Kenwoods for a homecoming

[Stefan Wood]

My father is moving back into the Northern Virginia area to be close to me and my 2 year old son. Just closed on a place yesterday. Mom passed away a few years ago. I knew that he was always moaning about not having the music library he once had,so I decided to build a system for him for his new place. A housewarming/birthday/Father's Day gift all rolled into one. I had strongly considered getting him one of the new integrated Yamahas, especially with the cd player built in and the wireless, but remembered that he struggles with computers, and especially the wireless HP printer in his office. So I went the other route, scoured the craigslist ads until I found a pair of Kenwoods. A KA-2500 and a KT-3500 in excellent condition. Traded a Pioneer PL-50 turntable and some cash for them. The seller even tossed in the Kenwood KL-440 speakers as well. The cabinets were beat, but I decided well for free I could try to strip and revarnish. It came out all right. Photos enclosed. For a media player I gave him a Fiio X3ii player with a 128 gb card full of music of what he used to have. We are both jazz junkies. The Fiio works because he has an iphone and an ipad, so he know how they work. He was very moved when I presented them to him.

 

[Stefan Wood]

There is little to no info on the Kenwoods. The 2500 is a 50 watt integrated, at least according to the manual. The tuner is very strong. And the speakers -- well, they are four speakers, two tweeters, a mid and a 12" woofer that with this set up sounds very warm and strong. I had tested it with my Musical Paradise 301 mk 3 and it was not a good match, so I was uncertain how it would sound, but it came out all right.

 

[dlucy]

Those Kenwoods look great!

 

[dlucy]

I recently bought and recapped a slightly older pair, the KA-4002 and KT-2001. I like the way they sound and love the way they look, but neither your tuner nor mine get much love at FM Tuner Info. http://fmtunerinfo.com/kenwood.html

 

[hopjohn]

That's a nice looking Kenwood set. You and your Dad sharing a love of music is a great story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stefan Wood]

I recently bought and recapped a slightly older pair, the KA-4002 and KT-2001. I like the way they sound and love the way they look, but neither your tuner nor mine get much love at FM Tuner Info. http://fmtunerinfo.com/kenwood.html

Yes, I don't get it. I have had heard other tuners, including a Sansui 719, and this rivals it. The build on these are not cheap, despite their compact size. I think there is a black hole of information when it comes to these late 60's/early 70's models. Plus, looking around, I see that there are two different versions of the KT3500, and I think that the site you are referencing is talking about the later silver faced version. These are the Trio named versions.

 

[sansuigui]

Hi, they look great. So do mine
But my amp is labeled TK-250U.
And btw. if anyone knows where I can find a service manual for the amp ?

 

[Blue Shadow]

Nice looking early Kenwood kit.