Indiana Line
ABOUT BRAND
Indiana Line is currently one of the best-known brands originating from Italy. Indiana Line brand applies to floorstanders, bookshelf speakers, subwoofers and speaker sets for home theater systems, as well as installation speakers characterized by a very good value for money and excellent sound. What was the way to achieve this success?
American Utah
The history of this enterprise was started by the Selectra company – the owner of the Revac brand – which decided to import to Italy the American Utah brand loudspeakers, known at the time for very affordable prices and excellent quality. At this point it should be added that in those days, importing loudspeakers in practice meant only importing parts, because making cabinets for the loudspeakers was much cheaper at location than importing complete products.
The cost of transport for such a long distance (half the globe) was unacceptable. In practice, this was not an easy task at all, because strict production standards had to be followed to ensure all the variations of colour, finish and sometimes shape that can be found in the same model sold in different parts of the world, irrespective of whether it was Italy, France or Japan. This state was maintained until the late 1970s.
The origins of the Indiana Line
At a certain point, the Utah brand was no longer able to keep prices in its country of origin and failed. In Italy however, the company Alcor, which took over from Selectra, decided to continue production, which was given a positive feedback. It continued to import parts, but also developed and produced new designs in Italy under the name Indiana Line. The choice of this name was, somehow, a sign of respect for the place where it all began, because Utah is the region in the USA where the presence of Indian tribes is the most concentrated. On the other hand, the name Indiana Line was also supposed to refer to high-quality products, then attributed only to Anglo-Saxon components.
6 models for a start
Indiana Line has prepared a catalog consisting initially of six own speaker models. These were the Indiana Line Mini x, 1x, 2x, 3x 4x and BMx. These loudspeakers won the hearts of fans of good sound very quickly. Thanks to the famous Phenolic Ring Dome, these speaker units could boast about exceptional linearity, high efficiency and low distortion. What’s more, the success turned out to be so significant that at a certain point the Alcor company decided to resign from Utah loudspeakers exclusively in favor of the speakers designed and produced in Italy. Perhaps it was also the merit of the very successful promotion of this Italian company. In advertising materials from the very start the phrase “listening pleasure” was always present, which was confirmed during listening sessions.
Coral Electronic
In 2006, Indiana Line was taken over by a new owner – Coral Electronic, which was founded in 1975 by an Italian, Eugenio Musso. It was able to enrich the brand with its thirty years of know-how as a producer of speakers designed with a thought of high-fidelity sound reproduction both at home and in the car. The name of Coral, which is an anagram of Alcor, is coincidental here. Thus, from the experience gained by these two historic brands, a new Italian leader in the world of loudspeakers was born. It was a milestone in the evolution of the brand, expanding its offer, while maintaining its original spirit of excellent competetive products within its price standards. From the very beginning, the goal was to create elegant speakers that offer very good sound quality.
Own design and technical solutions of Indiana Line
The appearance of loudspeakers for many users is as important as the quality of the sound played by the speakers. The models of Indiana Line loudspeakers are very carefully made, and simultaneously they use technical solutions, allowing you to achieve high-level sound.
1. Design
Nice appearance is the result of combining relative structural modesty with a tasteful artistic project. Therefore, no solutions were searched that would impress “at first sight” There is no glitz here and the wholeness looks very subtle, pleasant, not too austere and without cheap flashiness – according to the rule: “You don’t have to impress anyone with anything, but also you won’t be ashamed in front of anyone.” So it was decided on a very elegant, timeless design which will be suitable for any room.
2. Cabinet
In order to reduce resonances effectively, the loudspeakers cabinets have been made of 18 mm thick MDF boards with additional transverse reinforcements – 15 mm thick rims, which ensure better transverse stiffness. In some models a plinth integrated with the cabinet or cast aluminum feet have been used for better suppression of resonances from the floor. Moreover, the inside of the boxes has been filled with synthetic, resin, reinforced polyester fiber, which is remarkably resistant to stretching, drying and moisture, and the best in terms of cooperation with bass reflex systems.
3. Transducers
Indiana Line from the very beginning offered loudspeakers with an excellent value for money, which determined the success of this brand. So what is the secret of this success? Optimization is the key here. First of all, optimization of suppliers and optimization of components. The production of loudspeakers according to own specifications leads to the use of simpler crossover filters, because many problems have already been solved by carefully refining the properties of the membranes, suspension and magnetic systems. The mid-woofers membranes are made of Curv – a stiff, light and soundproofing material made of pure polypropylene which is extruded, woven and heat treated. The magnetic circuit, on the other hand, has been equipped with an aluminum ring that reduces the non-linearity known from many commonly produced drivers of similar value, while linearizing their impedance and widening the useful frequency range. The woofers have polypropylene membranes stiffened with mica and are equipped with a phase corrector. The tweeters, on the other hand, use a lightweight silk dome with a diameter of 26 mm, strong neodymium magnets and a unique radial damper chamber.
The tweeter unit used in the Diva series is additionally decoupled from the cabinet with a soft rubber pad, which makes it a practically “floating” element. In this way, a significant reduction of vibrations transmitted from the cabinet to the tweeter is achieved, additionally equipped with two different types of soundproofing materials, located under the dome and inside the rear chamber.
The converters in the DJ series models (DJ 308 and DJ 310) are characterized by exceptional dynamics and high voltage efficiency. The construction of the tweeter waveguide used in them ensures excellent polar dispersion and high efficiency. On the other hand, the rear chamber and an impregnated silk dome guarantee great microdynamics and crystal clear high tones.
4. Crossovers
Thanks to the use of a unique crossover structure with gently leaning filter edges, the sound reproduction on the border of medium and high tones is matchless. This favours the sound of guitar instruments, wind instruments and vocals. An additional advantage of using the mentioned filters is the possibility of cooperation with almost any amplifier, which can work with a load with a nominal impedance from 4 to 8 ohms.
5. Terminals
Though some manufacturers of loudspeaker units develop their own project in almost any detail, including also the connectors necessary to bind the loudspeaker with an amplifier or a receiver, Indiana Line uses standard terminals. The pattern used has been known for many years, but it still functions as well as in the past and it is pointless to replace it with something else. Selected models offer the possibility of bi-wire / bi-amp connection. It is not without significance that the loudspeaker terminals are made entirely of magnetically inert materials.
Indiana Line catalog offer
The product offer of the Indiana Lina brand is not overly extensive. In the company’s catalog we will find three leading series of passive loudspeakers: Diva, Tesi and Nota, differing in the level of advancement, and a two-product series of DJs with special applications. Moreover, the offer is enriched with active subwoofers, extending the dynamic range of all the speakers by increasing the bass amplitude with a dedicated sub-woofer section. These types of models will be useful, for example, when building a home theater system. In the offer we will also find the installation speakers – wall and ceiling.
The Diva series is a guarantee of dynamic, faithful sound with an excellent reflection of the realism of the vocals. The Tesi series will be suitable for those who are looking for a strong and natural sound. The Nota loudspeakers, on the other hand, guarantee excellent dynamic performance and expressive, contoured sound. The DJ series, however, has been especially designed with a view to amplify various kinds of home and club parties.
A brand with an established position in the audio industry
Founded in 1977 in Turin, the Indiana Line brand through the years of presence on the audio market has managed to establish a position among lovers of good sound, remaining faithful to its philosophy of creating loudspeaker units. The designers working on new Indiana Line models have shown many times that it is worth developing original designs following the current trends.
The Indiana Line product offer, which includes floorstanding, bookshelf and installation models, allows you to create different types of sound system – from stereo sets to advanced home theater configurations with ceiling speakers, allowing for sound processing in systems such as Dolby Atmos. The variety of constructions available in the Indiana Line catalog allows you to choose models perfectly suited to the needs of every music lover. The loudspeakers of this Italian brand are ideal for playing any type of music.