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65.95.0.51
Hi Folks.
My Kenwood KD-750 is in sickbay right now, getting a full recap and mechanical restoration. As a part of the deal, I'm looking to replace the fair quality stock Kenwood arm with something dramatically better. I was thinking something along the lines of an Audiomods Series 5 or a SME 309. Maybe even a Rega 1000. All tonearms that I believe work well with unsuspended and mass loaded TT's.
However, I was talking to one of the foremost TT gurus in the area, a good guy and a guys that I trust, and he threw me a bit of a curveball. He said that instead of going with one of the modern arms, he has had great success with a SME 3009 II (unimproved) on tables of this kind. No, I wouldn't get the detail of the modern arms, but It would give me a wonderfully musical sound and a great tone.
For cartridges, I've been a long time Grado fan, and would with put something from a Sonata up on it, or maybe my NOS MCZ. My all time favourite cartridge was my Zyx Fuji, but I have also been intrigued by the London Deccas. My TT guru even started talking about Ortofon SPU's!
So, with all that in mind, what would you guys recommend? New or vintage? Let's say up to $2K max in price.
Follow Ups:
I could have sworn that was the hot ticket in the 70's...
At least with the first in the series, the KD-500.
Opus 33 1/3
What arm is that ...?
Opus 33 1/3
I know it's really a 9-inch tonearm because I put a 9-inch Jelco SA-370H on a KD-500 for my son-in-law and its headshell comes to about the same place on the plinth over the Kenwood label.
Effective length: 237mmOverhang: 15mm
Offset angle: 21 degrees
Mounting distance: 222mm
Got mine on a Technics SL-150 MKII. Came with a Shure V15 Type IV.
Opus 33 1/3
Edits: 04/27/16
Yeah, I remember when that tonearm was introduced. It was the rage with high-compliance cartridges. It was also more expensive that I wanted to afford if I remember correctly. I ended up buying a Thorens TD-126 with factory installed SME III instead. I was in the Air Force in Germany and if I remember correctly the complete Thorens turntable including SME tonearm was $425 through the Ramstein AB Audio Club. Those were the good old days. The top-of-the-line Ortofon MC-2000 cartridge and T-2000 SUT were $281 each. At that time they sold for $750 each in the States.
Best regards,
John Elison
Never went overseas. Spent 4 years as an ATC instructor at Sheppard AFB. The BX there was not so hot with Hi-Fi gear, although I did score a nice 10" reel to reel deck there.
Opus 33 1/3
There were a lot of real bargains overseas through the military exchange system and the military audio clubs. Unfortunately, the stateside exchange system didn't have the same low prices. I kept a list of items and prices and here are some examples of components I bought in 1983 and 1984:
Teac X-1000R open reel w/Dust Cover .... $508
Denon DP-45F Turntable .......................... $185
Denon DP-62L Turntable .......................... $279
Stax SR-Lambda Pro Headphones ............ $487
Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Recorder ...... $899
Yamaha C-70 Preamplifier ........................ $300
Yamaha M-70 Power Amplifier ................ $400
Yamaha C-2x Preamplifier ........................ $473
Yamaha B-2x Power Amplifier ................. $589
Yamaha CDX-1 CD Player ....................... $330
Ortofon MC-200 LOMC Cartridge ........... $102
I bought a lot of great equipment when I was in Germany. I had two different stereo systems set up in my home. Those were the good old days. ;^)
Best regards,
John Elison
Opus 33 1/3
Opus 33 1/3
Nt
I really like SME tonearms. I primarily like the SME IV, V and 300 Series. Therefore, I would recommend the SME 309, which comes closest to fitting your price range. Normally, I would recommend buying it from 2juki , but I just looked and he doesn't have one listed at the moment. There is a new one on eBay from a seller in England at the link below.
With regard to cartridges, I just bought an Audio Technica ART7 and it really sounds good in my SME V. It has ultra low-output of only 0.12-mV, though. 2juki has the higher output version called the ART9 available for $955 . Its rated output is 0.5-mV.
would leave it as s it is personally, its aa great semi auto deck, and there will come a time when you will kick yourself for doing that. Why not install a second arm on the other side or at the back? (you would need a bigger lid then of course) or buy a different deck for manual play.
My kenwood sits in the loiungeroom where everyone can use it. (I have my big Pioneer with the Wand arm eslsewhere)
Actually, it's a fully manual deck. No auto functions at all.
oops, confised it with the KD700
I'm a huge fan of Kenwood tables, and I've owned the 750. The arm on that is a very good one, made by Jelco. If I were to put a new arm on that, I would give serious consideration to the Sony PUA-1600 as well as the Audio Technica AT-1010. If you're serious about using an SPU, then you'll want to reconsider a low to medium mass arm. Again, the stock arm can accommodate an SPU, and the SPU you should consider is the Ortofon Royal N because you don't have to use the old fashioned bake-lite headshell. I've used the Royal N on my Kenwood KD-990, Sony PS-8750, Luxman PD-444 with the AT-1010 and Denon DP-72L. I've also sold more than a few of them. It's Ortofons sleeper cart, because everyone that buys one loves it and the enthusiasm does not subside. I now prefer it to the Cadenza Bronze.
If you stick with the stock arm, do not forget to consider a good 3rd party headshell. The Ortofon wood headshell is excellent, and so are the Orsonics.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
Thanks for the response.
While I admire vintage arms, both the Sony, and in particular the Audio Technica (what a cool looking arm!), I'm not keen on buying used arms from unknown or questionable parties (ebay?), especially when there are no parts available for them. Nor are they exactly thick on the earth. There would be a certain elegance in running one of those on the KD-750 though.
BTW, how did you know the stock arm is a Jelco?
Like I said, I really love Kenwood tables and I've owned a bunch of them. The KD-770D, KD-750, KD-990 and the L-07D. I still have the KD-990.
There's a lot of info out there on the KD-750. There are UK based sites that really delve into vintage Japanese gear, tables and arms certainly among the discussions. These guys really know their stuff, and they've done some fantastic mods. anyway, it's been made known that Jelco was one of the primary sources for arms found on many Japanese tables during the 70's and early 80's, as was Audiocraft. In Audiocrafts case, they were brought in by Audio Technica to build the AT-1010. Think about that. A manufacturer who had built their fair share of great arms had AC build the best arm they ever marketed. Pretty wild, at least to me.
So, if it's a new arm you're looking for, my advice would be to consider a couple things. First, you want to get into SPU's, which are a lot of fun. But the arm has to be medium to higher mass to optimize the performance of an SPU, otherwise get friendly with resonant frequency issues due to compliance mismatching. And I think with the Grado's you've mentioned, that's a good possibility. If you opt for a medium to lower mass arm to compliment the Grado, then you'll have mismatching with any SPU or heavier cart with low compliance. That's why the arm you've got has its advantages, and believe me, it's a damn good arm.
But I get wanting to try something new. The Jelco 750's are really nice at the price, and I'd imagine an improvement over the Kenny arm. I'd also give consideration to the Ortofon arms, again especially if you want to play with SPU's. I think system synergy is really important and you'd have gobs of it with that combo.
I'd also consider Clear Audio. They make underrated arms, and damn good carts, and the synergy between the two should be assured. Plus, I've never seen anyone retro a CA arm on a vintage Japanese deck like yours, so it would be pretty unique and really pretty to look at as well. There is one consideration with CA arms, and that's the way anti skating is adjusted. If you have to reach the pillar from underneath, that would be impossible with the bottom cover on it.
Speaking of the plinth, you should research what others have done to make the plinth a bit more inert and resistant to acoustic feedback. I used modeling clay at various places, and it made a positive difference.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
I use a Grado TLZ with a 309 and a VPI non suspended table and it is fine. BTW,years ago I used Kenwood KD 500 with a MMT arm and a Grado and it was a poor combination. Grado's match well with a low to medium mass arm. I don't think you would go wrong with the 309 on the Kenwood !
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