Kenwood L-08M

Tabula rasa - the future starts now.

And the one (and only) japanese ads said it loud and clear : "Period."

Well, sort of : what was in them L-08 units wasn't all that new but the design of the L-08M sure was striking and bold.

Among the numerous features are strictly selected parts, non-magnetic die-cast aluminium chassis, DC structure from top to bottom, 600Khz frequency response (!), Class A pre-driver stages and Sigma-Drive terminals.

Prefiguring a Mission/Cyrus or Naim staple, each L-08M could receive a 780VA supplementary and external power-supply : L-08MPS, available only in Japan and not shown much outside (the few) contemporary tests and reviews.

Two transformers inside, housed in the externally redesigned but similar enclosure of the KA-1000 's power-supply.
The L-08MPS seems to allow power output up to 1x 220W with an 8 Ohm load (1x 170W without it)...

The underside hides two remote triggers, a ground terminal, the gold-plated RCA input and the two speaker terminals (normal and Sigma-Drive).
Export versions do not have the L-08MPS plug.

However, tabula rasa indeed : Kenwood sold few L-08M and making a magnificent 8-page catalog in Germany didn't help there either.

That brand's high-end audio production was too cahotic and replaced all too often during the early 1980s to gather some following.

The 08s remained available for a short year and a half - case in point.


Real L-08Ms here.