The Speakers That Made Me Eat My Words

Lê aqui a mini-review MoustachesToys das Stenheim Alumine Two.Five em português

I remember it like it was yesterday, my first encounter with aluminum speakers, those Magico M2 that looked down at me while I pretended to understand what that “aerospace-grade aluminum” specification actually meant. Then came the S3 from the same Californian manufacturer, followed by the Rockport Lyra and Avior II… all of them boasting cutting-edge engineering as if they’d been designed by NASA engineers. Impressive? Absolutely. But also somewhat cold, and not just to the touch. Clinical. Like a scalpel that cuts clean but doesn’t always reach the heart.

It was only when I heard the Stenheim Alumine Three paired with Octave tube amplification that I felt something begin to thaw. Even then, I attributed their “warmth” to the gentle glow of the Octave tubes. It couldn’t be possible that those Swiss boxes, crafted with surgical precision and lines that seemed straight out of a Bauhaus architecture class, could have soul. Well…

Spoiler alert: I was dead wrong.

The Audition That Turned Me Inside Out

At the latest Ultimate Sessions Xtreme edition, I sat down without much faith in front of the Stenheim Five SX, powered by Halcro monoblocks. What happened next… was almost embarrassing. I sat there, jaw agape (at least internally – one doesn’t make such scenes at the Palace Hotel in Estoril), listening to a pair of Swiss aluminum boxes making me feel things. In silence. Afterwards, the only thing that came to mind was an internal punch to my ego: “You’re going to have to eat your words, Vítor.”

“But hey – Five SX,” I thought. “Flagship towers with an astronomical price tag (for my wallet). Any system that costs the same as an apartment in downtown Porto has an obligation to sound like paradise,” the prejudice returned, trying to justify what I’d heard there. The real challenge came later:

Enter the Two.Five

Stenheim decided to descend a few steps from the High-End Olympus and launch the Alumine Two.Five, a more “modest” proposition within the brand’s usual universe, but still with a price that doesn’t come light-heartedly.

When I saw them in person, I felt the same as when I see a luxury watch without diamonds: there’s class there, but it’s discrete. Nothing shines. Nothing screams. It’s 45 kilograms of Swiss aluminum wearing humility. They only reveal themselves when the music starts.

And then…

When Sound Taps You on the Shoulder

Within the first few minutes of listening, I realized: the soul of the Five SX was there. With a bit less lung capacity, sure, but with the same DNA. These are 2-way floorstanding speakers with twin 6.5″ paper woofers and a 1″ fabric tweeter, with 93 dB sensitivity that makes them more accessible than one might imagine (at least from the amplification standpoint).

Soundstage? It’s 3D Cinema, My Friend!

The stereo imaging? It’s holography with Swiss watchmaker precision. Even in dense recordings, each instrument emerges drawn in India ink across the soundscape. We’re no longer listening to music; we’re inside it, between the microphones. You hear the room, you hear the air, you hear what’s not in the score.

Timbre: No Chill, No Sugar (okay, maybe just a hint)

Here the Two.Five delivers a lesson in balance. They reveal everything but without falling into clinical obsession. Timbre is truthful. The music breathes, it has blood, it has flesh. There’s no fat, no artifice. What comes out is what went in, without makeup, but with soul.

Micro and Macro Dynamics: Hot Knife Through Butter

Transitions are smooth as fine aged wine, but decisive as a shot. From whisper to thunder, everything flows naturally, with a speed that’s startling. One second you’re hearing the breathing of a bow stroke; the next instant, your eardrums get walloped. With zero distortion. Zero hysteria. Just Swiss control, but with emotion.

The Piano & Voice Moment (aka The Moment of Truth)

The real test: Piano. The piano had weight and air, that physical touch on the keys, not just the sound. And the voices… the voices, gentlemen! Three-dimensional positioning. With body. With mass. Articulation clear as Alpine spring water. These weren’t speakers playing, these were people singing, right there, within arm’s reach.

Live Recordings: Being There Without Being There

On a live recording, the Two.Five completely dropped the curtain: the venue, the audience, the tension in the air. All there. A time and space machine.

Amplification: No Panzer Power Required

With 93 dB sensitivity, these beauties aren’t fussy. They sang divinely with the Halcro Eclipse Stereo, of course, but they don’t need extreme muscle. Just quality upstream components. And yes, the T+A DAC 200 wasn’t intimidated by the rest of the higher-caliber system.

Verdict: Another Blow to My Pride

I left these auditions wanting to reassess my choices. The Two.Five delivered a polite slap to my aluminum prejudices. Refined, precise, yet musical. They don’t show off, don’t exaggerate, they simply did practically everything right. Transparency, coherence, scale, attack, truth. But above all: MUSIC.

If you happen to have 26k euros gathering dust somewhere, I recommend a detour to your nearest Stenheim dealer for an audition. I can’t guarantee you’ll leave with them, but I guarantee you’ll leave wanting them badly. I did. And more humble. Happier. And eating my words.

The System in this review:

– Speakers: Stenheim Alumine Two.Five

– Power Amplifier: Halcro Eclipse Stereo

– Preamplifier: Halcro Equinox + External LPSU

– DAC: T+A DAC 200

– Streamer: Cinnamon Audio Galle Network Transport

– Power Conditioning: Isotek V5 Aquarius

– Cabling: Siltech Legend Series 680/880 & Crystal Cable Diamond series

Some of the tracks we listened to:

– Fools Rush In – Dean Martin

– Come Fly With Me (Live At The Sands Hotel And Casino/1966) – Frank Sinatra

– Trouble In Mind – Archie Shepp & Horace Parlan

– Scarborough Fair / Canticle – Simon & Garfunkel

– Surrender – Birgitte Soojin

– Who Killed Cock Robin – Greg Brown

– Laughing – David Crosby

This piece was made possible thanks to Ultimate Audio’s Porto store