Kenwood KT-2080 (c. 1996)
The Kenwood KT-2080 is a late-1990s FM/AM tuner that appears to have been positioned as the smaller sibling to the KT-3080. Hi-Fi World (Feb 1997) reviewed it at £130, noting it followed the KT-3080's positive reception - and concluded the KT-2080's smooth, even balance made it convincing with whatever it was receiving. A budget tuner getting a favorable review from the UK hi-fi press was not a given.
The design is straightforward late-'90s Kenwood: a slim 93mm-high chassis, 440mm wide, weighing just 3.3kg. It's a synthesizer tuner with 40 random presets spread across FM and AM, a five-point signal meter for checking field strength, and RDS on FM. It can also receive AM stereo, a feature that was becoming less common by the mid-'90s as broadcasters abandoned the format. The FM section is spec'd with 1.6 µV mono sensitivity (15.2 dBf), 80dB signal-to-noise in mono, and 0.1% harmonic distortion at 65 dBf input. AM sensitivity is rated at 12 µV (400 µV/m).
One quirk: the FM receiving range is listed as 76-90 MHz, which is the Japanese FM band. That suggests the unit was intended for the domestic market, even though it was reviewed in the UK. The original price was ¥22,000 (around 1996).
Documentation is thin. The fact sheet confirms the specs above from a single database, and no production years are firmly established beyond the "around 1996" pricing date. A service manual covering both the KT-2080 and KT-3080 exists in PDF form, which helps anyone attempting a restoration.
- Type: FM/AM synthesizer tuner
- FM sensitivity: 1.6 µV (75Ω) mono, 15.2 dBf
- FM S/N: 80dB mono / 70dB stereo (65 dBf input)
- FM distortion: 0.1% mono / 0.3% stereo (1 kHz, 65 dBf)
- Stereo separation: 45dB (1 kHz)
- AM sensitivity: 12 µV (400 µV/m)
- Presets: 40 (FM/AM, random assignable)
- Power consumption: 8W (one source cites 10W)
- Dimensions: 440 × 93 × 379.5 mm (W×H×D)
- Weight: 3.3kg
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