My first Vintage Setup

JoelMart2017

Active Member
Did I start at the top? I have always wanted a Vintage Hifi setup but never really got around to it. Yamaha was my choice for a long time. Then I came across some Kenwood 700's. I didnt know what they were at first when I saw them, I just saw some old vintage equipment that were being sold really cheap. I bought both the 700M and 700C without knowing if they worked or not, I was so lucky to be at the right place at the right time. Now I cant stop looking to add to my Kenwoods. So far this is what I have setup:

Kenwood 700M Amplifier
Kenwood 700C Controller
Kenwood KX-830 Tape Deck
Teac AN-180 Noise Reduction Unit
Harman Kardon ST-7 (This one is fighting me right now LOL)
Tandberg TD20A SE Reel to Reel
JBL HP520 Speakers
KEF Coda 8 Speakers
Lenovo Yoga 710 (Digital Streaming)
Sony BDP-S360 DVD/CD Player

Coming soon:
Polk Audio RTi-A9's (Hopefully by the end of this month)
Kenwood Equalizer (on the lookout for a silver face one)

:)

Kenwood Setup.jpg
 
Nice stuff!

Now optimize your setup by placing the preamp and cassette somewhere other than on top of the power amp's transformer and move the speakers significantly away from anything else.

Especially when you get the Polk towers. You'll get a much better image when you avoid diffraction.
 
Nice stuff!

Now optimize your setup by placing the preamp and cassette somewhere other than on top of the power amp's transformer and move the speakers significantly away from anything else.

Especially when you get the Polk towers. You'll get a much better image when you avoid diffraction.

Thanks!! Yea I definitely need to learn placement. Those little Kenwood speakers are not connected, its just for display. I will be using those in my bedroom connected to my computer. My JBL's and KEF's are about 2ft on both sides of the unit. I will move the Pre-amp and Cassette to another level on the media rack.
 
Nice, now show us your good speakers.

Here is the whole setup so far. KEF's are sitting on top of the JBL 520's. My Tandberg is sitting on a bookshelf so its not in the picture yet. The sub you see at the lower right is not being used, the JBL's have plenty of low end. At the top is the one currently fighting me, the Harman wants to spin faster than its supposed too. LOL That little Lenovo laptop has Dolby Audio and sounds pretty good with Pandora, I plan on getting the paid service for the HD audio. Can you believe someone pawned those Kenwoods?
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Those Kenny 700 units are junk, best to send them to me to be disposed of properly... ;) :D

Just kidding, mighty fine setup you have there! :thumbsup:
 
Save yourself a lot of time and get really great results. Get this. I have no connection other than I bought it and was surprised at the difference speaker placement made. Previously I positioned my speakers according to various theories about room size. This CD guides you to position your speakers in a way that actually sounds best using your own ears as test equipment. Highly recommended.

AISOUSSUD.jpg


Here's where I found it; but it may be cheaper elsewhere.

https://www.musicdirect.com/accessories/IsoTek---Ultimate-System-Set-Up-Disc-CD

Let us know how the Polks work out.
 
Save yourself a lot of time and get really great results. Get this. I have no connection other than I bought it and was surprised at the difference speaker placement made. Previously I positioned my speakers according to various theories about room size. This CD guides you to position your speakers in a way that actually sounds best using your own ears as test equipment. Highly recommended.
.

Question - and I'm probably (definitely) overthinking this - when setting up the speakers with your CD player, will placement change based on changing equipment? I mean, if i set this up with my CD player, will the way I receive the music via TT or Streamer/DAC still be the same optimal alignment?
 
Question - and I'm probably (definitely) overthinking this - when setting up the speakers with your CD player, will placement change based on changing equipment? I mean, if i set this up with my CD player, will the way I receive the music via TT or Streamer/DAC still be the same optimal alignment?

Fair question, Saggy. The speakers behave the same for any source you use, as far as location is concerned. As far as I know.
 
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