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Product: Indiana Line Tesi 2
Manufacturer: Indiana Line - Italy
Price: ±€340
Reviewer: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT-Audio Italy
Published: March, 2025

A few months ago I reviewed Indiana Line's babies, the Nota 240X, tiny and inexpensive standmount speakers that represent the entry level to the catalogue. Above the Nota series and below the more ambitious Diva series (we have just reviewed the Diva 6 with excellent results) is the Tesi series. I asked ASM Distribuzione for a pair of Tesi 2 (the smallest of the series) to understand the distance from the smaller Nota. The difference in terms of size is negligible, and the cost is just 118€ more.

A closer look

The Tesi 2 - an improvement on the previous Tesi 241 - is a lightweight and compact 2-way speaker (245 x 140 x 180 mm), just 1 cm taller than the Nota 240X, 2 cm deeper but, surprisingly, 2 cm narrower. The reinforced MDF cabinet features the usual rear bass reflex and houses a 26 mm fabric dome tweeter (with a so-called Radial Venting Chamber Technology loading system) and a 120 mm mica-polypropylene composite mid-woofer (versus the 107 mm unit of the Nota) with Dual-Wave suspension (see pic below). Impedance is between 4 and 8Ω and the power rating is somewhere in between 30 and 80 watts, while sensitivity stands at 89dB/w/m. A very useful foam cap is supplied in case you want to close the reflex outlet when the speaker is close to the rear wall. The claimed frequency response is 55-22kHz (it is not clear within which dB range) while the two drivers cross at 2.4 kHz, with a second order cut at 12dB/octave. The design as usual is Italian, while the manufacturing is Chinese. The cabinet is solid and well finished, heavier than that of the Nota 240X. The available colours are white, black and mokka (the one under review).

Magna cum laude!

Compared to the Nota 240X, everything changes: the cabinet, the crossover and the drivers. I wasn't expecting huge differences, given that the dimensions are essentially the same and the price difference is not significant (less than 50%). The surprise was big when I started listening to these Tesi 2, which outclass their Nota sisters in every significant parameter.

I'll start with the positioning: a bass of much greater weight and extension allows you to avoid the proximity of the rear wall. In my environment, I admit, a little generous in terms of bass, I was able to keep them almost one meter from the wall without noticing excessive lightening in the bass range. The balance between the various ranges is excellent and the word that comes to mind first is coherence: all portions of the audio spectrum sound homogeneous, without particular emphasis or dips.

The lightweight bass of the Nota 240X has gone, evidently the woofer is of a much higher quality. It is true that it is a little larger and therefore moves more air, but it is not just a question of size, but probably of speed, power handling and maximum cone excursion. The noise of the air expelled from the reflex outlet, in some recordings, is still audible, but with such small speakers it is practically unavoidable. However, the phenomenon is rarely perceptible, so much so that in the end I decided not to use the sponge caps, which lighten the bass and midbass range too much.

The bass is full, articulated but, above all, well timed. Many small speakers, in an attempt to impress with the power and extension of the bass frequencies, fail to correctly mark the musical time. The Tesi 2's, not trying to sound huge, have an excellent behaviour in what is called PRaT (Pace, Rhythm and Timing).

In the mid-high range the slight veil that I had found with the smaller sisters is practically absent and the response extends well till the limits of the high range. The harmonic richness of the musical content also improves, which gives greater realism especially to acoustic instruments. Not only is the woofer of superior quality, but also the tweeter and the crossover (with a lower cut: 2.4 against 3kHz) do their job better, since the voices acquire naturalness and presence. The lowest portion, both of the male and female registers, appears a bit light, but we are talking about small, inexpensive speakers, you can't have everything.

From a dynamic point of view, the performance improves, so much so that not only the variations of level are reproduced with a more realistic scale but you can listen to these speakers at decidedly higher volumes without too much trouble. Of course, with tracks very rich in bass frequencies, the bottom of the small woofer's travel has to be taken into serious account, but I'm talking about sound pressures that are far from condominium-like standards. When I read about our readers listening between 65 and 75dB while I perform my tests close to (and above!) 90dB I realize that these warnings are in fact useless.

Comparison with the Lonpoo LP42

Of course, the curiosity to compare them with my favourite low-budget champions was great. So, taking down the Lonpoo LP42 from the shelf, the challenge began. The two speakers are practically the same size, only the woofer of the LP42 is smaller. Now, while recognizing the Lonpoo LP42 a more lively and dynamic mid-high range (let's say more prominent), I would say that the Tesi 2 are better performers overall in each and any parameter, particularly in the bass range, especially if you don't help the Lonpoo bass with the proximity of the rear wall. Of course, it should be remembered that with the cost of a pair of Tesi 2, let's say €300 on average, you can buy almost 4 pairs of Lonpoo LP42, which still retail between 80 and €90/pair, including shipping. Summarizing, the sceptre of entry-level speaker continues to be firmly in the hands of the LP42s, but the Tesi 2s sound clearly better, no ifs nor buts. I allow myself to underline this fact because the Nota 240Xs were unable to sound better than the Lonpoo LP42s. With the extra €110 needed for a pair of Tesi 2, you can access a higher level of performance. And not by a small amount.

Up the ante: comparison with the Elac Debut 5

Intrigued by this very good performance, I also dusted off a pair of first series Elac Debut 5, which continued to be my reference in a price range between 200 and €400. The Debut 5's are larger and have a larger woofer, so the bass range appears more powerful and also slightly deeper, but the Tesi 2 take revenge in terms of articulation and speed of the bass. On the rest of the audio range the Tesi 2 are far more convincing, as they are more open and transparent, cleaner, especially on voices and string instruments. 10 years have passed since my review of the Debut 5 and finally a similarly priced bookshelf speaker sounds globally better!

Complaints

Manufacturing & Finish
The speakers are well built and finished despite the low cost. Finally, as expected, the dust covers are fixed magnetically, and I welcome with great pleasure the possibility of having a white finish. The large rectangular flange that surrounds the tweeter is a bit awkward. I don't know if it has an acoustic function, but it is really ugly, also because it retains the black colour in all three available finishes.
Sound
Apart from a certain lightness on the lower registers of voices and some obvious difficulty when dealing with heavy bass tracks these Tesi 2 are a nice surprise.

Conclusions

They managed to embarrass my two references as far as budget bookshelf speakers are concerned, humiliating the Lonpoo LP42 and putting the Elac 5.1 to shame on practically all parameters. I believe that a better compliment cannot be given. These Tesi 2 are incredibly mature and balanced performers, offered at an irresistible price. The competition in this price range (and even a little above) is warned!

Sincere thanks to Marco Visonà of ASM Distribuzione for providing us with the test sample.

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Copyright © 2025 Lucio Cadeddu - editor@tnt-audio.com - www.tnt-audio.com

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