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ID help on some Kenwood champagne colored rack-mounted components?

ghettofunk

ghettofunk

What wood Ken do?
Hi all -

I'm going to pick up some speakers tomorrow and got to talking with the seller and she asked if I was only interested in the speakers or was I looking for any other old stereo equipment. Well, I'm always looking, so what did she have?

She first started talking about a metal Kenwood cassette deck. That's fine, I'm not huge into cassettes, but I could consider it. Then she started describing some rack equipment that her husband used to use when he did a/v for schools/churches. Eventually he gets on the phone to describe what he had.

This is how he described it to me:

  • It was a professional series from Kenwood - not sold in retail shops
  • Metal faces, champagne color - not silver
  • There's an amp, pre-amp, and tape deck (though not sure that the deck is champagne)
  • It's currently rack mounted and they'd sell the rack too if I wanted it

Does anyone know what those components would be? I'm certainly curious, but don't really know much of anything that's champagne color from Kenwood (aside from the kr-10000's).

Obviously I'll know more when I can actually see them, but I'd always prefer to have an education in advance as opposed to walking in blind.

Any thoughts or guesses?
 
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Hmm...after a little more looking around I am having a hard time not really really really hoping it's something like the Supreme 650 series.

5244789863_178e072f74.jpg


It's already well past my bedtime and now my heart is racing just thinking about it. Good grief. Somebody tell me that there is a lower end something dumpy that it could be so I can sleep tonight.

I'll fill in tomorrow if/when I get to actually check out whatever they've got.
 
I've never heard of or seen a bronze Kenwood pre amp :scratch2:

I do recall seeing a bronze faced cassette deck on the bay at one time.

I wonder if he's actually talking about an integrated amp & tuner. The KA-7150/8150/9150 and matching tuners KT-9900 & KT 7550 can be rack mounted.

A rack mounted 650??? That would be a first for me!

Good luck and let us know how the deal turns out!
 
They did make the a 650 Tuner and amplifier, and there was a matching variation on the KX-1030 cassette deck.

Would be a pretty sweet rig

Unfortunately I think it's more likely that she's mistaken about the brand. Most likely is some interesting gear, but not Kenwood. Please keep us posted, and good luck!
 
Supremes!

Welp, just got back from spending 3 hours dismantling an old audio rack to get to the treasures it held inside...

Kenwood Supreme 700c
Kenwood Supreme 700m

Turns out my heart palpitations last night thinking of the possibilities of what he had were well-deserved. I knew what I was walking up to from 30ft away - the meters on the 700m are a pretty dead giveaway. I'm on top of the world right now. What a phenomenal find - despite the fact that they are a little banged up on the edges. His price was fair (better than on the bay - if/when these ever come up) and we both walked away happy.

Turns out he had the color wrong - they obviously weren't champagne/bronze, but they were indeed rack mounted. He had the matching KX-1030 cassette deck (not in the rack), but I told him I'd mull that one over a little bit. His price was a little high for the deck, and I don't use cassettes - although obviously it looks good with the rest of the setup. He said he was certain it would need a new belt though. I told them I'd think it over a little bit and the let him know if I wanted it as well. The cassette deck had rack handles and wood panel sides. Aren't those handles harder to come by? Would they work on the amps?

This find comes after me telling my dad literally 3 days ago that if I was really going to get serious about collecting Kenwood (and was going to spend some real money on the hobby), the goal would be Supremes. I'm really starting to believe in this whole, "If you put it out there, it becomes that much more possible."

Some quick cell phone pics:
supreme%20pre.jpg


supreme%20power.jpg


And here's the tape deck that I'm still trying to decide on:
kenwood%20deck.jpg
 
WOW!

Whatever you paid, it's a great rig. How the heck did he have the 700 gear rack mounted? Just a generic shelf of some kind? Don't know of a Kenwood rack-mount kit for those models.

I'd pick up the KX-1030 too. It's a great deck and worth servicing. Pretty common out there used if you pass though.

Congrats, and welcome to the Supreme club :)
 
I guess I'm a little more private about prices paid than some - unless it was a just plain ridiculously low price paid - which this was not. This was a score for me simply because of the difficulty of even coming across any of the Supreme set, and because it was just days ago that I told my dad (a longtime Kenwood enthusiast and 70's hi-fi shop employee) that of anything by Kenwood, this is a setup that I'd really like to get to know.

This owner purchased the setup new from a friend who worked as a fairly high up regional/district distributor manager for Kenwood. He insists that the rack mounting adaptors were issued by Kenwood, though I couldn't see any identifying marks on them. They allowed the unit to sit on pull-out shelf rails and used the screws in the sides of the case to attach it to the shelf so it couldn't come off. It took a LOT of unbolting to get those things out because the shelves weren't too keen on sliding any more and you couldn't get to the screws without the shelf out.

I love the look of the cassette deck, but his price was high enough on that that I had to pass for the time being. Did a quick scan of the bay once I got back and saw $15-30 plus shipping for those on recent sales. He was quite a ways over that (and talked about the deck very fondly), so I'm not sure that I want to try to talk him down just for the sake of having it. I'll keep thinking about it though. He wasn't in a huge hurry to get rid of it and said he'd wait to hear from me on my verdict.

At any rate, I can't wait to get home and clean the amps up a bit. They were put into the rack new and haven't been out till today. Thanks for the 'welcome to the Supreme club' - it feels good to be here. :thmbsp:
 
clean up the edges

Here is a suggestion. Remove the facplate off the 700c . Bring it to a machine shop and have the outside edges cleaned up..... I have done with a few of my pieces and they look really clean and sharp....... Great find by the way :yes:
 
Congratulations. Hope springs eternal.

I can understand your thoughts on the cassette deck. However, and even though even bringing up the thought makes some around here get their shorts all knotted up, think what the value of a complete 3-piece set will be down the road.

Enjoy!
 
Bring it to a machine shop and have the outside edges cleaned up..... I have done with a few of my pieces and they look really clean and sharp...
Click to expand...

That is a FANTASTIC idea! Do you have any before/after pics of the difference?

However, and even though even bringing up the thought makes some around here get their shorts all knotted up, think what the value of a complete 3-piece set will be down the road.
Click to expand...

I hear you. And I haven't closed the door yet. I'm still considering it, and my propensity for wanting complete sets made it hard to walk away from today. But they're still waiting for a yes/no from me, so I'm not out the door just yet. And it definitely looks good. This of course now leads me on a life search for a 700t because that's the true set.

When I got home, I tried powering each up without connecting anything to them. The 700m came on beautifully. Lights were lovely (my wife said "ooo, that looks nice!" - yessssss). Turned it back off.

The 700c is another story. The power button seems like it's stuck - it moves a little, but not enough to go all the way in to power on. I'll plan to explore a little under the hood to see if I can solve the issue when I have more time. The other thing I just noticed is that the volume pot is really stiff - hard to turn - maybe just a good DeOxit bath will help? All other pots feel very smooth, but this may turn into a bit of a laborious project. I'm hoping nothing major, but even with major issues, I'm still a happy camper. Well worth it to have these.
 
Ha - I'm good with that. I do plenty of grinding my teeth when reading about other people's finds - I'm pretty pleased to be on this side of the keyboard for once.
 
ghettofunk said:
That is a FANTASTIC idea! Do you have any before/after pics of the difference?



I hear you. And I haven't closed the door yet. I'm still considering it, and my propensity for wanting complete sets made it hard to walk away from today. But they're still waiting for a yes/no from me, so I'm not out the door just yet. And it definitely looks good. This of course now leads me on a life search for a 700t because that's the true set.

When I got home, I tried powering each up without connecting anything to them. The 700m came on beautifully. Lights were lovely (my wife said "ooo, that looks nice!" - yessssss). Turned it back off.

The 700c is another story. The power button seems like it's stuck - it moves a little, but not enough to go all the way in to power on. I'll plan to explore a little under the hood to see if I can solve the issue when I have more time. The other thing I just noticed is that the volume pot is really stiff - hard to turn - maybe just a good DeOxit bath will help? All other pots feel very smooth, but this may turn into a bit of a laborious project. I'm hoping nothing major, but even with major issues, I'm still a happy camper. Well worth it to have these.
Click to expand...

I know you cant see it but my avatar shows a 700c that was in very rough shape. I got my unit off that very big auction site. The edges were dinged up pretty bad and it needed replacement levers and new knobs. They had removed to what looks to be an 1/8 of an inch all the the way around the faceplate. It is doable. Finding the right machine shop will be your biggest obstacle
 
ovaeasy said:
Congratulations. Hope springs eternal.

I can understand your thoughts on the cassette deck. However, and even though even bringing up the thought makes some around here get their shorts all knotted up, think what the value of a complete 3-piece set will be down the road.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

I couldnt agree with you more ... im trying to complete my third set :drool:
 
I know you cant see it but my avatar shows a 700c that was in very rough shape. I got my unit off that very big auction site. The edges were dinged up pretty bad and it needed replacement levers and new knobs. They had removed to what looks to be an 1/8 of an inch all the the way around the faceplate. It is doable. Finding the right machine shop will be your biggest obstacle
Click to expand...

I'll see how much it detracts from it once I get the face off and cleaned up, but this is something that I will likely at least look into down the line. It's really just along the top of both that would need it. The M isn't as bad as the C, but both could use it.

What?, no bronze.... hope you aren't too disappointed!

BTW, welcome to the club!
Click to expand...

Well, I certainly wouldn't have turned it down. But no, I think I'll manage. :D I'll post on the 700 Club thread once I get these up and running and can post a proper pic.


So my first issue with the pre-amp was that I couldn't get it to turn on. The power button wouldn't go in far enough to engage. So, I took the faceplate off (nobody mentioned there were two screws in every knob part) to find that the little plastic insert piece that fits inside the button opening had come off and was sitting out of place. Problem solved! Powered up, relay click, then I turned her back off. Good enough for now - although - any specific glue you guys would recommend for reattaching the plastic insert piece?

The second issue seems a little more troubling - mostly because I just plain can't figure it out. The volume pot won't turn. At first I thought it was really stiff, but realized that the screws that held the knob on were slipping. But with that knob off, I still can't budge it with my bare fingers (though I know that can be more difficult even with an operable pot). I tried it with one of the small knobs and still nothing. I don't want to turn too hard for fear of breaking something - or grinding the post down where the screws are supposed to be securing the knob. Maybe I'm just not screwing in the screws tight enough (though they were pretty tight to start), but I'm also afraid of breaking of the bit in the screw and then I'd really be stuck.

I tried looking through other threads about the 700c and could only find discussion of folks not liking the increments for the volume - but no one claiming to have issues with actually operating it. Any thoughts at all on that? I was going to start with DeOxit, but after getting the face and bottom off, I have no idea where to even spray it. It looks like it's just about fully enclosed. I certainly won't be connecting it to anything until I can be sure that the volume is down (and operable).

So that's where I'm at right now:
1. What glue should I use to reattach the plastic insert to the faceplate?
2. Why on earth doesn't my volume pot move?
 
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