Kenwood SS-2

A speaker that exists in the archive as a whisper - a service manual, a single asking price, and almost nothing else.

Overview

The Kenwood SS-2 is hard to pin down. Multiple sources identify it as a stereo speaker system, and one auction listing calls it simply a "loudspeaker system." After that the paper trail stops. A service manual exists, so Kenwood thought it worth publishing one, but the contents weren't available in the research for this page. What's left is a name, a category, and a single figure: reportedly 10 W of power handling, from a used listing that doesn't say whether that's continuous, peak, or RMS. Period audio publications from the early 1970s covered a wide range of headphone products, including comparative test results with output, impedance, and price data for models like the AKG K-150 and Beyer DT 100. The SS-2 apparently missed that coverage HiFI-Stereo, July 1972, p.65.

That 10 W number suggests the SS-2 was not a flagship in Kenwood's speaker lineup. No monster woofer, no exotic crossover claims, no multi-hundred-watt bravado. It was likely a modest loudspeaker for a buyer who wanted clean sound in a living room. Without a second source, that remains inference, not fact. The only other hard data point is a $650 asking price on a used unit, listed in "excellent condition, in excellent working order." That figure says more about one seller's hopes than about the speaker's value.

The SS-2 gets a page in the archive because so little is known about it. Models like this shipped, sold, and faded without leaving much of a paper trail.

Key Features

Documented Design Details

The only design-related description in any source is the phrase "loudspeaker system" itself. There is no driver count, no enclosure type, no material specification, no crossover frequency, no dimensions, and no weight in the available documentation. The service manual exists, confirmed independently by three sources, but its contents were not accessible during research. Any circuit topology or construction details remain locked inside those pages.

The Service Manual

A dedicated Kenwood SS-2 service manual exists, and that is worth noting. Not every budget or mid-tier speaker received factory service documentation, so its presence suggests Kenwood intended these to be serviced rather than discarded. The manual is available as a downloadable PDF through at least one archival source, and a reseller aggregate offers it for sale as well. For a restorer, it's the most valuable artifact connected to this model.

Collectibility & Value

Market data for the SS-2 is almost nonexistent. The single data point is a $650 asking price from a used listing, with the seller describing the unit as being in "excellent condition, in excellent working order." No listing date is attached to that figure, so it's impossible to say whether it reflects the current market or a hopeful price from years ago. No common problems have been reported in any source, and no maintenance or repair guidance is available beyond the existence of the service manual itself. Collectors hunting for one should treat the $650 figure as a starting point for negotiation rather than a benchmark. With so little comparable data, the price is whatever the buyer and seller agree on.