One of the best Direct Drive : Kenwood L-07 D

[shakti]

my direct drive journey continues

A Technics SL 1000 MKII has arrived.

I will report in a new thread, when I have installed the turntable properly.

 

[Direct Drive]

A Technics SL 1000 MKII has arrived

I'll be very interested in your thoughts.
I have a SP10 MKII/Professional made for studios and has a different PSU. It is in a custom plinth with a FR64x mounted. Very powerful presentation.

 

[F456GTM]

Kenwood L 07D Turntable Set complete with Tonearm - Vintage HiFi Club

Kenwood L 07D Turntable Set complate with Tonearm . Here’s a family photo of two Fidelity Research tonearms, the FR-12 and FR64S, together with the...

www.vintagehificlub.com

The Kenwood KD-650, an improved version of the KD-500, was a superb budget deck in the late seventies, a design that allowed the stylus/groove relationship undisturbed at all time. The KD-600 was the armless version.

 

[F456GTM]

You may like this KP-07M, still one day to go, $409. I have bought many things on Yahoo.jp and Hifido.jp.

D234 KENWOOD# Kenwood turntable KP-07M record player # sound out verification settled : Real Yahoo auction salling

purchase: D234 KENWOOD# Kenwood turntable KP-07M record player # sound out verification settled

yahoo.aleado.com

 

[Walnut Horns]

Hi All,

I have long admired the L-O7 D from afar and was very tempted by the one for sale in the link below (no relation to seller or sale). So, I took the dog for a long walk and came to my senses, but thought another WBF member, especially in Europe, would like to know about it.

Best,

Evan

Error

www.audioantiquary.com

 

[djsina2]

Hi All,

I have long admired the L-O7 D from afar and was very tempted by the one for sale in the link below (no relation to seller or sale). So, I took the dog for a long walk and came to my senses, but thought another WBF member, especially in Europe, would like to know about it.

Best,

Evan

Error

www.audioantiquary.com

The one that was on Spring Air recently was absolutely mint. Looked like brand new, better than this one for sure. Too bad dealing with that company was horrible, thought about buying it. Didn’t last long though.

 

[wbass]

@shakti Do you have any burgeoning thoughts on your SP10/1000 next to the Kenwood/Trio? Forgive me if I missed a thread on it... Very eager to hear about your experiences.

 

[shakti]

@shakti Do you have any burgeoning thoughts on your SP10/1000 next to the Kenwood/Trio? Forgive me if I missed a thread on it... Very eager to hear about your experiences.

similar quality level, but different in sonic DNA. Technics more neutral to analytic, Kenwood more mid bass energy , a little warmer.
Preference depending on personal bias

Technics EPA 100 Tonearm only good, if Cartridge / Headshell weight is below 20g,
Kenwood tonearm will work with heavier combinations as well.

 

[Direct Drive]

similar quality level, but different in sonic DNA. Technics more neutral to analytic, Kenwood more mid bass energy , a little warmer.
Preference depending on personal bias

Technics EPA 100 Tonearm only good, if Cartridge / Headshell weight is below 20g,
Kenwood tonearm will work with heavier combinations as well.

Interesting as my thoughts with my SP10 vs L07d are almost opposite.
However my SP10 is in a very different plinth which does have an effect and I use a FR64x with AT33. It is a punchy, ballsy, powerful sound. Detailed with bass.
The L07d with a Hana SL is the more analytical/subtile of the 2.
Cartridges make a difference of course.

 

[Nemal1]

Couple of friends had the L-07D at time of release. A very good turntable but restricted in the use of an alternative arm. The main reason for this message however was a tendency for the deck to speed up on its own volition referred to at the time as “Donald Ducking”. Then it would run perfectly again for a while. None of the local engineers in the north west (of the UK) understood either why or how this happened or how widespread this may have been.

 

[shakti]

Couple of friends had the L-07D at time of release. A very good turntable but restricted in the use of an alternative arm. The main reason for this message however was a tendency for the deck to speed up on its own volition referred to at the time as “Donald Ducking”. Then it would run perfectly again for a while. None of the local engineers in the north west (of the UK) understood either why or how this happened or how widespread this may have been.

I know the effect from my DDX 1500. @DDX 1500 this is a function of proper grounding of the turntable and the PSU/control unit.
Both tables do offer the connection of a ground wire. If not properly done on the same ground level, random speed up and even reverse play (on DDX 1500) is possible.

I never had the effect on L-07D, but as coming from DDX-1500 I take care for a proper ground.

 

[Direct Drive]

was a tendency for the deck to speed up on its own volition referred to at the time as “Donald Ducking”

Never been an issue in my years of ownership, nor have I heard of the issue outside of a number of caps falling out of spec. Easy to fix.
I've seen it with others, JVC/Victor TT series, again caps out of spec.
As Shakti says, possibly ground issue, dry solder on one of the umbilical pins.

Ironically always likes the L07d for the ease of a second arm against some of the other top DDs. Just a matter of the correct mounting plate.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I once owned a luxman pd441 direct drive tt . Still a good table today and it’s over 40 years old.

 

[tedkaz]

I worked for Kenwood in the early 80’s, the L-07D was one of my best C stock purchases ever. Built like a tank for sure, I moved twice with it, without original packing, aka C stock. Unfortunately ignorance on my part led to it ending up on the scrap heap, when the motor crapped out Kenwood was not proving parts for it anymore, and was not aware of anyone rebuilding them. I miss hearing it, don’t miss moving it

 

[morricab]

During the last years I spent my time mostly with Belt Drive turntables, but whenever I had contact to a proper Direct Drive, I am fascinated.

Currently I do use the Micro Seiki DQX 1000 and the DDX 1500 direct drive , at my friends home I can listen to Technics SP10 MkII and the Brinkmann Bardo.

All of this Direct Drives have something in common, they play piano with brute force and crazy dynamics while having a very clear tone.

I am using the Japanese Three Blind Mice Jazz records to compare, as nearly everyone I am visiting has this records in his collection.

4 weeks ago I was invited to a shoot out, some actual turntables in the 20k region, some vintage turntables, belt drive and direct drive.

As all of the turntables have their own fan boy culture, I am not going to list them up. But important for me was, that I was familiar with the different turntables,
but not with my personal "winner" of the shoot out. The former reference product from Trio / Kenwood:

Kenwood L-07 D

The Kenwood played the different Three Blind Mice Jazz records in a way, that I had to listen to them again and again, finally I made to the owner an offer and
went home with the Kenwood L-07D in my car

At home I started the google research about this turntable. Nearly all and everything is documented on this page, which was very helpful :

Kenwood L-07D Turntable Web site

I learned, that I have an early version of the turntable and that the optional accessory kit was missing.

Finally I found the matching

Kenwood DS 20



outer Ring (in the Netherlands) , and the related

Kenwood DS 21

platter weight (in Hongkong)

and finally the

Kenwood TS-10

Ceramic Platter sheet (in Germany).

Still missing is the centering tool to better place the outer ring, if used on top of a record.


Placing the L-07D was easy , as I still have the HRS M3x platform , originally designed for a Brinkmann balance, which fits the L-07D like designed for this turntable.

As the Kenwood list of accessories shows thick rubber feet to be placed underneath the turntable feet as well, I used the GRS Nimbus feet under the Kenwood original feet.

The 7 Kenwood engineers involved in the Kenwood 07 project did a lot of basic research to design this turntable, so the heavy plinth is made from different materials.

View attachment 76888 View attachment 76889

The tonearm

Kenwood TA-07 J

as such is similar complex, but easy to handle. VTA can be adjusted during playback.


View attachment 76890 View attachment 76892 View attachment 76891


The standard Platte sheet is from Stainless steel, the optional from Ceramic.

On vinyl Engine a link to the manual can be found, showing some measurements as well.

Kenwood TS-10 Ceramic Sheet Turntable Mat | Vinyl Engine

www.vinylengine.com

same for the outer ring

Kenwood DS-20 Disc stabiliser Vibration Suppressor | Vinyl Engine

www.vinylengine.com

It is possible to use the steel and the Ceramic platter sheet as a composite, so I tried different set ups.

My current "best" looks like the following sandwich:

baseplatter, than ceramic platter. centered by the ceramic platte the outer ring is placed. On top of the ceramic platter comes the steel platter.
And the last add on is the thin brown Micro Seiki Leather topper , which I like on steel platters.

But maybe this set up will change, as the platter weight is not yet arrived and I am using a different weight.

To get a start on this vintage table, I am using the

Acoustical Systems Fideles

6mv output cartridge. The heavy Titanium body fits nicely into the over all Design of the Kenwood turntable, but finally I will fit a contemporary cartridge into the L-07D.

Now I am listening and enjoying music with the new member of my turntable collection

The first impression matches my listening experience at my friends home, now I understand better, why you can find reports from other shoot outs,
seeing the Kenwood L-07D far ahead over the Nakamichi TX 1000 , another nice example of Japanese engineering quality of this decades.

Looking about market pricing, the Kenwood L-07D had a factor of 5x in market price increase over the last 10 to 15 years (in Europe),
which is still a conservative curve compared with Micro Seiki RX 5000 or SX 8000 residual value development.

If you are looking for such a turntable, you should know, that in some markets the L-07D was sold as "Trio L-07D" and not as "Kenwood L-07D"
as example in the UK.

Great TT. The later Kenwood KD9010 is also a very nice TT...very good motor and control design...not nearly as much mass though. There is an upgrade you can do to your L-07 and that has to do with putting Mu metal underneath the platter. Apparently, the partial magnetic levitation can interfere with the cartridge and degrade the sound. Putting the Mu metal makes a barrier to this.

I am a big fan of the really great DD TTs from Japan. I own a Yamaha GT-2000 with external supply and vacuum hold down. This design has a motor similar to your Kenwood and a platter of similar mass. The control system is somewhat different but the plan is to avoid the "hunting" issues that early DDs suffered from. I also own a Pioneer Exclusive P10, which has one of the finest motor designs of all time (linear induction motor and stable hanging rotor).

Again, congrats on a true SOTA TT.

 

[morricab]

Interesting as my thoughts with my SP10 vs L07d are almost opposite.
However my SP10 is in a very different plinth which does have an effect and I use a FR64x with AT33. It is a punchy, ballsy, powerful sound. Detailed with bass.
The L07d with a Hana SL is the more analytical/subtile of the 2.
Cartridges make a difference of course.

The SP10 (old ones...not new models) used an inferior motor that used iron poles, so it had issues with cogging and torque ripple. I also don't think the motor control system was nearly as advanced as those that came later (like the L-07D or the JVC bi-directional servo). The L-07D had one of the most advanced motor designs (coreless, brushless and slotless) with the coils in a star pattern. The Exclusive P3 and P10 also have very advanced motors as does the Yamaha GT-2000 (which also has a high mass platter and JVC's bi-directional servo control).

I would put these 4 TTs (L-07D, Exclusive P3/P10 and Yamaha GT-2000) into the upper echelon of the old Japanese TTs.

 

[Fglabach]

Does anyone know where I can find the din adapter for the l0d7 kenwood tone arm?

 

[F456GTM]

Contact Yiuki Nagai-san on ebay: samurai_electronics**. He is a down to earth chap in Tokyo, I have dealt with him many times.

Cheers,

Horacio

 

[Tannoyista]

I also own an L-07D turntable. It's a magnificent thing and, to me, it's a work of art as much as a work of technical prowess.

I'm looking out for couple of things for mine like the TS-10 platter and an original 2nd tonearm board, SME or otherwise.

Here's my review of it over on my blog:
WWW.TANNOYISTA.COM

 

[DasguteOhr]

I also own an L-07D turntable. It's a magnificent thing and, to me, it's a work of art as much as a work of technical prowess.

I'm looking out for couple of things for mine like the TS-10 platter and an original 2nd tonearm board, SME or otherwise.

Here's my review of it over on my blog:
WWW.TANNOYISTA.COM

Here in germany
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