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Lucca Chesky: The Fresh Prince of Hi-Fi
Lucca Chesky’s LC1 bookshelf speaker was a hit at AXPONA and Capital Audiofest, so it made sense to see Chesky’s stand positioned prominently outside one of High End Munich’s large halls.
The demo setup was straightforward yet effective: music files streamed from a laptop into a Cambridge Audio EXA integrated amplifier ($1299). To optimize sound quality, the computer sat atop four IsoAcoustics Orea Graphite Isolators ($45 each). The speakers rested on IsoAcoustics Aperta stands ($199/pair), and the amplifier sat on an IsoAcoustics ZaZen Isolation Platform ($199). AudioQuest cabling connected the system.
Rather than describe how the system sounded in the cavernous hall entrance, I asked the 17-year-old inventor to recount his journey from high school student to speaker designer.
“I’m in a generation where most of my peers listen to music on earbuds,” Lucca Chesky said, recalling the moment he realized how removed most young people are from true high-fidelity sound. “I can clearly remember bringing friends over to hear my hi-fi setup at home, seeing the amazement on their faces as they experienced their favorite songs in a way that they never could have imagined, enveloped by sound. Something most audiophiles are familiar with, but a whole generation is completely unaware of it. I always wanted to get more people into hi-fi. It was only in the summer of 2024 that I gained a new perspective on the meaning of being an audiophile."

That perspective came during an internship at Princeton. “I’d been accepted into an internship program at Princeton University’s 3D3A Lab for 3D audio and applied acoustics under Professor Edgar Choueiri, the creator of BACCH DSP and Theoretica Applied Physics,” Chesky recalled. “I was assigned to do research for the lab, working on one of their projects, a soundbar with beam-forming capabilities allowing for two or more people to have personalized sound zones. As the summer progressed and my knowledge of acoustics expanded, I wanted to create something that would mix my deep passion for technology with my deep passion for music.”
Chesky’s background as a multi-instrumentalist would prove critical when he began experimenting with speaker design. “I’m a musician. I play the piano, drums, and guitar—something I would later find crucial in the process of designing a speaker,” he said. Spare drivers from the lab’s soundbar project gave him the spark. “I decided to create a speaker, but I wanted to make something different. I decided to use 3D printing to make my cabinet, allowing me to add internal acoustic treatment that couldn't be done with the usual way of making a wood cabinet.”
What began as tinkering turned into something more serious. “Using the 3D printer I had at home, I started to prototype what I called the Chesky Audio MK1,” he said. “After a long night of building the crossover, I hooked it up. I remember the feeling I had when I first heard that speaker play. It is something I still chase. It was surreal, hearing and feeling the physical presence of my work.” His goal, he added, was to emulate the performance of far more expensive designs. “I wanted to create something that could offer the listener similar characteristics of speakers that were very expensive, but for a price kids my age can afford. Around 20 prototypes later, the LC1 was born.”
In voicing the LC1, Chesky chose musical realism over ruler-flat neutrality. “I also wanted to create a speaker with a small profile but with a massive soundstage,” he explained. “Most importantly, the LC1 was made to sound natural, transparent. This was something I heard only in truly high-end speakers, something that revealed extreme detail and replicated what the recording engineer wanted to be heard.”
Spurred on by mentors, he took the LC1 to a prominent audio show in order to gauge industry reaction. “I was encouraged to go to the Capital Audiofest,” he said. “This was just to dip my toe in the water, get up close to the audio industry, test out the market. The LC1 received the warmest welcome. People were very excited to have some new ideas and someone quite young involved.”
Seconded. The industry could use more makers like Chesky: curious, musical, and not jaded.