[pageman99]

I've just withdrawn a posting I had in the for sale forum to sell an SRC2496 upsampling dac/connection box. I haven't been using it much lately because my old amps from the classic age were too large and the gf asked me to clean up my listening area.

I picked up an older Kenwood KA 5700, it's middle of the line and physically smaller than the top of the line amps I put into storage. The story was that the original owner of the Kenwood bought it, but then put into storage almost immediately because of medical issues and having to move into a personal care home.

I bought it from his son for only $40 at the estate sale. I'm sure the caps might be a little dry from age, but other than that it's perfect.

So like a kid at Chrismas, I rushed home and hooked it up to the SRC2496 (using the signal from an inexpensive dvd player) to see what it sounded like.

Well, on rock and roll it was darn near perfect. The amp is really resolving and a bit raw (Kenwoods are usually considered smooth and polite), probably because of the slightly dried out caps. Age will dry caps so be aware if you decide to start lurking at garage sales. At loud listening levels there's the slightest bit of distortion because the amp (only about 40 watts per channel) is being pushed to it's upper limits. The needles on the twin vu meters reallly jump around.

Combined with the upsampling and dithering of the SRC, old cd's come out just perfect for my tasts, fresh, raw, and sharp with tight bass. Hendrix, Cream, and Stevie Ray never sounded so real. Yet the upsampling to 24 bit words and 96 khz followed by dithering takes just enough edge off to eliminate harshness!

Now guitars really bite. The way they were meant to. But I can listen for hours without fatigue. Something I can't do when using Grados to achieve the same effect. BTW, I've used Ultrasone 2500's for listening so far. That old amp really grabs the diaphrams and keeps the bass under control. The highs are there and somewhat emphasized by that old amp but that compensates for the not quite as resolving recording equipment of the classic age.

Remember most rock and roll of the classic era was mixed to be listened to on the amps and receivers of the 70's. Kenwood, Sony, Pioneer, Sansui, Technics and others were everywhere. And recording engineers used them as listening benchmarks to make sure the music sounded exactly the way they wanted.

Let's see, $100 for an LG DVD player, $100 for the SRC, and $40 for the Kenwood. $240 and in r&r heaven.

Serendipity and synergy. My favorite part of this hobby.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pageman99 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've just withdrawn a posting I had in the for sale forum to sell an SRC2496 upsampling dac/connection box. I haven't been using it much lately because my old amps from the classic age were too large and the gf asked me to clean up my listening area. I picked up an older Kenwood KA 5700, it's middle of the line and physically smaller than the top of the line amps I put into storage. The story was that the original owner of the Kenwood bought it, but then put into storage almost immediately because of medical issues and having to move into a personal care home. I bought it from his son for only $40 at the estate sale. I'm sure the caps might be a little dry from age, but other than that it's perfect. So like a kid at Chrismas, I rushed home and hooked it up to the SRC2496 (using the signal from an inexpensive dvd player) to see what it sounded like. Well, on rock and roll it was darn near perfect. The amp is really resolving and a bit raw (Kenwoods are usually considered smooth and polite), probably because of the slightly dried out caps. Age will dry caps so be aware if you decide to start lurking at garage sales. At loud listening levels there's the slightest bit of distortion because the amp (only about 40 watts per channel) is being pushed to it's upper limits. The needles on the twin vu meters reallly jump around. Combined with the upsampling and dithering of the SRC, old cd's come out just perfect for my tasts, fresh, raw, and sharp with tight bass. Hendrix, Cream, and Stevie Ray never sounded so real. Yet the upsampling to 24 bit words and 96 khz followed by dithering takes just enough edge off to eliminate harshness! Now guitars really bite. The way they were meant to. But I can listen for hours without fatigue. Something I can't do when using Grados to achieve the same effect. BTW, I've used Ultrasone 2500's for listening so far. That old amp really grabs the diaphrams and keeps the bass under control. The highs are there and somewhat emphasized by that old amp but that compensates for the not quite as resolving recording equipment of the classic age. Remember most rock and roll of the classic era was mixed to be listened to on the amps and receivers of the 70's. Kenwood, Sony, Pioneer, Sansui, Technics and others were everywhere. And recording engineers used them as listening benchmarks to make sure the music sounded exactly the way they wanted. Let's see, $100 for an LG DVD player, $100 for the SRC, and $40 for the Kenwood. $240 and in r&r heaven. Serendipity and synergy. My favorite part of this hobby.

Great post pageman99!