Following a seven-year absence, Leema Acoustics’ micro monitor is back: introducing the new Xen 2. The original Xen was the result of a research project to squeeze a BBC-graded monitor speaker into a 5L cabinet by Leema’s ex Beeb founders. The new Xen 2 is based on the previous model but with a host of improvements for 2015. With a volume of just five cubic litres and an A5 sized front baffle the new Xen 2 is super-compact and easy to position in almost any home or studio environment. Despite its dimensions, the Xen 2 has a frequency response extending down to 57Hz and all the way up to 25kHz. It is also efficient at 85dB, making it perfect for mainstream amplifiers with an output of between 60W and 150W.
The Xen 2’s cabinet is made from folded and welded 1.5mm thick steel; in a speaker of this size, using the industry-standard 18mm-thick MDF/veneer solution would have simply added too much bulk. The steel is lined with a bitumastic layer, a technique also employed in the automotive industry, and the cavity is then stuffed with real sheep’s wool (German not Welsh!). The back panel is steel with bitumen on the inside and the crossover board is attached to the terminals directly. The crossover uses Bennic parts and air core inductors where possible, to avoid saturation and compression. The cabinet is reinforced with a 12mm steel bar and the front panel is machined from high-grade MDF. The baffle is then finished in either wood veneer or black paint.
The Xen 2 has two bass reflex ports, which extend into the cabinet then fold down behind the bass driver, with each measuring 260mm. Twin ports are used to avoid port compression effects. The bass ports are placed close to the drive unit, so that the integration is as good as possible. The SEAS drivers original Xen have been discontinued so Leema Acoustics’ engineering team commissioned a drive unit to be built to its own specification. The new 100mm bass/mid driver is described as being “a highly durable unit with exceptional cone excursion “and the tweeter is a soft-dome unit with a neodymium magnet and Ferro-fluid-loaded coil. In order to combat the unwanted midrange peak inherent in many four-inch (100mm) drive units, the cabinet has been specially designed to ‘give a little’ at a certain frequency in an attempt to minimise the effect. The Xen 2 is priced at £1,295 and is available now.