neevo
Super Member
I’ve upgraded myself from an idiot after my KA-7100 and PL-518 threads, I’m now half an idiot and therefore 50% likely to balls this up.
I have a mate that was round my house a few weeks back and he was so floored by my modest stereo that he’s become obsessed with having music in his own home and has tasked me with helping source it all. I’m building him a PL-514X at the moment but that’s not getting a thread because it’s very similar to my PL-518X one.
We have been looking at amps though and in Australia anything over 40wpc is mega bucks ($600 at least). All this looking at amps has whet my appetite and I’ve been wondering if my KEF LS50’s could do with more than the 60wpc that they get from my KA-7100. Then my friend suggested maybe he buy my 7100 and I find something else?
With that I managed to find a showroom condition KA-8100 in Belgium, it was probably the finest example you’d ever see, but with shipping it was right up there in price. I declined, but then thinking about it over the weekend I didn’t want to let it go.
With a last ditch effort I posted a note on an Australian HIFI page on FB and sought to see if I could find one locally.
I was floored when a chap reached out and mentioned he had one in storage! Not one to let the deal slip through my fingers I picked it up the same day.
It needs work but he’s the original owner, it’s not had any work done, has been stored and has a suspect mark on the front (either a scratch or a stubborn greasy mark).
This is my dream amp, I actually think the 7100 is ever so slightly prettier but the 8100 looks like it means business and I couldn’t upgrade any further as I dislike the 9100’s looks and none of the Supreme series will fit in my cabinet.
So I’m 90% sure this is here to stay. So with that I want to give it the best treatment. I’m thinking a full recap, replacing any risk items, new relays and bourns trimmers etc like I did with my 7100. I want it ready for another 40 years.
I’m also thinking of replacing the speaker terminals with decent connectors that will take banana plugs. Is that a big no no?
I’m also keen to hear thoughts on some quality caps for the power supply (last time I used PK’s I think) and some really good ones for the audio path.
Obligatory pics:
It’s filthy and needs a good clean. But that’s easy I think. It was also a price I couldn’t pass up, mainly because it needed a new face plate because of a scratch under the volume knob, but on further inspection I think it’s glue residue as it’s sticky. If that’s the case I think I’ve dodged a bullet there because getting a mint condition face plate would have been a challenge:
I’ll be cleaning all the knobs and face plate in the next day or so. Also will try and clean the inside before getting it biased etc properly before I get stuck in to the renovation proper. Mouser order in ASAP hopefully. Any tips to get the front in perfect condition other than cleaning with washing up liquid. How do some of them look so shiny and glossy?
I have a mate that was round my house a few weeks back and he was so floored by my modest stereo that he’s become obsessed with having music in his own home and has tasked me with helping source it all. I’m building him a PL-514X at the moment but that’s not getting a thread because it’s very similar to my PL-518X one.
We have been looking at amps though and in Australia anything over 40wpc is mega bucks ($600 at least). All this looking at amps has whet my appetite and I’ve been wondering if my KEF LS50’s could do with more than the 60wpc that they get from my KA-7100. Then my friend suggested maybe he buy my 7100 and I find something else?
With that I managed to find a showroom condition KA-8100 in Belgium, it was probably the finest example you’d ever see, but with shipping it was right up there in price. I declined, but then thinking about it over the weekend I didn’t want to let it go.
With a last ditch effort I posted a note on an Australian HIFI page on FB and sought to see if I could find one locally.
I was floored when a chap reached out and mentioned he had one in storage! Not one to let the deal slip through my fingers I picked it up the same day.
It needs work but he’s the original owner, it’s not had any work done, has been stored and has a suspect mark on the front (either a scratch or a stubborn greasy mark).
This is my dream amp, I actually think the 7100 is ever so slightly prettier but the 8100 looks like it means business and I couldn’t upgrade any further as I dislike the 9100’s looks and none of the Supreme series will fit in my cabinet.
So I’m 90% sure this is here to stay. So with that I want to give it the best treatment. I’m thinking a full recap, replacing any risk items, new relays and bourns trimmers etc like I did with my 7100. I want it ready for another 40 years.
I’m also thinking of replacing the speaker terminals with decent connectors that will take banana plugs. Is that a big no no?
I’m also keen to hear thoughts on some quality caps for the power supply (last time I used PK’s I think) and some really good ones for the audio path.
Obligatory pics:
It’s filthy and needs a good clean. But that’s easy I think. It was also a price I couldn’t pass up, mainly because it needed a new face plate because of a scratch under the volume knob, but on further inspection I think it’s glue residue as it’s sticky. If that’s the case I think I’ve dodged a bullet there because getting a mint condition face plate would have been a challenge:
I’ll be cleaning all the knobs and face plate in the next day or so. Also will try and clean the inside before getting it biased etc properly before I get stuck in to the renovation proper. Mouser order in ASAP hopefully. Any tips to get the front in perfect condition other than cleaning with washing up liquid. How do some of them look so shiny and glossy?
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