Superb clarity on the high end. If being used for just as bookshelf speakers, there is absolutely no flaws. Also great for just 'satellite' speakers for a home theatre system. You may pick up some things you didn't previously.

Bass. If you're looking to feel the bump at high volumes, this is the only limitiation to these speakers, but then again, this is not the intention of economy bookshelf speakers. The problem can be remedied slightly by taping or corking the port holes but it's not a cure-all.

I've had the original (LX5...not the LX5II or offshoots) speakers since 1996 or 1997 and they *still* are my choice of speakers. The funny thing is that I have them sitting on unconnected stereo speakers (200-watt) and a few people think that the stereo cabinet speakers are the ones running!
The tweeters are in a class by themselves when it comes to 'economy' bookshelf speakers. After all these years they are still the best.
The midrange and low ffrequency output is sufficable. Not the greatest. But definitely not horrible. All but the most hardcore audiophiles will be impressed. Nonetheless, those audiophiles will be shopping elsewhere other than Radioshack to begin with.
Summarily, the top of its class if you want to squeeze out major performance for those with limited budgets.

UNBELIEVABLE with the Van Wormer mods

Nothing below 80Hz or so, use a good sub

I am sitting here listening to a pair of STUPENDOUS mini monitors that began life as Optimus LX5 Pros (first edition) and are now modded via the "Larry Van Wormer" CALSOD crossover using the SEAS MP14 RCY/P woofer with phase plug in place of the stock junky woofer. (you will find this mod on the web easily if you search for "Van Wormer LX5 mod) So, you may ask, (I DID!!) WHY should you spend $75 in parts, including Solen caps, Perfect Lay coils, Mills resistors, Dynamat damping, etc., on a $75 Rat Shack speaker? Here's why: This tweeter when given a PROPERLY DESIGNED crossover and mated with a GOOD woofer of proper spec for this little cabinet, makes a GREAT mini monitor. OK, OK, but $150/pair in upgrade parts you say? Well let me tell you, I placed each of these on an NHT 1259 sub for everything below 120hz and bi-wired them up to my modded Hafler DH220 and they SING!!!! Are they as good as my Dynaudio Gemini - no. BUT they are basically NOT that much worse! I don't think you can do better for the money than to scrounge a pair of these up on eBay, grit your teeth and warm up the soldering iron and build these. I mean they are not a little better when modded, they become GIANT KILLERS! Van Wormer obviously spent a lot of time on CALSOD figuring out this crossover, and it shows. I am thinking of taking them over to Harvey's and leaving the grills on (so they won't see the different woofers) and A:B'ing them against some B&W minis. I KNOW these as modded would likely kick the B&W's a--. The top end is still a little hot: I am going to fabricate a felt pad for the Linaeum tweeters to rest upon - currently I added Dynamat under them, but I think they still need a softer surface mount. I also used silver solder and silver wire internally. WOW!

Similar Products Used:

None, mostly use higher end (Dynaudio, Morel, etc)

Richer and warmer than the RCA XTS-60AV (old optimus-10)they replaced.

Despite all the commentary here, these new models (this is the LX-550) have terribly muddied highs.

After reading all of the reviews here, I was really looking forward to trying these. For my listening style, the highs and mids are more important than bass response and my setup has an SW100P sub anyway. I had started with the Optimus xts-10 (actually the new RCA XTS-60AV) and was pretty happy with the setup. There was no question that it was thin in the upper bass region but the highs were clear, if a bit harsh. I read about these LX-5s and decided that the highs had to be at least as good and that there ought to be more richness to the lows. Since I was still inside my 30 day purchase window with Radio Shack, I decided to try these as possible replacements for the xts-10s.

I compared them side by side - turned off all surround, just direct feeds to front left and right from my Onkyo 595 and compared A and B over and over. The results were surprising and disappointing. The LX-550 were definitely richer in the bass and mids, but the clarity of the highs was gone. They sounded muted and muddy.

I reread these reviews and tried taping over the ports first with damping material stuffed in and finally with an airtight seal. Each of these efforts improved things, but not enough.

The biggest change in this year's model is the new Kevlar honeycomb woofer. I'm an amateur, but my guess is that it's just a mismatch with the linaeum tweeter that everyone raves about or that the crossovers are badly designed and the the tweeter is being drowned out or underutilized.

They don't sound bad mind you - my wife prefers them over the xts-10s - just not good enough to keep. I've taken the plunge into the next step up and ordered a pair of Axiom M3s - I like these 30 day in-home trials.

Similar Products Used:

Optimus 10

Tweeter, midrange

bass, not exotic or pretty

Excellent value, great depth and dispersion. Demands a subwoofer. Competed with a 4.0 and lost in depth and bass. The 6.9 blew it out of the water, best damn speaker I ever heard. But for 150/pair the optimus speakers are an excellent bargain.

Similar Products Used:

norh 4.0, 6.9

great bang for the buck, outstanding highs, great surround speaker

see previous review

plugged up the holes in the speakers. REally made the speakers more accurate, and more vocal. Plug up the speakers holes with some cork, it makes a difference

Similar Products Used:

NHT Superzeros

Tweeter is awesome. Cabinets are metal. Gold terminals.

Mix with subwoofer - they were meant to be married with a sub.

Hi there. I got 1997 Pro LX5's. They have the metal mesh dust covers over the tweets. I think metal mesh covers are far better than the cloth. I believe the manufacturer made a mistake changing these covers when they should have been plugging port holes. I recently plugged my port holes (simply with good tape - easy to remove) and I can't believe the clean excellent sound I'm hearing. I had bought them mainly for movie surround accepting the loss on the music end. I no longer have this sacrifice. They easily rival much more expensive speakers. When I plugged the holes the sound became softer allowing me to turn up and mix the powered sub (Radio Shack SW-200P with remote volume control)more effectively. I now have to turn up the sub and receiver volumes for more sound - which is good because when an effect comes through the speakers it requires a good punch - and having the amps turned up certainly does the job. Now our listening area is filled with clean sound and good punch - noise is gone and that too loud sound is gone. P.S. I did not plug the holes in the center speaker (Radio Shack CS-5) as it becomes to quiet for movies.PLUG THOSE HOLES AND ENJOY. Note to Radio Shack and the manufacture: Redesign the cabinets to fully enclosed and bring back the metal mesh and advertise a sub combo and you won't go wrong. Anybody seen the 2002 model? Boy, did they ugly them up!

Similar Products Used:

Home built Radio Shack speakers. Listen to systems of my friends and family. I'm particular about good sound.

Tweeter: Nice imaging and clarity, creates a nice, wide sound field.
Price: Cheap.

Woofer: Little bass output(requires subwoofer), midrange is somewhat muddy and unclear.

I've been using these speakers for almost 4 years now, and I am still happy with the sound that they put out. I have them running on my Kenwood receiver with an Optimus 120w 10" powered subwoofer, and together they make a nice sound. Today I read some of the reviews which suggested plugging the air ports, so I did. I must agree, the sound is much better once the ports are plugged. The midrange and bass have improved greatly. If you have a pair of these speakers and don't mind sacrificing loudness for clearer midrange sound, I suggest you do the same. You will definitely be satisfied.

I have owned a pair of the speakers for over a year and find them quite astounding. I paired them with a Hsu 12v subwoofer, I didn't expect bass from a 5 inch mid-woofer, but who would? I am quite thrilled with the clarity and imaging these little wonders are capable of producing. In my opinion if you don't like them then don't buy them. I give them 3 speakers without the sub, and 5 with it.

I've been involved in designing audio systems for audiophiles and people who seek quality audio for over 20 years. I have listened to numerous $100,000.00 setups. What impresses the most about esoteric audio are the components who perform above their cost. I own two pairs of these speakers and I would probably own three pairs if my wife would let me. But considering that I have seven pairs of other speakers, my wife feels that this is adequate. These speakers are well worth the sale price of $150.00 per pair. If you have a little more money to spend, certainly audition the B&W, NHT, Paradigm, Celestion, Tannoy, PSB, Mission, Mordant Short etc.

Highs:Clear bright and detailed sounding mini speakers. Article and detailed.Lows:Absolutely no low end. Poor resonance. No timbre. Have to be combined with a serious sub-woofer to be considered as a full range system.

W/o a sub: Great for center channel and rear speakers in a home theatre set-up.
With a "powered" sub: Excellent budget system.

Overall rating: Three and a half stars out of five.