I hooked a pair of these to my DSS system via a Dynaco PAT-5 pre-amp and a 100w/channel Radio Shack amplifier. After listening to the LX5's for two days I decided that they were not for me. The only good sound came from the Lineaum tweeter. Other than that, bass was non-existent and the mid-range was very muddy and boomy. After I returned the LX5,s I bought a pair of NHT SuperOnes and I am pleased with these. The LX5's do make a sound so I will give them one star.

I have to admit... I tend to follow "expert" audio reviews as if they came directly from the mouth of God (anything's better than taking some greasy commissioned sales punk's line of B.S. as the truth) - and I did so with the purchase of my pair of Pro LX5s.
Their unique dipole tweeters sound unrestrained and quite natural to my ears, although I believe the mid-bass (there is no true bass produced from these bookselfs, for they start rolling off below 200 Hz) reveals that these are truely little speakers. I have never been much of a fan for satelite or bookshelf monitors as main speakers anyway. I plan on relocating my LX5s for rear-channel use when I get the needed fundage for larger mains.

...I just read a review on the new "top of the line" Optimus speakers for home theater use. If I am correct, they are called LX10's and each boast dual 7" drivers and the top dipole mounted tweeter. The review rated them quite highly and someone with that much expertice can't possibily be wrong...

There I go again!

This is without a doubt one of the greatest bargains in HT surround speakers. The dipoler design provides a huge sound field, insuring that all your listeners will be able to experience the "sweet spot". I auditioned other surround speakers, some direct radiating; others, like the Cambridge Soundworks Surround and Surround II, which were dipolar. The LX5 blew them away, and at a fraction of the cost. They list for $150 each. On sale, you can get them for $150 for the pair. If you love HT, but don't have the budget for a ridiculous set of THX approved speakers. Get these. NOTE: These speakers are NOT suitable for wall mounting, and don't have a mounting bracket for stands.

I just purhased a pair of Pro LX5IIs for $150.00. These speakers are truly amazing for the price and size. Very rich, natural sounding, never bright or shrill. I couldn't find better sounding speakers at this price. On sale now at Radio Shack.

Foot note: these speakers are getting a much needed up-graded 5" woofer, similar to the woofers in the actual Linaeum Speaker line. Also; the very same tweeter is available by itself as a add-on module, complete in its bulit-in housing, for an astonishing $29.95! If you're a DIY'er, you WILL NOT find a better tweeter for this price anywhere, unless you ripp it off!!!

I bought the LX5's for my Yamaha DSP-A1's two front effect channels and was pleasantly surprised how well they sounded connected as my main channels with left and right subs to fill in the lows via the DSP-A1's left/right LFE channels.
My brother brought over his ACI Sapphire II's to compare to my B&W M602 and
M603s and was comparing them when I came into the room. I said "That sounds pretty good. Which ones are playing? The Sapphires or the B&W's?". He said,
neither, it's the LX5s!!! I said, What??? They sound very smooth. Well, we then had to experiment with the LX5s a little more.

The LX5 got a little boomy when next to the corners. The boominess disappeared when placed about 3-4ish ft from the back wall and 2-3ish feet from the side walls in a 13x20ish room. We adjusted the height of the LX5 and found the highs were a little bright but still smooth. The speakers were facing forward and not rotated in toward the listener (based on the clover leaf dispersion pattern of the linaeum tweeter).

We were very surprised that a $150/pr. speakers can sound very smooth and close to the Sapphire II, which we consider to be very accurate and very smooth. We agreed that the LX5s cannot match the fullness of the ACI's but even the ACI's need a sub to fill in the lows.

My brother suggested a speaker builder trick which can reduce the brightness in the highs by reversing the polarity of the tweeters. This indeed reduced some of the harshness from the tweeter and the LX5s sounded much more pleasant.

I listened to the LX5s for about a week this way and was fairly content with their sound. My brother couldn't leave well enough alone, and experimented some more with his LX5s to get them to sound more natural. Well, he came up with the crossover mods which he said made the LX5 sounds almost as good as his Sapphire IIs and his custom built "Matrix 801" replicas. He sent me the parts and I made the changes to my LX5s too. The highs are very damped now. We also stuffed the
two bass ports with some low density foam to tighted up the mid-range at the loss of overall volume.

If anyone is interested in the crossover mods that we made, we replaced the 6.2uf capacitor with a 5.6uf capacitor of the same rating and added a 7.5 ohm, 5 watt resistor across the tweeter terminals. My brother now wants to experiment with a variable 15 ohm resistor across the tweeter terminals to fine tune the highs to his liking. I think they are good enough!!!

BTW, After hearing my brother's ACI Sapphire IIs, I returned my B&W M602 and M603s which had a very noticable harsh brightness in the highs (probably in the 7K-10K freq. range), and ordered a pair of the Sapphire IIIs with a Titan sub. I think the B&W M602/M603s have a very natural sounding mid-range though. (I can't wait to compare the LX5's against the Sapphire III...:-))

Anyway, in summary, I am very happy with the LX5s but like others, these speakers really need a sub (or two) to sound really good. If you are into very high volume, these speakers are not for you. If you like low to moderate levels of volume, and can compliment the LX5s with a sub, you can't beat these speakers for the price. If you can handle a soldering iron to reverse the polarity of the tweeter (just switch the blue and grey wires), the LX5s sound even better (that is, if you also think the tweeters are a bit on the bright side). They will mainly be used as my front effects speakers once my Sapphire IIIs arrive but I'm sure I will be tempted to connect them up as my mains every now and then.

I give the LX5s three stars as stand alone speakers but 5 stars with a sub.

I bought the LX5's for my Yamaha DSP-A1's two front effect channels and was pleasantly surprised how well they sounded connected as my main channels with left and right subs to fill in the lows via the DSP-A1's left/right LFE channels.
My brother brought over his ACI Sapphire II's to compare to my B&W M602 and
M603s and was comparing them when I came into the room. I said "That sounds pretty good. Which ones are playing? The Sapphires or the B&W's?". He said,
neither, it's the LX5s!!! I said, What??? They sound very smooth. Well, we then had to experiment with the LX5s a little more.

The LX5 got a little boomy when next to the corners. The boominess disappeared when placed about 3-4ish ft from the back wall and 2-3ish feet from the side walls in a 13x20ish room. We adjusted the height of the LX5 and found the highs were a little bright but still smooth. The speakers were facing forward and not rotated in toward the listener (based on the clover leaf dispersion pattern of the linaeum tweeter).

We were very surprised that a $150/pr. speakers can sound very smooth and close to the Sapphire II, which we consider to be very accurate and very smooth. We agreed that the LX5s cannot match the fullness of the ACI's but even the ACI's need a sub to fill in the lows.

My brother suggested a speaker builder trick which can reduce the brightness in the highs by reversing the polarity of the tweeters. This indeed reduced some of the harshness from the tweeter and the LX5s sounded much more pleasant.

I listened to the LX5s for about a week this way and was fairly content with their sound. My brother couldn't leave well enough alone, and experimented some more with his LX5s to get them to sound more natural. Well, he came up with the crossover mods which he said made the LX5 sounds almost as good as his Sapphire IIs and his custom built "Matrix 801" replicas. He sent me the parts and I made the changes to my LX5s too. The highs are very damped now. We also stuffed the
two bass ports with some low density foam to tighted up the mid-range at the loss of overall volume.

If anyone is interested in the crossover mods that we made, we replaced the 6.2uf capacitor with a 5.6uf capacitor of the same rating and added a 7.5 ohm, 5 watt resistor across the tweeter terminals. My brother now wants to experiment with a variable 15 ohm resistor across the tweeter terminals to fine tune the highs to his liking. I think they are good enough!!!

BTW, After hearing my brother's ACI Sapphire IIs, I returned my B&W M602 and M603s which had a very noticable harsh brightness in the highs (probably in the 7K-10K freq. range), and ordered a pair of the Sapphire IIIs with a Titan sub. I think the B&W M602/M603s have a very natural sounding mid-range though. (I can't wait to compare the LX5's against the Sapphire III...:-))

Anyway, in summary, I am very happy with the LX5s but like others, these speakers really need a sub (or two) to sound really good. If you are into very high volume, these speakers are not for you. If you like low to moderate levels of volume, and can compliment the LX5s with a sub, you can't beat these speakers for the price. If you can handle a soldering iron to reverse the polarity of the tweeter (just switch the blue and grey wires), the LX5s sound even better (that is, if you also think the tweeters are a bit on the bright side). They will mainly be used as my front effects speakers once my Sapphire IIIs arrive but I'm sure I will be tempted to connect them up as my mains every now and then.

I give the LX5s three stars as stand alone speakers but 5 stars with a sub.

I currently have a pair of LX-5's installed as the rears in my home theatre setup. Used in this fashion they excel. I echo the sentiments of some previous reviewers in that these little beauties must be used with sub, and set to a fairly high crossover point so that they receive very little bass in order to really shine as front end speakers. I think that the woofer used in the LX-5 is its Achilles heel. I would love to replace it with a driver of comparable quality to that wonderful Linaeum-sourced dipole tweeter, and in fact am researching that very possiblity. I feel that with the right combination of drivers, the potential is there for a killer two-way that could well surpass many costlier esoteric brands.

Huh?????? Kinda fishy. 6 reviews in 8 months, then all of the sudden, 3 bad reviews in one day. Not to mention one that says Bose are better (that's a good one!) It could be a coincidence........ Anyway, these speakers are great for the money, and when matched with a sub, they're wonderful!!!

I have owned a pair of these speakers for almost a year and am enjoying them more now than I ever have. For the sale price of $150.00, I don't think you'll find a speaker with a wider and more spacious soundstage. Sure, by themselves, they sound very deficient in bass but with a decent sub and careful placement, I can't imagine anyone not liking the sound these little speakers put out. I recently pulled them out about 3 or 4 inches further away from the back wall than they already were and it improved the spaciousness unbelievably. At some point in the future (no time soon), I'll upgrade to higher fidelity, but for now these speakers are doing a great job for what I spent on them.