Kenwood KD-770 or 770D

[hifileslie]

James D recommended Kenwood turntables:

"If it was me ( and it was recently) I would buy a Kenwood KD990 or KD770 or KD9010 or KD7010 or KP1100 from Germany, these are all basically the same deck but produced at different times! Price about €280 - €400 from ebay.de. The deck is at least as good as the SP10 and has a really good gymbol arm and is semi-sutomatic in operation..."

I have located a 770 but it looks different to the 990 and weighs 7.5Kg vs 12Kg(all approx). However, there is also a 770D which looks more like the 990.

Is the 770 the one to buy, or did James D really mean the 770D and not the 770?

If anyone knows the difference apart from looks between the two I would love to know!

[Black Stuart]

Can you post the Ebay.de listing, that is, if it is there you have seen it. However at 7.5K I'm sure this is not one of the KD series that JamesD rec. The same arm was used on all the KD series. as you have unearthed this old thread, JamesD also posted a link to a Japanese site with visuals of the deck and it's construction.

Apart from the series number they are all have identical specs. and looks. There is also an KD 8030 (I think) that has a mahogony plinth.

About a year ago there was a mint KD990 for sale that had a lot of extras, I declined to pay the buy it now price of E560, this I regret - the extras could have been sold on.

Do remember that if you see a KD deck on German Ebay, many Germans will not sell outside of Germany and you need to make sure that if you do buy a Kenwood from Germany make damn sure that they pack it properly, even going to the trouble of finding a German speaker to write a no nonsense message for you, if you have won the auction.

Having said that, my deck was stupidly packed and arrived damaged (plinth and hinges) so I negotiated a big drop in price - it plays perfectly, testament to it's rugged build quality. I mention this because A Turkish guy suffered the same thing but now is delighted with his purchase after some remedial work.

Don't forget to buy a service manual, they are cheap. Do not attempt to touch the arm bearings they are sealed for life, arm height is so simple with a small allen key adjustment. Also make sure that the arm has it's original chunky alu headshell - it's part of what makes the arm so good.

If you buy one, you won't regret it.

[david counter]

here's a Kenwood 8030 on German ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA:IT&ih=010

[Black Stuart]

Unless you have someone in Germany itself to bid on your behalf and then post it on to you in the UK - forget it.

[david counter]

interesting, the reason why I mentioned it was he says you can enquire for shipping to Europe