Напольная акустика — Stenheim Alumine Two.Five

The Alumine Two.Five is the first floorstanding model in the Alumine range from the Swiss company Stenheim, sitting between the Alumine Two standmount and the larger Alumine Three. It keeps the two-way layout of the Alumine Two but uses a pair of woofers to reach deeper in the bass. Each speaker is hand-assembled in Switzerland, and the US price was USD 23,500 per pair.

Key specs that matter

It uses two 16.5 cm woofers with coated cellulose cones and a 2.6 cm soft dome tweeter, tuned by a reflex port on the front baffle. Frequency response runs from 35 Hz to 30 kHz, nominal impedance is 8 ohm and sensitivity is 93 dB SPL measured in half space. Rated handling is 125 W RMS and 250 W peak, and Stenheim suggests amplifiers of at least 10 W. Each cabinet stands 94.5 cm high, 23 cm wide and 27.5 cm deep, and weighs 45 kg.

Engineering and use context

All cabinet panels are made of aluminium, which is the defining feature of the Alumine line. The crossover uses high grade audiophile components. Although Stenheim lists the speaker as a passive two-way, the two woofers work in parallel only up to roughly 120 to 125 Hz, after which just one of them continues into the midrange, so the layout behaves as a 2.5-way design. This arrangement lets the second woofer add bass output without widening the vertical spread of the midrange. The cabinet is slim for a floorstander, which helps in smaller living rooms of around 20 m2. Stenheim offers standard finishes of metallic light grey and dark grey, with full black, ivory and mocca available as custom options. Registered owners receive a five year warranty. Since the woofers share the same size, the cabinet can remain narrow while the combined cone area rises for bass output.

Pairing

Stenheim states that the speaker is suitable for modest amplification, including valve amplifiers. The high efficiency and a benign nominal load mean low powered single-ended and push-pull tube designs are workable choices, while a solid state amplifier should stay within the stated power handling. With the reflex opening facing forward, each speaker may stand nearer a wall behind it than a model with a port at the back. The narrow frontage also keeps the pair visually discreet when placed either side of a television or equipment rack.

Alternatives

Stenheim's Alumine Three offers a bigger floorstanding option within this aluminium series.