Kenwood M2A Amp and C2 Preamp, work keeping?

[oliverpete]

I'm new to this forum as I'm starting to get back into audio and home theater. I use to be big into it back in the 80's before marriage, but a wife and young kids will put a quick stop to high end stereo purchases and I pretty much got into movies and away from the audiophile side of things. I was looking to upgrade my Jamo Cornet speakers which I've had for some years now and have been spending way to much time doing research according to my wife. I was thinking of upgrading to some Monitor Audio B4's to get a bit more bass response for audio without having to use my sub. The sub would then be used for only home theater surround sound applications. My current set-up is as follows:

Sony GA9ESG Receiver
Jamo Cornet II Speakers
Jamo 100 center and surrounds
MTX PS100 Sub

Since I'm getting long here I'll get to the point. In my research I ran upon some articles regarding my old Kenwood Basic M2A(B) amp and Basic C2 preamp. Seems they are somewhat sought after. They've been sitting boxed up in my closet for the past 10 or so years and are in great shape. I'm wondering if they are worth keeping (if so why, and what are they worth?) or should I sell them and maybe upgrade my speaker choice to the Monitor Audio Silver RS6? Any help, comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Pete

[Mr Peabody]

The M2 & C2 was in Kenwood's Basic line which was much superior to their typical consumer gear. The M2 is a monster 220 wpc and if you remember has a built in fan. It's been some time since I've heard the M2/C2 and never compared it to the type of higher end gear I have now. It is at least as good as most mid fi offerings like Adcom. It's worth keeping if you plan to listen to 2 channel again. If not, it isn't doing any good in the box. I'm not sure what it's worth. The down side is this stuff stopped being produced in the 80's and people seeing Kenwood and not realizing what the gear is. My guess, and only a guess, is that you could maybe get $500.00 for the pair. The fact that it's in such good shape is a plus.