Should I buy a Kenwood KA-7100?

I have plenty of Kenwood equipment in my arsenal, and the worst I've seen is a burned-up power switch, two bad transistors and a fried tonearm motor. None of those problems were particularly difficult to fix.
 
I bid $60 + $28 shipping and won a KA-7100. The owner originally said all was working but now found out that there is some static when turning the knobs so they lowered the price to $25 + shipping if I still want it. I assume a cleaning will take care of the static and it appears to be in very good shape.

Is this beast worth $53 delivered?

hope you got it :yes:. i will buy this unit for its pre amp section alone.

cheap? dont mind him, he's just kidding :D
 
Last edited:
For the music lover on a budget, the KA-7100 is tough to beat. Solid construction, good circuit design, great sound, and easy to repair. Cheap because Kenwood sold about a bazillion of them. My sole complaint is the lack of pre-out/main-in jumpers, but even that can be overcome with some thought and elbow grease.
 
Kenwood has my vote also. They made VERY good gear at decent prices in the 70's. You said that the 7100 has scratchy controls. I have found that problem on a lot of vintage equipment and Deoxit treatment of the pots cured the problem. The price is fine and it's worth working on. Go get em' tiger!
 
I got A 7100 from ebay awhile back, I thought the bass sounded
to flat or laid back for my taste so it has been sitting around unused.
I did open it up and yes it looks real easy to work on, major plus for
me.
I have to many projects to take up my time right now so I let my
Dad take the amp to see if he could modify it to improve the sound
quality, he is retired and likes to work on vintage tube and SS amps.
He really liked how easy it was to work on and how well it
responded to the modifications.
In the power supply he installed three caps in parallel A goodall
.027, snowcap .15 and A .05 ceramic disk cap into C23 and C24.
On the bottom circuit board side of the 6800 uf caps he used two
polypropylene .56uf 250volt across two of the 6800 uf caps, pics
below to see work.
Later when I took it home with me and gave it A test I was very
surprised at how the modifications made this amp come alive with
excellent bass.
A very nice looking unit to.
 

Attachments

  • Power supply C23, C24.JPG
    Power supply C23, C24.JPG
    183.7 KB · Views: 211
  • 6800 uf caps, circuit board side.JPG
    6800 uf caps, circuit board side.JPG
    129.4 KB · Views: 205
Hell yerrr! Git that Kenny!

And you really lucked out with the seller thinking the dirty control knobs is serious enough to lower the price. LOL sometimes we thrive on other people's ignorance.
 
I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon. I have a KA-7100 in the basement that I use when I am playing my bass along with CD's. I've had it for years. I love it, for the price it sounds great. I wouldn't say it's abused but it's not in the most loving environment. I've had to clean the pots and switches a few times and that's about it.

For the music lover on a budget, the KA-7100 is tough to beat. Solid construction, good circuit design, great sound, and easy to repair. Cheap because Kenwood sold about a bazillion of them. My sole complaint is the lack of pre-out/main-in jumpers, but even that can be overcome with some thought and elbow grease.
That is the only complaint I would have as well. I was actually thinking of installing jumpers just last week. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Sniffbooger, if you think Kenwood is crap, why are you trying to get a TA-100WA for your 9100?
 
$53 shipped is a giveaway. A no-brainer...

You can't even buy a pair of decent cables with that money...
 
That's a great price, IMO. KA-7100 was my first piece of decent audio equipment.

If you pass on this one, you might also keep your eyes out for a KA-7300.
 
Kenwoods are made with cheap parts. If you want a good old vintage receiver that is well built, get a Pioneer SA integrated. They sound better too because of the DC coupled circuits. Every single Kenwood I ever owned, without exception, has broken or malfunctioned somehow and needed repair. Just my opinion. The best vintage 70's Japanese brands are Luxman, Pioneer, Sansui in that order. Kenwood is cheap parts and lots of hype. :music:

Are you sure it's not "Sniffglue"??
 
I Guess I Got Lucky

In response to Sniffy, I have had a KA-7100 and KA-9100 since 1978 and both continue to play flawlessly. I had to clean a switch in the 7100 once and I have never opened the lid on the 9100 yet. I guess I just got lucky. huh. :thmbsp:
 
Honestly, I've used a KA-8004 for years and it's only just now starting to have problems. But, as far as I can tell, they're minor issues... stuff that any amp from the 70s would probably experience at some point. Static is coming from the volume knob and the on/off switch failed last night. Not bad for a 30-year-old piece of electronics that has never been serviced.
 
my 7100 hasn't had a cap replaced and it still sounds great. Not to say that doing so would not improve things. Probably would. Some day.
As for the "booger" he's just full of snot.
 
Back
Top Bottom