Hello to the forum.
I'm not an audio enthusiast, so I'm only coming here hoping to get some information on how best to take care of some equipment...
When I bought my house, the previous owner was kind enough to leave behind a few bits of audio equipment that he must have really enjoyed over the course of his life.
One item of which is a Knight KA-55 which he meticulously preserved the instructions, and from what I can tell, all the diagrams for - complete with his own annotations!
Not being much of an audio guy, I don't have any use for any of this of it - however I refuse to throw out such a perfectly preserved piece of history.
Is there any value to this stuff beyond pitching it to a local historic antiques shop or is there perhaps some advice on how/where I could sell the amp and manuals?
Much appreciated!
I'm not an audio enthusiast, so I'm only coming here hoping to get some information on how best to take care of some equipment...
When I bought my house, the previous owner was kind enough to leave behind a few bits of audio equipment that he must have really enjoyed over the course of his life.
One item of which is a Knight KA-55 which he meticulously preserved the instructions, and from what I can tell, all the diagrams for - complete with his own annotations!
Not being much of an audio guy, I don't have any use for any of this of it - however I refuse to throw out such a perfectly preserved piece of history.
Is there any value to this stuff beyond pitching it to a local historic antiques shop or is there perhaps some advice on how/where I could sell the amp and manuals?
Much appreciated!
You have something that's WELL worth refurbishing and putting back to work. That you have documentation is golden. Look through the documents, find the schematic diagram, scan the schematic, and post it here. FWIW, a Google search indicates that the unit uses 4X EL84/6BQ5 O/P tubes. That complement will yield up to 15 honest WPC. There are plenty of speakers, both "vintage" and current manufacture, that are sensitive enough for use with the amp.
It’s sounds as if you are assuming that the KA-55 is only valuable as an antique, or a historic curiosity. That assumption may be incorrect. Below is an opinion of this amplifier that I found on another forum:
Tonight I put the chassis into the case and hooked the amp up to my Dynaco A-35s. The results were terrific. very smooth, rich, and surprisingly clean and crisp sound. I compared it my Denon av-888 "home theater" receiver. The Denon sounded clean, but dead compared to the KA-55. It had been several years since I had a tube amp. I had forgotten what music was supposed to sound like. No wonder I haven't been listening to music lately. It amazes me that 99% of the population is satisfied with highly compressed and artificial MP3 sound. Our standards have really declined.
Dynaco A-35’s are loudspeakers, by the way. I’d say that you were fortunate to inherit this piece of equipment. If it is in good condition internally, you just might want to consider using this item. Who knows—you might develop a new interest in music!
Tonight I put the chassis into the case and hooked the amp up to my Dynaco A-35s. The results were terrific. very smooth, rich, and surprisingly clean and crisp sound. I compared it my Denon av-888 "home theater" receiver. The Denon sounded clean, but dead compared to the KA-55. It had been several years since I had a tube amp. I had forgotten what music was supposed to sound like. No wonder I haven't been listening to music lately. It amazes me that 99% of the population is satisfied with highly compressed and artificial MP3 sound. Our standards have really declined.
Dynaco A-35’s are loudspeakers, by the way. I’d say that you were fortunate to inherit this piece of equipment. If it is in good condition internally, you just might want to consider using this item. Who knows—you might develop a new interest in music!
Ask the previous owner when it was last used .
You just can't plug it in without a load (speakers) as you risk the transformers.
If it hasn't been recapped you also risk the transformers.
Best to check resistors, clean pots and tubes sockets, contacts too.
You must listen to a tube amp, and that will be a high quality one! It will sound it's best after redoing. All tubes are readily available, affordable, and in production for it too. You won't want to listen to SS after!
Randy
You just can't plug it in without a load (speakers) as you risk the transformers.
If it hasn't been recapped you also risk the transformers.
Best to check resistors, clean pots and tubes sockets, contacts too.
You must listen to a tube amp, and that will be a high quality one! It will sound it's best after redoing. All tubes are readily available, affordable, and in production for it too. You won't want to listen to SS after!
Randy
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