Features:
The S5 is the 5.25" woofer size monitor in the S series from Tapco. This series also features the S8 system which has an 8" woofer for a little extra low end.

Just like most monitors, the S5's are entirely black with the exception of the frames around the woofer and tweeter which are silver in colour. Also on the lower half of the tweeter frame is the yellow Tapco name and on the upper half there is a green power LED with a red LED beside it that will light up when your signal is clipping.

Each monitor features a bi-amped power section, meaning there is a separate amp for the tweeter and woofer. This helps to greatly reduce any crosstalk or signal ghosting that may occur by having one amp and a crossover to drive both the woofer and tweeter (that is something commonly done in very cheap units). Each amp in the S5 is rated at 60W with a 100W peak. I found this a little interesting because commonly, my old monitors included, you tend to see a higher wattage amp that drives the woofer and a slightly lower wattage one on the tweeter. The amp section is cooled passively by the large heatsink on the back of each monitor. In terms of manufacturing materials, the woofer is a polypropylene cone woofer and the tweeter is a silk-domed tweeter.

In terms of inputs on the back, there is an XLR (balanced), 1/4" (balanced) and RCA (unbalanced) connection on each monitor. This pretty much ensures compatibility with any audio production system without having to spend time and money adapting your existing cables. Since all the inputs are linked, you can take an unused input and use it as a THRU jack to daisy chain the monitor to something like another monitor, power amp, etc. The inputs are controlled by an input level pot to help set a good volume balance between your monitors and whatever gear they are connected to, be it a monitor controller, audio interface, computer, etc.

Also on the back you'll find two switches; one let's you boost the low frequencies by +2dB or +4dB. The second lets you either cut the high frequencies by 2dB or boost them by 2dB. For those on a budget that don't yet have a room that is acoustically treated, these switches will help provide you with decent sounding mixes right out of the box. However, keep in mind that these switches are not a substitute for a properly treated listening environment. To take your monitoring and mixes to the next level you will want to invest the money into acoustically treating your room. I don't say this just to make you spend more money - I say it because it works no matter what size of room you're in or how professional of an operation you run.

Installation:
Installation is not something that is very complex for studio monitors. First, you have to make sure that you switch the power supply voltage to 115V (North American) because they ship with it switch set to 220V (European). However, there is also a large sticker across the back that reminds you to do this.

After that, it's as simple as plugging in your power and signal cables and you're ready to rock! Including both North American and European power cords was a nice touch. Although it makes packaging easier to sell in many countries, this is also helpful to musicians who may travel and need to take a set of monitors with them to work on the road. Even going so far as to include an extra fuse for each monitor was a very nice touch.