Tube DIY Asylum

7th day impression of Kenwood KW-55 receiver upgrade

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In Reply to: RE: First impression of Kenwood KW-55 receiver upgrade posted by Neff on April 13, 2008 at 19:20:55

After seven days, I was hoping to receive the new Panasonic FM series capacitors to replace on the five 12AX7 cathodes. Still waiting for this rather critical upgrade.

I was still unsatisfied with the FM multiplexer performance after the alignment. I replaced a single .002uF capacitor in the multiplexer section with a new WestCap capacitor. The tuner now sounds more crystal clear and smoother all around to the point FM multiplex sounds better than mono. That is a good sign of a superior tube type multiplexer. By the way, an Amperex 6LB8 does sound better than the stock Asian manufactured tube.

I am still hearing improved performance as the large lot of new capacitors age. As the Kenwood KW-55 sounds now, it may have been a somewhat sought after receiver if it performed that way from the factory. I can say the FM tuner now handily outperforms the Dynaco FM-3 mentioned earlier. Until I change the 12AX7 cathode bypass capacitors I will reserve judgement later regarding the Kenwood preamp and power amp section vs a Dynaco SCA-35. The SCA-35 does have high quality output transformers that this Kenwood is missing. Yes, I do have an audio transformer replacement option on the Kenwood, but this would not be a wise investment for resale.

Reviewing earlier and later Kenwood stereo tube receiver designs, it appears not much has changed over the approximate ten year production period. It is all the same basic tube layout/design with choices of various power outputs in the main amp section. So, some or all changes listed in my posts would likely apply to the entire family of these receivers.

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