So as the one component goes to break in and almost ready to go home, another steps up on the bench. Next project is a Kenwood KA-8006 integrated amplifier. This is from the Kenwood-Trio era and is a little powerhouse at 70wpc into an 8 ohm load. This amp resides locally and will be returned to its owner after being restored to its original glory.
The chassis on this amp is quite small for all the power packed in here. I really enjoy integrateds and separates as there is no tuner boards in the way taking up precious real estate. Right off the bat you can’t help but notice the huge transformer mounted mid chassis and the giant 15000uf supply caps between the two amp boards and output transistors. The power supply board is also mounted vertically in front of the transformer, and preamp board horizontally behind the faceplate.
After some closer inspection a few of the larger caps on the supply board have burn marks on the sides as well as the old glue flaking away all over the PCB. There are also the infamous 2SC1451 transistors on the amp board that will need to go; of you look at the amp board they are the metallic barrel shaped transistor. This amp has not been run in a number of years so a slow power up on the variac is in order first and testing to see if there are any major problems before beginning a good restoration. Overall the amp is very clean inside considering its age and the exterior will clean up beautifully. Once done it will look and sound excellent. Here is an overhead shot.
