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Reviews For: Kenwood KES-5

Category: Speakers for communications

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Review Summary For : Kenwood KES-5
Reviews: 17MSRP: 45.00
Description:
Commercial grade External Speaker
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00174.9
W4WHQ Rating: 2021-02-12
Good sounding mobile speaker Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a beast of a speaker. It's heavy, well-built, and it sounds great, not to mention being loud enough to hear over just about anything that you are likely to encounter. The speaker comes without a plug. You will need to add whatever speaker plug fits your radio. For my Kenwood TM-V71 that was a 3.5mm mono plug. By the way, the solid black conductor is negative and the black/white stripe conductor is positive. I have a Vertex speaker for my FT-7900 and the KES-5A weight at least twice as much. The mounting hardware is very heavy duty too. You can't go wrong with KES-5A.
N2MDV Rating: 2019-10-20
Loved them from work use, so I bought one! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The gas company that I was working for, a dozen years ago, had these speakers in their trucks. I thought that they sounded so loud, proud, and clear, that it has prompted me to buy one. Built like a tank, even more so than the Motorola speakers that I've tried. And, cheaper than the Kenwood SP-50. (Go figure.) If you have a very noisy vehicle, to where you need a speaker to hear way over the road and engine noise, this is the one to get.
W5GSR Rating: 2017-06-27
Great mobile speaker Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I also have tried several speakers on several mobile radios, I have found that this one works great on Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu and as of this report it is on a Yaesu Ftm-3100r.
N4UE Rating: 2016-06-30
Second review and a "tip" Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I was so impressed with this speaker, I purchased another one. The second one came from eBay, in like new condition for $20. This speaker is so much better than the $100 Icom SP-33, it's hard to describe.
Here's my "tip" for all us hams that are a wee bit 'thrifty'.....
Look for a Macom speaker that is identical to the Kenwood KES-5. They have the identical tag on the back, same rating, both made in Indonesia, 4 ohms, 40 watts. Just doesn't say Kwood on the rear tag or the front logo.
I just purchased one for $11. They all sound identical = fantastic.

Enjoy....

ron
N4UE
KK5JY Rating: 2016-06-23
The Best Available Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own several of these, and they are fantastic. The amount of audio you get out of them is incredible, even if the driving radio doesn't have much audio output power.

These work very well in a vehicle, even a noisy one. I can turn up the volume enough to overcome all the road noise, and the audio is still clear and undistorted.

This is a *real* speaker, not one of those cheap things most vendors sell. It reminds me of some of the best mobile speakers from decades ago, when a two-way radio occupied a third of the trunk of your car.

For the $45 I spent for each one of these devices, they are all well worth it.
W2GLD Rating: 2016-06-05
Excellent Audio Quality and Output Level without Distortion Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been purchasing these speakers since the early 2000's and they are simply the best sounding mobile communications speakers I have ever used. The pair in my truck are over 10 years old and have seen numerous radios from the Kenwood TM-D710A and TS-480SAT to the ICOM IC-2820H, ID-5100A, and IC-7100A mobiles; all with excellent results. It seems this question comes up allot about whether you can or can't use a 4-ohm speaker with a radio that requires an 8-ohm speaker connection and I'm not sure why. Fact is, if you looks closely at each radios information, you'll see that most radios support both 4-ohm or 8-ohm; in-fact, most manufactures even sell both as an option (i.e. ICOM usually does for sure with the ID-5100A and IC-7100A mobiles). One thing that is lacking in the documentation for these speakers is which wire is positive vs negative, so when wiring these speakers, be aware that the black/white wire is the positive and for ICOM radios goes to the tip and the all black wire goes to the ground. If you're looking for the loudest, cleaning sounding mobile speaker, you simply cannot beat the Kenwood KES-5 if you don't mind soldering a 1/8" plug onto a wire.
AD5HD Rating: 2015-07-04
Get one Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Rated to 40W audio, weighs a ton, not a hint of distortion at high levels, hard to imagine there's a better mobile speaker than this.
K9MHZ Rating: 2014-03-10
GREAT Speaker Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Love this thing....rugged, full of great sound. Your rig will sound great.
KC2OHP Rating: 2013-06-04
rugged and efficient Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the KES-5 after reading reviews and compairing it to its similiarly priced competitors, like the Yaesu MLS-100 and others. I decided to go with the Kenwood based on positive reviews found here, the shape, and the fact that it is said to handle 40 watts. Although, loudness isn't what I'm interested in; it's quality of sound reproduction. So, really, going with the KES-5 was a gamble, but one one I'm fairly happy I made. I found the quality of sound dependent upon the radio it was plugged into. For example, it sounds beautiful at any volume I would listen to it at on my Yaesu FT-2900R, while only retaining the same quality of sound at relatively low volume on my Kenwood TM-271. The internal, front-firing speaker in the TM-271 has better sound quality than the KES-5 when connected to it. Overall, it's obviously a quality speaker worth $50 that will last for as long as I do and I'd recommend it without hesitation for base or mobile application.

I really have the urge to buy the Yeasu MLS-100, Icom SP-35, and SP-5 in order to see which of the similiar, mobile speakers is the best. Apparently, no one has written any reviews here on the Icom SP-35 or SP-5 which suprises me; maybe I'll be the first!
KD4AT Rating: 2011-10-02
rock solid and LOUD Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My dad and I installed one of these in his diesel pickup truck, where he has always had trouble hearing his mobile hf rig. The audio output was night and day to the speaker it replaced. The bracket to speaker connection is excellent. There is a pivot point as well as the screws to hold this speaker in place. If you need a high power speaker for a rugged installation, this is a very good bet.