Sony SS-AL5

preliminary

Collaboration between Arflex of Italy and Sony of Japan. Successful collaboration, very successful, because the SS-AL5 sold very well.

Silk-coated Kevlar drivers, strong, shielded magnets, thick filter coil wires and high quality parts for said filter - all enclosed in a very thick enclosure, the front of which is a 3,2cm Hokkaido laminated maple board, a wood used for the current SS-AR1 designed by Yoshiyuki Kaku.

The SS-AL5 was upgraded as SS-AL5 Mk2 later on, partly designed by Sony UK ; that version sold even better than the original. Shown here is the original AL5 ; the Mk2 is shape-wise identical but for the tweeter frame (black) and bass driver which has much bigger surrounds allowing longer excursions. The tweeter itself is quite different, too.

The SS-AL5 Mk2 is about the same as the SS-A5 La Voce masterpiece : you can blindly spit on Sony loudspeakers all you want... until you've heard those in the long run.