Напольная акустика — Line Magnetic LM-69

The LM-69 is a full-range console loudspeaker from Line Magnetic, created to mark the tenth anniversary of the company's founding. Its model number refers to the 6 x 9 inch oval format of the drive unit. The maker lists it in its retro loudspeaker range alongside the LM-755A console model, the LM-812 horn system, the LM-222 coaxial design and the LM-7395 and LM-7396 barrier speakers. Unlike the horn-loaded members of that family, the LM-69 uses one oval cone to reproduce the entire band.

Key specs that matter

Line Magnetic quotes a frequency range of 40 Hz to 22 kHz, a sensitivity of 95 dB and a nominal impedance of 8 ohm, with a power rating of 20 W per speaker. The oval driver measures 17 x 24 cm. Each cabinet stands 1110 mm tall, 480 mm wide and 430 mm deep, and one speaker weighs 45 kg. The finish listed for Europe is cherry. Every cabinet carries a pair of screw terminals that also take banana plugs.

Engineering and use context

The drive unit was developed in house by Line Magnetic, yet its design takes cues from loudspeakers of the 1950s and 1960s, the same period that informs the brand's valve electronics. Its diaphragm is a bi-conical double membrane formed from cellulose pulp. The company chose this paper material because it pairs stiffness with low moving mass, and it credits that combination for the high sensitivity of a single cone of modest size. Because there is only one driver, the LM-69 avoids the separate horn, compression driver and bass unit that the LM-812 needs, and the whole range comes from one radiating surface.

Pairing

The high sensitivity and modest power rating suit the low-output valve amplifiers that form most of the Line Magnetic catalogue. The LM-845IA, a single-ended stereo integrated built around a pair of 845 triodes, succeeds the older LM-518, delivers 22 W per channel and offers 4, 8 and 16 ohm output taps, three line inputs and a rear-lit bias meter on the front panel, with a 5AR4 rectifier valve in its power supply. The AS-125 is another in-house partner, producing 18 W per channel from two 211 triodes and providing four RCA inputs. In both cases the tap matching the speaker's rated impedance is the one to use.

Alternatives

Within the same Line Magnetic retro loudspeaker range, the LM-7396 barrier speaker is another floorstanding model of the brand.