 and nobody has touched them.
 
KENWOOD
PWR, BASIC-M2A

Description: SUPER DLD, 2-SPK PAIR SELECTION, LED POWER INDICATOR

Manufacture Years: 1985 - 1990

Additional Information:
Power: 220


Retail
MSRP: $700.00
USED: $275.00
Wholesale
Mint: $150.00
Average: $90.00
 
Got one. Bought it off Ebay a couple of months ago. Spent a little more on it than your seller was asking, but it was near mint and from a trusted seller nearby my home.

So far it has been excellent. The sonic character is a little laid back for an amp capable of 220 continuous watts with +3db peaks and stable with 4-ohm loads. The bass is very good with deep, strong, extended tone. The mids and highs are also excellent.

Whether you will love the amp or not depends on a lot of different factors. The type of music you like to listen to, the speakers you favor, the dimensions of your listening room, etc....

Personally I favor a faster amp. I started my vintage audio addiction with mid to late 70's Sansui integrated amps. These are much faster, with an attack to the sound that would be hard to describe. So far I have Sansui’s AU-717, AU-9900, AU-9500 and others. All of these have a totally different character than the Kenwood, and a sound that I prefer.

That said the Kenwood is an excellent piece. It's so strong I haven’t yet fully cranked it. Currently I have JBL towers hooked up that will leave your ears ringing if care to listen that loud. And I like it loud.

The M2A has been described as one of the all time great bass amps. Some people buy them just to power passive subwoofers. With a damping factor of greater than 1000, it should be.

I would see if the seller would allow you to preview the amp at your house to see if this "flavor" of amp is synergistic with your system.
 
I own one.

I've only ever used mine as the Bass amp in a bi-amped system.
It works in tandem with a Basic M1 which operates the treble section,the inclusion of the M2A worked wonders in my system,firstly because the match with the M1 gave me a seamlessness quality to the over-all sound.
The other quality I noted was the incredible subtelty coupled with definition and power.My favourite analogy is a Turbo-charged steam-roller which can out accelerate a F1 car yet can stop and U turn on a pin-head.
Try it at home if you can ,then post your findings and tell us the results.
 
I also had one. I used it fullrange, and it was an excellent amp.
They go for over $200 on ebay.
It would make you a very fine amp. No apologies needed.
 
On ebay a little while ago I won a M1D & a C2 preamp from the same seller for under 140.00. Seems to me like a decent deal.Not as much power but I needed a pre anyway.
 
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