Kenwood SS-1 (1965)

The Kenwood SS-1 was Tri-Kenwood's first speaker system, released in 1965. Before this, Kenwood was known for amplifiers, tuners and the like. Building a speaker from scratch was new for them.

It's a 2-way, bass-reflex bookshelf design, pairing a 25cm paper-cone woofer with a 7.6cm cone tweeter, crossing over at 5kHz. The frequency range is listed as 35Hz–20kHz, with a rated input of 30W and a maximum of 80W. Impedance is 8 ohms. The cabinet measures 28 × 48 × 26cm and weighs a substantial 15kg.

The SS-1 sold for ¥90,000 for the pair in 1965. That was very expensive for the Japanese market. Beyond those basics, the record thins out. There's no documented sensitivity rating, no crossover component details, and no period reviews have surfaced in the archive.

Type: 2-way, 2-speaker, bass-reflex bookshelf
Drivers: 25cm paper cone woofer, 7.6cm cone tweeter
Crossover: 5,000Hz
Frequency range: 35Hz – 20kHz
Impedance: 8 ohms
Input: 30W rated, 80W maximum
Dimensions: 28 × 48 × 26cm (W×H×D)
Weight: 15kg
Original price: ¥90,000 (pair, 1965)