[kanadakiss39]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omendelovitz I'd be glad to help you out in that case... sell me your kenwwood junk!

Maybe... Spring break, I'm going back to Japan to have my electronics fill.

 

[holleboomer]

I'm willing to sell my HD20GA7, scratch-free. Contact me for more info.

 

[jpnz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanadakiss39 Cool! I've had my HD20GA7 for a loooong time, though... I don't know how you consider this to be a 'new' player. Most of my old friends think my Kenwood is junk. Which, I'm starting to believe... after all, I've had mine for almost a year now!

Yeah, most of your old friends want ipod video to watch there favorite movies, instead of listening to music

 

[Danneq]

Sorry for excavating an ancient thread, but right now I live in Japan, and here I can find cheap Kenwood HD20GA7 on Japanese yahoo auction.
However, I wonder if someone has heard both the HD20GA7 and the HD30GB9 and can comment on how the SQ of the two players compare. Apparently the HD20GA7 has a white noise issue which the HD30GB9 does not (or at least to a much lesser degree).
But does the HD30GB9 sound much better than the HD20GA7?

Used, I could probably get a HD20GA7 for a bit less than $100, while a HD30GB9 would be closer to $200. The later version would be nice, but already having a Cowon S9, Sansa View, Zen Vision M, Zen Touch and iRiver H120 (this one is back in Sweden right now), I do not need much space nor do I need the best SQ. I am just very curious about the Kenwood HDD players and would like to own one if I can find it cheap.

 

[Danneq]

Dang! So now I have become a Kenwood HD20GA7 owner. I was in an auction on Yahoo Japan auction and I got a bit too excited when it came to bidding and I won a black Hd20GA7 for about 14.000 yen with shipping included. Still okay price, but the battery is supposedly not very good. However there are new batteries to buy on Yahoo Japan auction. So I guess I`ll just have to fork out another 2.000 yen for a new battery.
Still nice to get a Kenwood HDD player, and I wanted a black one.

 

[jsr]

congrats on your "new" kenwood player. I have the same, and I really like the sound, but one thing that really bothers me on that player is the battery's lifetime: it totally sucks, it won't hold charge for long. In comparison, my iriver player that is a few years older is still almost flawless with respect to the battery. If I'm not mistaken, the HD20GA7 uses the same battery that's inside the tiny hd10gb7, and I can tell it suffers the same issue.
If you don't mind, can you send a pointer to these japanese battery auctions?

 

[Danneq]

Sure,
here`s a link to the battery in question.

So it is a 830mAh, not very big capacity for a HDD DAP.
The measurements are:
L52×W35×H4.5(mm)

I have found a picture with the original Kenwood battery and the other one side by side.

I also have a Sansa View and it`s battery is replaceable. You can easily find Sansa View batteries on Ebay. The mAh is only 730, but the View is a flash player. I am thinking that the measurements of the View battery might be similar to the batteries of the Kenwood HDD players. Don`t know about the polarity, though...

The Sansa View battery has got the following measurements:
L47.2×W40.5×H3.9(mm)

The measurements are not too far off. The View battery is 5.5 mm wider which might be a bit too much. Other than that it might work. However, other than the polarity, the connector might not be the same as on the Kenwood battery. For those with some experience in soldering, it would not be a big problem to change the connectors.

Anyway, I`ll keep looking...

 

[jsr]

thanx for the link and for the picture. that battery seems to be a good alternative to the original kenwood one. I'll have to check if I can source something similar here in the US.
as you said, the sansa battery might be a bit too wide. as most other players, everything tightly fits inside those mp3 players.
out of curiosity, since you're in Japan, have you tried contacting Kenwood directly for replacement parts? (I once tried Kenwood US, but they were not of much help, given the player is for the Japanese market only...)

 

[Danneq]

I have not yet contacted Kenwood Japan. I am here this year to study Japanese, and it is not that advanced yet.

My wife is Japanese and I have been using her Yahoo auction account. The next thing I am on the look for is (used and therefore cheaper) ATH ES7 headphones. The main office of Audio Technica is here in Machida, about a 15 minute walk from where I live. But Audio technica head phones are still expensive when you buy them new - about 14.000 yen. I hope to find cheaper used ones for around half that price. And hopefully the risk of getting a fake pair should be smaller than buying from Ebay.

Anyway, if you fail to find anything concerning the Kenwood replacement battery you are free to PM me and perhaps I can help you.

 

[Danneq]

@jsr -
Are you sure that the HD10GB7 uses the same battery as the larger Kenwood HDD players? In the listing on Yahoo Japan auction it says that the battery is for the HD20GA7/30GB9/60GD9 players. So the HD10GB7 might use a smaller battery.

Or perhaps they are the same? I just googled "Hd10GB7" and "バッテリ" (japanese form of "battery") and I found the following:

Japanese review of the HD10GB7

On one of the pictures you can see that it is a 830mAh battery.

 

[Danneq]

I have found some further information about batteries. I have looked at some Japanese sites where they talk about replacing batteries on Kenwood HDD players. Apparently the replacement battery for Cowon M3/X5 might work well. The only thing is that you need to do a bit of soldering to get the battery wires into the Kenwood connector.
The measurements of the Cowon replacement battery is 50.03(L)x36.2(W)x5.3(H)mm. This is very close to the original battery`s measurements 52(L)×35(W)×4.5(H)mm.
And the M3/X5 battery is 1100mAh compared to the 830mAh of the original battery.

Here`s a (google translated) link where a guy replaces the HD20GA7 battery with a iPod 3G battery.

Another guy who puts an iPod battery in his Kenwood HD20GA7.

Here it is shown how to change HDD and battery in HD20GA7.

 

[jsr]

hi danneq,

Quote:

@jsr - Are you sure that the HD10GB7 uses the same battery as the larger Kenwood HDD players?

yes, I'm pretty sure they use the same. I was also initially surprised, but when I looked at the battery (I opened my HD10GB7), they are the same model (wb09-1315)

 

[jsr]

Quote:

I have found some further information about batteries. I have looked at some Japanese sites where they talk about replacing batteries on Kenwood HDD players. Apparently the replacement battery for Cowon M3/X5 might work well. The only thing is that you need to do a bit of soldering to get the battery wires into the Kenwood connector.

Thanks a lot for these links, they are very interesting. I guess I'll have to try the replacement with the ipod 3g battery (I guess they're easier to find at my local Fry's than the cowon's)

on a side note, the HDD replacement seems tempting too... but well, one thing at a time!

Don't want to end up with a brick.

thanks again for all the info you shared.

 

[Danneq]

Yeah, you might as well give it a try. Just remember to check the polarity of the wires. The red wire should be plus/positive and the black minus/negative. I can see on the picture where the iPod 3G battery is used that the red and black wires are in the same place in the connector as on the original battery while the extra white wire is removed. Anyway, best to check the polarity of the wires so that it is the same as on the original battery. Your HD10GB7 might not like it if it receives the wrong polarity...

I wish you the best of luck with replacing the battery!

 

[Danneq]

I have received the HD20GA7 and the sound signature is very smooth and full, but at the same time detailed. I still do not see this as a replacement to my other DAP:s. I like the difference in sound signature that they all have. It is however a good compliment and it might work better as a home rig since listening is more rewarding with quiet surroundings than even my Cowon S9. I do not use IEM:s and have so far not experienced any hiss at all.
 
All in all a very nice purchase!
 
Addendum: I forgot to mention that Kenwood Media Application is every bit as bad as I have read. It must be god's punishment to humanity or something. Well, perhaps not that bad, but not far off...