Kenwood KA-71: thoughts?

goldwax

dozy ming-mong
So, I told my dad about my recent foray into vintage audio gear, and asked him to see if he could find the old Heathkit tuner that he put together in '72. He still hasn't found it yet, but what he did pull up was the complete Kenwood system he bought at the PX circa 1979. I think it's 70 wpc. I found something in Hungarian saying it was 140 w, but I think they simply added the two channels together. I could be wrong, though.

I can't find much info on it online, but I did find a couple of pictures:

f1xk7.jpg

f4tt4.jpg

f7tc2.jpg


That last pic with the lit-up triangle indicator really takes me back. I used it extensively from about 1981 to 1986, when I first got into music. I had no idea my dad still had it.

Overall, it looks kinda cheap if I'm honest--not like the neat KR-7600 I have now. Anyone know anything about it or its quality? It seems like it might have been made for the military since I can't find much info on it, and what I can find tends to be in foreign languages.

Again, my dad bought it as part of an all-in Kenwood system in a case with a glass door. Here's the whole list of components:

tuner: KT-51
cassette: KX-71R
EQ: GE-100II
Amp: KA-71
TT: KD-51F
speakers: my dad couldn't be bothered to pull them down to check, but they're KW.

Any thoughts on this system? Don't hold back--I can take it, despite the fondness and nostalgia I have for it!
 
I should add that I my parents live 3,000 miles from me and I haven't heard this system in 17 years, so I'm counting on you guys for some info/opinions!
 
Probably 70w. per channel at 8 ohms, rated. Kenwood tended to under-rate amplifier output in the 70's. I believe the KA-71 was built in '82-'83. Built and sold for the European market, by all accounts. You'll never know how it sounds until it's hooked up and playing in your system.
If your Dad wishes to gift it to you, I wouldn't turn him down. Heck, even if you don't think it's the best, tell him you think it's the best thing since sliced bread. He'll love you for that and get a big kick that he could make his Son happy. Good luck with the Kenwood. I never heard a Kenwood I didn't like.
 
Probably 70w. per channel at 8 ohms, rated. Kenwood tended to under-rate amplifier output in the 70's. I believe the KA-71 was built in '82-'83. Built and sold for the European market, by all accounts. You'll never know how it sounds until it's hooked up and playing in your system.
If your Dad wishes to gift it to you, I wouldn't turn him down. Heck, even if you don't think it's the best, tell him you think it's the best thing since sliced bread. He'll love you for that and get a big kick that he could make his Son happy. Good luck with the Kenwood. I never heard a Kenwood I didn't like.

Yeah, I think you're right about the years it was manufactured. It definitely has more of an '80s vibe to it than a '70s vibe. My dad insists we had it when we still lived in Maryland (we moved to Alabama in 1981), but I don't remember having it then--and I got into music in 1980, so I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if there was a better alternative to listening to DC101 on my little emerson clock-radio. And I know we bought our first color TV in Alabama (actually, Ft. Benning, Georgia) in 1981, so the stereo probably came in '82 or so.

70 wpc is nothing to sneeze at, but otherwise, in terms of functionality, it seems pretty basic. There's no C speaker option, no AUX input (shocking, considering that people were starting to integrate their TVs with their stereos around this time), and so on. It also looks kinda small. Wonder how much it weighs!

But yeah, it's a huge piece of my musical history. I remember now that I also used it from 1991-92, when I was sharing a house with friends right after college.

My dad would give it to me in a heartbeat--he doesn't really care about music, and in any case he has a another full set up in a glass cabinet (BPC, though) in the living room that doesn't get much use either. The trick is figuring out how to get it to me. Maybe next time they come to visit.

I don't really care too much about the other components besides the amp--I suppose it might be nice to grab the cassette player and EQ, though I don't really need them. The TT and speakers are probably not all that great. I should probably grab the tuner, though, to go with the amp. Maybe that's where I'd draw the line.
 
You might get a little more traction in the thread if you fix the title to say Kenwood instead of Yamaha...
 
It's okay, we all dream about owning a Yamaha, but wind up with a Kenwood. It happens to the best of us one time or another...

:lmao:

I actually just got a Kenwood KR-7600 a couple months ago--my first vintage component--and then a Yamaha CR-640 fell into my lap last week, so that's probably what caused the confusion. For the record, I like the Yamaha, but I LOVE the Kenwood!
 
Kinda has styling cues of my 1985 KA-52B (black) which was 50 watts/channel, I think there was a KA-72 that was 70w/channel, so this KA-71's power rating could indeed be 70w/channel. I would also date it to the early 80's. I just seem to have a funny feeling that this amp is only rated at 35w /channel though.
 
Bumping this with it's new-improved title in the hopes some more people will see it. With all the ex-servicemen, Europeans, and general audio nuts here, I can't believe I'm the only one that has this.

Oh, yes. She is mine. I asked my dad if I could have her, and he said the hand-off would occur the next time we saw each other, which will hopefully be sometime this year (and not just because I'll be getting an amp when that happens!).
 
I had one of these back in the eighties I can't tell you about sound quality because i was't into that at the time but i can tell you it was loud. i used to dj house parties with it and carried it all over the place. i bought it new in the early eighties when i used to work at tv and stereo town in tampa. also i bought it as a stand alone and not part of a "rack system" 70wpc is correct if memory serves me. i know it had to be relatively inexpensive because i actually lusted after a technics reciever with lots of cool lights and buttons and ended up with this one as it was the most wpc for the least amount of money in a good brand name. I saw a picture of it on another post the other day and got a little nostalgic. I can't remember what i did with it.
 
I had one of these back in the eighties I can't tell you about sound quality because i was't into that at the time but i can tell you it was loud. i used to dj house parties with it and carried it all over the place. i bought it new in the early eighties when i used to work at tv and stereo town in tampa. also i bought it as a stand alone and not part of a "rack system" 70wpc is correct if memory serves me. i know it had to be relatively inexpensive because i actually lusted after a technics reciever with lots of cool lights and buttons and ended up with this one as it was the most wpc for the least amount of money in a good brand name. I saw a picture of it on another post the other day and got a little nostalgic. I can't remember what i did with it.

Finally, someone else who had one!

Did your store carry it or did you special order it? I only ask because you're the only person to say they owned one, my dad bought it at the PX, and another poster has said that they were likely made for Europe (which wouldn't preclude them from getting into the US Military system, I don't think).
 
Finally, someone else who had one!

Did your store carry it or did you special order it? I only ask because you're the only person to say they owned one, my dad bought it at the PX, and another poster has said that they were likely made for Europe (which wouldn't preclude them from getting into the US Military system, I don't think).

It was a stock item at my store. I had to look at it all summer long while I lugged enough electronics and appliances around to pay for it. It was a pretty good summer piece by piece i bought a technics cassete deck with soft touch controls and the cool FL VU meters of the day and an akai graphic eq w/ spectrum analyzer display and a belt drive technics tt. basically i spent all my earnings at my work....oh to be 15 again.
 
I was just bouncing around on e-bay and saw this amp and on a different listing from a different seller the kx-71 cassette cassete deck that matches it.
 
I currently own a KA-51B. I assume the 51 is less wpc. Also assume the B is for blacK as mine is. Otherwise they look the same. Found that the contacts behind the large selector switches are cheap with thin metal material that wears out. I disassembled mine and permantly soldered it to tuner. Sounds fine. Nothing to write home about. My daughter uses it in her bedroom.
 
Sounds about right. I was a teen when I used it the most, so I wasn't that critical. (Not that I was that much more critical in my 20s or 30s, mind you.)

I'd never recommend this to anyone, though I wouldn't recommend against it, either. Just interested in reclaiming a part of my personal history, is all.
 
I would like it alot more if it didn't have the overly large triangle indicator lights and the "we need to fill some space here" power indicator light. Certainly some cheap parts on the outside. Overall it's not that bad though. I wouldn't turn one down.
 
I would like it alot more if it didn't have the overly large triangle indicator lights and the "we need to fill some space here" power indicator light. Certainly some cheap parts on the outside. Overall it's not that bad though. I wouldn't turn one down.

I love the triangle lights, purely out of nostalgia. But yea, the power indicator light had me scratching my head even as a teen.
 
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