My dad gave me a Kenwood KA-7100 amplifier a while back with a pair of speakers. They don't work all the time so I was thinking of buying a new pair. I'll be using it with my TV, but I think I might also try to work it so I can get sound from my computer coming out of it as well (I'll figure out how to do that some other time) so I can make/listen to music and whatnot.
At 7/5/09 12:26 PM, VegetarianMeat wrote: Random anecdote without a point...
I guess it was pretty self-explanatory but I was wondering if you guys could help me out in choosing a new pair of speakers.
At 7/5/09 12:26 PM, VegetarianMeat wrote: My dad gave me a Kenwood KA-7100 amplifier a while back with a pair of speakers. They don't work all the time so I was thinking of buying a new pair. I'll be using it with my TV, but I think I might also try to work it so I can get sound from my computer coming out of it as well (I'll figure out how to do that some other time) so I can make/listen to music and whatnot.
The problem you are having with the 'speakers' not working all the time seems a little suspicious. Would be more than likely that it is a problem with your amplifier. I would try getting some other cheap thrift store speakers, testing all the drivers and then seeing if the problem goes away.
These would be decent new speakers for less than $50 that you could pick up that would be a decent start.
At 7/5/09 01:19 PM, joshhunsaker wrote: The problem you are having with the 'speakers' not working all the time seems a little suspicious. Would be more than likely that it is a problem with your amplifier. I would try getting some other cheap thrift store speakers, testing all the drivers and then seeing if the problem goes away.
The problem is that one of the speakers just cuts off. Spiking up the volume for a moment seems to fix it temporarily (I think it may be a problem with the connecting wires). I've tried the speakers with another amp my dad has and the same problem occurred. It doesn't happen as often as it use to, or rarely actually, but I'm still interested in checking out my options :P
At 7/5/09 01:29 PM, VegetarianMeat wrote:At 7/5/09 01:19 PM, joshhunsaker wrote: The problem you are having with the 'speakers' not working all the time seems a little suspicious. Would be more than likely that it is a problem with your amplifier. I would try getting some other cheap thrift store speakers, testing all the drivers and then seeing if the problem goes away.The problem is that one of the speakers just cuts off. Spiking up the volume for a moment seems to fix it temporarily (I think it may be a problem with the connecting wires). I've tried the speakers with another amp my dad has and the same problem occurred. It doesn't happen as often as it use to, or rarely actually, but I'm still interested in checking out my options :P
Possibly a soldering joint or loose connection internally on the speaker in question. If you are good with trouble-shooting...I would unscrew the drivers (or cabinet backing if that's an option) and check the crossover and then test the drivers individually directly to the amplifier to see if it's a loose connection or crossover problem. Individual speakers typically won't exhibit problems 'cutting' out but rather with the leads separating from the voice-coil/former if overdriven or the spider becoming too stretched and causing the former to rub against the inside magnet pole or similar problems.
If there's a good deal of static accompanying the volume issues you could always try switching the speakers to be sure it's a speaker issue and not a problem with say an output cap on one of the channels. Those old school amplifiers are notorious for having channel problems and getting scratchy pots over time as the electrolytics are the first thing to go (you'll find you may have to replace the output capacitors over time as they will dry out, crack and leak). One of the other things you could do is to unplug the amplifier for a day or two and then spray out the volume potentiometer with contact cleaner (DeOxit is really good) and then work it into the knob by turning it a couple hundred times to clean any corrosion that may be there out. After doing that you could take the cover off and dry it with a blow dryer on a medium setting. That may ameliorate the flaky volume control issue.
That old Kenwood you have is no joke either. A very very well built piece of equipment. Check out the following link:
At 7/5/09 02:27 PM, joshhunsaker wrote: That old Kenwood you have is no joke either. A very very well built piece of equipment. Check out the following link:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/KENWOOD/KA 7100/KA7100.html
Yeah my dad told me it was really great, he'd been using it for quite a long time before he gave it to me. It also happens to sound pretty amazing when it's working. I know I've got some contact cleaner laying around, so I'll give that a shot when I find it. As for the troubleshooting bit, I'll ask my dad if he's willing to help me out on that one, seeing as how he's more informed with that stuff.
Thanks a lot for the help. Hopefully I'm lucky and I don't have to buy any new equipment.
Also if you're curious that other amp we tried out the speakers with is the Rotel RA-412
At 7/5/09 02:50 PM, VegetarianMeat wrote: Also if you're curious that other amp we tried out the speakers with is the Rotel RA-412
Not bad! Sounds like your dad had the audio bug back in the day...those are decent pieces he's got. Just out of curiosity...what type of speakers are they that you are using (the ones that might have a problem)?
You're probably asking in the wrong place, to be honest. Since you asking musicians and not AV boffins, you're going to be getting suggestions for expensive studio monitors and the like when really you should be looking into things like 5.1 surround systems.
At 7/5/09 06:16 PM, joshhunsaker wrote: Just out of curiosity...what type of speakers are they that you are using (the ones that might have a problem)?
I think I remember him mentioning he put it together himself. I'll ask him about it when I get the chance. Originally I was going to take a pair of RFT K13 profils he had, but then my little brother blew them when he was playing with the volume control...
At 7/5/09 06:22 PM, Khuskan wrote: You're probably asking in the wrong place, to be honest. Since you asking musicians and not AV boffins, you're going to be getting suggestions for expensive studio monitors and the like when really you should be looking into things like 5.1 surround systems.
I don't have the money to buy a surround sound system, and like I mentioned I'll probably end up using them to make music as well.
Surround sound systems can be got for a much lower price than cheap studio systems.
At 7/7/09 06:04 AM, Khuskan wrote: Surround sound systems can be got for a much lower price than cheap studio systems.
I already said I just wanted a pair of speakers. Unless I'm going for top of the line stuf, which I'm not, I'm assuming that would be somewhere around 100-200$? Whereas if I'm going to buy an entire surround sound system that doesn't suck, I think it would cost me quite a bit more than that.
