Erin Reviews Chesky LC1

[dfuller]

Boy, these are rough. Before even looking at the data and just listening to the pink noise vs filtered pink noise, I could tell something was wildly wrong.

- Extremely bad pair matching
- Frequency response and directivity (especially vertically) is just plain bad - looks like no XO on the woofer at all, from what I can tell.
- Badly designed cabinet - high Q upper bass resonance around 80hz, then rapid fall-off with a very vague EBS-like alignment, almost looks like a poorly implemented transmission line. Maybe too small of a box for the driver's T/S parameters? UPDATE: No "Maybe" about it, the box is way too small for this.
- Distortion is nothing to write home about either.
- Very low sensitivity, a bit above 81dB/2.83V.

 

[kharan]

I don't know why exactly, but the drivers look cheap.

 

[Grotti]

I don't know why exactly, but the drivers look cheap.

Probably because they are?

 

[kharan]

Probably because they are?

I mean that I'm not a DIYer who spends hours if not days looking at drivers, comparing TS parameters and I don't have any deep knowledge about drivers, so I don't know what caught my eyes and made me think "cheap" even at a glance.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Boy, these are rough. Before even looking at the data and just listening to the pink noise vs filtered pink noise, I could tell something was wildly wrong.

- Extremely bad pair matching
- Frequency response and directivity (especially vertically) is just plain bad - looks like no XO on the woofer at all, from what I can tell.
- Badly designed cabinet - high Q upper bass resonance around 80hz, then rapid fall-off with a very vague EBS-like alignment, almost looks like a poorly implemented transmission line. Maybe too small of a box for the driver's T/S parameters?
- Distortion is nothing to write home about either.
- Very low sensitivity, a bit above 81dB/2.83V.

Probably a high school project monetised by daddy.

Not even close to the published specs either. It’s a joke that companies can get away with that. Chesky claims 50Hz bass (no limits given) and 86dB sensitivity.

 

[digitalfrost]

Just scroll down here and read the reviews:

https://www.cheskyaudio.com/pages/reviews

"For under $1,000, the LC1 deliver wonderful articulation and definition, natural sounding timbre, solid imaging, and affordability in a compact and attractive design."

"Not “good for the money” or “good for their size,” but terrific, period."
"They delivered some of the best sound at the show."
"Surprising room-filling bass, exceptional imaging and soundstage capability, and a natural tonal balance."

"The first word I’d use to describe the LC1s is “natural.” Drums sound like drums; piano sounds like a piano; violins sound like violins and voices sound like actual human voices."

"With familiar Reference Recordings material, the spatial presentation bordered on immersive when listening in the nearfield."

Chesky Audio

The buzz was palpable weeks before I hit the show. David Chesky’s son, Lucca, had designed a pair of small bookshelf speakers—the LC1—while still in high school and developed the speakers while interning at Princeton University with Professor Edgar Choueiri, the brains behind Bacch SP. Sandy...

www.stereophile.com

The small speakers blew out a massive soundfield that was rich, dynamic, punchy, and very well layered.

 

[dfuller]

Probably a high school project monetised by daddy.

Not even close to the published specs either. It’s a joke that companies can get away with that. Chesky claims 50Hz bass (no limits given) and 86dB sensitivity.

I mean, technically - 50hz F10 isn't completely wrong...

 

[Karmacoma]

Just scroll down here and read the reviews:

https://www.cheskyaudio.com/pages/reviews

"For under $1,000, the LC1 deliver wonderful articulation and definition, natural sounding timbre, solid imaging, and affordability in a compact and attractive design."

"Not “good for the money” or “good for their size,” but terrific, period."
"They delivered some of the best sound at the show."
"Surprising room-filling bass, exceptional imaging and soundstage capability, and a natural tonal balance."

"The first word I’d use to describe the LC1s is “natural.” Drums sound like drums; piano sounds like a piano; violins sound like violins and voices sound like actual human voices."

"With familiar Reference Recordings material, the spatial presentation bordered on immersive when listening in the nearfield."

Chesky Audio

The buzz was palpable weeks before I hit the show. David Chesky’s son, Lucca, had designed a pair of small bookshelf speakers—the LC1—while still in high school and developed the speakers while interning at Princeton University with Professor Edgar Choueiri, the brains behind Bacch SP. Sandy...

www.stereophile.com

The small speakers blew out a massive soundfield that was rich, dynamic, punchy, and very well layered.

You forgot the superlative part: "these were the greatest-value small speakers at CAF 2024"
*Sighs*

 

[Matt_Holland]

I mean, technically - 50hz F10 isn't completely wrong...

Yes, lol!
50Hz definitely possible with corner loading and tail wind.

 

[markstein]

Strategically very - interesting - to praise the greateness of a product which is objectively not great at all.
This shows how untrustworthy Cheskies marketing claims are. Sad, but - lesson learned.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Strategically very - interesting - to praise the greateness of a product which is objectively not great at all.
This shows how untrustworthy Cheskies marketing claims are. Sad, but - lesson learned.

It shows how completely full of sh*t the hifi press are.

 

[jcarys]

I'm going to go out on a limb and comment before I watch the video. I listened to these twice at Axpona and they sounded very impressive. If I needed more speakers, I would have bought a pair for $1K.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Perhaps the Chesky Audio LC1 is meant for users who are restricted to the 'sound quality' of streaming versus downloads.....

David Chesky on Streaming Convenience vs Sound Quality

Received a newsletter from "The Audiophile Society" today. David Chesky on Streaming Convenience vs Sound Quality Now I have to unsubscribe after reading so much nonsense... WHY DOWNLOADS ARE BETTER THAN STREAMINGS The Audiophile's Dilemma: Streaming Convenience or Sound...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Puddingbuks]

You forgot the superlative part: "these were the greatest-value small speakers at CAF 2024"
*Sighs*

“They punch above their weight.”

“A massive upgrade from the previous version.”

“Compares favorably against competitors costing twice as much.”

 

[Karmacoma]

It shows how completely full of sh*t the hifi press are.

it shows how useless their subjective opinions are to the potential buyers, but if you mean they're lying or dishonest it's an accusation i wouldn't do, we have to apply the principle of charity here which implies to not explain someone's behaviour with dishonesty if you can explain it with incompetence or stupidity.
Not to mention maybe the room was treated well and they were using DSP. So maybe they even did sound great, but their advice isn't worth sh*t really indeed.
By the way I'd also underline the fact that Chesky sent a speaker to test, a leap of faith worth respect imho. Now faith vs reality we know how it ends.

 

[amirm]

So many speakers sound "good" at shows regardless of how good they really are. With the right recordings, a lot can be done on that front.

 

[dfuller]

Did some quick-and-dirty modeling with the (suspected) woofer and passive radiators used here... The bass response is pretty much entirely down to the box being way too small for the driver parameters. It's ~10L internal volume.


For maximal linearity, using these PRs and this woofer, you're looking at ~32-33L internal volume (which still isn't great, mind...).

 

[digitalfrost]

How did figure which drivers are used? Care to share the models?

 

[dfuller]

How did figure which drivers are used? Care to share the models?

Well, the Dayton DSA215-PR is shown in-video; the GRS 6PR-8 is an educated guess.

 

[digitalfrost]

You are spot-on.

GRS 6PR-8 Tiefmitteltöner kaufen

Bestellen Sie den 6PR-8 online bei SoundImports ✓ Versand am selben Tag ✓ Niedrige Versandkosten

www.soundimports.eu

So we have a driver that is 15$ in the DIY market and probably cheaper if you buy it in mass as a manufacturer.