New TT!! KENWOOD KD-1033 [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

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Tasuke

30-04-2012, 04:48

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/kenwood/kd-1033.shtml

lookie what i found at my local recyclers today, (4/29/12) and just finished restoring;

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-127.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-126.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-121.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-123.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-124.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-125.jpg

- it's a little rough around the edges, but it cleaned up well, as can be seen.

it's a great, simple and reliable-looking all MANUAL belt-driven design.
further, it sounds GOOD. at least as good as any TT i've heard yet,
and quite possibly better.

it's original belt, of course, had long since turned to goo,
so i cleaned that all up with paper towels
soaked in 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. this stuff cleans up that crap
like you wouldn't believe.

i managed to find a good, healthy belt in my spares stash that fit perfectly,
and after oiling the platter shaft bearing, motor bearing and breaking it all in,
she took off right like she was built just yesterday.
GOOD, SOLID quality, long since forgotten in the CE industry.

also, i upgraded the output RCAs and GROUND lead,
but left the power cord as is, except placing a series of
snap-on ferrite cores onto it, directly inside the chassis.

i have the dustcover, i just need to clean it up
and apply a good deal
of scratch-removing plastic polish rubbing treatments to get it to sheen some. i think i'll leave the hinges off, and just remove the cover completely
when in use, as, not only have i heard Audiophile noises
about hinged covers catching sound waves and producing feedback,
or some such like that, but i just LOVE the table's sleek, low-profile looks.

i was also lucky to find, and latch onto an original copy of the SM for $6 and change. whee!!

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN4-29-128.jpg

i think i'll be sticking with this one,
until i find a solid mid/late 1970's PIONEER model that really wet's my whistle... :goodie:

StanleyB

30-04-2012, 05:30

Great job. I have had endless listening pleasures with the KD-1033 and SR-222 from Sansui. Battle tank reliability as well. I changed the headshell to an ADC magnesium one, and later changed the RCA cable as well.

AlfaGTV

30-04-2012, 07:16

Good job! Looks like a keeper to me too!
And im sure it sound really nice! Reminds me a lot of my Pioneer PL10D which was bought a couple of years ago. Itstill had its plastic protection film on the alu coloured bits! :stalks:
Br Mike

Tasuke

02-05-2012, 18:19

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN5-2-122.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN5-2-121.jpg

just about as good as this example is going to get.

i used CD SCRATCH REMOVER fluid to buff/polish the dustcover up,
but i think it might benefit from a couple more treatments yet.

i constructed a little enclosure box, out of a sheet of laminated/insulated metal foil
pulled from a VCR or something (don't remember ATM)
and secured it around the small junction PCB
directly joining the GROUND lead and RCAs to their related tonearm wiring.
aberrant noise levels went down a great deal.

also, just bought a solid Aluminum
(milled from Aircraft-grade aluminum, so claims the U.S. Mfr./seller)

- 45RPM adapter puck, as well as a brand-new, compatible Belt;

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN5-2-124.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN5-2-123.jpg

Beechwoods

02-05-2012, 21:30

You did very well there, it looks lovely! Wish I was that lucky at charity shops / thrift stores!

synsei

02-05-2012, 23:11

I owned a KD1033 many, many moons ago. It was a budget deck in its day with stonkingly good performance for its price point. I replaced the original headshell with one from ADC and I found it tidied things up soundwise quite a lot. It may be worth sourcing some Techie SL1200/1210 feet for added acoustic isolation or maybe a set of Vantage Audio feet. If you really want to push the boat out you could even acquire some Isonoe's :D

Magna Audio

04-05-2012, 08:05

I had one of those new back in the day!
I went on to a Sansui SR222 (not sure it was an improvement) and then a Ariston RD11E (was an improvement but could have been the Linn arm on it?!)

Tasuke

06-05-2012, 19:56

i just decided to pull the trigger on a set of these for $33 and change;

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/NerveAudioLitzwirephonocartridgeheadshellleads-5-6-12.jpg

- says that they're Litz-wired, and made by a "Nerve Audio" company. opinions?
they're coming clear from FL, so it should be a good week before i see them...

AlfaGTV

06-05-2012, 20:11

Those looked well made! Surely I may be wrong but i thought all wiring with individually insulated strands were called 'Litz' ?
So these def fit the bill!
Flea-bay aquisition?
Br Mike

Tasuke

06-05-2012, 20:19

Flea-bay aquisition?

yep... :)

Tasuke

08-05-2012, 00:02

i'm about to go back and remove both that shielding box i made,
AS WELL as the junction PCB inside, binding the tonearm leads
to the RCAs.

i intend to DIRECTLY COUPLE the leads and ground to their RCA/GND LEAD counterparts,
cover each of the five exposed solder joints with electrical tape,
cover the whole shebang with a layer of ALUMINUM FOIL for shielding,
clear from the leads' direct exit from tonearm, to a little on past the solder joins.

in theory, as well as i can figure, this should provide the best possible connection
and noise rejection for this brand/model of TT, and should result in
the finest sounding, closest to "Reference Quality" TT i have yet had the pleasure
to own.

i have yet, as of this writing, to perform this mod, and, of course,
any input/thoughts are quite welcome...

DSJR

08-05-2012, 09:17

My suggestion for exit leads is this, since someone's already been at them judging by the first pics..

Use either a small diameter coax lead per channel or small section mic cable (I use Van Damme Pro Patch mic cable, screen connected at the phono plug and the four inners (hot and return per channel) to the tonearm wires. The Klotz AC110 is flexible enough, very low capacitance and Rega used it on the RB600 at least..

The chassis can be earthed with a flexible instrument wire of thinner gauge than the wire already there I reckon. Don't mess about otherwise as I'm certain wou won't benefit. In the Pioneer PL12D, they did place a sheet of thick aluminium? foil on the base of the plinth and connected this to the earthing point via a fly-wire. I think in all honesty that this was more for people who stood the deck on top of the amp, allowing radiation from the transformer underneath to affect the signal..

Tasuke

08-05-2012, 20:25

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN-5-8-121_1.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN-5-8-121_2.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/KD-1033JOHN-5-8-121_3.jpg

Oh My God... the noise floor is now dropped way down to virtual insignificance.

further, the sound is now crisp and clear in a way that approaches, if not comes close to,
my PIONEER PD-91 CDP.

all this, and i haven't even gotten those new headshell leads yet!!

by god, when those finally arrive, i think i just might be in for
the Vinyl experience of my life, to date...

Tasuke

08-05-2012, 20:35

My suggestion for exit leads is this, since someone's already been at them judging by the first pics..

yeah, i was at them, AFAIK.

i doubt that the TT was tampered with in any way whatsoever
before it came to my possession. it just didn't look it, to my eye, anyway...

Tasuke

14-05-2012, 19:51

-FINALLY- got those leads!!

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/NerveAudioLitzwirephonocartridgeheadshellleads-5-14-121.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/NerveAudioLitzwirephonocartridgeheadshellleads-5-14-122.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/KENWOOD%20KD-1033/NerveAudioLitzwirephonocartridgeheadshellleads-5-14-123.jpg

- had to do some microscale muscling to get the CART ends of the leads
onto the cartridge's pins, though they more-or-less just slipped on, firmly-but-easily,
onto the HEADSHELL end.

i've yet to sit down and listen, but will soon, and i'm expecting grand things. we'll see...

Jac Hawk

14-05-2012, 20:14

Tasuke

15-05-2012, 15:20

I've been looking at getting a set of those leads for a while now, can you let me know what you think of them?:cool:

they seem nothing less than superb, so far.

easily the best TT sound i've had yet,
and now an honest-to-goodness sonic match to the balance of my system.

for a little less than $40shipped (got them from an EBAY seller)
i don't really feel that you could go wrong with these...