Напольная акустика — Wlm Ella MK II

The Ella MK II is a slim passive tower and the entry model of the Austrian speaker builder WLM (Wiener Lautsprecher Manufaktur), which labels it as its loudspeaker for beginners and treats the Ella name as the accessible way into its catalogue. The model made its debut at the High End fair in 2019. Its most visible feature is a covering of Tyrolean sheep's wool from Whisperwool on the front and rear panels. In 2026 the Ella family was extended with the Ella Mk2 Purifi Monitor, a stand-mounted two-way that pairs a 6.5-inch Purifi woofer with a 2-inch paper cone tweeter and costs EUR 9,800 per pair.

Key specs that matter

Two 5-inch woofer/midrange units with paper cones work alongside a 7 cm cone tweeter, also with a paper membrane. WLM quotes a frequency range of 35 Hz to 20 kHz and an efficiency of 89 dB. The cabinet measures 95 cm high, 15 cm wide and 25 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 14 kg. An impedance figure is not published.

Engineering and use context

WLM arranges the three drivers in a D'Appolito layout, with the tweeter placed between the two 5-inch cones on the same vertical line. The low and mid section works in a bass reflex enclosure whose port fires downward, so the opening is not visible on the baffle. WLM builds the cabinet from veneered MDF with a wall thickness of 2.0 cm. The sheep's wool on the front and back is part of the acoustic design as well as the look, acting as damping on those surfaces. Inside, the crossover is built from discrete components and uses what WLM calls a special filter characteristic. Using paper for all three cones keeps the membrane material consistent across the tweeter and the two woofers. Outside the regular range, WLM has also produced an Ella in solid cherry together with the German furniture workshop die möbelmacher, with a cabinet made from two routed halves glued together, a weight of 18 kg per speaker and a price of EUR 6,500 per pair.

Pairing

With its moderate efficiency the Ella sits well below the Rudolf, Diva MK IV and 300 B, so it is better matched to transistor amplifiers or valve designs with a few tens of watts than to a single-ended triode of 2 or 3 W. WLM itself makes the Josef S integrated amplifier, which has been offered together with an Ella as a matched set.

Alternatives

The Diva MK IV is a larger passive WLM floorstander, a coaxial three-way design in a 116 cm tall cabinet.