Marantz LS-5A (circa 1988)
Little is documented about the Marantz LS-5A, a compact two-way bookshelf speaker from the late 1980s. It appears to have been a modest, straightforward design aimed at casual listening. It was a small sealed cabinet, priced at ¥20,000 for a pair around 1988, and Marantz called it "setting-free," meaning it could go almost anywhere without fuss.
The spec sheet shows a 10 cm cone woofer and a 2.5 cm soft dome tweeter, crossing over at 2 kHz. The woofer has a special pulp cone with a high-compliance roll edge and a 4-layer voice coil for better power handling. The tweeter is Tetoron cloth with an acrylic damping treatment. The enclosure is North American high-density particle board with a walnut veneer, including R-shaped walnut corners, a nice touch at this price point. Sensitivity is rated at 84 dB/W/m, impedance at 6 ohms, and frequency response from 80 Hz to 22 kHz. Rated input is 40W, with 80W maximum. Each speaker measures 128 × 204 × 121 mm (W×H×D) and weighs just 1.8 kg.
The LS-5A was made in Japan. A listing on Yahoo Auctions, relayed through HifiShark, praised its sound quality. At least one enthusiast has put LS-5A drivers into a different cabinet entirely. Some listings note the tweeter as "out of print." No production years beyond "circa 1988" are confirmed, and no period reviews have surfaced in the research.
Known Specifications
- Type: 2-way, 2-speaker, sealed (airtight) bookshelf
- Woofer: 10 cm cone; Tweeter: 2.5 cm soft dome
- Impedance: 6 Ω
- Frequency range: 80 Hz – 22,000 Hz
- Rated input: 40W; Max input: 80W
- Output sound pressure: 84 dB/W/m
- Crossover: 2,000 Hz
- Dimensions: 128 × 204 × 121 mm (W×H×D); Weight: 1.8 kg
- Original price: ¥20,000 per pair (circa 1988)
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