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GR Research LGK 2.0 Speaker Review (A Joke)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 367 87.8%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 35 8.4%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 7 1.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 9 2.2%

  • Total voters
    418

ooheadsoo

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That was a strictly rhetorical question! Just making a point, anyone who wants a pair of speakers that rely upon a small full-range driver can explore the fabulous world of desktop computer speakers.

Based on what I have seen, possibly even a pair of Bose Companion 2 Series III ($150) would “kill” the LGKs. I'd love to see someone do a YT video of a blind test.
I recently bought a pair of the Bose used for much much less than msrp, and I think it actually sounds quite nice after EQ with MMM. Before EQ... Not so much.
 

Paul Serat

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While this is a great review by Amir, and a great service to the society, I don't think anything will change sustainably, sadly. He will either ignore this, or dismiss the results as inaccurate/the methodologies are faulty/we can hear things that are not in measurements etc., and hist followers/believers will believe what he said.

Sometimes it's sad to be reminded about the world we live in, but well,
(to delta 76) : The fact that you see behind visible marketing strategies, will probably complexifiy your choice of newer equipment, but insure that you will get the quality you pay for, instead of following the always “best choice” of many so-called “reviewers”; your ears and logic mind will guide you better, I think. Amir does a great job at demonstrating what is, and what is not.
While this is a great review by Amir, and a great service to the society, I don't think anything will change sustainably, sadly. He will either ignore this, or dismiss the results as inaccurate/the methodologies are faulty/we can hear things that are not in measurements etc., and hist followers/believers will believe what he said.

Sometimes it's sad to be reminded about the world we live in, but well,

While this is a great review by Amir, and a great service to the society, I don't think anything will change sustainably, sadly. He will either ignore this, or dismiss the results as inaccurate/the methodologies are faulty/we can hear things that are not in measurements etc., and hist followers/believers will believe what he said.

Sometimes it's sad to be reminded about the world we live in, but well,
 

dsnyder0cnn

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I purchased the LGK 2.0 kit with flatpack months before Amir reviewed these speakers. A kind (and talented) friend offered to complete the build for me, including finishing the cabinets in a natural walnut veneer. Here's a photo of the cabinets just after the second coat of polyurethane:

LGK 2.0 - two coats - edit.jpg


I will use these as nearfield monitors for my work setup. I purchased IsoAcoustics ISO-130 stands to get them to the correct height and point the drivers at my ears. The stands are great for this application because they have a couple of different height options and five different tilt angles to choose from:

20220820_213848-01.jpeg


I've positioned them in the nearfield...I can easily touch each cabinet with the tips of my fingers. Speakers are 38 - 40% of the way into my 11 ft 7 in x 11 ft 11 in room. My head is less than 2 ft from the wall behind me, which does a nice job of reinforcing the lows. I'm using the Topping E50 + L50 + PA5 "stack." Headphones are the HiFiMan HE400se. It's nice to have independent volume controls for headphones and speakers. :cool:

PSX_20220821_081236-01.jpeg


I've hung a green screen on the wall behind me, which works well for adding virtual backgrounds on Zoom calls.

PSX_20220821_131354-01.jpeg


I realize that the value proposition of the LGK 2.0 relative to alternatives is head-scratching, especially if one opts for the $1,038 finished version instead of the (at the time of purchase) $413 kit option that I selected. But using speakers that a dear friend put a lot of time into building for me is meaningful beyond their cost and relative value.

I've found the sound quality to be more than enjoyable...certainly a dramatic upgrade from the $350 IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors they replaced. Soundstage depth would be better if I didn't have that 27-inch 4k display sitting between them, but I need that for work, so it must stay. Vocal clarity is delightful. Dynamics are surprisingly good for a 3-inch wideband driver.

For my average playback levels of ~75 dB (C-weighted, slow integration), I'm unable to detect any hints of distortion or buzzing. The drivers are nowhere near the 1 mm excursion limit for the music I typically play. They may struggle with EDM or hip-hop as there's little output below 100 Hz. Not sure, but for my intended purpose, they are consistently putting a big smile on my face. They look beautiful too!

At some point, I may add a small subwoofer, but I could live with the sound I've been getting from these for a long time without one.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Amir's review or measurements. The numbers don't lie. I was a bit worried about how these would actually sound when I read what he had to say, but now that I have them (just arrived last week), I have no regrets. I'm also not suggesting that everyone should rush out and buy these, but if your application is similar to mine, I would not completely rule them out based on Amir's review.
 

Joppe Peelen

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i think you made a mistake here:

index.php


you say it should be below 50 dB, but you lowered that treshold by 4 dB in the 90 dB measurement. the opposite of what you would do normally. or at least keep ik at 50 dB ? so now you created more distortion then actauly is there. (you demand now the speaker does lower distortion while paling louder.... thats never gone happen with any speaker.) by the presentation ? either 4 or 8 dB not sure if you want it to be below 50 when using 90 dB. if so you scewed this result by 4 dB... else 8dB, maybe does not matter all that much but... at least its incorrect and 4 db is something in distortion
 
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Everett T

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i think you made a mistake here:

index.php


you say it should be below 50 dB, but you lowered that treshold by 4 dB in the 90 dB measurement. the opposite of what you would do normally. or at least keep ik at 50 dB ? so now you created more distortion then actauly is there. by the presentation ? either 4 or 8 dB not sure if you want it to be below 50 when using 90 dB. if so you scewed this result by 4 dB... else 8dB, maybe does not matter all that much but... at least its incorrect and 4 db is something in distortion
How? The measurement is the same regardless where the line was "drawn".
 

Joppe Peelen

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How? The measurement is the same regardless where the line was "drawn".
? no its not if you state 50 dB and draw the line left to right.. but change the scale... it is not . the right one has a different scale... the 50 db point (red line)end up at 46

only if you do not use that line and look at the scale.. but thats not what i get from the video

here:
 
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Everett T

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The test was run at 90db, which he stated wasn't the normal 96db. The minus 50db is still minus 50db, regardless of the line. You still see where the distortion lay regardless of any line. Move the graph to make the 50db point line up changes the look not the distortion. It can be confusing if you're just looking at the line and not the actual level.
 

Joppe Peelen

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The test was run at 90db, which he stated wasn't the normal 96db. The minus 50db is still minus 50db, regardless of the line. You still see where the distortion lay regardless of any line. Move the graph to make the 50db point line up changes the look not the distortion. It can be confusing if you're just looking at the line and not the actual level.
thats not how it is presented. watch that piece i posted. yes its high yes i would not want one... but there it is mispresented. distortion will be higher, there is no system that shows lower distortion at a higher volume that i know off. keeping the line the same... but actually 4dB lower is misleading. no offence. but thats what it is
 
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dsnyder0cnn

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I sometimes drive mine pretty hard (relative to their intended application), but I've never heard "crackling" noises from them.


I'll drag a mic out at some point and measure them in-room to see how they are doing, but no complaints from me so far.
 

Robbo99999

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i think you made a mistake here:

index.php


you say it should be below 50 dB, but you lowered that treshold by 4 dB in the 90 dB measurement. the opposite of what you would do normally. or at least keep ik at 50 dB ? so now you created more distortion then actauly is there. (you demand now the speaker does lower distortion while paling louder.... thats never gone happen with any speaker.) by the presentation ? either 4 or 8 dB not sure if you want it to be below 50 when using 90 dB. if so you scewed this result by 4 dB... else 8dB, maybe does not matter all that much but... at least its incorrect and 4 db is something in distortion
Yep, the red line is in the wrong place on the 90dB graph. It doesn't change the shown distortion of course, but it makes it look worse on the 90dB graph, not that it would really look all that much better if the red line was raised up to 50dB!
 

DanielT

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It is very simple, if you have the GR Research LGK 2.0 then just add subwoofer AND then LP AND HP filter between sub and the GR Research LGK 2.0.

For those who do not want to deal with DSP, I can recommend this, for the filter part:


Very similar to this:


In any case. If you use it as a crossover sub-speaker, you won't hear any noise or distortion from the active crossover itself.:)

Edit:
Running those little LGK 2.0 above at least 100 Hz will probably do wonders for the sound. Actually two bass modules in stereo, crossover setting maybe 300-500 Hz... but then it all starts to become a bit too much speaker construction (that you should act as a loudspeaker designer yourself)....Then you might as well add a tweeters...Then you might as well ....do a DIY three-way speaker. These compromises and considerations.:)

Sub - LGK 2.0 with sensible HP-LP filter. You get a long way with that in terms of sound then, as far as it makes sense without making a fuss about it.:)
 
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Joppe Peelen

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Yep, the red line is in the wrong place on the 90dB graph. It doesn't change the shown distortion of course, but it makes it look worse on the 90dB graph, not that it would really look all that much better if the red line was raised up to 50dB!
true but its not ideal... if you want to show how bad it is. with the line distortion gets 4dB worse. then it should and at the same time seeing how high distortion already is ofcourse its gone be worse at 90... but now it looks even worse. its just a mistake. just weanted to add that to the conversation. since it is not mentioned anywhere either.

besides that any speaker would have more distortion when you play thgem 4 db louder. so a fault of 4 db is rather massive
 

TrevC

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I sometimes drive mine pretty hard (relative to their intended application), but I've never heard "crackling" noises from them.


I'll drag a mic out at some point and measure them in-room to see how they are doing, but no complaints from me so far.
What do they sound like if you play actual music through them?
 

Rick Sykora

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I sometimes drive mine pretty hard (relative to their intended application), but I've never heard "crackling" noises from them.


I'll drag a mic out at some point and measure them in-room to see how they are doing, but no complaints from me so far.

This video is more a reflection of your choice in music than whether this little driver can be bottomed. Anything with some significant low bass is going to cause an over excursion. Not encouraging you to push it as you could damage it, but it really needs a high pass filter to protect it properly.

Before I sent Directiva r1 to Amir, he sent me some of his test tracks. The bass torture ones could readily cause the Purifi woofer to bottom out. If you encounter, it is not pleasant, so you will know when it happens. Otherwise, if you do not listen to music with low bass, enjoy your speakers.
 

dsnyder0cnn

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This video is more a reflection of your choice in music than whether this little driver can be bottomed. Anything with some significant low bass is going to cause an over excursion. Not encouraging you to push it as you could damage it, but it really needs a high pass filter to protect it properly.

Before I sent Directiva r1 to Amir, he sent me some of his test tracks. The bass torture ones could readily cause the Purifi woofer to bottom out. If you encounter, it is not pleasant, so you will know when it happens. Otherwise, if you do not listen to music with low bass, enjoy your speakers.
Haha. Fair. However, the Infected Mushrooms track I played in the video has plenty of low bass. Of course, the little driver was not able to translate much of that into acoustic energy, and what it could do probably was not picked up by the mic in my phone. My point in posting was just to show that this little speaker is not the total disaster that this thread has made it out to be…although perhaps there is some variation from one build to the next.

When playing more approachable music (eg., acoustic jazz, vocal, folk, pop), they sound great to me. Nice soundstage. Startling detail at times. Precious little output below 80 Hz but enough to hint at what's there. I do plan to eventually high-pass and add a sub, but my use case is 75% Zoom calls at the moment. For that, they are massive overkill. :)
 
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