Kenwood KT-1010II (circa 1984)
The KT-1010II is a quartz-synthesizer FM/AM stereo tuner that Kenwood sold in Japan for ¥59,800 around 1984. That is a mid-class price, but the engineering aimed well above it. It carries the "DLLD Super Synthesizer" designation. The chassis is slim at 64mm high, with a hairline aluminum front panel and an illuminated display.
The circuit design is where this tuner gets interesting. It uses the Direct Linear Reception Circuit first developed for the KT-3030. That circuit linearizes the frequency-versus-tuning-voltage characteristic of the local oscillator across the entire band. It helps most at the low end of the Japanese FM band (76 MHz), where sensitivity often suffered. The DLLD (Direct Linear Loop Detector) takes the 10.7 MHz IF signal and detects it directly through a closed-loop detector. A distortion-correction circuit sits inside the loop to cancel VCO nonlinearity. A newly developed IF distortion-correction circuit reduces harmonic distortion generated by the IF filter, so the tuner keeps high selectivity without adding grunge. A dual-gate MOS FET in the RF amplifier and mixer section helps reject intermodulation interference from TV broadcasts. The two-power-supply arrangement uses separate transformers for the audio/loop-filter path (6.97 VA) and the logic/display path (7.2 VA), which keeps digital noise out of the analog signal.
The front end has wide/narrow IF bandwidth switching. Wide gives the best sound quality. Narrow (90 dB selectivity) digs weak stations out from under powerful neighbors. Sixteen presets (8 FM + 8 AM) cover the basics. The FM specs are strong: 0.95 µV/10.8 dBf sensitivity, 99 dB mono S/N at 85 dBf input, and 0.0055% THD at 1 kHz in Wide mono. Stereo separation is rated at 68 dB at 1 kHz in Wide. The AM section is less glamorous but respectable, with 10 µV sensitivity and 0.3% distortion at 1 kHz in Wide.
The KT-1010II belongs to a small family. The KT-1010 and KT-1010F are nearly identical in construction and dimensions, though the F version dropped the front-panel illumination and had a somewhat lighter build. Japanese collector sources regard the KT-1010II as a legendary machine, and the few hands-on accounts back that up. One repair-and-restoration write-up on hirokun.jp praises its very low measured distortion and clean sound, noting the unit's performance "doesn't lose to high-end units." The same source covers the typical aging issues. The original filament lamp lighting can be converted to LED, though a sloppy conversion caused flickering on the examined unit. A corroded tantalum capacitor in the preset-memory backup circuit is a known failure, and the part number L79-0162-05 is a Trio/Kenwood special-order piece with no easy replacement.
Surviving documentation is thin beyond the Japanese spec sheets and that single restoration log. There's no confirmed production run beyond "circa 1984" (one examined unit carries 1985 IC date codes), no US-market pricing, and no Western press coverage found.
Known specifications:
- FM sensitivity: 0.95 µV / 10.8 dBf (75 Ω)
- FM S/N (85 dBf): 99 dB mono / 91 dB stereo
- FM THD (1 kHz, Wide): 0.0055% mono / 0.0085% stereo
- FM selectivity (IHF): 45 dB Wide / 90 dB Narrow
- FM stereo separation (1 kHz, Wide): 68 dB
- Presets: 8 FM + 8 AM
- Dimensions: 440 × 64 × 317 mm (W×H×D)
- Weight: 3.8 kg
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