JBL 5547A
The JBL 5547A is an in-wall loudspeaker from the company's Professional / Architectural line — a permanently installed, 2-way system built around a 300 mm (12 in) cone woofer and a 25 mm (1 in) titanium-laminate dome tweeter, crossed over at 2600 Hz. It was offered with a zero-baffle, paintable aluminum grille, which makes sense for a speaker meant to disappear into a wall or ceiling rather than sit proudly on a shelf. Finish options were semi-gloss black or white.
The specs that survive are consistent across the sources that document the model: frequency response rated at 45 Hz – 22 kHz (±3 dB), 93 dB sensitivity (1 W/1 m), 8 ohm nominal impedance, and 150 W continuous program power handling (75 W AES). Recommended amplifier power was 20–150 W. Physical dimensions were 610 × 403 × 173 mm (24.0 × 15.9 × 6.8 in), with a net weight of 12.3 kg (27 lb). Input was via a 4-position barrier strip.
JBL's own advertising in the period positioned the 5547A alongside the 5549A Room Equalizer, touting both as minimum-phase active filters built with discrete transistors for "smooth, seamless combining action" (Recording Engineer, October 1989, p.43). The same campaign ran in Mix and Sound and Communication around that time, emphasizing the company's history with graphic equalizers dating back to the 527 and 529 models of the early 1970s.
Beyond that, the record is thin. No production years, original price, or owner reviews have surfaced. The 5547A appears in JBL Pro architectural listings after the 5543A MKII, but no hierarchy between them is stated. One used pair has been seen on eBay, but without a listed price. What's documented is a competent, workmanlike architectural speaker from a period when JBL was pushing hard into installed-sound applications — and the specs suggest it would have done that job well.
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