Kenwood KA 7100, 8100, Hitachi SR 904?

[Nordfors]

Hello all. I hope you're well.

This is off to an odd start, I'm aware.
Looking to build a system around a pair of KEF 104ab's. All my current gear is well regarded and (to me) wonderful sounding lower wattage 70's pieces. 25 to 45 wpc. The KEF"s sound very good, but I keep hearing how they need more power to "open up," which I think may be true to at least some degree. Makes sense with the fairly low efficiency. These three pieces of gear are available in my area currently and I'm a bit torn in which direction to go. For the record, to my suprise I have found myself to be a big fan of both Kenwood and Hitachi gear, sound wise and beyond. never saw that coming, but I love them. KR5200 & SR703, both pieces picked up for peanuts that once repaired a bit I intended for systems for friends, have exceeded my expectations. Hence my general direction.

I currently only own receivers. I'm lucky to live somewhere with 3 listener supported radio stations, a university, a jazz station, and a French station, and they're all awesome. At least one of them always has something I'd like to listen to and we end up with the radio representing easily 50% of our listening time. That said, of course I'm eager to have the highest quality sound within my budget, and legend (and maybe physics) has it receivers are generally on the bottom of the sonic totem pole. I wouldn't know!

And no, I can't buy all 3 at this time and decide for myself, hence, leaning on this mighty community for thoughts and wisdom.

The 7100: Lowest price of the 3. Says it's recapped and cleaned, but I'm suspicious at the moment. Low enough price I don't mind searching for a matching tuner, which luckily are still cheap-ish.

The 8100: Double the price of the 7100, comes with KT6500, both in original packaging, wont separate, were in storage for 15 years and then the guy "turned them on to see if they lit up" YIKES. Doesn't have speakers to test, so can't say if it actually works. Likely inherited or storage find. It would seem these could be points to negotiate. I've read mixed opinions on the KT6500.

The Hitachi: Right in the middle pricewise. Downside, I'd really like to try an integrated. Upsides, this is a rare piece, it's in mint condition, running perfectly and just back from the tech (owner claims and I'm inclined to believe) they're MUCH more attractive in person than I think people realize, I think it has a 5 gang tuner, and If I'm not mistaken, more power than the other 2 in real world applications.

Again, sorry for the quite abstract conversation starter, but would be grateful for any thoughts, experiences, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Blue Shadow]

It takes twice as much power to bump up the volume noticeably and 10 times as much power to double the sound level. Any monster unit (over 100 wpc unit might have a high power tax on it) so that makes the 904 kinda high priced.

75-100 watts might be good for the 104s, IDK, never owned that speaker but always have liked having ‘enough’ power no matter the speakers. Use the volume control to keep from blowing thing up just by turning it down when things don’t sound right.

Post your location, some folks will seek out gear on your local outlets and clue you up to something they think would be good.

Maybe the 8100/6500 stack would be a good starting point. Enough power to get you started and tuner and the Kenwood sound you like. The 8100 should sound a bit clearer than the 5200 as Kenwood moved that way as time went on. The 8100 is a nice amp. You could use it as a preamp, too as it has preamp outputs with power amp inputs. This allowing use with a big amp if you need even more power.

 

[coonmanx]

You can't go wrong with any of these. I would go with what you like and what looks the best. All are very nice. I'm not a receiver kind of guy but that Hitachi is a very nice piece. It goes for some serious dough.

 

[Nordfors]

It takes twice as much power to bump up the volume noticeably and 10 times as much power to double the sound level. Any monster unit (over 100 wpc unit might have a high power tax on it) so that makes the 904 kinda high priced.

75-100 watts might be good for the 104s, IDK, never owned that speaker but always have liked having ‘enough’ power no matter the speakers. Use the volume control to keep from blowing thing up just by turning it down when things don’t sound right.

Post your location, some folks will seek out gear on your local outlets and clue you up to something they think would be good.

Maybe the 8100/6500 stack would be a good starting point. Enough power to get you started and tuner and the Kenwood sound you like. The 8100 should sound a bit clearer than the 5200 as Kenwood moved that way as time went on. The 8100 is a nice amp. You could use it as a preamp, too as it has preamp outputs with power amp inputs. This allowing use with a big amp if you need even more power.

Well said. I thought the 904 being 75wpc, but the Dynaharmony Class G making it deliver a real world 120wpc on demand, would be pricey as well, but its less than the 8100, by a fair amount. While I've been looking for an integrated, it seems like a good price for a lot of power and an aesthetic I like. Maybe I'll try for the rare piece (Hitachi) and keep on the hunt for an integrated down the line. The Kenwoods seem to show up fairly regularly. Thanks!

 

[sanford12]

Bought a Kenwood KA 8006 new back in the day and had a pair of KEF 950's. Kenwood from that era are voiced darker. Talking to stereo store associates from back then they were voiced to work with JBL 100's. KEFs aren't anywhere near being bright speakers. Then the Kenwood met a pair of Dahlquist DQ 12s that were a hard drive at an 85 efficiency, it wasn't pretty. They showed the deficiencies the Kenwood had compared with what was powering the DQ12s when I heard them for the first time. A new at the time NAD 22 watt receiver because of its architecture was able to drive the DQ 12's easily. I don't think the Kenwoods will be a good match for the KEFs. You'll need a good power amp to feed them and get the best out of them. There's some great new pieces that don't cost an arm and a leg that will out perform the Kenwoods easily.