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Kenwood KT-8300- too sensitive?

ethangsmith

ethangsmith

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

I started recently using my Kenwood KT-8300 tuner with my KA-8100 amp and I noticed an odd occurrence. Right next to the Kenwood tuner sits my Pioneer SX-838 receiver, which gets ok (But not great) FM reception. Stations that are a "2" on the signal strength meter on the 838 are a 4 or close to 5 on the 8300. However, I've found that a lot of the stations on the 8300 have a lot of noise and static compared to the 838. In fact, only stations that pull in extremely strong have no static (Anything below a 4 on the meter has static). Though reception isn't as strong on the Pioneer, there is much less noise and static. I tried using the "wide/narrow" selector on the 8300 to no avail. Is the 8300 so sensitive it's picking up and not filtering out all the noise and static interference? Is there any way to combat the issue? I'm using a dipole antenna right now so I can find the "sweet spots" for reception around the room.
 
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Are you sure the Pioneer receiver is not switching to mono on the weak stations? If so, they will be quieter. Are you splitting signal from one antenna to both tuners?
 
OK thanks. Connect your antenna to the Kenwood tuner only, and check a few stations which come in quiet in stereo on your Pioneer receiver. If they are noisy on the Kenwood, something is wrong with the Kenwood tuner. See whether the noise goes away when you switch the Kenwood tuner from stereo to mono. I presume the Kenwood has a "high frequency filter" switch on the front; try that also on your noisy stations. A more sensitive tuner should be quieter, not noisier. A top tuner like your 8300 should be both quiet and sensitive, if functioning properly. Good luck!
 
The Kenwood and the Pioneer both use separate dipole antennas. I can find several stations on the Pioneer that are clean and clear and in stereo (But with less signal strength) that have tons of background static and noise on the Kenwood (Though it shows better reception). I wasn't sure if the added sensitivity was picking up EMI from surrounding electronics, lights, and appliances or if there was something out of adjustment. I also have a KT-7500 and it displays the same behavior. Great reception but lots of background static and noise on certain stations. Maybe they both need an adjustment or maybe I have a lot of EMI?
 
That is truly strange, both tuners noisier than a receiver. Is the output from the Kenwood tuner going into the Pioneer receiver, or into a different system? Are they plugged into different outlets? It's possible the Pioneer is simply handling EMI better, but that seems odd for such a big difference.

If you can take the tuner to friend's house you can try it in a different environment. Are you in a strong or weak signal area? You can look at fmfool.com to see how far away your transmitters are and how powerful the stations are. If it's a particular station, contact the engineer and ask whether such problems are common in your location.

If you know someone with an outdoor or attic antenna that will provide a known strong signal, that would give you a good clue whether the tuners are malfunctioning or some other issue is involved.

HD radio can cause noise on some stations but it will go away in mono. It should not cause static, just hiss like an old cassette tape. It is quite possible the receiver handles HD better than the tuners. I have owned some excellent tuners that had lots of HD noise on KBAQ Phoenix, and some inexpensive tuners which did not. Perhaps members who own Kenwoods like yours can comment.

It looks like WLAN should be pretty strong in Manheim PA. Good luck!
 
Yep, WLAN comes in crystal clear, as does WSOX and a few others. However, any signal that is even weaker in the slightest (Like 97.3 or 98.5) has background noise and static on the Kenwood, whereas the Pioneer still plays it just fine. Anything under a "4" on the signal strength meter on the Kenwood has static and noise. On the Pioneer, I only get static and noise on stations that are under about "1 1/2" on the meter. It seems the Pioneer can filter out all that crap much better than the Kenwoods. Either that or it's not as sensitive to EMI or other disruptions.
 
Those meters are not really calibrated, so a 2 on the Kenwood is does not mean the same signal strength as a 2 on the Marantz. Sounds like the Kenwood may need attention.
 
Interesting. I always figured a "4" on the Kenwood signal strength meter would correlate to a "4" on the Pioneer signal strength meter. The sound I get is great, but unless the station basically pegs the meter on the Kenwood, I get static and noise in the background.
 
The signal meters are all relative and are done differently in many tuners resulting in these huge differences. I found that the filters in the 8300 are too wide, fine for large rf signals with no or little adjacent channel signals. But in my area the band is packed so the selectivity is inadequate. I also found my 8300 overloaded on some strong stations. It was cured by attenuating the rf signal. Imo Lots of work to make a 8300 worthy of today’s spectrum challenges.
 
Makes sense. I have a KT-5500 upstairs hooked up to my KA-5700 and it pulls in stations extremely well with little static and noise. Not as strong of a tuner, but it does pull in local stations very well. I am going to try and get my hands on a KT-6500 and see how that does. I can pair that with my lonely KA-6100!
 
I think you are picking up RFI. Do you have a router nearby? These are notorious for causing RFI. LED lights and fluorescent lights also. Start turning things off one by one until you find the culprit.
 
I have LED lamps throughout the house, a router upstairs with a smart TV near by, and various appliances in the kitchen in the next room over. Just odd that the Pioneer is filtering it out---- or it's not good enough (Sensitive enough) to pick it up to the amount the 8300 does.
 
I'm definitely going to have to do some exploratory work here.

As an aside, who makes a good quality dipole antenna? My two dollar Parts Express dipoles keep falling apart.
 
I'd carry the tuner and an amp somewhere away from any potential noise and try it with headphones. Even setting them up on the driveway or in the yard would work and might be easier than unplugging things to test. Often, simply turning devices off isn't enough to completely eliminate them. Plus, you may need to do this for multiple devices at once. If it exhibits the same behavior outside, it's fair to say that it needs attention. If it performs properly, I'd move it into the house but away from its normal location and go from there.
 
Radio Shack made attenuators; you should be able to find one on Ebay. It could be a cheap experiment. I agree with the suggestions above from David_NC and dr*audio.
 
I'll look into all these things. Once I have some time this weekend, I'll do some experimentation with various things.
 
David_NC said:
I'd carry the tuner and an amp somewhere away from any potential noise and try it with headphones. Even setting them up on the driveway or in the yard would work and might be easier than unplugging things to test. Often, simply turning devices off isn't enough to completely eliminate them. Plus, you may need to do this for multiple devices at once. If it exhibits the same behavior outside, it's fair to say that it needs attention. If it performs properly, I'd move it into the house but away from its normal location and go from there.
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I'll go along with moving the tuner outside. You make a good point about turning devices off; I forgot about switching supplies that could possibly be energized. Unplug the device from the wall. If it has a wall wart or external supply, unplug that from the wall.
I had a laptop supply cause interference. I replaced it with another one that didn't cause the problem. Just because they got FCC approval doesn't mean that the manufacturer didn't make changes and not retest.
 
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