Kenwood KA5500 vs KA7100 vs KA6100 Amplifiers

[Tom Settles]

I have a KT7500 tuner with KA-5500 amp in pristine condition that sounds great and has been in my system for past year. I recently purchased excellent condition KA7100 that I planned to recap and match up with my KT7500 tuner. However caps on the 7100 all tested good, everything looks great inside, so I just deoxed the switches and tested it out. The KA5500 sounds better than the 7100, especially in the mids and highs. It's much cleaner and clearer. Has anyone compared these two amps? Would it be worth me doing a complete recap and resistor replacement in the 7100 in "hopes" of improving the overall sound? I'm also thinking about dropping the 7100 and going after a 6100 as it looks nicer with the vu meters. Anyone who has compared the sound of these two-three amps I would appreciate any input. Thanks

 

[rickl]

Tom, you might want to look search the kenwood manufacturer sub forum.

here is a start:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/leestereos-restoration-upgrade-of-a-ka-6100.945702/

I've had several KA-3500, several KA-5700, a KA-6100, and a KA-7100. I currently have a 5700 and the 7100.