GR Research LGK 2.0 Speaker Review (A Joke)

[Newman]

More! Lots of small drivers in each speaker. View attachment 214865

It would be cheaper to move to a house with lower ceilings!!

 

[AudioKC]

It's teeny weeny little drivers put into a oversized cabinet with a high price tag attached for R&D and knowledge. I would not pay more than ~150.00 for the kit. I see the kit as being a nice project for a father/mother and daughter/son project. To ask that ~$1013 for the finished speakers is shameful and gouging. I thought I had seen it all but this is a new one.

I see what you saying. Just looked at my some what expensive IEMs and started thinking about size - price relation....

 

[amirm]

Should that small speaker play louder than 80dB? 80dB for table setup is quite unbearable for longer than 1 song IMO. But it might help Danny customers if he says that explicitly that "do not drive it louder than 80-83dB", which is fine level for me for example.

How do you know the SPL? You ran a spectrum analyzer and measured the bass peaks in addition to mid-tones? You didn't, right?

He has post measurements of the driver at 1 meter at 85 dB. Is that fake and not recommended then? That you pump no more than one watt into the speaker? If so, that needs to be front and center. This speaker is marketed as a giant killer no less. If all it takes is one watt, let's say that and then I would not even bother spending $500 on the kit.

 

[AudioKC]

How do you know the SPL? You ran a spectrum analyzer and measured the bass peaks in addition to mid-tones? You didn't, right?

Well, in just regular day to day usage, yes, it's difficult, you just increased volume to enjoy music and there is distortion, agreed.

In my desktop setup, quite often (not daily, a couple times per week) I use not very reliable but still compatible measurements, my Apple Watch 6 with "loudness" measurements. And I found that I drive speakers (about 1 meeter distance) 76-78 dB, rarely go up to 82...

Yes, product should perform in much wide loudness range to satisfy customers, that for sure. I'm not expert to label anything here. But from my point of view, product seems "broken" as well.

 

[amirm]

In my desktop setup, quite often (not daily, a couple times per week) I use not very reliable but still compatible measurements, my Apple Watch 6 with "loudness" measurements. And I found that I drive speakers (about 1 meeter distance) 76-78 dB, rarely go up to 82...

And that was the measurement of SPL in my sample in the video when distortion is obvious. Well below it I still hear the distortion. This is why I say this speaker is simply not usable.

 

[dfuller]

The problem of course is that bass requires more SPL per phon, so the speaker runs out of steam - and quick - when there's any amount below, oh, 200Hz.

 

[YSC]

The problem of course is that bass requires more SPL per phon, so the speaker runs out of steam - and quick - when there's any amount below, oh, 200Hz.

Actually price and promotion target is the key. Fostex pm 0.3 comes to my mind often when friends just want ok sound in really tight space and budget I keep recommending them this. The tiny speaker with a 3” woofer is a bit less on axis flat than the LGK but hey, they are never promoted as giant killer either, just a good enough cheap speaker that didn’t break

 

[vurbano]

Even if it were terriffic, no 3" speaker warrants over $1000 dollars. Danny should have known that this tiny driver couldnt be pushed very hard. And yet he wants a grand for it? He criticizes using it hooked up to a computer. WHat the heck else are you going to use it for? Its a waste of space IMO.

 

[YSC]

WHat the heck else are you going to use it for? Its a waste of space IMO.

Errr.. To throw at some giants and do what its name suggests?

 

[vurbano]

Errr.. To throw at some giants and do what its name suggests?

I can do that with a rock for free. Seems that worked for someone way back when.

 

[tomtoo]

Even if it were terriffic, no 3" speaker warrants over $1000 dollars. Danny should have known that this tiny driver couldnt be pushed very hard. And yet he wants a grand for it? He criticizes using it hooked up to a computer. WHat the heck else are you going to use it for? Its a waste of space IMO.

Sure imagine them hooked to a computer.

1) Throw out all the passive filter shit.
2) Eq them and high pass them

You end up with a 3inch in a good case.

But now all the expensive parts are gone.All the magic is away. Bad for the bussines.

 

[mhardy6647]

As it says in Ecclesiastes

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

From 1965 (i.e., 57 years ago):

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics-Illustrated/Electronics-Illustrated-1965-11.pdf

I actually have a (mismatched) pair of these, found piecemeal at the good ol' Harvard (MA) town dump.


(here's one of them, partially deconstructed)

A slightly updated version of the driver (Radio Shack 40-1197/Fostex FE-103) is still available from the nice folks at Fostex, too.

On the other hand, I cannot comment on the viability of the particle accelerator project in 2022.

 

[Spkrdctr]

I miss the good old days of building nuclear weapons and particle accelerators in the back yard. Those old magazines always had the funniest build ideas. But it was the clickbait of the day. It worked too! I bought some of them........ But, I was more into explosives as a youngster so I built a backyard mortar. It shot golf balls with a cherry bomb propellent charge. Used a swing set leg as the tube with one end buried in the ground. Luckily, I did not blow myself up being very young and very stupid! It is amazing what we live through when young and dumb.

 

[antcollinet]

I miss the good old days of building nuclear weapons and particle accelerators in the back yard. Those old magazines always had the funniest build ideas. But it was the clickbait of the day. It worked too! I bought some of them........ But, I was more into explosives as a youngster so I built a backyard mortar. It shot golf balls with a cherry bomb propellent charge. Used a swing set leg as the tube with one end buried in the ground. Luckily, I did not blow myself up being very young and very stupid! It is amazing what we live through when young and dumb.

Once, with a friend who lived on a farm, tried to trigger a 12 bore shotgun shell inserted into a length of copper pipe with a hammer and nail. Fortunately we did not succeed (mainly from trying to do it at a distance). Much shrapnel would have resulted.

We also towed each other around in the snow on a sled, using a tractor. It is amazing how young boys survive the first 25 years or so needed to become a functional adult.

 

[puppet]

Funny story about myself and my younger bro when we were around 7yrs old. My bro was fascinated with all things potentially dangerous .. electricity, gun powder, etc. For a couple years after the 4th of July we'd go around the neighborhood and scavenge all of the "dud" fire crackers, M80's, Cherry bombs we could find.

One year my bro thought he could load it all into a toilet paper tube and make something great. He hand tied many short fuses into a length he thought was safe to work with .. attached it to the full tube and off we went to try that bad boy out. In the alley behind the house he laid it near a phone pole. Every time he lit the fuse it would go out at a knot. Shorter and shorter till even I was reluctant to continue ... but not Dave. I was some distance away at this point and he lit the last section. All I saw was a huge flash and giant cloud of smoke were my bro was. The smoke cleared away and I swear he was in the same position as he was when he lit the fuse ... but all the hair on his face, legs was singed off. Good thing he was wearing his glasses. ... and good thing the tube he fabricated wasn't airtight. Took a while but we both had a good laugh afterward .... I've never got that image out of my head, the hairless summer, all these years later.

 

[kokakolia]

Even if it were terriffic, no 3" speaker warrants over $1000 dollars. Danny should have known that this tiny driver couldnt be pushed very hard. And yet he wants a grand for it? He criticizes using it hooked up to a computer. WHat the heck else are you going to use it for? Its a waste of space IMO.

What about a 4" speaker? Where do you draw the line and why is 3" so problematic but not 4"? What is the minimum size for a fullrange speaker cone? Does a subwoofer fix the volume and excursion problem? If so, then where's the problem?

My OGY speakers sound terrific and they're 4". They easily fill a 30m^2 room with sound and even have better bass than Klipsch RP600M speakers. Heck, I was worried that the OGYs would lack bass so I bought a REL T5x subwoofer. The subwoofer is still in the box. Perhaps the 1/4 wave transmission line helps a lot with bass? But I digress.

I'm guessing that you're gonna tell me that any small fullrange driver is hot garbage and you'd be stupid for even considering one. Just do a 2 way crossover with a tweeter and a woofer like everyone else.

The bottom line is that I can easily get my OGYs to "disappear". I'm very content with my purchase. Perhaps you can get a similar experience with the LGK in near field at moderate volumes. Add a subwoofer if you already have one. But I'll never know. I'll never have the opportunity to experience the LGK for myself.

 

[YSC]

What about a 4" speaker? Where do you draw the line and why is 3" so problematic but not 4"? What is the minimum size for a fullrange speaker cone? Does a subwoofer fix the volume and excursion problem? If so, then where's the problem?

My OGY speakers sound terrific and they're 4". They easily fill a 30m^2 room with sound and even have better bass than Klipsch RP600M speakers. Heck, I was worried that the OGYs would lack bass so I bought a REL T5x subwoofer. The subwoofer is still in the box. Perhaps the 1/4 wave transmission line helps a lot with bass? But I digress.

I'm guessing that you're gonna tell me that any small fullrange driver is hot garbage and you'd be stupid for even considering one. Just do a 2 way crossover with a tweeter and a woofer like everyone else.

The bottom line is that I can easily get my OGYs to "disappear". I'm very content with my purchase. Perhaps you can get a similar experience with the LGK in near field at moderate volumes. Add a subwoofer if you already have one. But I'll never know. I'll never have the opportunity to experience the LGK for myself.

everything is a compromise, but a full range driver usually comprise more than others, thing is don't go for the "O, they sound wonderful" regardless of actual SPL or FR bass roll off, LGK having a sharp drop below 200hz, no close up level could save that, extreme distortion at higher SPL could be mitigated with nearfield desktop usage though.

and for experience is kind of useless, the best thing you can afford/ try normally would sound wonderful in your space no matter what, back in the days an entry level Altec Lansing 5.1 with like 1" satellite drivers paired with a small 5" sub in desktop computer sounded wonderful, until I get the KEF X300A which can do some bass, then the altec just sounded crap, and then when I got the genelec, the KEF magic just gone

 

[kokakolia]

everything is a compromise, but a full range driver usually comprise more than others, thing is don't go for the "O, they sound wonderful" regardless of actual SPL or FR bass roll off, LGK having a sharp drop below 200hz, no close up level could save that, extreme distortion at higher SPL could be mitigated with nearfield desktop usage though.

and for experience is kind of useless, the best thing you can afford/ try normally would sound wonderful in your space no matter what, back in the days an entry level Altec Lansing 5.1 with like 1" satellite drivers paired with a small 5" sub in desktop computer sounded wonderful, until I get the KEF X300A which can do some bass, then the altec just sounded crap, and then when I got the genelec, the KEF magic just gone

So you're talking about $1000 active speakers? Forget about the Altec Lansing 5.1

I lift several points:

- "LGK may sound ok in near field"
- "LGK sharp drop below 200hz" <= Add a sub then
- "Experience is useless but I tried several speakers and preferred the Genelec"

It's like the LGK are deemed hot garbage here and have 0 qualities because "they distort at high SPL". Fullrange drivers have undeniable qualities. But if you only look at frequency response and high SPL you'll never get the appeal. Getting rid of the crossover has benefits. You gain efficiency. You avoid phase issues between mutliple drivers. You get a point source.

 

[tomtoo]

So you're talking about $1000 active speakers? Forget about the Altec Lansing 5.1

I lift several points:

- "LGK may sound ok in near field"
- "LGK sharp drop below 200hz" <= Add a sub then
- "Experience is useless but I tried several speakers and preferred the Genelec"

It's like the LGK are deemed hot garbage here and have 0 qualities because "they distort at high SPL". Fullrange drivers have undeniable qualities. But if you only look at frequency response and high SPL you'll never get the appeal. Getting rid of the crossover has benefits. You gain efficiency. You avoid phase issues between mutliple drivers. You get a point source.

No they are demed couse you can get a pair of neumann kh80dsp for the same price. And they kickem in every aspect behinde Pluto.

 

[voodooless]

It's like the LGK are deemed hot garbage here and have 0 qualities because "they distort at high SPL".

Eh, no! The problem is that they distort at low SPL already, so much so that it’s immediately obvious. These things need subs, crossed at least at 150 Hz to mitigate the problems.

Fullrange drivers have undeniable qualities.

Fullrange drivers also have undeniable flaws. Pick you battles