Following Thedelihaus and Socalsam´s advise in this thread I got me a KA-8100 this afternoon.

There was a KA-9100 I was following too, but the power pack issue held me back. Besides I really dig the looks of the KA-8100, brings me back memories of my KA-907.

The waiting begins.

I have one that I am currently using on my set up, I like the kenny sound, great score jorge.

elroy

Congrats, it looks just great.

Excellent!

congrats, Jorge!!!

Congrats Jorge! I hope you like your KA-8100 as much as I like mine!!

Recently, I compared my 907 to the KA-9100 side by side. Of course the winner was the 907. However, I was more curious how the power pack driven 9100 differed from the 907. The 9100 is very well built and the dual trannies and heatsinks are much beefier than in the 8100. However, the 9100 sounds a little Eighties soul-less. Everything is there but is lifeless compared to the 907 or the discrete powered 8100.

Thanks for the encouraging words, guys.

Since the pre and power amp sections can be split, I was thinking of trying it out as the 4th amp in my active system too, thus removing the passive crossover section I have between midrange horns and tweeters.

I would have the SS Rotel driving the lower bass, this new kenny pushing the upper bass - lower midrange, and the two tube amps driving the midrange horns and tweeters respectively.

In this configuration I can also compare the preamp section´s quality against my very good Beard CA-35 and my passive unit.

I´ll be having some fun when I get it.

lookin great, Jorge!!!

I'm eager to hear your results with using it as a fourth amp.

The Eagle has landed.

Finally got my baby home. Quite a beast this sucker is. Must weigh in excess of 15 kgs.

It´s in very good shape, with only some scratches on the cover, which can easily be resprayed.

All the controls feel very positive. It oozzes quality all around, despite its 30 years of age or thereabouts.

Unfortunately I won´t be able to properly -*test*-('") it for a while. I´ll be away for an unknown number of days.

I´ll fill you guys on the results after I get back.

Jorge

Fantastic Jorge, let us know when you get back!

Jim

I might have to hookup my KA-8100 for a listen...

I use my 8100 on the highs for my little set up, its pretty smooth, almost dark, not too refined though, but it works well for the sound I enjoy.

Jorge, I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine

elroy

I´ve been doing some serious listening to the KA-8100 on its own, feeding both the Kef Carina II´s and the Celef Domestic Monitors.

Source has been the KT-8300 tuner, but mostly my Philips CDR-880. I have yet to play vinyl on it.

The sound is a little brighter than I remembered my KA-907 being, but this is perhaps a bit unfair as the KA-907 was the best integrated I ever heard. This is not a bad thing in itself, and this Kenny mates rather well to the Kefs, which lean to the warmer side of neutral. OTOH, the tiny Celefs in combination with the Kenny become a bit too shrill for my liking.

Over the next weeks I intend to try the KA-8100 driving my big main speakers in passive mode ( yes, i do have that option ) and see how it handles itself. In this configuration, the Visaton based DIY speakers are quite efficient at 96 db/ 1watt/1 metre, but are truly revealing speakers.

Final -*test*-('") will comprise experimenting with the pre and power section independently in my main active system.

Stay tuned.