Amp/Preamp Asylum: REVIEW: Kenwood L-01A Amplifier (SS) by silversurfer

Model:	L-01A
Category:	Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price:	$800
Description:	Integrated amp one of the topmodels from Kenwood
Manufacturer URL:	Kenwood
Model Picture:	View

Review by silversurfer ( A ) on November 11, 2004 at 13:12:11
IP Address: 194.109.164.78

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I have been a Kenwood fan since 1991 when I bought my first Kenwood CD-player (DP-4030). In 1998 I bought myself a complete Kenwood set. KA-7090 amp, DP-5090 cd-player, DM-5090 minidisk, KX-3080 Tape. About a year after that I bought the DMF-9020 Minidisk and sold the DM-5090. Last year I bought a second hand DP-7090 cd-player which was a vast improvement over the DP-5090. Since early this year I've been buying several kenwood machines. My current set-up is L-01A amp, DP-7090 cd-player, KX-9050S tapedeck, DMF-9020 MD and the KT-990D tuner. All connected through Van Den Hul cables. Rest of my gear is a Sony SCD-555ES SACD player, Dual CS505-4 turntable and Driade D85 speakers (2-way, minimalistic design)
I Never thought I would be able to buy one of the L-series models from Kenwood. You have to get an extra mortgage to buy L-series Kenwood. My luck came about a month ago on E-bay, an L-01A was offered. Not in the best of conditions cosmetically, but technically in good health. After a nervebreaking evening behind my PC-screen, I came out as winner of the auction. The price I paid for it was very reasonable. Three days later it was delivered to my house.
As you can see in the pic above it comes in two parts, the small unit is the power supply unit (with two big transformers for the signal and a smaller one for rest of the amp) and the big unit, the actual amp. It's a very heavy amp about 27,5kg in total; 17,5kg for the PSU en 10kg for the amp (the guy from UPS looked rather surprised when I explained to him it was an amplifier inside the cardboard boxes. Just one? he asked me).
For the biggest part it is made of non-magnetic material like aluminium, copper, plastic and wood. Inside it has two huge cooling radiators connected through two thick copper rods with the endstages (I presume)
Besides the endstages there are two enormous condensators.
The pic above is not the one I have, mine is in a fair state cosmetically: woodwork needs repearing and some other small restorations need to be done. Technically it's in a good condition given it's age of roughly 25 years.
When I first listened to a CD through this amp I was surprised: The bass was gone, or so I thought. Then I realized the L-01A has so much more control over the bass that it doesn't sound boomy. Unlike my KA-7090 which sometimes messed it all up (see how you get used to it) After some time I realised how good this amp was compared to the KA-7090 amp. One word that came up during the first few hours of listening: Absolute control (ok ok, two words)
I'll discuss some of the CD's I've listened to through the L-01A for this review:
Roger Waters - Amused to death. One of the best recorded rockalbums ever. The sound is alive, with much detail and depth. This is Q-sound at it's best. The big explosion at the end of track 6 (Late home tonight pt. I) really scared the hell out of me. I knew it was heavy and big, but this time it was like standing next to the bomb, exploding. The bass was really tight and very detailed. The KA-7090 messes it all up in the lower frequencies, making it boomy and rather unpleasent to listen to. The highs were crystal clear and very smooth.
Massive Attack - Mezzanine. The song Angel is a first rate bass killer. The KA-7090 had lot's of trouble with this, basically it couldn't handle the massive amounts of bass on the whole of the disc. The L-01A though had no problems at all. Bass tight like a funeral drum, rich in details. Details I'd never heard on the KA-7090.
Marillion - Marbles (disc 1&2). This is a very complex piece of music, many layers of music mixed together. The KA-7090 had a little trouble to expose the dilicate fabric of the music on these discs. The L-01A had no difficulties at all in showing the complexity of the music. The smallest details are meticulously exposed by this amp. This doesn't always have to be good, bad recordings sound even worse on an amp like this. The L-01A just shows what there is, nothing more, nothing less.
Andy Summers - Charming Snakes. Rock/Fusion, sounds nice on the KA-7090, but on the L-01A it really comes alive in all it's details and dynamics. Highs on this album are spectacular, the L-01A reproduces them crispy and fresh. The bass is played with authority: tight and detailed without being boomy.
To round it up: The Kenny is an excellent amp, it is fast, powerful and plays with much authority and control. It brings out all the details in a recording (including the bad ones)
I think it will hold itself up in a head-to-head battle with many modern integrated amp of the same pricerange as this one was in 1979 ($5000 I believe)
Wonder what it would do in a head-to-head with the even more legendary L-02A.

Product Weakness: Get's a little hot after a few hours. Can be tricky to repair, few spare parts available.
Product Strengths: Details, natural sound, speed, power, absolute control over the signal

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Kenwood L-01A
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	none
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Kenwood DP-7090, Sony SCD-555ES, Dual CS505-4
Speakers:	Driade D85
Cables/Interconnects:	Van den Hul
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, Fusion
Time Period/Length of Audition:	A month...and counting
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Get's a little hot after a few hours. Can be tricky to repair, few spare parts available.
Product Strengths:	Details, natural sound, speed, power, absolute control over the signal