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Peter's review
I have received a Kenwood KT-1100 tuner, and at last also its service manual. Made 1984 (the dates on some components reveal this), it has the "silver" front type (which I prefer to black). However, the service manual shows that the design dates back to 1983.

Looking inside, It has 5 gangs for FM and 3 gangs for AM. On the main board, the different sections show that there is a pulse count detector, sample-and-hold stereo decoder and a pilot cancel circuit (much like the KT-917). Looking at the schematics, the circuitry is more advanced than at first glance. More functions are implemented using integrated circuits than in the KT-917, like the pulse count detector and sample-and-hold stereo decoder (which samples at four different phase angles). Audio low pass filters are Sallen-Key filters using op-amps, and not any LC filters. As usual, several capacitors and op-amps in the audio path should be replaced and the path simplified or shortened. The "wide" IF mode uses two identical ceramic filters, and in the "narrow" mode two more filters are added (another type with narrow bandwidth). All the ceramic filters should be easily replaceable.

When using the tuner, the sensitivity ranges among the very best, the selectivity is good in the "narrow" setting and very wide with the "wide" setting. The frequency counter is helpful but could need some trimming to be optimized. For a non modified unit, the audio is smooth and 3-dimensional with promising low level resolution, but compared to my modified KT-917, there is some treble smearing, most likely due to the less than optimum capacitors in the audio path and phase shift from the low pass filters. Bass is rather OK, but could benefit from more dynamics and extension. To summarize, I would say that it is better than the KT-1100SD in most respects and equal to the KT- 917 in some respects. One positive surprise is the AM section, which clearly has more than average sensitivity, and if the signal is good enough, selectable IF bandwidth and usable AM tuning meter (like the Sansui TU-X1) which adds to the usual signal level meter.

Consequently, it is a completely different tuner compared to the KT-1100SD, of which I have a modified unit. The KT-1100SD is probably identical to the KT-3030.

By the way, it seems there is also a tuner called KT-1100D, which looks almost like the KT-1100SD, but with AM added and with smaller buttons. I recently had the opportunity to have a look at its schematics, and generally speaking the FM circuitry is less sophisticated than the KT-1100SD but with some similarities. I have no user experience of it.

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