Should I possibly upgrade power amps? If so to what

So not too long ago I purchased a pair of Kenwood L-09Ms and completely rebuilt them and they sound amazing, tons of power and finesse. They are rated a at 300w at 8 ohms and 400w at 4 ohms each, but bench at 410ish watts at 8 ohms and a bit over 600 watts at 4 ohms. Many consider them to be Kenwoods best amps ever. However they will not win eye candy of the year award any time soon. I say I would never sell them and they have bested several nice nice amps in local "show downs".



I'm always wanting to change things as I like trying new things, but I have moved things that I have later and to this day regret letting go. I know this may be hard for others to make suggestions as I know those who have laid ears on the L-09Ms are far and few between. I'm not sure how much I could get for them, but it looks like in good condition they bring about $600 each and I'm sure I could get a bit more with them being recapped/rebuilt.

Locally there is a Mark Levinson Evolution 2000 that has been on the market awhile for about $1600. 300w solid state with tube output stage. Looks really nice.

Not sure what I should do. I guess I'm looking for thoughts on what you individuals would do in my shoes. Keep em or look for something new?

Dan

Nice! Not a clue on what you should do but FWIW I have no attraction to products you can't get schematics or service info for, no matter how highly regarded the name.

Tough Call. In MY world .. and I've been fooling with Audio since late 60's.
Kenwood was a Sketchy brand.. at best.
Something to be avoided.. like the Black Death.
That said those Photos certainly present better than any Kenwoodie POS I've ever seen.
Maybe they even work passably.. or not
Unlikely my preconceptions are isolated though. Albeit this IS AK where even Realistic has large following.
Resale price ain't likely to be High.. if the buyers share similar perceptions as me.

First thing I would do is get the amp info of the possible replacement nailed down. Are you talking about the Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000 with the tube Input section and transistor output?

Then I would Keep the Kenwoods. Audition other amps until something sounds better. You have recapped ready to go top quality Kenwood amps and those are keepers in my book. Not a interesting looking at the other L-0 amps but what the hay, they got more power.
If they are that ugly, stuff em back behind the speakers and used the remote switching to turn them on and off.

You have 400 watt amps. You rebuilt them. You like them. I suggest keeping them.

But if you must, try to buy something else before selling them.

L-09M's are great amps when restored. If you want to upgrade your system upgrade the weakest link.

So the consensus is that I hold onto them then. It would be hard for me to audition much around here before purchasing. They do nothing wrong, at all, just curious I guess.

Bare you are the first I have seen refer Kenwood of the era as sketchy POS haha. I don't think I'd have a problem moving them if needed, I know many that seem to like them.

Thanks all.

Dan

The L-09 amps are something to hold on to. You'll be sorry if you sell them. I love the looks of them. A very serious military look. Ask EW.:nono:

Having never heard a pair (I mean, who here HAS?) it's difficult to say what you'd gain. But, here's what you'd lose:

- Some VERY hard to come by MONO BLOCKS made by a very capable company that made a whole lot more receivers than stuff like this
- The cool factor of having something that nobody else has
- Some really great looking industrial designed amplifiers that look like they are built to high standards and mean business

I'd have those things racked up on display and in use every single day if they were mine. Like others have said, maybe it's time to look at other parts of your system.

I think if you bought something like a McIntosh MC500, an equivalent powered Bryston, or something along those lines you'd be upgrading. It may well be that the ML amp outperforms the Kennys but you'd have to determine that in your space before committing to selling them to raise the cash for it.

Blue Shadow said:

First thing I would do is get the amp info of the possible replacement nailed down. Are you talking about the Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000 with the tube Input section and transistor output?

Then I would Keep the Kenwoods. Audition other amps until something sounds better. You have recapped ready to go top quality Kenwood amps and those are keepers in my book. Not a interesting looking at the other L-0 amps but what the hay, they got more power.
If they are that ugly, stuff em back behind the speakers and used the remote switching to turn them on and off.

Click to expand...

:thmbsp:

Keep them. These were $700 amps in 1977 and are quite rare. The L series is TOTL Kenwood gear, and the 09Ms were the biggest and best amps of this group. Now that you've rebuilt them, unless you're planning to buy something in the $5,000/10,000 range, you're unlikely to get anything superior. Rebuilt, it's likely you could get about $1000 apiece for them. Check the Kenwood forum for more info.