Напольная акустика — Stenheim Alumine Five

The Alumine Five comes from Swiss maker Stenheim as a three-way tower and one of several models in its aluminium-cabinet Alumine range, which also includes the Alumine Two, Two.Five, Three and S10. It exists in four versions. The standard Five is joined by the Five SE with upgraded crossover parts, Reference binding posts and better internal wiring, the Five SX that adds a billet aluminium platform, and the Five LE, an SX edition limited to 10 pairs.

Key specs that matter

Per cabinet there are two 25 cm (10 inch) woofers, a 16.5 cm (6.5 inch) midrange and a 2.6 cm soft dome tweeter, with neodymium magnets on the midrange and tweeter. Stenheim quotes response from 28 Hz to 35 kHz and a sensitivity of 94 dB SPL in half space. Nominal impedance is 8 ohm with a minimum of 3 ohm. Power handling is 200 W RMS and 400 W peak, and the maker suggests at least 20 W of amplification. The Five and Five SE measure 28 cm wide, 38 cm deep and 120 cm tall and weigh 100 kg each.

Engineering and use context

The cabinet is precision machined from aluminium, with 12 mm side panels and 20 mm baffles, and is split into four independent chambers by internal aluminium baffles and braces. Stainless steel hardware holds it together, and multi-layered, low-volume damping material lines the inside. The reflex system relies on a front laminar port with twin slot ports whose edges are radiused to reduce air turbulence. The crossover is a hybrid of second-order and Linkwitz-Riley filters designed for phase coherence and a non-reactive, low-loss load, and the upgraded versions draw on Mundorf, Jantzen, Audyn, Myflex and Jupiter components. The cone drivers have textile double-roll surrounds and large magnets of the size common in pro audio. Standard finishes are metallic light or dark grey with a black front and rear, while full black, ivory and mocca are custom options.

Pairing

A small triode amplifier can run the Alumine Five thanks to its high sensitivity, although the dip to a low minimum impedance still asks the amplifier to cope with a demanding impedance dip. Larger transistor amplifiers stay within the rated long-term handling as long as they do not exceed the RMS rating. The SX version adds a room control panel, a grounding post and adjustable spikes, and weighs 139 kg with its 39 kg platform.

Alternatives

The Stenheim Alumine Three is a lower, lighter tower drawn from that aluminium range, built with the same machined metal enclosure approach.