Напольная акустика — Closer Acoustics Forlane

The Forlane is the smallest floorstanding model from Closer Acoustics, a Polish company from Katowice that specialises in single-driver loudspeakers of high efficiency. It uses one 7-inch full-range unit with no crossover or filter components, and its launch price was EUR 7,000 per pair before local taxes.

Key specs that matter

Closer Acoustics fits the French-made EMS LB7, a 17 cm wideband unit fitted with a central phase plug and no whizzer cone. Its published parameters include a resonant frequency of 40 Hz, a moving mass of 6.5 g, a Qts of 0.215 and a Vas of 56 litres. Closer Acoustics rates the Forlane at 94 dB efficiency, 8 ohm impedance, a frequency response of 40 Hz to 18 kHz and a maximum power handling of 30 W. With its plinth fitted the speaker stands 112 cm tall, and it is 20 cm wide and 34 cm deep, weighing 19 kg each.

Engineering and use context

The cabinet follows what the brand calls a distributed resonance design. Inside the 42-litre enclosure the back wave of the driver runs along two channels that differ in shape, length and volume, and the same principle is used in the Vigo, Allegra, Adam and Eva models. The channels also stiffen the enclosure, and the maker states that they virtually eliminate standing waves. No damping material is placed inside. The exterior is built from solid oak planks, while the internal parts are cut from Baltic birch plywood. Seen from the side the body is narrower at the base and wider at the top, with a flat front baffle and a sloping rear panel. The plinth attaches with four bolts and plastic tube spacers. Connection is through WBT-0703 Cu Nextgen binding posts, and since there is no crossover the amplifier drives the voice coil directly. The slim 20 cm front suits a room of around 20 m2, where a wide cabinet would dominate the space. Closer Acoustics builds its electronics and speakers by hand and to order in Poland.

Pairing

The Forlane was presented together with the brand's 300B Provocateur single-ended triode integrated amplifier, an 8 W per channel Class A design, and the combined system came to roughly EUR 15,000 before taxes. The low power ceiling of the speaker makes a small triode or other low-power valve amplifier the logical partner, and there is little point in using a large transistor amplifier with it.

Alternatives

One step up sits the Closer Acoustics Allegra, with an 8-inch EMS LB8 MKII driver, a Corian-sided plywood cabinet and a 93 dB efficiency rating.