KV2 Audio’s ESD Series loudspeakers have been certified to IEC 60 529 – the international standard defining the degree of protection provided by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures.
The IP rating, defined within IEC 60 529, classifies the level of protection an electrical enclosure provides against the ingress of water and solid particles. Following laboratory testing, KV2’s ESD Series has been certified to IP55. The enclosures are dust-protected and can withstand water jets projected from any direction without harmful effect.
Constructed using from Baltic birch plywood bonded with exterior-grade adhesive, the cabinets are finished with an abrasion-resistant, UV-stable Polyurea hard coat for long-term durability. The grille features acoustically transparent, liquid-repellent fabric to block water and debris without affecting frequency response, while conformal-coated circuit boards help seal electronics against dust and moisture.
This certification formalises and documents the level of environmental protection that KV2 loudspeakers have delivered in practice throughout years of deployments in outdoor stages, coastal venues, high-humidity environments,and demanding architectural installations around the world. In these conditions, unprotected loudspeakers can deteriorate rapidly, while the ESD Series operates reliably, not due to a secondary treatment applied after manufacture, but because of deliberate engineering choices made at the design stage.
The ESD Series is available in two protection variants, both carrying the IP55 rating. The Weather-Proof (WP) variant uses steel metalwork with KTL cataphoretic anti-corrosion treatment, making it ideal for protected outdoor and semi-exposed installations. For coastal, marine and fully exposed environments, the Marine-Grade (MG) variant specifies stainless steel hardware throughout, including grade 1.4301 and 1.4571 alloys with A4-rated fasteners. While the WP and MG variants differ in their metalwork specification, all ESD products feature identical cabinet construction, grille treatment and electronic protection.
‘At KV2 Audio, build quality is not an add-on, it is the standard,’ says Dominik Krampera, responsible for business development at KV2 Audio. ‘Our loudspeakers have been specified and installed in demanding environments worldwide, long before formal certification was in place. IP55 is the independent, documented confirmation of what our customers have always known: KV2 systems are built to last, to excel in performance, and to maintain acoustic integrity, whatever the installation requires.’
More: www.kv2audio.com