Kenwood Basic Amp/Pre-Amp

[thekid]

Well as mentioned in another thread I picked up a Kenwood Basic C-1 at the local SA last weekend and thanks to the help of Mr.Peabody and other who responded to that thread I went in search of a matching power amp.

I scored a Kenwood Basic M-1D and a KT-7500 Tuner on E-Bay so while not high end it,seems like it might be a good start. Anyone here have any experience with either of these units or tips on hooking them up?

Thanks again to all for your help, especailly Mr. Peabody for your help!!!

[Mr Peabody]

Hook up is easy. You just need a few sets of RCA connectors. Go from tuner's output into C1's tuner input. Go from C1's preamp output into the M1D's input. Connect your speakers to the M1. Be sure to keep your L to L & R to R with your RCA connections and same with speakers.

Which speakers do you plan to use? Break out your Sunday best.

[thekid]

Hook up is easy. You just need a few sets of RCA connectors. Go from tuner's output into C1's tuner input. Go from C1's preamp output into the M1D's input. Connect your speakers to the M1. Be sure to keep your L to L & R to R with your RCA connections and same with speakers.

Which speakers do you plan to use? Break out your Sunday best.

Mr.P- Thanks for the advice.
I was able to download a copy of the M1D owners manual so that will help with the hook up but it appears to be as simple as you described. If anyone knows where I might be able to down/get a free copy of the C-1 manaul I would appreciate it. I probably don't need it at ths point but it would be nice to have.

As for the speakers I am going to hook up, it will be the RTR's (see avatar) which are probably my best speakers at this point besides the Infinity 2000.4's. I know I probably need a speaker upgrade at some point and the local CL has a pair of Klipsch KG-4's for $250 but think I need to slow down a bit and see what the new stuff does before I go get another pair of speakers. That won't keep me from checking out the thrift stores for that diamond in the rough so who knows what is out there. Basically I have run out of space unless I get rid of something else which I am not ready to do quite yet.

[Mr Peabody]

I'm not familiar with RTR. The Infinity might be small but should sound pretty good. Save your money and forget the Klipsch. But, they would play crazy loud strapped to the M1.

[thekid]

Just a quick question about these units that hopefully Mr.P or others could help with.
Would these work on 4-6 Ohm speakers?

[Mr Peabody]

When the amp was built 4 ohm speakers weren't as widely manufactured but the M1 should not have any problems with a 4 ohm speaker. We did have the Infinity RS series at the time which were sometimes 6 ohms.

[Mr Peabody]

Did you get the M1 in yet? Hook it up?

[basite]

yeah, it should be a big upgrade over the previous system...

let us know how you like it

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[thekid]

Did you get the M1 in yet? Hook it up?

Not yet. I got an e-mail from the seller yesterday that said he was not allowed to cover the box in brown paper so it went out on Friday instead of Thursday. He is shipping it in the original Kenwood box and apparently was afraid it might not make the trip in one piece. It should arrive on Tuesday which is probably about the same time the KT-7500 will arrive so it will work out.

Basite- It will be a definite improvement!!

I am already looking at selling off my old Bose 201 II's and some of the other budget gear to make room and help defray the costs a bit. Just not sure if E-Bay or Craigslist is the way to go for selling gear.

[thekid]

ITS HERE!!

The M-1D showed up today and is good shape with a few minor scratches on the top. It powers up easily but according to the owner it has sat unused for a little bit. Looking through the top grill it looks good but I was wondering if I should de-oxit. Any suggestions on cleaning it up or do you think it is good to plug and play with the C-1?

The Kenwood KT-7500 is at the post office and will be picked up tomorrow. When everything is in place I will bore you all with photos...

[Mr Peabody]

It's probably alright to plug-n-play. Hook it up and pop a cd in.

[thekid]

It's probably alright to plug-n-play. Hook it up and pop a cd in.

The student listens to the teacher and.........OH MY GOD!!!!

I just hooked the C-1/M-1D combo up to the JBL J-2050's that I picked up thrifting this weekend (for the office), popped in a Michael Buble CD and the sound is incredible!!! Even generic speakers like the JBL's are thumping!! I only have the volume on 2 and the set-up fills the living room and dining room with very full sound. I can't wait to hook up the RTR's!!

I once was blind and now I see.......I once was deaf and now I hear...

Thanks to everyone who has responded over the last several months for your patience and tolerance as I strive to reach at least mid-fi status!!!

Gotta go my wife wants to dance...........

[Mr Peabody]

Glad everything worked out. Do me a favor and put those Infinitys on there and tell me what you think. Who is Michael Buble?

Well if the wife is dancing, maybe you can talk her out of some refund money

Next we will have to find you a good deal on a CD player.

[thekid]

Glad everything worked out. Do me a favor and put those Infinitys on there and tell me what you think. Who is Michael Buble?

Well if the wife is dancing, maybe you can talk her out of some refund money

Next we will have to find you a good deal on a CD player.

Good idea on the Infinity's. I will do so tomorrow. Michael Buble is a current fav of my wife's..... Yes there is a plan to my choosing that CD to play first...

I would classify him as the latest version in the Sinatra/Harry Connick Jr mold. Some standards along with some modern "classics, mixed with some light swing/jazz tunes.

Okay you have my ear with the CD player reference......I currently have a Pioneer PD-4500 from around 1987 and an Onkyo 810 as my only stand alone CD players. What would you suggest???

[Mr Peabody]

Well, you do not want vintage digital. Sometimes if it's a high end player a few years old it will still out perform new modern players but it depends. If you found an Arcam on Audiogon reasonable, you can't go wrong with them. What budget do you have for a CD player. You could also look for a DAC and use one of your existing players for a transport. I believe Pioneer uses pretty good transports. I'll take a look around and post if anything outstanding comes up.

[Mr Peabody]

I checked quickly on Audiogon and there were several deals, the 73t 72t are going for $350.00 to 400.00 which is about half price and they are flying off of there, I saw about 3 "sold" ads. I saw an Alpha 6 for $200.00 which is several years old but for $200.00 would be an excellent player, way beyond what you have now. I also saw an EAD DSP7000 for $400.00 that retailed around $1,100.00 new. This should be a great DAC but I've read reviews where it has a laid back presentation, other end of the spectrum from Arcam. Arcam are fast and detailed without being fatiguing. I actually think the Arcam would be a great match for the Kenwood gear.

That will give you something to look at and I will still keep my eye open.

[thekid]

I checked quickly on Audiogon and there were several deals, the 73t 72t are going for $350.00 to 400.00 which is about half price and they are flying off of there, I saw about 3 "sold" ads. I saw an Alpha 6 for $200.00 which is several years old but for $200.00 would be an excellent player, way beyond what you have now. I also saw an EAD DSP7000 for $400.00 that retailed around $1,100.00 new. This should be a great DAC but I've read reviews where it has a laid back presentation, other end of the spectrum from Arcam. Arcam are fast and detailed without being fatiguing. I actually think the Arcam would be a great match for the Kenwood gear.

That will give you something to look at and I will still keep my eye open.

Mr.P

Would this unit work?

MSB LINK DAC III 24 bit/192 kHz Digital-to-Analog converter.

[Mr Peabody]

Unfortunately, I have no experience with MSB. How much was it? If you don't mind saying, how much was the M1?

[thekid]

The MSB has some reviews here which seem positive. I am just not familiar enough with DAC's to know how they hook up and I want to make sure it would work with the M1.

I won the M-1D on E-Bay for $100 which is probably a little on the high side but I had lost out on a M-1 earlier at $70. I was not sure when the next one might come up so I went high and held on. I am not sure other than the display meters on the M-1D what the difference is between the units.

I am sure some would say I am overeacting to this combo but as you know I have always been a budget kind of guy and as I realize now my gear reflected it. I realize even this combo is probably mid-fi but it at least convinces me to keep pursuing better gear and of course I still love the challenge of doing it on the cheap when possible.

The owner of the M-1D sent the original receipt from 1989 on the unit and it ran almost $400 he said it was lightly used and the condition reflects it. The C-1 cost $35 and the KT-7500 was also bought on the high side for $150 but the wood case and overall condition was near mint so no regrets there. All my current speakers including the Infinity's sound good with this set up but I still think there is obviously room for improvement there as well.

[Mr Peabody]

$100.00 isn't bad at all, the amp is some years old but it's a good one and nothing will come close for 3 times that. I'm not familiar with the KT-7500. If it was one of their better tuners it was worth the price. I'd say it probably is, back in it's time receivers were the big thing and the 7500 was probably built to go with an integrated amp and therefore better than average. Kenwood made some of the absolute best tuners of any mass market brands and could hold their own with most high end tuners. I'd consider the Basic series mid fi but to me mid fi is like Adcom, Rotel, NAD, so for what you have invested, you have a nice system.

How much was the MSB? If you snag that Alpha 6 for $200.00 you couldn't go wrong.

Oh, a DAC will work easily with your gear. Go from your CD players digital out into the DAC, go from DAC's analog out into C1's input, any input except "phono" will work.

[thekid]

Mr. P and/or the community

As I read a little more about DAC's, which don't seem cheap (and we all know around here I am cheap..... ) and seem to get scooped up quickly on the secondary market I wonder which option is the better way to go. I could probably justify about $200 to my wife for an upgrade here. I know that might not get me anything and I should wait but assuming that budget or even one slightly higher would I be better off with a DAC or CDP upgrade.

I currently have a Pioneer PD-4500 form the late 80's and a Denon DCD-810 that I picked up at a thrift a couple of months ago. The Denon has problems with some CD's but the Pioneer has worked like a champ over the years. Any suggestions???

[Mr Peabody]

Get yourself out to Audiogon, search for Arcam, find the Alpha 6 CD player for $200.00 and if the buyer looks trustworthy, buy it. This player is some years old but for $200.00 it is a good deal and will still out perform most players for more than twice that. Arcam makes excellent CD players. Trust me, you will be very pleased with this player, the difference is as wide as your Kenwood to your other gear, at least. The Alpha 6 retailed at about $699.00

[basite]

seconded.

Check for the Arcam. There are 2 of these units on Audiogon at the moment, very good player for the money...

A meridian 206 would be nice too, granted it is vintage, but then again, it would give most modern cd players under $1000 a run for their money, if not more...

Oh, and much congrats with your new gear

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[thekid]

Mr P and Basite thanks for your advice. During my thrift rounds today I picked up a Marantz CD63SE for $17. It has a digital output my other CDP's lack so we will see how it goes with finding a DAC. If that falls through I will look at the units you suggest.

[thekid]

Yet another update and then I think we put this thread to bed. I went ahead and got a MSB Link III that was on sale for $249 new which seemed like a good deal since one just went on E-Bay for $243.

Some specs;

This 24 bit/192 kHz) Digital-to-Analog converter offers professional studio performance. Using the Link DAC instead of the inferior DACs in your components will immediately refine and enhance the sound you hear. The Link DAC has the 192kHz sampling rate performance used by studio professionals. The Link DAC III will improve the sound purity of any DVD, CD, LD, and DSS with a digital output. It operates flawlessly at 32, 44.1, 48, and 88.2 kHz as well. MSB’s Link DAC switches between the optical and coaxial inputs automatically.

Reviews on this site were positive and Stereophile seemed to like it so I thought I would give a try.

Thanks again to all who have responded especially Mr. Peabody.