Полочная акустика — Wlm Ferdinand

The Ferdinand is a passive three-way design by WLM, short for Wiener Lautsprecher Manufaktur, a company with sites in Vienna and Innsbruck that celebrated its 25th year in 2026 and is owned by Andreas Steiner, with Martin Schützenauer in charge of development and production. WLM calls it the reference of its passive range. The model premiered in Munich at High End 2019, where it stood next to the Maximilian system. In the maker's catalogue the Ferdinand appears among the floorstanding models, alongside active towers such as the Franz, Elisabeth MK II and Maria.

Key specs that matter

Every cabinet carries four drivers. Two 8-inch long-stroke bass units use Hexacon membranes, a 9-inch woofer/midrange uses a papyrus membrane, and a 12 cm AMT (air motion transformer) tweeter handles the top octaves. WLM rates the frequency range at 30 Hz to 30 kHz. The enclosure is 120 cm high, 23 cm wide and 40 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 40 kg. The maker publishes no impedance, sensitivity or price data for the model.

Engineering and use context

The two 8-inch units load into a transmission line, a folded internal channel that uses the rear output of the cones to extend bass. The 9-inch driver works in a separate bass reflex volume for the lower midrange, with openings that radiate both upward and downward. Two solid wood bodies are CNC milled from hand-built wooden blocks, and the wall thickness varies between 3 cm and 7 cm depending on position. The narrow front reflects the WLM habit of slim baffles intended to limit diffraction at the cabinet edges. The three-way crossover includes a control that lowers the AMT level by up to 6 dB so its output can be set against the two cone sections. Splitting the low end between a transmission line and a reflex chamber lets the 8-inch pair and the 9-inch cone each work in an enclosure tuned for its own band.

Pairing

With four drivers, two separate bass loadings and considerable mass per side, the Ferdinand is aimed at a substantial solid-state or valve amplifier with power in reserve rather than a small integrated unit. WLM also builds its own electronics, such as the Josef integrated amplifier, so a matched pairing from the same workshop is possible. The tall and deep cabinet needs a clear floor area, and the upward and downward venting of the midrange chamber means that the floor surface and the space above the cabinet both form part of the acoustic path.

Alternatives

The WLM Rudolf is the other passive floorstanding model in the Wiener Lautsprecher Manufaktur range.