Kencraft GP 830X – vintage preamplifier

The Kencraft brand will mean little or nothing to most people. It was the kit division of Trio / Kenwood which, much like its American competitors (Dynaco or Realistic/RadioShack, to name but a couple), offered its products in both kit and pre-assembled versions.

Following the departure of two of the founding brothers from Trio, Kensonic / Accuphase was established in 1972. At the time this GP 830X was released, the brand had not yet been established, as everyone was still involved in the project in the hope of being able to impose their own market vision.

This is a transistor preamplifier that is rather rare to find. It was designed for the Japanese domestic market and was offered with a selectable power supply of 100 or 117 VAC. It is currently set to 117 V, as the power transformer required to connect it to the European mains is easier to source. This is not included in the listing but can be supplied separately.

This preamplifier is a unit designed with snap-in boards to facilitate both assembly and maintenance. The build quality is first-rate. The preamplifier offers separate high and low tone controls for each channel, adjustable to two levels and capable of being switched off. It features high-pass and low-pass filters, the latter with two selectable levels and the option to engage loudness. It supports both stereo and mono playback. Furthermore, it is possible to route only the left or right channel from the source to the speakers. It also features a front-panel microphone input that can be mixed with the source signal. It has two phono inputs for turntables, two tape inputs and three line inputs. Rear power sockets, both switched and unswitched.

Refurbished unit, fully functional and in excellent cosmetic condition considering its age.