Kenwood 3300D (c. 1987)
The "3300D" designation shows up on at least two Kenwood components from the late-1980s D Series - the KA-3300D integrated amplifier and the DP-3300D CD player. That makes this a slightly tangled entry. The Archive's period press coverage is about the amplifier. The CD player turns up in coverage of the fiber-optic digital scheme the two shared.
HiFI-Stereo (September 1987, p.43) ran Julian Hirsch's Hirsch-Houck Laboratories test of the KA-3300D as an integrated amplifier. The review describes full recording, playback, and dubbing connections for a DAT deck and a second recorder. You can record one source while listening to another, and inactive recorders are automatically disconnected from the signal path. The ordinary CD input took a player's analog output. Small buttons handled the subsonic filter, mono/stereo mode, switching between two AUX inputs, and a 30 dB level cut. The same report (p.44) noted a small cooling fan under the top cover, which is an unusual thing to find in an integrated amp.
Kenwood's own D-Series advertising in HiFI-Stereo (July 1987, p.31) pushed fiber-optic transmission of raw digital data to the amplifier in the form of light. High Fidelity (April 1987, p.47) listed the Kenwood DP-3300D at $850 with 16-by-4 decoding and both electrical and optical digital outputs. The optical output was meant for the decoder-equipped KA-3300D.
- KA-3300D — integrated amplifier; fiber-optic digital input; two-recorder dubbing; two AUX inputs; 30 dB level cut; internal cooling fan.
- DP-3300D — CD player, $850; 16-by-4 decoding; electrical and optical digital outputs.
Not documented: production years, original price and power rating of the amplifier, and whether other 3300D components existed.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.