Price Paid:  $80.00

Summary:
I am putting this review of the Kenwood KT-8005 here because there is no more logical place to put it and because this tuner is usually available for sale if you look around a little. I am no tuner expert. The only tuners I have owned have been receivers: Yamaha CR-400, a new Sony AV, Marantz 2226B, a Kenwood, various others. I purchased this KT-8005 for $80 at a used electronics store as part of my attempt to build a decent inexpensive system out of mostly older, used equipment. I power it with a BK ST-202 paired with a Denon pra-1000 preamp and listen to it through Norh 6.5 speakers. It not only suits my needs perfectly, but it delivers a delightful sonic performance.

This is a big 25 lb AM/FM tuner. Mine is the version with the attractive wood casing on the sides. I believe it was manufactured in the mid-70s; the warranty expiration date on mine is too faded to be legible. A scope can be attached to its multipath output for tuning to waveform. Nicely lit signal strength and multipath meters are on front, so you can tune for the best reception even without a scope. FM stereo harmonic distortion is 0.3%, mono is 0.2%. Signal/Noise is 75dB. Image rejection, selectivity and IF rejection are 100dB. Spurious signal rejection is 110dB. I put this here for your information; it doesn’t mean too much to me. There are muting and MPX filters for more help. There is a level control, too, and a direct to tape output.

I listen to FM quite a bit. I need to hear music I haven’t selected and maybe even wouldn’t select myself, music that challenges me, music I wouldn’t otherwise come across. I enjoy it, too, when the music is presented in real-time communication. There’s just something different about it. I am happy to say that this tuner raises the pleasure of radio to a new level for me. Above all, it is quiet, quieter than any of the receiver-based tuners I have used. It has a powerful ability to isolate the signal. And then, I have no idea what it is, but at times it delivers surprisingly rich musical presence, with an ethereal kind of hanging-in-the-air soundstage that surpasses what my Sony ES CD player or my Kenwood-with-Grado TT can deliver. The quality of FM broadcasts varies greatly, but during the first few days I explored this tuner, I was quickly convinced that it was fully capable of letting me know when the broadcasters were putting out good sound.

The day after I bought this tuner, I was falling asleep listening to a great piano jazz show, congratulating myself for having spent $80 in such a smart way, when I was startled awake by a voice that I thought was the real voice of someone in the room with me. I was, of course, wrong.

I’m reluctant to give this tuner a 5 because I haven’t had the chance to compare it with any known-to-be-great tuners, but I’m even more reluctant to give it anything less.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from illinois audio

Summary:
See above

Strengths:
Bought this new in '78. Excellent fidelity, really usable selectivity (40 wide, 110 narrow, can you believe). Tank-like build quality; one of the last of the big-chassis tuners. Richard Modaferri, in reply to my letter asking if it could - or should - be tweaked, said: "This is one of the best FM tuners ever made. Have it professionally aligned if you like, & leave it alone. It exceeds specs of most FM stations". I see no reason to give it up - well, maybe IF a Magnum-Dynalab FT101A beats it in A-B testing, but I'm in no rush. Buy it if you see one.

Weaknesses:
No remote possible; no stereo blend.

Similar Products Used:
Dynaco FM-3, Altec-Lansing 714A

Summary:
this is a fantastic tuner.the best i have ever litened to.I have had it for over 20 years now.I am upgrading the other components in my system but this baby has a place forever in my system.look out for these in vintage audio stores.

Strengths:
Great reception and clarity