Kenwood KT-50 (late 1960s)
The KT-50 is a solid-state AM/FM stereo tuner from Kenwood's late-1960s "Spacelook" line, which also included the KA-1000 integrated amplifier and the KX-70 tape deck. The brochure that documents it dates to 1968. It's a straightforward, period-appropriate component. The dial is analogue-tuned and covers 87.5-108 MHz on FM and 530-1600 kHz on MW. The front end is FET, with solid-state IF and multiplex decoder stages.
Surviving documentation is thin. No original price, no exact production years, and no performance measurements (sensitivity, THD, capture ratio) have surfaced. The physical specs come from the Kenwood brochure scan: 16-1/8″W x 5-5/8″H x 11-1/2″D, 11.4 lbs, and 120V AC 60Hz.
Kenwood's advertising of the era leaned heavily on the "Spacelook" family look, and the KT-50's faceplate was meant to match its companion components. HiFI-Stereo (June 1972, p.37) noted, in a broader Kenwood tuner context, that the brand was positioning its tuners as luxury-component quality at a middle-of-the-road price. No review we've found documents whether the KT-50 specifically lived up to that pitch.
Known specs:
- AM/FM stereo tuner, solid-state
- FM: 87.5–108 MHz; MW: 530–1600 kHz
- Analogue tuning scale
- FET front end, solid-state IF and MPX decoder
- 16-1/8″W × 5-5/8″H × 11-1/2″D; 11.4 lbs
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