KLH Model Twenty (mid-1960s)

Name: KLH Model Twenty
Brand: KLH

The historical record on the KLH Model Twenty is a little murky. Depending on the source, it's either an FM stereo receiver or a complete modular component system. Both descriptions may be right, since they could be looking at the same product from different angles. The references agree that the Model Twenty appeared in the mid-1960s, and hifi-wiki.com dates its introduction to 1965.

As a receiver, the Model Twenty was a solid-state FM stereo unit rated at 18 watts per channel. Frequency response was 30-30,000 Hz, and harmonic distortion was listed at 0.5%. The front panel carried an input selector, vertical tuning and push buttons. As a complete system, it came with loudspeakers, a turntable, the receiver and an optional tape deck. Everything connected through modular plug-in connections, and the whole thing was housed in a Columbia-style case, with double-woven speaker cables included.

KLH advertising of the period leaned heavily on the Model Twenty's resemblance to the company's flagship Model Twenty-Four. A series of ads in High Fidelity (February 1967, p.27) and HiFI-Stereo (February 1967, p.35) opened with "Look familiar?" and pointed out that, at first glance, the Twenty looked very much like the Twenty-Four - the "most ambitious and expensive" music system KLH made at the time. The same ads noted both models shared the same automatic turntable, made specifically for KLH by Garrard.

Past that, the record thins out. No dimensions, weight, original price, tuner sensitivity figures or detailed input/output specifications survive in the available documentation. No owner or reviewer commentary has surfaced either.