Kenwood KA-S10 (2006)
The Kenwood KA-S10 is a compact integrated amplifier released at the end of March 2006. It sold at a discretionary price of around ¥20,000. It's a small desktop unit, about the size of a hardcover book, designed to make it easy to enjoy music from portable digital audio players or a PC. That's a slightly unusual job for a standalone amp of that era.
The interesting part is what Kenwood packed into the tiny chassis. The signal path was laid out rationally from input through selector and volume to the amplifier stage, for more faithful amplification. The power supply uses a transformer with a copper short band to reduce leakage flux, paired with a large-capacity capacitor. The front, rear, left, and right panels are all 3.5 mm thick extruded aluminum. That stiffens the case and reduces the influence of external vibration, and it gives the unit a pleasant, solid feel. It can also be stood vertically using the included stand.
The front panel has an N.B. (natural bass) circuit with three selectable stages: +3.0 dB at 60 Hz, +5.0 dB at 70 Hz, or +7.5 dB at 100 Hz. This lets you tailor low-frequency output to your speakers and room. The speaker terminals accept banana plugs, and there's a subwoofer pre-out (1.8V/2.9kΩ) for adding a powered sub.
Known specifications:
- Maximum practical power (JEITA): 12W + 12W into 8Ω
- THD: 0.03% (Aux in, 1 kHz, 6W, 8Ω)
- Inputs: CD/Aux at 250mV/22kΩ; Digital Audio at 140mV/48kΩ
- Power consumption: 28W (100 VAC, 50/60Hz)
- Dimensions (horizontal): 171 × 67 × 207 mm; vertical with stand: 89 × 182 × 207 mm
- Weight: approx. 2 kg
Documentation on this model is thin. A 56-page instruction manual is circulating, and the unit shows up in Japanese and Russian classified listings, where sellers consistently describe it as having "quality sound" and a "fully aluminum body, very pleasant appearance." One Japanese blog measured the KA-S10's characteristics alongside the FOSTEX AP05 and Kenwood KAF-A55 under identical conditions, but the detailed results aren't readily accessible. No substantive period reviews or measured performance data from major publications appear in the record.
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