Полочная акустика — Wlm Stella

The Stella is a passive two-way mini monitor from WLM (Wiener Lautsprecher Manufaktur), an Austrian manufacturer that has built loudspeakers and electronics for 25 years as of 2026 and runs its operations from Vienna and Innsbruck. The design is credited to Martin Schützenauer, who heads development and production at the company owned by Andreas Steiner. WLM has sold the Stella as a set with its Josef integrated amplifier, with the speaker pair and the amplifier costing about EUR 5,000 together.

Key specs that matter

Per cabinet WLM fits a 5-inch woofer/midrange with a coated paper cone and a 5 cm cone tweeter that also uses a paper diaphragm. WLM quotes a frequency range of 35 Hz to 18 kHz and an efficiency of 88 dB. The cabinet is 30.5 cm high, 17 cm wide and 27 cm deep, with a weight of about 10 kg per speaker. Standard wood choices are ash, cherry and walnut.

Engineering and use context

Construction begins with a hand-made wooden blank, and the internal contours are cut from the solid on a five-axis CNC machine rather than assembled from separate boards. On request the whole cabinet can be milled from a single piece of solid timber. A bass reflex port loads the woofer and fires toward the rear, which keeps the front baffle free of openings. WLM describes the crossover as simple but efficient, and the tweeter was chosen for its relatively large cone area, which is why WLM uses a cone format here rather than a dome. The front panel can be faced with Tyrolean sheep's wool as an option in place of bare wood. The compact width follows the WLM preference for narrow baffles that limit diffraction at the cabinet edges.

Pairing

The Josef partner amplifier supplies 2 x 250 W, sits in a solid wood case finished to match the speakers, and includes a Bluetooth receiver, an optional streaming module and adjustable bass compensation and treble. The stated efficiency also lets a modest integrated amplifier drive the Stella, and the small cabinet fits on a desk, a shelf or a short stand. For deeper bass extension WLM also catalogues the Ludwig subwoofer, and the company plans full packages covering speakers, electronics, digital sources and acoustic treatment, including home cinema and wall-panel installations.

Alternatives

The WLM Ella MK2 Purifi Monitor is a larger passive two-way from the same maker, using a 6.5-inch Purifi mid/bass driver in a solid-wood enclosure.