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stenheim alumine two se2-Way Bookshelf Speaker
Priced From NZ$38,000
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description
When you listen to the Stenheim Alumine Two, your ears will tell you that this is no ordinary compact 2-way monitor loudspeaker. However, your first glance won’t reveal why that is. You need to look a lot deeper – the same way Stenheim looked at loudspeaker design. This brilliance of this speaker is not immediately obvious. Aesthetically, it looks elegant and simple however once you look closely, evidence of ingenious design and execution begins to reveal itself.
Stenheim began by questioning the fundamental thinking, technological choices and materials used in conventional designs. That led them to some surprising conclusions that contradicted conventional thinking and fashionable theory. They decided that the measurable benefits of high-tech cone materials were less desirable than the obvious musical advantages of more traditional approaches. They implemented low-loss, phase-coherent crossovers with sophisticated out-of-band roll-off levels. They chose the low-storage energy signature of a critically damped aluminium cabinet using innovative, low-volume damping materials. They realised that if you design a speaker ‘in a lab’. It may test and measure perfectly but in the real world those designs were often lacking in emotional expression. Their determination to maintain the life and energy in the music, the essence of the original performance was behind every decision.
The Alumine Two is small in stature and footprint but it sounds much bigger than it looks. Despite its compact dimensions, it embodies all of Stenheim’s fundamental design principles:
Once the Alumine Two was established, Stenheim decided to make another version called the Special Edition (SE). The design concept here was to take this style of speaker and make the very best sounding version of it. This model uses the same cabinet and drivers but it incorporates a cost-no-object crossover, upgraded internal wiring and upgraded binding posts. Stenheim have developed the lightest-touch, lowest loss crossover topology possible for the standard Alumine Two, however improving the components to this degree has a profound effect on the performance of the SE.
Exhaustive listening tests led the Stenheim team to develop their own internal wiring and select the very best parts from Mundorf and Jansen, Duelund, Myflex and Jupiter – a Who’s Who of boutique audiophile component brands. The result is even greater transparency and dimensionality, even more natural separation and perspectives, micro-dynamic and harmonic resolution and a greater range of tonal colour.
With its classical proportions and flawless finish, the Alumine Two SE blends seamlessly with both traditional and modern surroundings. If the standard Alumine Two is a connoisseur’s speaker, the SE is out of this world. There’s simply more music, more musician and less speaker, creating what we firmly believe to be the most musically convincing compact speaker available.
Stenheim began by questioning the fundamental thinking, technological choices and materials used in conventional designs. That led them to some surprising conclusions that contradicted conventional thinking and fashionable theory. They decided that the measurable benefits of high-tech cone materials were less desirable than the obvious musical advantages of more traditional approaches. They implemented low-loss, phase-coherent crossovers with sophisticated out-of-band roll-off levels. They chose the low-storage energy signature of a critically damped aluminium cabinet using innovative, low-volume damping materials. They realised that if you design a speaker ‘in a lab’. It may test and measure perfectly but in the real world those designs were often lacking in emotional expression. Their determination to maintain the life and energy in the music, the essence of the original performance was behind every decision.
The Alumine Two is small in stature and footprint but it sounds much bigger than it looks. Despite its compact dimensions, it embodies all of Stenheim’s fundamental design principles:
- A larger than expected bass-mid driver with a sophisticated, treated paper cone.
- A fabric dome tweeter, carefully horn loaded for increased efficiency.
- A high order, phase-coherent crossover to preserve the fragile but all-important temporal and spatial information in the stereo signal.
- A thin-wall aluminium cabinet built with hidden fixings and golden ratio dimensions.
- Low-volume damping materials to kill cabinet resonance and internal standing waves without killing musical dynamics.
Once the Alumine Two was established, Stenheim decided to make another version called the Special Edition (SE). The design concept here was to take this style of speaker and make the very best sounding version of it. This model uses the same cabinet and drivers but it incorporates a cost-no-object crossover, upgraded internal wiring and upgraded binding posts. Stenheim have developed the lightest-touch, lowest loss crossover topology possible for the standard Alumine Two, however improving the components to this degree has a profound effect on the performance of the SE.
Exhaustive listening tests led the Stenheim team to develop their own internal wiring and select the very best parts from Mundorf and Jansen, Duelund, Myflex and Jupiter – a Who’s Who of boutique audiophile component brands. The result is even greater transparency and dimensionality, even more natural separation and perspectives, micro-dynamic and harmonic resolution and a greater range of tonal colour.
With its classical proportions and flawless finish, the Alumine Two SE blends seamlessly with both traditional and modern surroundings. If the standard Alumine Two is a connoisseur’s speaker, the SE is out of this world. There’s simply more music, more musician and less speaker, creating what we firmly believe to be the most musically convincing compact speaker available.
videos
Stenheim 2 Amazing Speakers
Road Trip Switzerland - Stenheim
awards
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reviews
Sound Stage! Australia, Barry James Johnston, Product of the Year Awards 2023 - Winner!
"No fuss, no esoteric nonsense in their aesthetics, just pure simple, elegant, albeit slightly brutalist designs, well-engineered crossovers, and extremely well thought out fit and finish. And above all else, they perform. This is a purist’s company, an engineer’s company, an intellectual offering in a sea of ever-increasing eclectic exoticism.”
Soundstage! Australia, Barry James Johnston, 2023
"From the dirtiest grooves by the likes of Jane’s Addiction, the revered benchmarks from Dire Straits, and modern dancefloor classics like Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now”, these little speakers seemed to transform into giants. Paired with a great set of subs, blended correctly, and you will for sure, have found yourself an unbeatable high-end audio experience. I urge you, no matter what your tastes or expectations, to experience these speakers, and I mean that in the most comprehensive manner of “experience”. I simply cannot overstate the way these speakers perform."
Tone Audio Magazine, Jeff Dorgay, 2021
"The all-aluminum enclosure is beautiful to behold, and the level of execution is terrific.....If the concept, and all the benefits that come with a high-performance two-way monitor appeal to you, Stenheim’s Alumine 2 speakers are fantastic. They offer excellent sound, meticulous execution, and a density of thought approached by very few similarly priced speakers. Highly recommended."
Part time audiophile, Marc Phillips, 2020
"In my return to the exciting world of the two-way monitor, I found that the Stenheim Alumine 2s set the bar preternaturally high. I’ve listened to a lot of speakers over the last couple of years that I could buy and enjoy for the rest of my life. But the Stenheims go deeper than that. Not only do they provide sublime sound, but they resonate with my life as an audiophile. They capture all of the qualities I’ve pursued over the last 40 years, and I highly recommend them."
The Audio Beat, Roy Gregory, 2017
"If you need a compact speaker that allows your music to breathe, that’s big on expression, big on intimacy and big communication but isn’t phased by big or loud, then the Alumine Two could be just what you’re looking for. Other brands might make more noise about (and with) their aluminum boxes, but right now it’s the Stenheims that are delivering the musical goods."
Product Specifications
Type
Passive 2-way monitor speaker with front Bass Reflex Design
Construction
10-15 mm thick all aluminum construction
Frequency Response
45Hz – 30kHZ
Power Handling
100W IEC, 200W (peak)
Recommended Amplifier
10W – 200W
Sensitivity
93 dB SPL/2.83V/1m (measured in a semi-reverberant room)
SPL max
109 dB
Nominal impedance
8 Ohms
Woofer
One 16.51 cm (6.5in) High-strength cellulose fiber-cone impregnated and coated on both sides with damped resins
Tweeter
One 2.54cm (1in) Fabric dome, loaded by a small horn machined in the 15 mm aluminium front plate
Crossover
Air core inductors, Polypropylene capacitors, Metal film resistors
Finishes
Light shiny Grey, Dark shiny grey, Full Black, Wood veneer or Leather veneer, Special finishes on demand
SE Version
Special Edition version has ultimate quality components (crossover, internal wiring and connectors)
Warranty
5 years
Dimensions
330mm (H) x 230mm (W) x 275mm (D)
13 inches (H) x 9 inches (W) x 11 inches (D)
Weight
17 Kg each