
North Wales, PA-based MC Audiotech’s hifi roots reach back into other hifi companies including Impact Audio, Linaeum, and Veloce Audio.
I’m going to let Stereophile founder J. Gordon Holt tell us about what was, back in 1997, a then new tweeter as found in the Lineaum Model 10 loudspeaker:
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a really new tweeter design. Only five basic types have ever been developed: cones, domes, panels, ribbons, and ionic plasmas. And the most recent of these—the long-defunct DuKane “blue-glow” Ionovac—was introduced 40 years ago. Since then, tweeter development has been more evolutionary than revolutionary, a series of refinements that has made them more efficient, more reliable, and smoother and more extended in response.
After 40 years of evolution, a new species of tweeter has appeared: the Linaeum TLS, which stands for True Line Source. This moniker refers to the Linaeum tweeter’s radiating source, which is essentially a very narrow vertical line. The driver itself falls into the familiar dynamic category, consisting of a coil suspended in a fixed magnetic field. What’s revolutionary about it is the diaphragm, which isn’t really a diaphragm at all, but a pair of curved, softly pliable ribbons.
This is relevant information because the MC Audiotech TL-12 in for review house the company’s Wide Band Line Source (WBLS) transducers that are a direct but improved descendant of the Linaeum TLS, a design patented in 1985 by creator Paul Paddock.

From the MC Audiotech WBLS Transducer White paper:
Above is a general top view of this [WBLS Transducer] device. The flexible membranes are plastic about the thickness of paper. The wire loop bonded to the central area, interacting with the magnets driving the conjoined membrane from the center in the direction shown. The physical action sets up a wave motion in the membranes which radiates through the plastic expending their energy as sound. The origin is a WAVE LINE SOURCE. No other transducer realizes this heretofore theoretical ideal.
The TL-12 are a two-way design with three WBLS transducers in a dipole array covering 300Hz up to 22kHz which sit above a 12″ transmission-line woofer that reach down to 28Hz according to the company. The TL-12’s efficiency is rated at 93dB with an 8 Ohm nominal impedance (6.8 Ohm minimum impedance). Think amp-friendly.
A single pair of binding posts are located on the inside sides of the TL-12’s curved backside making one speaker right and the other left. The speakers are supported by 4 IsoAcoustics GAIA footers.
Those openings on either side of the cabinets are ports for the WBLS array that offer a very wide—60 degrees +/- 2dB—horizontal dispersion.
Mark Conti, MC Audiotech’s co-founder, drove the review up from PA and helped set them up in Barn, a process that took all of about 10 minutes, giver or take, which is why you’re just seeing pics of them already in action. The TL-12 measure 48″ x 17″ x 23″ and weigh 118lbs a piece and they’re very easy to move around. The review pair are wrapped in a lovely Hickory veneer, one of four ‘base finishes’. Upgraded veneers are available.
MC Audiotech recommends a minimum of 25 Watts to drive the TL-12 and I plan to try a number of amps of all stripes including the Barn resident Leben CS600X. And while I don’t typically comment on performance right out-of-box so to speak, the TL-12’s horizontal sweet spot easily covered the width of the B-Side’s comfy couch. Nice.
Stay tuned for much more.
MC Audiotech TL-12 Loudspeakers
Price: starts at $28,000/pair in base veneers
Company Website: MC Audiotech
Finishs
Base Veneers: Walnut, Chestnut, Hickory, Ash
Upcharge Veneers: Gloss Black, Gloss White, Rosewood, Ribbon Makore
Call for additional finish options
Size and Weight
Boxed Weight 137 Lbs
Net Weight 117 Lbs
Height 48”
Width 17”
Depth 23.75”
Technical Details
Three proprietary Wide Band Line Source Driver “WBLS”
Open Baffle From 300 Hertz and up
Transmission Line Loaded 12” Woofer
Crossover Point 300 Hertz
Efficiency 93 dB
First Order Crossover Network
120 degree horizontal dispersion +/- 2.5 dB
Frequency Response 28Hz to 22kHz
Nominal Impedance 8 Ohm (minimum Impedance 6.8 Ohm)
Recommended amplifier power 25W – 500W