Opinion on Kenwood L-07 stack for sale

[R1200S]

I ran across this on CL this morning. It's very local and wondered if any of you have an opinion on this Kenwood gear. From the late 70's I think. From what I can find, it's a decent deal if you're just looking at the money side of it. Not a screamin' deal but a decent deal.
Not sure what the amps sound like or the pre. Pre looks to have 2 phono inputs MM & MC.

Can anyone guess what that piece of gear is on the top of picture #5. Looks Marantzish but I've never seen anything like it.

http://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/ele/5747061740.html

Thanks for any feedback you can provide!!

Randy

EDIT: Looks like I answered my own question about pic #5. Black face Marantz

http://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/ele/5644934996.html

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

Excellent system from the 70's. The Amps alone sell for $200-$300 EACH (the L-07mII amps go for more), the tuner is pretty decent. I'd jump in at 600

 

[R1200S]

I'll try to take a look this weekend. I did call and talk with the guy. He shares a small warehouse space on the south side of town. Turns out he's dialed into the local "old guy" audio community and says he has more old tubes than he'll ever sell. I don't care about the tubes but apparently he's..... connected. Sweet!!!

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

I have been contemplating a pair of monoblock's in my future. Just don't know what yet.

 

[R1200S]

I've never messed with any monoblocks and thought this might be an opportunity. I'm not even sure what the output is on those things.

Any thoughts on the preamp? Kenwood tuners are always pretty good and as much as I'd love to have that one, I already have 2 tuners I don't use. I'm sort of in an FM no man's land which REALLY sucks. I love listening to the radio and I'm just not that hot about streaming music in.

 

[Northwinds]

Perry, you can use the Clair's as monoblocs, just use one set of speaker posts on each. Lee said something about them putting a little more out when used like that, no bridging though!

The Kewood amps are cool, looks like a decent deal and I bet maybe $100 less if you flash 5 franklins

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

Looking at the skizmo, it has no IC's so repair should be easy for the next million years. It aint their top of the line but it aint no slouch. I think the set is definitely worth the 6 bones. I have several tuners I don't use either but they are nice to have when it comes time to sell an amp or??? You can throw one in as an enticement.

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

Perry, you can use the Clair's as monoblocs, just use one set of speaker posts on each. Lee said something about them putting a little more out when used like that, no bridging though!

The Kewood amps are cool, looks like a decent deal and I bet maybe $100 less if you flash 5 franklins

Kenwood made some bulletproof shit in the late 70's. I used to repair and sell the Kenwood Super Eleven receivers all the time. I still look for them on occasion.



Don't know how using on wopl for the left channel and one wopl for the right channel would work... Sounds crazy...

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

Model: L-07M
Power : 1x 150W (20Hz...20Khz, 8 Ohm, 0,008% THD) 0,007%THD
Continuous power : 1x 150W (8Ohm, 1Khz)
Dynamic power : 1x 200W (4Ohm, 1Khz)
1x 300W (4Ohm, 1Khz) 1x 250W
THD : 0.008% (rated power, 8 Ohms, 20Hz...20 kHz) 0,007%THD
0.008% (15W, 8 Ohms, 20Hz...20 kHz)
0.002% (rated power, 8 Ohm, 1 kHz) 0,007%THD
0.003% (15W, 8 Ohm, 1 kHz)
0.003% (rated power, 4 Ohm, 1 kHz)
0.003% (20W, 4 Ohm, 1 kHz)
IMD : 0.002% (rated power, 8 Ohm)
0.002% (15W, 8 Ohm)
0.003% (rated power, 4 Ohm)
0.003% (20 watts, 4 Ohm)
Rise time : ? 0,55µs (-1V > +1V)
? 0,55µs (-20V > +20V)
? 0,55µs (-40V > +40V)
Slew rate : ? ±170V / µs
Frequency Response : DC...200Khz (+0 / -0,5dB) DC...600Khz (+0 / -3dB)
DC...150Khz (+0 / -1,5dB)
Signal to Noise Ratio : 120dB (IHF-A)
Damping Factor : 100 (8 Ohm) 120 (8 Ohm, DC...20Khz)
120 (8 Ohm w/out speaker cable)
Input Sensitivity/Impedance : 1V / 50kOhm
Speaker Impedance : 4...16 Ohm
Speaker Cable Loss : 0,01 Ohm
PC : 630W max.
45W idle
Dimensions : 20 x 15,5 x 39cm
Weight : 13kg.

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

If they need rebuilds/updates down the road, here is the boys reworking one. They listed all the transistor subs too


http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kenwood-l-07m-mk1-blows-fuse.722708/

 

[roccus]

I am the same with radio I love music while a work but when I am working it is a hassle to have to babysit a TT, cassette, or cd player. I just picked up a used Sirius tuner that came with life time activation.. I have been noodling around with it for a few days and and love it clean clear reception no static buzzing or interference has great separation and to my old ears sounds as good as any CD or tape... all with commercial free decent station choices.. Anyone who loves music when they work but don't have time to babysit should really check this out they can be had on the bay for $60 if you watch or $100 all the time

I've never messed with any monoblocks and thought this might be an opportunity. I'm not even sure what the output is on those things.

Any thoughts on the preamp? Kenwood tuners are always pretty good and as much as I'd love to have that one, I already have 2 tuners I don't use. I'm sort of in an FM no man's land which REALLY sucks. I love listening to the radio and I'm just not that hot about streaming music in.

 

[R1200S]

If they need rebuilds/updates down the road, here is the boys reworking one. They listed all the transistor subs too


http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kenwood-l-07m-mk1-blows-fuse.722708/

Good to see them mention a speaker protection relay in that amp.

 

[stuwee]

Dude, That Marantz Black 2270 is worth a hell of a lot more that the $950 asked!!! I wish I had the coin, it would be Mine!! BrawHahahaha!!

Those Kenni Mono's are very nice, the preamp even more so! The tuner, not so much..If I were you, I'd offer $400 for the mono's and the pre and FULL F'n price on that Marantz!!!

Please, someone, buy it and let me have it for just a week or so...

 

[8991XJ]

Well that is your Marantz Tax talking. Sure the 2270 now Black is a nice unit and lots would love it but the Lo7 gear is great gear standing on its sound quality, not the name on the front of the unit. Folks just love Marantz and that is fine but for less money one gets 4 chunks of vintage high end Kenwood compared to a simple receiver. I'll take the cheap stuff all the time. Those L-07M amps are excellent and Kenwood never made a bad higher end tuner. The L-07T should sound very nice. I know the amps do a friend has a set. I don't know the preamp.

 

[R1200S]

Thanks for the opinions guys! I'll try to get by there tomorrow morning and take a look. Who knows if I'll come home with anything? This is the guy that did the resto on the Marantz:

https://blueglowelectronics.wordpress.com/

He's closed up shop temporarily and the seller of the Kenwood gear says he's going to try to go full-time repair shop next spring. Looks like he does quality work and has a decent Youtube channel. He even has a 45 minute interview with Dennis Had (Cary audio) posted. Fun video to watch. Apparently he's an electrical engineer and knows his way around tube and solid state gear.

 

[stuwee]

Good luck on whatever you decide to buy, not a bad choice either way! That Kenwood pre is awesome, the monos as well if you like the asture look. 150wpc @8ohms is just a bit more headroom over the 70wpc of the Marantz, the question really is are you into this for sound? Investment? looks and build quality?

@8991XJ, I owned a 2270 'simple receiver' for over 8 years, do you know Saul Marantz? He was a god father of all things stereo. I had to use the 2270 as a pre-amp because the amp section was not made to handle the extreme load my old Martin Logan Sequels put on it. It was colored with a lovely warm pallet of almost tube like 3 martini sound that suited my tastes, love, loved that lovely piece of gear. I'd love to hear one now in my current system on late night sessions with my ML Summits .

So R, if you want very nice, inexpensive sound, go for the Kennies and don't look back, if you want a rare piece of history with amazing looks and restored to boot and will only go up in value...get that Marantz!! And Never look back!

 

[8991XJ]

@8991XJ, I owned a 2270 'simple receiver' for over 8 years, It was colored with a lovely warm pallet of almost tube like 3 martini sound that suited my tastes, love, loved that lovely piece of gear.

I guess that sort of explains it. I would much prefer the Kenny stack as it is known to be excellent overall. The Marantz has a great following also for the reason you mention. Kinda like putting in a tube buffer, making the rig sound different so the owner likes it. Folks that detest eqs for the changes in the sound those devices make, you know the straight wire with gain folks, might be more than happy to install a tube buffer. Everyone can enjoy what they want.

 

[62vauxhall]

In 1980/81, I worked at (in those days) an upscale audio retailer called Sound Gallery. I cannot recall the model number but there were Kenwood mono power amplifiers on hand, set up for demo, which may be the very ones you are considering. If they are, one caveat is that they were intended to use a very short run of speaker cable (1 amp near each speaker) and interconnects as long as needed from pre-amp to amp.

 

[8991XJ]

62 is correct. The mono amps, L-07M I know for sure, came with a 1 meter high performance speaker wire. It was a few different multi-wire insulated bundles forming the two conductors. Found this pic on the web. It shows the two speaker wires folded across and with banana plugs on top of the long RCA cables to be used from the preamp. The speaker wires are about a meter long.