Kenwood KT-8300 AM/FM Tuner w/Rare Rack Kit - Professionally Aligned

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Great performing and good looking tuner from Kenwood during their 1970's glory days.

It's also a terrific value and an inexpensive way to get back into FM. If you're lucky like we are there a plenty of sweet sounding Jazz and Classical stations in our area still broadcasting.

We performed an official alignment which increased the station lock/reception and sound output quality.

Fitted with a rack mount kit which is a rare option that we rarely if ever see on any Kenwood gear.

In overall good cosmetic condition with some clear marks on the plastic window.

Click below to add our recommended matching cables from Kimber Kable, all brand new as SkyFi is an official Kimber dealer.

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Best

The SkyFi Testing Process for Tuners:

We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR. Vintage analog tuners also have moving parts related to the tuning gang and dial string. These parts are inspected for smooth operation.

If the unit passes visual inspection it is bench tested for a handful of key performance parameters using a Sencore SG80 AM/FM Stereo Analyzer. The SG80 allows us to “simulate” an ideal radio station using precision test signals instead of music. This device, in conjunction with an oscilloscope allows us to properly evaluate the following parameters:

1.  AM Reception (Where Applicable)

2.  FM Mono Reception & Tuning Meter Function

3.  FM MPX Reception (Stereo)

4.  Dial Tracking - How accurately the tuner dial or display indicates the actual frequency of the broadcast being received.

5.  Stereo Separation - A properly working stereo tuner will have minimal crosstalk between the left and right channel.

6.  Sensitivity & Signal Strength Meter Function - By lowering the output of the SG80 we can simulate weak stations and determine how well the tuner will be able to pull in weak distant stations. This adjustment also helps us verify signal strength meter function.

If the tuner has acceptable performance related to the parameters above we connect the unit for listening tests with a simple dipole antenna. We listen for audio reproduction quality of local stations and evaluate how many stations the tuner can receive while we sweep through the dial. We are looking to verify that the tuner can decode stereo on strong local broadcasts and pick up a wide variety of local stations at the bottom, middle, and top of the frequency band. At this point we also test convenience features such as muting, filters, built in oscilloscope function, etc.

We finish up with an extended listening test on our long term test rig. We tune in a strong local station and monitor for drift over a 2-3 hour period.

More from fmtunerinfo.com:
The KT-8300 was a great tuner when new, very sensitive and selective even in stock form.

It has the classic Kenwood silver-faced styling (the "gun-metal" gray-faced version of the KT-8300 is the KT-9900), a powerful front end with a 6-gang tuning capacitor, and the potential for top-quality sound after an alignment.

The KT-8300's front-panel features include a button to switch the combination multipath/deviation meter, a wide/narrow IF bandwidth button, MPX filter switch, variable output knob and two levels of muting (or muting off).

On the back panel, there are fixed and variable RCA outputs, scope outputs, a 75 µS/25 µS FM de-emphasis switch and a dimmer on/off switch.

Inside, you'll find two independent filter paths, very much like a 600T (which it somewhat resembles) but without the "middle" path.

The KT-8300 uses two 4-pole linear phase LC filters for the wide IF bandwidth setting and three 4-element ceramic filters for narrow mode, rather than the modern 3-pin type.