Amps with no mid controls?

joho1701

Was it common for amps around 1980 to be made without a mid control, just bass and treble?
I am expecting a Kenwood KA-60 (1980-82) next week which does not have a mid control:

mhardy6647

Midrange adjustments weren't common in the 1970s (although they weren't unknown, either). That KA-60 is at the bottom end of Kenwood's product line at the time and is a bare-bones piece of hardware by the standards of the time.

Tone controls, as far as I am concerned, generally do more harm than good. None in my hifi... but that's another story, and it's the answer to a question you didn't ask! :-)

cnh

That was fairly common, yes! But many integrateds had cut-offs for Bass and Treble that gave more equalization flexibility. My Pioneer has Bass (200 and 400 HZ turnover control) and a Treble (2000 and 4000hz turnover)--that was also pretty common.

I wouldn't worry about it. Because my Nakamichi Pre-amp has ABSOLUTELY no TONE controls of any kind (same with my tube integrated) and that is often best!

That's an interesting design. What kind of wattage does that put out? Or is it just a pre-amp!

cnh

joho1701

cnh wrote: »

That's an interesting design. What kind of wattage does that put out? Or is it just a pre-amp!

cnh

I believe it's 30watts per channel. I believe it has a pre-amp built in, but my TT also comes with an internal pre-amp that I can use. I'm connecting it to a pair of KHL model 16 speakers and the Polk PSW10.
I am actually disconnecting from a very powerful Superscope PAC770 which I had laying around, but no happy with the balance.
Someone on another thread suggested I switch from a PA amp to phono amp...

mhardy6647

The MM phono preamp in the Kenwood will most likely sound better than the "built-in" phono preamp in your turntable.
Remember that, if you use the preamplified output of your tt, you'll need to go into the AUX or TAPE IN jacks on the Kenwood; the line-level and already equalized output of the tt's onboard preamp will overload the phono section in the Kenwood (not to mention get a second and un-needed equalization).

joho1701

mhardy6647 wrote: »

The MM phono preamp in the Kenwood will most likely sound better than the "built-in" phono preamp in your turntable.

Good know and I thank you. I plan to input the tt directly into the phono jacks. My space is only 16 1/2 x 16 and I'm thinking the 30wpc is going to do just fine for a while. I'm "hoping" as a newbie.

Glen B

In my experience, preamps and integrateds with midrange controls were the exception rather than norm. As a percentage of units with tone controls, IMO they are in the minority. More popular were controls with selectable turnover ranges, as mentioned above.

F1nut

Tone controls are just junk in the signal path.