Sweet find? Kenwood KA-5750

Hey all. Here is the story. I haven't been feeling well, so I've been taking some time off of work. I am trying to get out of the house so I don't die of cabin fever. I happened to stop by a local pawn shop. While I was there, chatting with a sales guy, I saw what looked like a Kenwood amp behind the counter. I asked about it. He said it's a Kenwood and it's DEAD. I said, "How much?" "Five bucks", he said as he picked it up. As he did, I saw something that I had NEVER seen before. It is gun metal in color, somewhat metalic, somewhat flat. For $5 I can't pass it up! So I just got it home. It has no fuses, and is covered in dust. Clearly was in a smoke filled environment. So I'm going to clean it up, get some fuses and see how she goes.

Has anyone else seen the gun metal face plates before on the Kenwoods?

Oh yes. Very beautiful. I can't tell if these "50" series were designed for the Canadian market or European market or as a special option for the US that just didn't sell as hot as the silver faced devils.

It's a KA-5700, but bronzed face instead of silver. Same amp.

Add a "50" at the end of the amp designation, instead of the "00", and it comes with that alternative-finished face. Same goes for the tuners- a Kenwood KT-7500 tuner becomes a KT-7550 when the face is bronzed.

There's a smudge more value to these bronze-faced Kenwoods, usually around a $20-$25 bump over the more common silver faced units. The value isn't so much as monetary as it is a thing of beauty. The silver 5700s sell around the $50-$75 range from my experience.

In regards to the amp- I own 2 of them (the silver-faced models). If I recall, it's a 40 wpc (maybe 45wpc) amp, and to my ears, it sounds warm and dark- I use it mostly for my vintage rock collection listening at this time. For some reason, and this may be my exclusive experience among me and my friend only, the 5700s turn up often with operational issues- one of mine has a bum channel, one a bum input. My buddy has 1 good one, and 2 with bum channels. Someone here might have an insight to as why. Or as I stated, it might just be my personal experience with this model number.

Now I've never seen a 5700 in bronze, so please post a picture- I'd love to see it. And if the amp is dead, and you don't want it, please offer it up here to me or another AKer- I'm sure it's a beautiful amp and worth a home with you or another AKer!

Congrats on a good find, and great luck with it!

Thanks, I just got done giving it a QUICK once over on the inside. Flashlight and damp Q-Tips. It powers on, missing the uses, and it looks as if someone has tried to do work on it all ready cause all of the wires going to/from the power section have been cut. So, I'm off to get some fuses.

And, if for some reason it's too much, trust me, the first place I'm going to offer it up to is AK'ers.

don't forget the photos!

And my best wishes the fuses work for you!

Well,

I got the fuses and they burned up faster than fireworks on the 4th of July. So I guess I have some work cut out for me. On my way to get fuses, I stoped by a different Pawn shop where my buddy works and I picked up another score!

Here are the photos!

Sweet. Good luck.