Kenwood KD 5070

Hard to find and highly coveted, the Kenwood KD-5070 hit the market in 1978, retailing around $300 USD / €275 EUR. In my opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful turntables ever made.

This model was Kenwood’s top-of-the-line, featuring full automatic operation and a direct-drive system. The standout feature is the base’s top plate, crafted from ARCB, a composite material that looks and feels like marble—giving it an elegant and luxurious presence.

The motor sits on a massive anti-resonance compression base, ensuring stability and silence during playback. It uses a servo-controlled, 20-pole, 30-slot brushless DC motor delivering excellent precision and performance. Specs include a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio of 73dB or better and an incredibly low wow/flutter of 0.0025% or less.

You can operate the KD-5070 manually or fully automatically. The tonearm is high-quality, featuring static balance and anti-skate adjustment for optimal tracking.

The KD-5070 was the fully automatic counterpart to the manual Kenwood KD-500, combining beauty and performance seamlessly.

Overall, the Kenwood KD-5070 is a superb vintage turntable — gorgeous to look at and fantastic in sound. If you want a high-performing, fully automatic vintage table, this is a perfect choice.