Description:

The Model 5A combines the superior openness of the Vandersteen boxless design with the powerful, extended bass of an amplified subwoofer in a compact, elegant loudspeaker. With trend-setting technology, the best components, and painstaking attention to detail, the Model 5A is the ultimate embodiment of advanced Vandersteen design principals.

COMPONENTS:

The Model 5A uses the proven Vandersteen Aligned Dynamic Design to optimize the dispersion and transient accuracy of the drivers while maintaining the input signal's time and phase integrity. The drivers, their positioning, and their mounting baffles were developed with the aid of FFT computer analysis to minimize diffraction, cone break up, multi-driver interference and out-of-band phase irregularities. The construction, alignment, and the positioning of the drivers allow a point-source wave front, maximize the phase coherence of the loudspeaker at the listening position, and minimize time smear. Mounted horizontally in the bottom of each Model 5A's lower section is the worlds must advanced subwoofer driver. Shown to the left, this massive 12-inch proprietary Vandersteen driver is a push-pull design with a powerful motor on either side of the curvilinear aluminum cone. Each motor uses a precision-formed magnet assembly with cooper rings to provide more than an inch of perfectly linear excursion.

AESTHETICS:
While it uses the same boxless design as other Vandersteen loudspeakers, the Model 5A presents a very different external appearance. The lower section of the speaker is covered with wood veneer while the head is enclosed by a removable grille structure. The Model 5A is available in standard Vandersteen oak and walnut finishes with exotic woods and/or finishes available at additional cost. Owners can also supply their own high-pressure laminates to insure that their speakers are compatible with their existing home decor. In surprising contrast to its enormous full-range sonic capabilities, the Model 5A is not a large speaker. With the grille and floor coupling cones installed, it is only 14" wide by 20" deep at the base with the front and sides tapering inward throughout the 44" height. The moderate sized Model 5A provides a high-performance solution to situations where larger, placement-sensitive speakers would not be aesthetically or domestically acceptable.

QUALITY CONTROL:
Each Model 5A undergoes rigorous testing and retesting during each phase of construction. The drivers and crossover components are individually tested and matched into complementary sets. The completed crossover assemblies are computer tested against a reference circuit, then potted to insure that they will not be affected by vibration. Each finished speaker is high-power sweep tested for structural integrity and FFT computer analyzed for correct response and performance compared to the model reference. This intense commitment to product quality and reliability is unsurpassed in the audio industry.

DIMENSIONAL PURITY:
Music is pure in its dimensions. Time smear (multipath) distortions from reflections and diffraction destroy this purity just like the multipath ghost images that ruin a television picture. All the Model 5A's components, construction, and engineering are designed to preserve the music's original dimensions. By minimizing internal and external diffraction, maintaining phase and frequency linearity, using a single driver for each frequency range, and controlling vibration and resonances, the Model 5As eliminate time smear distortion and accurately convey the composition, timing and shading that build an involving musical experience. They reveal the power, the authority, the subtlety, and the intimacy of the music.
This dimensional purity is the essence of the Model 5As. It allows them to recreate the music's original scope and passion. You become more involved in the music as its complex inner structure is revealed with increased transparency and realism.

We are pleased to have embodied these qualities that are so fundamental to your enjoyment of your music in a speaker whose elegant physical presence complements the decor of your listening room. We are dedicated to continue building distinguished loudspeakers, true to both science and music, that make a statement about the importance of music in your life.

DRIVERS:
SUBWOOFER
12-inch dual-motor, push-pull subwoofer with die-cast basket and a curvilinear aluminum cone. Precision-formed magnet assemblies with copper Faraday rings provide over 1 full inch of linear excursion. Built-in 400-watt amplifier with user adjustable low frequency contour and multi-band room response compensation.

WOOFER
7-inch die-cast basket, long excursion woofer with curvilinear poly/kevlar composite cone and a precision formed magnet assembly with a copper Faraday ring for enhanced linearity. Transmission-line loading.

MIDRANGE
Patented open basket 4 1/2-inch midrange with a curvilinear filled polycone and proprietary high-performance die-cast basket and alnico magnet assembly to reduce internal driver reflections and improve linearity. Copper Faraday ring on pole piece. Ferrofluid voice coil cooling. Transmission-line loading.

TWEETER
1-inch critically damped, low-distortion, dual-chamber, ceramic-coated alloy dome tweeter. Precision phase plug. Ferrofluid voice coil cooling. Transmission-line loading.

ATS TWEETER
3/4-inch critically damped, low-distortion alloy dome tweeter. Ferrofluid voice coil cooling.

SPECIFICATIONS:
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
22Hz to 30kHz + or - 2dB

EFFICIENCY
87dB at 1 meter with a 2.83 volt input.

RECOMMENDED AMPLIFIER
40 TO 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms for the upper section, 400-watt subwoofer amplifier built in.

IMPEDANCE
6 ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum.

CROSSOVER
100Hz, 600Hz, 5000Hz and adjustable H.F., 6dB per octave.

PHASE
All the drivers are connected in positive absolute phase.

UPGRADEABLE MODULES
Totally modular design. The driver, crossover and amplifier modules can be changed in the field to accommodate future upgrades.

PHYSICAL
44" high, 14" wide, 20" deep.
182 pounds net, 225 pounds gross, each.