Author: Mark Alexander

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Quote of the Day

If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense.

If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true, and someone would find a way to figure it all out again.” ~ Penn Jillette

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Oops, I Did It Again

We all have our hobbies obsessions.

I spotted this beauty on eBay a couple days ago. It’s a Kenwood KR-7400 stereo receiver, dating from 1975. It’s the same model receiver I’d owned since 2005—thinking it would be the last bit of vintage gear I’d ever want or need because it sounded so phenomenal—but foolishly let go of in the aftermath of the fire 18 months ago. The auction described it as “powering up and playing, but no other testing was done.” Except for a few minor scuffs on the veneered edge panels, it is in excellent cosmetic condition.

The auction had a buy-it-now price I could not ignore. I should have it by the end of the week. I’m calling it an early birthday present to myself.

To be honest, at the time of the fire I hadn’t been using its predecessor. But I didn’t want to ever get rid of it. It was stored in the den closet, one of two areas that bore the brunt of water damage. I’d also somewhat fallen out of love with it with the arrival of my quirky Technics units a few months earlier and frankly, it needed some TLC that I did not have the skill set to provide. (I attempted to swap out the burnt out incandescent dial lights with LEDs and let’s just say I was not happy with the results.)

Still, as the months drew on, I regretted abandoning it. This prompted the purchase a year ago of the model that came out a year later that replaced it, the KR-6600. As excellent a receiver the 6600 is, I’ve never been fully enamored of it.

Ironically, it was that purchase that prompted me to search out a competent vintage service tech because while it worked just fine, it arrived with a few minor issues that needed to be addressed (not the least of which were the 40 year-old undoubtedly long-out-of-spec capacitors lurking under that metal top case that the previous owner specifically noted had not been replaced).

And that is why the quirky Technics units went north to be refurbished first. While the tech I found came highly recommended by the vintage community, I didn’t want to risk having that new-to-me Kenwood trashed; the Technics units would be a test to show me if the guy knew what he was doing.

And as I mentioned, he more than proved himself.

So…depending on the actual condition this new purchase arrives in, either it or the 6600 will be the next project for my technician.

 

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