Kenwood KX-70
No production years or original retail price have surfaced in any source we've found. What we do know comes mostly from a Russian-language repair forum thread and a Russian hi-fi catalog listing. They agree with each other on the core specs.
The deck has one motor with electronic speed regulation. The forum participants noted that this was a relatively modern design for its time. It also has an electronic tape counter with a memory-stop function and autostop. It handles 4-track stereo cassettes, accepts 100 mm reels, and draws no more than 10.5 W. Dimensions are 400×120×275 mm and it weighs 4.9 kg.
The KX-70 has Dolby B and C noise reduction, plus a Noise Gate feature meant to reduce hiss during quiet passages. Frequency response is rated at 30-18,000 Hz on normal tape and 30-20,000 Hz on both CrO₂ and FeCr formulations. Wow and flutter is listed at ±0.2%, signal-to-noise at 58 dB with Dolby B and 63 dB with Dolby C. These figures come from a single forum source and aren't referenced to a DIN or IEC standard, so treat them as indicative rather than definitive.
Much of the forum discussion reads like translated material from a period manual or brochure. The Russian catalog and the forum thread may trace back to the same original documentation. That doesn't make the specs wrong, but the "two sources" corroboration is weaker than it first appears.
Owners on the forum thread discuss typical aging issues - belts, pinch rollers, and crackling during recording that clears up with a head cleaning. One poster said that after a repair the cassette was difficult to pull out, "as if clamped." That points to a common pinch-roller or loading-mechanism issue rather than a design flaw. A single classified listing offered a working unit after service for 7,500 rubles, but no date is attached to that price.
Kenwood's own advertising of the period touted the "silent touch of Dolby" across its cassette line. HiFI-Stereo (November 1981, p.96) ran a brief mention of the KX-70's computerized search system alongside record reviews. So the model got some period press, though apparently not a full technical review in the major audio magazines.
Known Specs
- Type: Stereo cassette deck, 4-track
- Motors: One, electronic speed regulation
- Tape speed: 4.76 cm/s
- Noise reduction: Dolby B + C, Noise Gate
- Frequency response: 30–18,000 Hz (normal), 30–20,000 Hz (CrO₂/FeCr)
- Wow & flutter: ±0.2%
- S/N: 58 dB (Dolby B), 63 dB (Dolby C)
- Features: Electronic counter, memory stop, autostop
- Max reel: 100 mm
- Power consumption: ≤10.5 W
- Dimensions: 400×120×275 mm
- Weight: 4.9 kg
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.