Напольная акустика — CML Music Etude Tri-Linear Array

The Etude Tri-Linear Array, or ETLA, is a compact floorstanding loudspeaker from CML Music, the British company of Dr Christopher Mark Liauw, who also designs under the Curvi Hi-Fi name. It made its public debut at the North West Audio Show at the DeVere Cranage Estate in June 2026. It joins the Etude 5 and the Etude High Sensitivity Bipole in the range and borrows the compression tweeter of the latter. CML Music sells it directly, at GBP 3,000 per pair in the standard satin crackle finish with M8 polypropylene-tipped gliders, and grilles are expected to add about GBP 200.

Key specs that matter

Each cabinet carries twelve 85 mm balanced mode radiator drivers, arranged as three vertical columns of four, plus the compression tweeter beside the central column. Sensitivity is about 99 dB for 1 W at 1 m, measured at 600 Hz. Nominal impedance is 8 ohm, the average is 8.9 ohm and the minimum is 5 ohm, with a minimum EPDR of 3.5 ohm at 54 Hz. In-room response runs from 32 Hz to 20 kHz within 6 dB, with the bottom figure depending on boundary loading. Programme power handling is 240 W, and each BMR unit is rated at 20 W. The speaker stands 760 mm tall including gliders, 400 mm wide and 386 mm deep, and weighs roughly 25 kg.

Engineering and use context

Etude builds its range around wide-band BMR units so that one driver type covers most of the audible band without a crossover point in the midrange. Spreading the work across twelve of them per side raises sensitivity and power handling while each unit stays small. All three columns share one sealed internal volume. The tweeter enters from around 4 to 5 kHz with a second-order roll-in. The front baffle is angled so that the listening axis lines up with a seated listener, and the design is intended to stand close to the rear wall, using that boundary to extend the bass while saving floor space. The two outer columns have selectable roll-off settings that shape horizontal dispersion, and tweeter level changes by swapping resistors at the rear without soldering. The cabinet is CNC-machined from 18 mm high-density exterior-grade MDF, heavily braced and deliberately left without fibre or foam absorbent. Crossover parts come from Jantzen, ClarityCap, Bourns, Customcoilsnstuff and Vishay, mounted on elastomeric isolators. Piano lacquer and veneer finishes are offered as options.

Pairing

Low-powered valve amplifiers of 3 W and up, including single-ended designs, are within the maker's stated range, and the EPDR figure leaves solid-state amplifiers of modest current an easy load as well.

Alternatives

The CML Music Etude 5 is the other floorstanding model in the range, combining BMR drivers with transmission line bass loading.