Полочная акустика — Blumenhofer Acoustics Tempesta BKS

The Tempesta BKS is the compact monitor within the Tempesta line from Blumenhofer Acoustics, the German loudspeaker maker led by Thomas Blumenhofer, which has designed speakers for more than four decades. Blumenhofer specialises in two-way designs using horn-loaded compression drivers for the treble, and the Tempesta range brings that approach to compact, domestically sized cabinets alongside the Tempesta 17 and Tempesta 20 floorstanders.

Key specs that matter

The Tempesta BKS is a two-way design rated from 50Hz to 20kHz with a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and power handling of 100W. The cabinet is built from 19mm MDF panels, and each speaker measures 48 x 22 x 32cm and weighs 10.5kg. As with its siblings, it pairs a horn-loaded high-frequency compression driver, instantly recognisable as a Blumenhofer design, with a cone mid/bass driver in a bass-reflex enclosure.

Engineering and use context

Blumenhofer's designs are built on the idea that fewer ways mean fewer transition problems, both from the crossover itself and from the differing acoustic behaviour of neighbouring drivers, so the Tempesta models keep to two drivers. In the Tempesta range, the treble is handled by a compression driver with a Mylar membrane loaded by a horn developed in-house by Thomas Blumenhofer's team through long periods of measurement and listening tests. A compression driver couples a small, light diaphragm to the air through a narrow throat, giving high efficiency and low excursion, while the horn controls dispersion, directing more energy toward the listener and reducing reflections from side walls and ceiling. Blumenhofer's larger Tempesta models add a sloping baffle to align the acoustic centres of the drivers in time, house the crossover in its own chamber away from the drivers, and keep the drivers' acoustic centres close together for a smoother vertical response at the crossover point - Blumenhofer's approach to integrating a horn with a cone driver. The company generally recommends toeing horn speakers in so their axes cross behind the listening seat, since horns concentrate treble on axis.

Pairing

The Tempesta BKS suits most solid-state and tube amplifiers, and horn-loaded treble generally makes Blumenhofer designs efficient enough for moderate-power tube amplification. Rigid stands that bring the horn to seated ear height are needed, and adding a subwoofer deepens the low end in larger rooms.

Alternatives

Blumenhofer Acoustics' own Tempesta 17 is the floorstanding two-way of the same range, with a 17cm P2C sandwich-cone woofer.