Tweeter

"Loose Bass"

First you should know that being a musician,I know what many instruments sound like firsthand.Many tweeters particularly do not accurately reproduce cymbals,snare drums,saxaphones,piano,Hammond Organ-the list goes on.I was a big ribbon tweeter fan for a long time but there arent that many affordable or efficient ribbon designs around.Several years ago I heard the Linaeum 8" 2 way transmission line and I got a glimpse of much of what I thought was missing in affordable audio.That speaker sold for $2500.Soon afterwards I found and tried a pair of Pro LX 8's with a pair of Cambridge audio subwoofers.This is an amazing combination,folks.The LX 8 on its own does have somewhat boomy bass,but as a sattelite the highs and midrange sound warm and real.I havent heard much that does what this does and Ive been around to many audio shows and shops.If you can find some now don't hesitate particularly if you can use them as satellites.

Similar Products Used:

Magneplanar

Price

lack of midrange sound

First off, I would never have bought speakers from Radio Shack. Then I was in one one day to buy some wire or something and they were demoing these speakers. Well, they sounded great, so I whipped out the credit card and picked up a pair. They were on sale from $400/pr down to $200/pr. For $200 you could buy other good speakers out there from famouse brand name companies, but if you look past the major brand names and actually LISTEN before you buy, you will be pleased with the performance of these.

Betweeen the sharp, crisp, bright tweeter and the ported, bassy woofer I feel that there is a loss of midrange sound. It doesn't make the speaker horrible, but it is actually noticable sometimes.
Also, while playing music, you can't tell where the speakers are, they just fill the room with sound. However, when using them in an HT setup, you can tell exactly where they are and sometimes it's as if the actors are standing beside my TV and talking because the sound does not disperse well throughout the room. The speakers are next to the TV but this still happens.

For musical listening, I appreciate the fact that I bought these. For main speakers in a HT setup, I would look around.

Similar Products Used:

Advent

Crisp, Clean highs with the dipole tweeter. Impressive bass for a bookshelf. Clean, simple design. Voices are almost lifelike!

Biuld Quality isn't outstanding. Tweeter is to close to the woofer. Mid-range is some what lacking.

Before I get started, here are all the specs for anyone curious...

Freq. res... 50-25,000 Hz
Power... 70 w. RMS, 140w. MAX.
Impedance... 8 Ohms
Weight... 16.8 lbs.

Lets start from the top, the tweeter. It's an absolutely excellent tweeter, without that nasty, harsh, "metallic" sound that conventional cone tweeters make. The 360° degree dispersion makes an excellent sound feild. One thing that does concern me is the closnes of the woofer to the tweeter. I think it might affect the sound some. I think it would have been better if the woofer was placed below the port, with the port now between the tweeter and woofer. The woofer is impressive, but seems to lack life compared to my older bothers NEAR 15-m's (but they also list for $800 new, compared to $300 new for the lx-8's). The overall sound from the speakers is great. you really get enclosed by the soundfeild, and loose the speakers in the music. Voice is the strong point of these speakers, in my opinion. I have a great remastered Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong cd that makes it sound like they're right in front of you. An important thing with these speakers is placement. For starters DONT SIT BELOW THE TWEETER! The thing is set back a little on the top of the speaker, and if it is above ear level you cant hear it. it is best to sit with the ribbons at ear level. Also, it is important to set the speaker at least a foot or two from the wall. This will give the dipole feature of the tweeter better operating room. These speakers can play anything you throw at them. I listen to Rock, Swing, and a little Classical, and they all sound excellent. Absolutlety amazing imaging from these. Of course, since they were discontinued about 2 years ago, its tough to find a pair. i had to buy mine used, from a classified ad on this site. But im still happy, only paying $130 for the pair! Find them anyway possible, but just find them!

Similar Products Used:

NEAR 15-m's, Bose 301's

Sounds Great! Tremendous audio bargain. Absolutely unbeatable for the price.

construction is not great. discontinued.

This is an absolutely great speaker. I saw all the reviews and was very curious. I went to the radio shack and gave a listen and was sold! I bought them took them home, hooked them up, and totally fell in love with them. The driver is a peerless and the tweeter is a linaeum. Great combo! It sounds great out of the box but if you want to make it sound even better, stuff some dynamat into it as well as sealing the inside since it uses particle board. I ended up buying 5 of them and using it in a Dolby Digital home theater set up and I must say that it is unbeatable. The soundstage is incredible! Since they are all the same speakers, panning is flawless. To make it even better, combine it with a powerful sub and you got yourself a nice system.