Kenwood A97 Amplifier - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Paul Clarke · 27th Jan 2021, 12:38 am

I’ve just come to use by Kenwood stacker, not used for years, it’s in mint condition but there is no sound coming out of the main RHS speaker; I’ve checked the wires and speakers, the issue is definitely the OUT on the back of the A97 amp, I’m presuming/hoping that this is fixable and merely a bit of soldering?

Also, on taking the unit out of the cupboard, annoyingly the amp slipped out of my hands, I caught it, but not before scratching the RHS volume knob, does anyone know if I can get replacement knobs/dials?

Can anyone fix this please?

samjmann · 27th Jan 2021, 5:19 am

Hi. With an AV amp like this always check all connections first. Run it from the internal FM tuner, and with a pair of headphones you should get sound on both channels. If you do, then swop the speakers from the left to right out to see if the fault changes. This amp like many, has a speaker protection relay which isolates the loudspeaker from the amp to prevent damage if the amp fails. You should be able to hear this click when starting the amp up. It's quite possible that this has failed, which would give the fault you describe. These aren't the easiest of things to work on if you're a novice, there are mains voltages present also, so caution is advised!

There are people on here in the services section that could look at it for you. If it does turn out to be the relay, there's a good chance of it being fixed.

Regards, SJM.

HECTOR63 · 27th Jan 2021, 11:26 am

Paul for a manual take a look at Hifi Engine they have a wealth of good quality downloads FOC-in terms of the fault usually used to be caps with poor esr and leaks and dry joints on the big preamp chip cured most of these and very reliable and nice sounding amp in its day even as a stacker Kenwood made some great value for money in the golden days till Aiwa and alike killed it flat on prices and Argos style services!!

HECTOR63 · 27th Jan 2021, 12:00 pm

https://www.vintageshifi.com/repertoire-pdf/Kenwood.php

Just scroll down and the A97 manual can be downloaded fuss free

Paul Clarke · 28th Jan 2021, 11:04 am

Thanks for all your feedback, it's now fixed.

Edward Huggins · 28th Jan 2021, 2:08 pm

What was the fix in the end please?

27th Jan 2021, 12:38 am	#1
Paul Clarke Diode Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK Posts: 2	Kenwood A97 Amplifier I’ve just come to use by Kenwood stacker, not used for years, it’s in mint condition but there is no sound coming out of the main RHS speaker; I’ve checked the wires and speakers, the issue is definitely the OUT on the back of the A97 amp, I’m presuming/hoping that this is fixable and merely a bit of soldering? Also, on taking the unit out of the cupboard, annoyingly the amp slipped out of my hands, I caught it, but not before scratching the RHS volume knob, does anyone know if I can get replacement knobs/dials? Can anyone fix this please?

27th Jan 2021, 5:19 am	#2
samjmann Heptode Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Nottingham, UK. Posts: 648	Re: Kenwood A97 Amplifier Hi. With an AV amp like this always check all connections first. Run it from the internal FM tuner, and with a pair of headphones you should get sound on both channels. If you do, then swop the speakers from the left to right out to see if the fault changes. This amp like many, has a speaker protection relay which isolates the loudspeaker from the amp to prevent damage if the amp fails. You should be able to hear this click when starting the amp up. It's quite possible that this has failed, which would give the fault you describe. These aren't the easiest of things to work on if you're a novice, there are mains voltages present also, so caution is advised! There are people on here in the services section that could look at it for you. If it does turn out to be the relay, there's a good chance of it being fixed. Regards, SJM. __________________ It's never been right since we've had it...

27th Jan 2021, 11:26 am	#3
HECTOR63 Banned Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Bedfordshire, UK. Posts: 601	Re: Kenwood A97 Amplifier Paul for a manual take a look at Hifi Engine they have a wealth of good quality downloads FOC-in terms of the fault usually used to be caps with poor esr and leaks and dry joints on the big preamp chip cured most of these and very reliable and nice sounding amp in its day even as a stacker Kenwood made some great value for money in the golden days till Aiwa and alike killed it flat on prices and Argos style services!!

27th Jan 2021, 12:00 pm	#4
HECTOR63 Banned Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Bedfordshire, UK. Posts: 601	Re: Kenwood A97 Amplifier https://www.vintageshifi.com/repertoire-pdf/Kenwood.php Just scroll down and the A97 manual can be downloaded fuss free

28th Jan 2021, 11:04 am	#5
Paul Clarke Diode Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK Posts: 2	Re: Kenwood A97 Amplifier Thanks for all your feedback, it's now fixed.

28th Jan 2021, 2:08 pm	#6
Edward Huggins Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 8,328	Re: Kenwood A97 Amplifier What was the fix in the end please? __________________ Edward.