Model 5A Carbon

Extreme Full-Range Powered-Bass Speaker

Please note this is an archived page. This product is now discontinued and replaced by the KENTO Carbon loudspeaker. Vandersteen Audio's Model 5A Carbon is the latest evolution of the classic Model 5 and the ultra-competitive little brother to the flagship Model Seven. What separates the 5A Carbon from previous iterations of the 5 Series are its carbon-fiber midrange and tweeter drivers, which are descended directly from the patented Perfect-Piston drivers developed for and used in the flagship Model Seven. These carbon drivers are the result of an unprecedented 10-year research & development effort.

Available Finishes

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(*) indicates upgrade finishes.

Vandersteen Audio has done its best to photograph these wood finishes on each product page, but please know that while the woods we receive from our vendors are unfailingly high in quality, no two pieces of wood are ever exactly alike. This is dictated by nature. We promise that your speakers will look gorgeous, but not that they will precisely match the photos you see on our website or on our dealers’ in-store demo speakers.

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"The Vandersteen 5A Carbon is one of the best speakers I have heard ... I'm excited enough about the 5A Carbons to make them my new reference speakers ..." 
- Anthony H. Cordesman, The Absolute Sound 
 

Vandersteen Audio’s Model 5A Carbon is the latest evolution of the classic Model 5 and the ultra-competitive little brother to the flagship Model Seven. The Models 5 and 5A reigned at the top of the Vandersteen line for over a decade, exemplifying many of Richard Vandersteen’s most radically effective design principles. The 5 Series have always been time- and phase-correct speakers that push the technological edge, with extreme-performance features that include an ultra-rigid, constrained-layer head section with Minimum-Baffle construction, a 400-watt powered-bass section with 11-band room EQ, passive high-pass filters and a highly advanced, completely proprietary 12” push-pull subwoofer driver.

What separates the 5A Carbon from previous iterations of the 5 Series are its carbon-fiber midrange and tweeter drivers, which are descended directly from the patented Perfect-Piston™ drivers developed for and used in the flagship Model Seven. These carbon drivers are the result of an unprecedented 10-year research & development effort by Richard Vandersteen. While the Perfect-Piston midrange and tweeter used in the flagship Model Seven are the fully embodied ideal of Vandersteen’s carbon driver technology, the Model 5A Carbon is a paragon of high-frequency air and extension, midrange openness and resolution, and the kind of tight, tuneful deep bass that only a powered-bass speaker with integral room EQ can provide. The Model 5A Carbon is Richard Vanderteen’s Dimensional Purity concept taken to the extreme!

Model 5A Carbon Specifications

Tweeter

 1” Exclusive Dual-Chamber, Transmission-Line Loaded Carbon Dome with Ferrofluid Voice-Coil Cooling 

Rear-Firing Tweeter

 .75" Ceramic-Coated Alloy Dome

Midrange

4.5” Patented Perfect Piston™ Midrange with 3-Layer Carbon Fiber/Balsa/Carbon Fiber Cone, Die-Cast Aerodynamic Basket with Neo-Magnet Assembly and Ferrofluid Voice-Coil Cooling

Mid-Woofer

 7" Mineral-Filled Poly/Kevlar Sandwich Cone with Die-Cast Basket and Precision-Formed Magnet Assembly with Copper Faraday Ring

Subwoofer

Dual 12" Trussed-Aluminum Cones, Dual-Motor, Push-Pull Driver with Die-Cast Aerodynamic Basket with Precision-Machined Opposing Magnet Assemblies with Copper Faraday Rings

Subwoofer Amplifier

400-Watt High-Current Power-Factor Corrected Amplifier 

Recommended Amplification

40-300 Watts Into 8 Ohms

Frequency Response

 22Hz – 30kHz +/- 2dB

Sensitivity

 87 dB, 1 meter/2.83 volt input

Impedance

 6 ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum

Crossovers

 First order/6dB per octave, 100Hz, 600Hz, 5kHz

Input Terminals

 Barrier strips, 7/16" max width

Dimensions (WHD)

 14” x 44” x 20”

Weight

 182 lbs. Each Net

Country of Manufacture

 Made in the USA
  • Jan 1, 2012
    Model 5A Carbon

    "The Vandersteen 5A Carbon is one of the best speakers I have heard, as well as one of the most practical. I would definitely short-list it if you can afford it, and I’d make an upgrade a critical priority if I owned an earlier Model 5 or 5A ..."

    Anthony H. Cordesman

    See Full Review
  • Jan 16, 2003
    Model 5A Carbon

    "I could continue with additional superlatives but an audition would be better than another thousand words. I think this is the best speaker system available regardless of price. I put my money where my mouth is and bought a pair for myself. Although I’ve probably owned more speakers than most people, I suspect that this is my last pair."
     

    Richard Hardesty

    See Full Review
  • Jan 16, 1999
    Model 5A Carbon

    "The Vandersteen Model 5 is a landmark product not because it establishes some performance benchmark in specific areas, but because it adeptly combines strengths in every area to create an immensely musical experience."
     

    Robert Harley

    See Full Review