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?
That is the only complaint I would have as well. I was actually thinking of installing jumpers just last week. Thanks for the reminder.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.
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.
The best vintage 70's Japanese brands are Luxman, Pioneer, Sansui in that order.