Kenwood CM-5ES (1990)

The Kenwood CM-5ES is a compact, 1-way, 1-speaker bass reflex system released in 1990 at ¥14,000 for a pair. The design is simple. It uses a single 10 cm full-range cone driver. The cone is curved to tame the high-frequency peak, and a Mylar center cap extends the treble. Kenwood used a lightweight paper diaphragm for wide-band, flat response. The cabinet is polypropylene, with a "silent duct" bass reflex port to suppress air noise. The drivers are magnetically shielded per EIAJ standards, so the CM-5ES was positioned as AV-compatible - safe to sit next to a CRT television without picture distortion.

The cabinet measures 230 × 150 × 166 mm and weighs 1.6 kg. The source doesn't say whether that's per speaker or per pair. Impedance is 8 Ω, output sound pressure level is 89 dB/W/m, and the reproduction frequency range is rated at 100 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Maximum input is listed at 40W, though some sources describe this as 40 watts (RMS) output. Kenwood offered two optional accessories: the SR-CM7 compact speaker stands (¥9,800 per pair) and the SR-MA7 wall-mount adapters (¥12,000 per pair). The back panel has a vertically and horizontally adjustable mounting hole.

Past the specs, the historical record is thin. No period reviews, user reception notes, or lineup positioning have surfaced. The model does appear in parts diagrams via Sears PartsDirect, and a service manual is listed on manual-buddy.com, though the source attribution there is muddled. A Japanese blog documents disassembly and cleaning of the CM-5ES and describes it simply as "a 10cm diameter full-range, very simple." Current asking prices in Russian listings range from about 5,500 ₽ to €39, with one U.S. listing at $14.99. These are individual sellers, not established market values.

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