Ramsa is a new name to the world of monitoring. They are actually a division of those well known Hi Fi and Video people Panasonic/Technics who subsequently come under the banner of the huge Japanese empire Matsushita Electric. Japanese Hi Fi manufacturers don't exactly have a reputation for producing great speakers, so it was with some caution that I first had a look at these monitors from Ramsa.

Ramsa WS-A10 monitors

RRP: £69.99 each

The Ramsa WS-A10 monitors are the smaller of two pairs I had a look at, measuring a compact 250 x 155 x 156mm. These are designed to provide full range handling of high levels from a small unit. Rated as being able to handle 80W RMS they are indeed high powered for such a small size.

The Ramsa WS-A10's enclosure is constructed from a specially designed resin that appears to be very tough, and its overall construction is very robust. It has a single 12cm full range driver providing a full frequency response from 50Hz/20kHz. The front of the WS-A10 is covered by a metal grille which protects both the driver's cone and the bass reflex port from damage.

Further protection from damage to the driver by input overloading is achieved by built-in thermal protection circuitry. When an input surge occurs, the thermal protection circuit cuts in and lowers the sound pressure level by approximately 15dB for about five seconds.

Another feature that Ramsa have very kindly provided the WS-A10 with is built-in magnetic shielding. If you have ever sat a speaker close to a television set, you will no doubt have noticed the effect it has on the picture – bending the screen and distorting the colours. The WS-A10's magnetic shielding prevents any large amounts of magnetism escaping from the enclosure, therefore making it very useful for video post-production work, or simply alternative monitoring for televisions.

The speakers' rear input terminals offer a choice between either push terminals for bare wire or ¼" phone jacks. On the underside of the enclosures are holes for connection to the optional adaptor (for mounting on a wall or a car's rear parcel shelf), clamp stand or adaptor for mounting onto a microphone stand. The enclosure is also conveniently shaped so as to sit nicely on top of a mixing console for nearfield monitoring.

The WS-A10 monitors don't sound bad at all. For such a small enclosure, they have quite a healthy bottom end as well as clear top end. The middle is a bit too middly for my liking – a bit of the 'Auratone sound' as opposed to a 'Hi fi sound'. The power is handled very impressively indeed and the driver was found to be sufficiently directional so as not to give two people in front of the speakers two different impressions of what they were hearing.

Ramsa WS-A70 monitors

RRP: £167.70 each

Ramsa's WS-A70 monitors are based on the same lines as the WS-A10: high power handling from a small enclosure. They are twin driver units which once again handle 80 Watts RMS and give a frequency response from 50H to 18kHz. They are quite a lot larger than the WS-A10 measuring 422 x 262 x 233mm, and once again the bass reflex-type enclosure is constructed from a very robust resin which looks like it could withstand a reasonable amount of bashing around.

In addition to having thermal protection circuitry there is also an 'automatic loudness control' which changes the drivers' response and sound balance depending on the volume changes. This should provide a sound which is more natural and easy on the ear – as the input gain increases, so the HF frequency response decreases; so that whilst there may be a flat response when monitoring at a very low volume, the HF response will gradually decrease as the gain is increased in accordance with the human ear's own natural sensibilities.

In theory this might sound a little bit messy, but in practice it is quite a comfortable means of listening to sound – as long as they aren't being used as reference monitors in a studio environment, where I found it could tend to confuse things slightly.

The Ramsa WS-A70s sound very pleasant and warm, ideally suited for night clubs or restaurants where compact, smooth sounding and good-looking speaker systems are essential.

Rear panel connections are again push terminals or phone jacks and on the top of the units are recesses for connection to a variety of stands and ceiling brackets.

Conclusion

Both of these units are available in either black or white finishes and make up quite a stylish pair. Clever use of thermal protection circuitry and built-in automatic volume control are useful additions. The WS-A10 and WS-A70 are not too highly priced and they do sound good.