The Auratone loudspeaker line began with Jack Wilson’s compact home-audio designs in the late 1950s, evolving through early small sealed boxes before reaching the form that defined a generation of studio monitoring: the Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube. Initially conceived as a highly portable, honest reference speaker that would reveal the real-world balance of a mix, the 5C became a staple across professional studios in the 1970s and 1980s.
Engineers valued its ability to expose mid-range build-up, vocal placement issues and translation problems that were often masked by large, flattering monitors. The sealed cabinet, single full-range driver and deliberate lack of bass extension combined to mimic the type of playback environments that consumers would actually use. This made the Auratone 5C indispensable during the vinyl era and the early rise of broadcast, where mid-range clarity could make or break a record.
The Auratone 5C’s influence extended well beyond ordinary mix rooms. It was used heavily during the mixing of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. Engineers used the Auratones to check vocal levels, mid-range tonal balance and overall translation, ensuring that the mixes would hold together on small hi-fi units, televisions and radios. The modest power rating and sealed design encouraged lower level monitoring, allowing mixers to focus on core musical content without the distraction of extended lows or hyped highs. Countless engineers adopted a workflow where they would switch between large main monitors, nearfields and a single Auratone placed centrally in mono, creating the most critical reality check in the system.
The evolution of the Auratone brand saw earlier models such as the Model 5 Cube appear in the early 1960s, featuring similar sealed construction but with larger drivers and a more home-audio oriented voicing. As the studio approach matured, the company standardised the single 127 mm paper cone driver in the Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube. The mid-1970s specification became the classic version that later reissues followed closely. The cabinet construction, known as Super-Acousticwood, was chosen for low resonance, while the sealed box avoided port noise and allowed for predictable mid-range behaviour. Engineers came to trust the 5C because it revealed mix problems immediately. If a vocal sat correctly on an Auratone, it would sit correctly everywhere.
The Auratone 5C was simple, rugged and brutally honest. It became an international studio standard for mix comparison, broadcast checking and translation reliability. Its legacy continues through modern reissues that follow the original mid-1970s design as faithfully as possible.
Features
- Compact sealed cabinet ideal for real world mix translation
- Single full range driver providing consistent mid-range accuracy
- Mid-forward voicing that exposes mix congestion and masking
- Simple passive design with no ports or filters
- Textured low resonance cabinet finish for studio durability
- Optional removable cloth grille for protection and visual matching
- Highly effective for mono reference monitoring during mix sessions
- Used extensively on major recordings including Michael Jackson’s Thriller