Siegfried Linkwitz LX-mini Speakers

[davidjt]

Now there's a whole different can of worms.......one I don't think I want to get into.

The speakers have arrived and I've dry fitted everything successfully - buying a properly cnc'd kit hardly qualifies as diy, since everything practically falls into place. One or two refinements have been added since the original design, giving a more professional finish. The four ruddy great circlips are the only eyesores left and some metal primer plus a couple of topcoats should fix them. Allowing for plenty of paint drying time they'll be together by the weekend, by which time the crossover parts should be on the horizon. (We've just had another power cut - 36hrs this time, so maybe that's this month's quota all in one go? Sod's law suggests otherwise. )

 

[davidjt]

Just the one power cut later, the crossover has gone together and tested ok and the speakers are built (if that's the word). I'm still not sure about the red/black colour scheme so have left enough wire to be able to dismantle and re-paint if necessary. Annoyingly, the case for the crossover has gone to the U.K. by mistake and I'm missing a pair of phono sockets. Listening will require the latter at least, so has to be postponed for a few days. I could post photos on flickr but there are already plenty on the net so more would probably be superfluous.
(Of the circlips mentioned above only one of each pair serves any purpose in this application, so two have been discarded.)

 

[davidjt]

So far, listening has been very impressive. I'll be happier when the crossover is cased and properly hooked up with co-ax, but at least it works. From past experience it'll take a couple of weeks for DIY euphoria to start to wear off - I'll update then if anyone's interested.
Immediate impression: it's like having a much more expensive DAC as a source. More articulate.

A couple of thoughts on construction: the kit from Germany includes (3-D printed?) brackets for the smaller drivers. They are very brittle - (the fact that you need 2 and receive 5 or 6 may be a clue...). I filed down the lugs until they were snug and required less brute force. Those smaller drivers require 4 of the smallest available push-on crimp terminals, which aren't included. You will also need 2 x 4-pole Speakon plugs.
On DIYaudio there are experienced constructors who strongly recommend additional flux when soldering, so I've used it at home. Removing the excess afterwards is a pita, and I didn't happen to have any here anyway. I didn't miss it. It's possible the high quality of their pcbs helps.

 

[davidjt]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45600917@N04/

Caveats: 'Proper' comparison with my existing set-up is impossible: swapping cables around (external crossover vs. internal, two lots of stereo amplification vs. one) and the inability to level match (ditto) preclude it. No-one else will be running a Meridian G57 alongside 2 x ACAs.

My entirely subjective conclusions thus far:

They do >90% of what I like about my ESL57s/Townshend Supertweeters/REL Strata II without either extra tweeters or subs. (Bass is excellent given their size: a sub or two will obviously give you more.)
They do all that while taking up less than 10% of the space. They are remarkable.

I could happily live with them in place of the Quads, but for logistical reasons will keep the latter here and take the LXs back to the UK. The living room there is acoustically very poor both in shape and construction and I'm sure the LXs will improve matters. All the theory (and much subsequent discussion) is available elsewhere. They were designed with a domestic environment in mind.

So if you can live with their looks, maybe have limited space and have doubts about boxes, they make a very rewarding project.

 

[a.palfreyman]

They have a bit of an 'architectural / street furniture' look to them and I quite like the bold red colour. Glad they work well. Be interesting to see what difference a different environment makes to the sound as I would imagine few people would have the opportunity to try in vastly different rooms, not-withstanding the foibles of audio memory etc.
AP

 

[davidjt]

I have posted about these on another thread, but thought I'd round this one off properly.

Current set-up in the acoustically poor living room is Bel Canto CD1 > Wayne Colburn 'Whammy' pre-amp > Pass active crossover > M2-x (Bass) + 2 x ACAs in parallel (Full range) + REL Strata III. According to Nelson none of the amplifiers really has enough grunt to do the speakers justice - they're simply what I have available right now. Better options are in the pipeline.

I've experimented with placement and concluded that for a single listener it's really not critical, less so in fact than for the five or six conventional speakers tried in this room. Listening across the room, at 1.5 -2 metres apart they can be placed 'near field', in which case the soundstage stretches behind them to the far wall for a Jazz Club/Chamber recital feel, or moved a metre or so further back (it's not a big room!) for a more symphonic effect. In both situations they produce a coherent soundfield with the approprate layers. Previous speakers were playing 'in' the room, if I can put it like that, subject to it's limitations: as I understand it, Siegfried's aim was to take the room out of the equation as much as possible and his unconventional design succeeds in making both the speakers and the room disappear. I'll probably never stop tinkering with the rest, but these speakers (and the pre-) are staying put for the forseeable future.
I've never felt this involved in music at home before or enjoyed it so much.


Later: Switched amps - M2 to full range and an old Typhoon for bass. More heft and sub(s) now virtually redundant. This only works because Nelson included a pot in each of the four channels to balance Bass/FR. Assuming you already have a decent amp to use for FR, a couple of inexpensive chip amps for the woofers would do the trick.