The Official Kenwood KD 500/550 and 600/650 Owner's Thread
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
And decided to leave this info out so we would have to wait for Nat to drop in with the ID?
You could have gone to vinylengine library and look over the Grace section and see if one is close, but Nat has IDed the arm for you. Enjoy that, nice table to have.
I don’t see a sticker. I do see Grace on the 5 pin connector that plugs into the base of the tone arm
I’m surprised that the tone arm feeds directly into phono input on the amplifier. There is no electrical connect from the arm to any other electronics in the turntable.
The photo shows where the connector plugs in, and you can see there are no other wires
Yes, I could have done that if I knew Grace made tone arms and not just head shells. I’m new to turntables and don’t know this stuff.
Thank you for your input. Hopefully I can one day contribute to this forum as well.
Attachments
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
The phono cable with male ends would have narrowed down the tonearm to Grace, and maybe another maker but most are female on the cable and the pins stick out on the tonearm. Treasure that phono cable as it is different from most.
Any info you supply can help us help you and many here would be able to know about Grace given the info that it was on the head shell. Lots of folks leave out juicy info when they have questions, that’s normal, not even knowing what info would be helpful. Folks ask questions all the time without including what equipment is involved. No big deal, we’ll just ask in a response for it if needed.
The cartridge converts stylus movement into electrical signal that is sent to a phono amp of some kind, like in your amp. There are 4 common phono signals needing different amplification.
most common, moving magnet/moving iron (MM) which is a standard phono input usually
then there are ceramic phono cartridges, not really hifi
and two lower output levels below the MM input LOMC for low output moving coil and a very low output moving coil. Many 80s amps have MM and MC (for LOMC) inputs.
The Acutex will work with the common mm phono input.
Should be a nice table/arm when you get it all cleaned up and set up properly. Manuals should be on vinyl engine.
Any info you supply can help us help you and many here would be able to know about Grace given the info that it was on the head shell. Lots of folks leave out juicy info when they have questions, that’s normal, not even knowing what info would be helpful. Folks ask questions all the time without including what equipment is involved. No big deal, we’ll just ask in a response for it if needed.
The cartridge converts stylus movement into electrical signal that is sent to a phono amp of some kind, like in your amp. There are 4 common phono signals needing different amplification.
most common, moving magnet/moving iron (MM) which is a standard phono input usually
then there are ceramic phono cartridges, not really hifi
and two lower output levels below the MM input LOMC for low output moving coil and a very low output moving coil. Many 80s amps have MM and MC (for LOMC) inputs.
The Acutex will work with the common mm phono input.
Should be a nice table/arm when you get it all cleaned up and set up properly. Manuals should be on vinyl engine.
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For a first table, arm, and cartridge, that is quite far up the food chain - congratulations.
Vinyl Engine is a great resource, but the gentleman who runs it has gotten so tired of people downloading manuals from the library there, and then selling them on the internet, that I'm not sure new members can even sign up any more, so I am not surprised that the Wayne just asked, rather than researched there. And I have to say that Graces are confusing - I know a couple of the well known ones like the 707, but then you get in the weeds with arms like this one, and I just looked at arms until I found what I thought was a match.
Wayne: back when your equipment was made, vinyl was the standard source, so every preamp and integrated amp had a phono stage, some very good ideed. S the idea of a stand alone one was practically unheard of - the Hegeman Probe may have been one of the first. It was a very high end product for the time, certainly out of my price range, but it had to be exceptional since there wasn't a market for standard phono stages (I should add that there were plenty of little phono transformers that allowed you to use a moving magnet with older equipment that had a ceramic/piezo phono input, or with a simple auxilliary, but everyone knew they weren't very good, and there were a few moving coil transformers and step ups, but they required a standard MM phono input).
Your perspective is a later one, when many preamps and integrateds are just line level, and where the expectation is that either there is a separate phono stage, or one is built into the turntable. So your initial confusion is understandable. But know that you will need a phono stage.
My concern is that, in scoring such a great table, but being new to vinyl, the bread and butter tasks needed to get the thing up and running may be daunting. You need to make sure that the turntable is running consistently at speed, which is relatively easy to check using the strobe, and to adjust a bit with the speed controls on top. If it isn't, you may be able to get it correct with the internal pots. Otherwise, it is recapping or relubricating time, and suddenly much more complex, and you may need help.
The arm bearings are probably fine, but check to see if, when balanced, the arm moves with the slightest breath both sideways and up and down. And you need to address the counterweight sag. Usually, this is relatively straightforward to accomplish, as long as you are handy. (And if you aren't, admitting it up front and getting someone else to do it will be both cheaper(!) and more responsible - you are now the owner of something useful that will probably never be made again, so futzing it up would be morally offensive and well as destroying collector value.) There are posts on how to do this.
The Accutex is probably an excellent cartridge - most of theirs were. But if the stylus is worn, you will damage your records, and if the suspension is hardened, there will be mistracking, which sounds bad and isn't good for the record. So you need to inspect the stylus under a microscope - there are tons of posts on this. If the stylus is good (which happens more than you might expect), listen to it. If the suspension has hardened, use sometimes loosens it up, otherwise there are various magical potions - fish oil (whatever that is), WD 40, wintergreen oil, and so on (oddly enough, I don't think I've heard anyone suggest Rubber Renewer, which you might think would be obvious, but perhaps i'm missing something). You may be able to find a NOS stylus, which, if the suspsension is good, solves the problem.
You could also replace the cartridge, but then you would need to learn how to align the stylus - there are infinity minus one posts on this (many of which are actually useful) but you will need a protractor and some perseverance and self confidence.
Vinyl Engine is a great resource, but the gentleman who runs it has gotten so tired of people downloading manuals from the library there, and then selling them on the internet, that I'm not sure new members can even sign up any more, so I am not surprised that the Wayne just asked, rather than researched there. And I have to say that Graces are confusing - I know a couple of the well known ones like the 707, but then you get in the weeds with arms like this one, and I just looked at arms until I found what I thought was a match.
Wayne: back when your equipment was made, vinyl was the standard source, so every preamp and integrated amp had a phono stage, some very good ideed. S the idea of a stand alone one was practically unheard of - the Hegeman Probe may have been one of the first. It was a very high end product for the time, certainly out of my price range, but it had to be exceptional since there wasn't a market for standard phono stages (I should add that there were plenty of little phono transformers that allowed you to use a moving magnet with older equipment that had a ceramic/piezo phono input, or with a simple auxilliary, but everyone knew they weren't very good, and there were a few moving coil transformers and step ups, but they required a standard MM phono input).
Your perspective is a later one, when many preamps and integrateds are just line level, and where the expectation is that either there is a separate phono stage, or one is built into the turntable. So your initial confusion is understandable. But know that you will need a phono stage.
My concern is that, in scoring such a great table, but being new to vinyl, the bread and butter tasks needed to get the thing up and running may be daunting. You need to make sure that the turntable is running consistently at speed, which is relatively easy to check using the strobe, and to adjust a bit with the speed controls on top. If it isn't, you may be able to get it correct with the internal pots. Otherwise, it is recapping or relubricating time, and suddenly much more complex, and you may need help.
The arm bearings are probably fine, but check to see if, when balanced, the arm moves with the slightest breath both sideways and up and down. And you need to address the counterweight sag. Usually, this is relatively straightforward to accomplish, as long as you are handy. (And if you aren't, admitting it up front and getting someone else to do it will be both cheaper(!) and more responsible - you are now the owner of something useful that will probably never be made again, so futzing it up would be morally offensive and well as destroying collector value.) There are posts on how to do this.
The Accutex is probably an excellent cartridge - most of theirs were. But if the stylus is worn, you will damage your records, and if the suspension is hardened, there will be mistracking, which sounds bad and isn't good for the record. So you need to inspect the stylus under a microscope - there are tons of posts on this. If the stylus is good (which happens more than you might expect), listen to it. If the suspension has hardened, use sometimes loosens it up, otherwise there are various magical potions - fish oil (whatever that is), WD 40, wintergreen oil, and so on (oddly enough, I don't think I've heard anyone suggest Rubber Renewer, which you might think would be obvious, but perhaps i'm missing something). You may be able to find a NOS stylus, which, if the suspsension is good, solves the problem.
You could also replace the cartridge, but then you would need to learn how to align the stylus - there are infinity minus one posts on this (many of which are actually useful) but you will need a protractor and some perseverance and self confidence.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
His 600 does not have a built-in strobe but one can be found on the web and printed or purchased. There are no external speed adjustments other than the 33-45 choice. Your statement is appropriate for the KD-500, though.
The 600/650 is a quartz-locked, two-speed, non-adjustable table that indicates proper speed with the center orange indicator lamp being solid and not flashing. Assuming all 4 bulbs in the assembly are working correctly.
The rest is well said, done right this is a great table and I’m not a Grace fan the way Sgt. Schultz is, just respect what they made. There are better and some not as good but nothing wrong with a Grace on the KD-600. Don’t know the one on this table much.
I think we just need to answer a few questions as needed because Wayne has changed a board and a gear in an SL-1700II to make it reliable. Seems to know how to move forward. Maybe a full setup of the arm will have him asking questions.
On any KD-600/650, if the hinges aren’t broken, reinforce them before they break.
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Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
I don't agree with that statement. The speed and electronic brake can be set very precisely. Consult the service manual, it's clearly explained '' Adjustments '' tab.
I was able to adjust both speeds 33rmp and 45 rpm and the electronic brake on my Kenwood KD-650. I had removed the feet and the bottom panel. I had raised it on MDF supports and then with a flat screwdriver I adjusted the speed using a rotation speed app on a mobile phone.
Here is Service Manual
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Well, external user adjustable should have been specified and was in the previous sentence in the post. Internal, tech or advanced aker adjustable is a different thing to me.
the info being in the Service manual and not the Owner's manual is a big tip off to the difference. But your right with the sm and proper tools the 600/650 can be adjusted.
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Don't worry, it wasn't to contradict you, but simply to provide a useful clarification for our friend.
Thanks for the direct, I did happen upon that thread in my travels, but was just hoping someone could give me a bit more of a specific answer, at least in terms of current, up to date, cartridges. The last post was from March, and there have been a few suggestions in there, but the last one, stating an Ortofon 2M Black as an option, I believe from looking at is is an MM cart? I was hoping for suggestions on an MC, and if that was the way to go. The posts previous to that were from '22, so was I guess hoping for a bit more current guidance. Thank you though! That as definitely a great resource in my journey on finding the right cart!
Personally, after a lot of research to find the right cartridge for my KD-650's original tone arm, I'm using a Soundsmith Zephyr MKIII. It's a wonderful cartridge (I bought it second-hand). For your tone arm I would recommend the following two Soundsmith models:
Soundsmith Otello and Soundsmith Carmen MkII and You can also refer to the following link : Cartridge Compliance/Arm Mass chart
My audio system :
Turntable : Kenwood KD-650 (fully rewired from cartridge connectors to the RCA plugs)
Phonostage : Highly upgraded Rotel RQ-970BX-OM ( CAD $1000 in upgrades from Parts Connexion)
Processor : Sherbourn pt-7020a (I also watch films and I own an Oppo UDP-203)
Power amplifiers : 1 Rotel RMB-1095 (for front left and right channels + center channel) + 1 Rotel RMB-1075 (for rear left and right channels and rear).
Speakers : My main speakers are Pierre-Etienne LEON Integrale model (a French brand of speakers) and 5 Pioneer SP-FS52 for movies + 2 PSA S1500 Subwoofers
Cables : all DIY
More or less : 1500 records
wenfet
New Member
Have spent some time getting acquainted with my Kenwood KD500. Originally bought a Grace G707 and ended up using a Garrott P77 cartridge after selling my Ortofon Quintet Blue MC with my Rega TT. Not happy with the sound and, decided i wanted a removable headshell, so bought a Grace G840 arm, i made a anti skate wire as it was missing, fitting the arm, it didn't sit right, took it off and removed the armboard, previous owner made a mess of the underside, routed an even surface and enlarged the the countersunk area to accept the washer with room to move to get the correct pivot to spindle distance. The previous owner made the hole for the arm rest too close to the platter, was ok for the 707 but modified it for the 840.
In the meantime bought an Audio Technica OC9XSH MC cartridge. the arm was sitting right now, attached the AT cartridge and set it to defined settings. Have about 6hrs on the cartridge and sounding very good. One issue that was noticeable was the setup didn't sound as alive as the Rega, the pitch of the sound was different. Reason being that my Rega was running at 33.63RPM when tested with an electronic stroboscope. The more i listen to the Kenwood it now sounds more natural, happy with the effort to set it up right. Bought from Germany a user manual and a service manual, have come in very handy.
In the meantime bought an Audio Technica OC9XSH MC cartridge. the arm was sitting right now, attached the AT cartridge and set it to defined settings. Have about 6hrs on the cartridge and sounding very good. One issue that was noticeable was the setup didn't sound as alive as the Rega, the pitch of the sound was different. Reason being that my Rega was running at 33.63RPM when tested with an electronic stroboscope. The more i listen to the Kenwood it now sounds more natural, happy with the effort to set it up right. Bought from Germany a user manual and a service manual, have come in very handy.Just wanted to update here, for any that were interested. I finally got my KD-500 back from the shop, and after much deliberation, and quite a bit of help from folks here and elsewhere, I decided on the Rega exact mkII cartridge to pair with the IBW tonearm. Put it through a spin or two earlier and have enjoyed it so far. I will post pictures tomorrow once I am able to. To all who were able to help guide me, I truly appreciate the help!!
Taking the night to just enjoy the sound right now, here are a few pictures of the system now!
(Sorry for the links, if this is not allowed, please let me know. I cannot figure out how to make them any smaller in file size)
(Sorry for the links, if this is not allowed, please let me know. I cannot figure out how to make them any smaller in file size)
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
most image editing software can resize. I go with 1200 pixels in the max direction seems to work. Then just drag and drop into the thread where you want it.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Why yes, we do. But you say KD-600 which came without a tonearm and if your table has a tonearm it is either a KD-650 or has an aftermarket tonearm, both of which make a difference.
And or course, we can't talk price in this forum. Since you have this in a long running thread you get a pass to post this again, we hate double posts, in the dollars and sense forum. If you can identify the table 600 or 650 and if 600 the tonearm, we'll get you a number. If you have a 600 and can't identify the tonearm, post a picture or three and we'll let you know what you have.
Heck drag it over to West Chester and we'll put it through its paces after we check the tonearm, stylus and such.
