Kenwood 700C

[supermanu]

Hi all,
I've been offered a Kenwood 700C for a very good price. I currently use a Sansui AU-D11 II integrated, which I love. Will using the 700C as a pre-amp give me better quality sound? I know these Kenwoods are rated very highly, but I've never heard one. Any advice would be most appreciated.

 

[EchoWars]

The AU-D11 II does not have pre-out/main-in jacks, so you'll be shopping for an amp as well. There's no real way to integrate it (pardon the pun) with the Sansui.

The 700C is one of the finest full-featured preamps ever to come out of Japan, once rebuilt.

 

[supermanu]

Thanks for the reply EchoWars. I've never used a separate pre-amp/poweramp combo. If I was to buy a suitable power amp (maybe someone could recommend one?), would the Kenwood 700C (even if I needed to rebuild it) give me a different level of sound quality to the AUD11 II? Really, that's what I'm asking.

 

[EchoWars]

In 35 year-old unrestored condition...probably not. Once properly rebuilt (with film caps substituted for the original signal path electrolytics), it it a real step upwards, IMHO.

 

[supermanu]

Thanks again EchoWars, for replying. Ok...so...what am I looking at as a power amp that would do justice to the 700C? (something more modern maybe, that wouldn't need restoring?)...and...(maybe this is something I should PM you about)...would you be interested in restoring the 700c ? It's an assumption, but by reading the threads on this site I'd imagine you're pretty much snowed under with restoration requests. Also, from reading these threads I'd ask you to do a restoration before anyone else.
Anyway, I'm rambling...

 

[lha1992]

If you want too, look for the matching kenwood 700m power amp.

But, be expected to pay a lot for one because they are so rare, including the 700c.

 

[dokblues]

I can say that without a doubt having listened to the 700C done by EchoWars for Marantzfan that these Kenny`s are Awesome. I remember them when they were new and after the recap they sound even better IMHO. Plus they are Uber collectable and very well worth the effort.

 

[EchoWars]

Thanks again EchoWars, for replying. Ok...so...what am I looking at as a power amp that would do justice to the 700C? (something more modern maybe, that wouldn't need restoring?)...and...(maybe this is something I should PM you about)...would you be interested in restoring the 700c ? It's an assumption, but by reading the threads on this site I'd imagine you're pretty much snowed under with restoration requests. Also, from reading these threads I'd ask you to do a restoration before anyone else.
Anyway, I'm rambling...

Email me through my profile if you'd like to discuss this.

 

[epoch5]

I can say that without a doubt having listened to the 700C done by EchoWars for Marantzfan that these Kenny`s are Awesome. I remember them when they were new and after the recap they sound even better IMHO. Plus they are Uber collectable and very well worth the effort.

I very much agree.

 

[supermanu]

Thank you for the replies. What kind of power amp would be good to partner the 700C? Here in Europe, the chance of finding a 700M is about zero. Any suggestions would be most appreciated - vintage Yamaha or Pioneer maybe?

 

[Sam Cogley]

Thank you for the replies. What kind of power amp would be good to partner the 700C? Here in Europe, the chance of finding a 700M is about zero. Any suggestions would be most appreciated - vintage Yamaha or Pioneer maybe?

Kenwood was sold in Europe, possibly under the "Trio" name.

 

[epoch5]

Thank you for the replies. What kind of power amp would be good to partner the 700C? Here in Europe, the chance of finding a 700M is about zero. Any suggestions would be most appreciated - vintage Yamaha or Pioneer maybe?

There is a 700M on epay with an opening bid of $1450.00. LOL

 

[redcoates7]

There's a lot of great amplifiers out there...while the Kenwood 700M would be a wonderful match, you might find that something like an L-1000M would be even better! They were built in the late 90s, so shouldn't require immediate work, and are FAR more common in Europe than in the US.

Or you could always hop off the Kenwood train and pick a more modern model...good luck, and have fun!

 

[gzubeck]

There is a 700M on epay with an opening bid of $1450.00. LOL

Not unless that Amp has been restored with better than new parts. I was searching around the internet and found one on some kind of New Zealand Audio Ebay that looked in good condition (not stored in someones garage) and it did not meet the required minimum bid and that was at $400 US dollars. If the Kenwood 700m was designed by the Accuphase guys then it is a good amp fully restored. (just a wag!)