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I grew up in NYC in the 70s where Technics turntables were all the rage, and as such, that's all I ever owned. So, I was mildly surprised to recently discover the high regard in which Kenwood turntables are held. So just how good is the KD-650, when stacked up against the Technics offerings (sl-1200,1600,1700, etc? And how would it stack up to today's direct drive offerings?
Follow Ups:
for all the responses and tips. You all have given me alot of info to go on while deciding between the KD-650 and the Technics sl-1700mk2. I think it's going to come down to the best deal. Thanks again for all who chim3d in.
I have no complaints , and I am using an Audiotechnica VM740ML cartridge, and the sound is revealing at all frequencies. My only problem is the grease for the VTA adjustment wheel is hardened and preventing wheel rotation.
I like the 1700 manual operation better than the 1600 automatic opetation. Automatic means more things can go wrong, and turntable repair folks are rare. My 1600 has been on the bench for 4 years.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the 1700. It is a very nice table.
I had a 5070 for a few years. It was an okay table.
Provided a stable platform for the Stanton cart I used at the time. That Corian-like plinth material was a good bit more resonant than I would have liked, and I ultimately ditched the Kenwood for my LP12. That was 1987 and still have the Linn.
I tune my bowl to perfection by loosening or tightening the base mounting bolts.
without getting too wet?
I owned one briefly in the early 1980s. They used to call it the Kenwood concrete. It sounded better than the Pioneer PL-55X it replaced but I don't remember much more about it. The tone arm on mine got banged up in a move and I either threw it out our gave it away. I replaced it with a substantially more expensive JVC QL Y66F which I gifted to my younger brother when I made the move to CD. I highly recommend the JVC turntables in general if you can find a clean one.
I wouldn't bother. I enjoyed a Kenwood 550 for years, and it was a dependable spinner that looked cool and worked without fail. the foamed resin/concrete base was said to be for mass loading , but the effectiveness was hard to judge. Don't know who sourced the arm , kenwood branded with a detachable head shell.
the reason I am cool on this old deck is because I replaced it with the last gasp of the AR tables, an EB101. it sonically stomped all over the kenwood , exposing it as one dimensional and flat.
the AR brought a previously unheard soundstage , where the kenwood gave none. there were no other changes to my system, same everything except the turntable. The ar branded arm was sourced from Jleco , a noted Japanese manufacturer of tonearms, not sure of the spelling, but it was lighter and straight , lighter being probably a better match for my top of line Shure cart, long discontinued but I get styli aftermarket out of Japan, and the combo was highly praised in reviews.
the AR I suspect had the advantage of a better main bearing , using a traditional flat and ball design, so less noise, where most direct drives of that era used something in the motor, a kind of multiple ball lazy Susan deal in some.
The Ar was also a suspended belt drive design, a very good way to achieve a quiet signal at the needle, as evidenced by the success of belt drives in the market. where only recently , and at higher price points has direct drive proved competitive.
good luck in your quest. any table is better than none, and used would be my play. but condition is everything with used machines, so buy with care. if possible find one with available service and original manufacturer support with parts, to avoid something where you are just a temporary stopping point on the way to a landfill.
p.s. the Ar made me a belt drive , suspended turntable design fan . the bias probably showed, but it is well earned.
Is very telling. Thanks for sharing your experience with the table.
Anyone can make a belt drive.
A Direct Drive tt today is a new design unless you are technics with decades of experience to fall back on and designs to update not generate from scratch.
The AR is a good table and some of the hot rodded ARs are really special.
The thing about the KD-500/550 and KD-600/650 is a few bolts new armboard and the tonearm can be almost anything you want to use for the normal arm length. Longer arms, whole different discussion.
the tonearm is so critical to good sound , you will get no objection from me that an improvement is very worthwhile. I doubt a guy going in for a used kenwood has much interest in fancy arms at this point. I would say an improved arm would help any table.the point I would like to stress is serviceability. if something needs fixing , better to have a design with service support instead of throwing stuff away and start spending all over again.
I don't see the simplicity of a belt drive as a negative, as in anyone can make a belt drive. A simple mechanism is often less noisy and more durable long term, provided you can get the drive belts. it's hard to improve on a ball and flat main bearing for minimum friction and noise, the key to a good generated signal.
Edits: 12/25/24
It's no use trying to debate "belt-drive vs. DD drive" sound. Vinylphiles are steeped in "resonance" from day one...
All that is left to debate is "type and degree" of "resonance". Purely subjective, pure fun.
by resonance, I assume you mean contamination of the signal. to me the goal of a turntable design is to minimize signal contamination, since everything resonates at some point and will blur the generation of the signal. so , acceptance of resonance seems strange to me, although it is seemingly inescapable.
I feel a major source of signal contamination is the external acoustic energy from playback, but it does help to isolate the motor from the plinth, along with the arm and platter. that's why I am strong on suspended belt drive designs, better acoustic isolation for the money.
I had a lot of fun with a direct drive and wish others the same happiness. For my tastes, a simple comparison of the design objectives and outcomes is enough to set my opinion. Of course, another's opinion is always equal to mine, since opinions are not facts.
.
with Grace 707 tonearms. great combo. i suspect the heavier Kenwood arm would be a better match for a moving coil cartridge. if the price is right then the Kenwood would be a good bet.
...regards...tr
I have three main tables if I want to use them:
The KD-500 was purchased at a neighbor's yard sale for a ridiculous price, but I was in a hurry (going to work) so paid the offered price.
The SL-1600MK2 has been my "daily driver" for more years than I can remember, it is all that I really need; it replaced an SL-1300MK2.
The SL-1015 was dredged out of the 'bay with the seller making the claim that it worked but needed some maintenance to function properly. He was right and with a friend's help, we got it working just the way that Technics said that it did. Mainly some heavy-duty cleaning; someone had spilled some sticky liquid (coffee most likely, based on the dried residue) on it around the controls.
The KD-500:
with Pioneer PA-1000 arm:
The SL-1600MK2/Shure M97Xe:
The SL-1015/Syntec S-220 arm:
Note that the arm has since been replaced with a complete S-220. Although I do miss the infinitely adjustable tracking possibilities!
Later Gator,
Dave
I have that record too! There's nothing like a little 78 RPM filth to make the day.
For perfect tone use Columbia Needles
For Best results use Victor Needles
For best results use OKEH Needles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Wallis
Later Gator,
Dave
Later Gator,
Dave
Nice collection of tables. It's interesting that you kept both Kenwood and Technics tables and listen to them based on your preference. Pretty cool!
Great tables, prefer the ergonomics of the 500 but the speed accuracy of the quartz locked 600 is better, not that I'm hearing a difference
These are great turntables.
Wow, I had an 1800 mkI, as well as a 1200. Gave both of them to younger cousins. So, you kept the Kenny over the 1800, that says a lot as I liked the 1800 a lot. Thanks for the info.
Not the KD-650 specifically, but a KD-2055, KD-50F, and a couple others.
If it were my money, I'd buy the Technics. You can still get parts for them if something fails, not that a Technics is likely to fail.
As far as sound quality goes, it's probably a toss-up.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
Edits: 12/23/24
Thanks for your response. Very helpful.
The SL-1200 series Technics decks are much better built. Slap an AT VM540ML into a Technics, it'll take plastic surgery to get the smile off your face.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
After bad plastic surgery, some cannot stop smiling. Others cannot smile at all.
Clark Griswold has a melt down.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
If it's information, below is a link with 200 mentions of the Kenwood KD-650 here on the vinyl Asylum. The archives are a great resource, especially for older gear.
While you might get one, two, or five replies to your question, you'll likly find a lot more information that you weren't aware of in the 200 posts.
Good luck.
I'm interested in real world experience from users who are familiar with both Kenwood and Technics. Thanks for the link.
Below I said I sold the SL-1800II. I prefer a separate tonearm on a manual table. I have some old arms that perform adequately for certain cartridges. ∞ Black Widow, SME II and SME II/S2 but prefer the Magnepan arm and have one on both the 600 and 500. The BW is on a TD-126 that allowed me to sell the TD-125/Magnepan to a friend. It will be getting a Magnepan but not on a black armboard on a black turntable cause you won't see the arm. Nice light wood armboard in the works.
The automatic table for those times I need it was a Sony PS-X7 but I gave that to my brother who has since given it to my nephew. I replaced it with a Technics SL-1600II. Might have preferred the 1700II but I'm happy with the short money I paid for the 1600. It doesn't get much use but is there and will be used more if the neighbor kid comes over to cruise to tunes as I train him to handle records.
The fact that the Kenwoods can easily accommodate a separate tonearm makes them my choice. I look to Technics for a non-manual table with integrated tonearm. The Kenwoods are at another level with the tonearms/cartridges I use.
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