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I have been working on my project KD-500 for about 5 months. It is remarkable with a good arm, wire, and cartridge.If you are thinking about getting into Vinyl again you cannot beat this turntable for under 200.00.
http://cgi.ebay.com/KENWOOD-KD-500-DIRECT-DRIVE-MARBLE-BASE-TURNTABLE-MINT_W0QQitemZ5794809007QQcategoryZ3283QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Cheers.
- http://cgi.ebay.com/KENWOOD-KD-500-DIRECT-DRIVE-MARBLE-BASE-TURNTABLE-MINT_W0QQitemZ5794809007QQcategoryZ3283QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (Open in New Window)
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The tonearm is an AT, not a Grace.
I just related back what I read in the description....Still a nice table to modify. The PRAT and speed control on my KD 550, which is the identical table, is really superb. Much nicer overall than any suspended table I have owned or listened to except mid and upper end BASIS models.
...I stole the subject line from the previous responder.I believe the Audio-Technica to be a superior product to most Grace tonearms, worth well in excess of the current high bid all by itself. A Platter Matter mat would be a bonus.
I use a DD, unsuspended, Corian plinthed turntable.You're preaching to the converted here!
Unfortunately after 43 years of being an audiophile I can say that Linn, Rega, Michell, Thorens and other Euro Tables are just AWEFUL.Until you properly modify a good constrained resonance table like an upper end Kenwood, Denon, or build a Corian plinth table you have no idea of what quiet and neutral really mean.
Only an upper end Basis sounds better in MHO. These tables are just a total steal! I wish more of the asylum members would explore the virtue of proper resonance control and speed control.
Glad you are among the converted!
Sorry if I am pontificating. I realize only Bill O'Reilly is allowed to do this. 43 years of listening and exploring have led me to one truth. Physics in audio DOES MATTER.
The guy's advertising it as "Mint". It's not. It's nice, but not mint.Words like "Mint" and "Rare" mean nothing nowadays. Meh...
It's a nice TT tho.
Almost anything vintage audio listed as "Mint" is just a lie...My KD-550 was described as having perfect speed control. When it arrived, it would not come anywhere near locking in 33 rpm. So I tested the 10kohm pot for the speed control and it was gone....nothing. I replaced that for 2.43 cents and still no lock, so I also had to replace the trim pot on the servo motor control. About an hour of labor and less than 10 bucks in parts and the table is perfect.
I use a good transformer based line conditioner and the wow and flutter measured .015. This is really something for a 60 buck turntable.
I set one of these up for a friend years ago with a Grace 707 arm and a mid-line Grado. Very nice performer- well-made, quiet, great PRaT, good soundstage and pitch-stability. Delivers the things you love from a DD 'table. You see those around for $50 every once in a while locally, but usually its the version with Kenwood's tonearm. The auction you linked to is the mount-your-own variant, which is good. (To replace the Kenwood arm, I imagine you'd need a freaking concrete-core-cutter to redrill the mounting hole!)
Both the KD 500 and KD 550 use a plywood arm board, circular and held with three hex carriage head bolts. So it is simple and easy to perform arm changes. I just popped in the Pete Riggle VTAF bronze bushing after a 1/2 hour of drilling and sanding and I am off to the races.I originally purchased a KD auto table but this is a sonic mid fi product at very best. So I had to go with the 500 set up.
I modified my stock KD-550 arm board for the Pete Riggle VTAF. This unit "decouples" the arm from the arm board and plinth. The sound is superb. And the VTA on the fly is seductive beyond imagination.
as that will eat into your overall cost. But those things ARE heavy.
Yeah mine cost 35.00 to ship to me. Well worth it. 61.00 for the table and 35.00 for shipping. 96.00 total. I am in heaven. It kills my JWM, Thorens, Linn, VPI and other tables I have owned. Better PRAT. Quieter backgrounds with a damped platter (the stock platter rings like a church bell). Speed control is just perfect and wow and flutter are not discernable.
i paid that much to send a vpi 19 and tonearm (smeIV) AND i had to buy a $50 box from vpi. 50 is about right.
...regards...tr
Cheers!
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