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It's not unusual for audiophiles to have fond childhood recollections of the old family stereo, but Eelco Grimm's memory of his dad's audio system probably stands alone. It's not just that Piet Grimm, a professional pilot for the Dutch air defense (footnote 1), had a pair of very fine Infinity speakers, a Pioneer receiver, and a Technics turntable. Others surely did, too. It's more that he purchased the system from a military PX shop at a US air force base in Germany, then happily flew the equipment home to the Netherlands on his Northrop F5 supersonic fighter plane. That's not run-of-the-…
Because every LS1 midrange driver and tweeter is measured during manufacturing, then precision-matched to the amplifier that powers them, the Grimm crew says that users should make sure that the serial number on the speaker is the same as the serial number on the speaker leg containing the electronics. Easy enough—though I will say that connection-wise and web-interface-wise, inaugurating this system was quite a bit more complicated than hooking up other powered speakers I'm familiar with, including the KEF LS50W, SVS Prime Pro Wireless, and Vanatoo Transparent One Encore. The Grimm…
Photo by Rogier van Bakel
Tuned in, turned on
Zeroing in on the ideal location for the LS1c's in my well-treated 15' × 21' listening room meant moving them 7'10" apart, measured from their centers. The backs of the cabinets stood 5'6" from the front wall.
Grimm advises starting with a 45° toe-in and adjusting to taste from there. The web-based software lets you choose DSP settings for either a 45° or a 30° angle, which applies a small correction to the highest treble to make the frequency response of the direct sound as linear as possible when it reaches your ears. (If you…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding active stereo speakers, available in two-way and three-way configurations. Max SPL 105dB. Signal/noise ratio 114dB (unweighted). Crossovers: 1550Hz, 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley; 70Hz, 2nd-order Linkwitz-Riley (three-way system). Phase correction to linear phase on both crossovers. Supported sample rates: 44.1–192kHz via AES3; USB with LS1i USB interface. Amplifier power 120W per driver; 500W per subwoofer. Frequency response 20Hz– 27kHz +0.5dB/–3dB with subwoofers; 35Hz–27kHz +0.5dB/–3dB without.
Dimensions: 20.5" (520.7mm) W × 6.3" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: 16" MacBook Pro M1 running Roon 2.0. Roon ROCK (Lenovo ThinkCentre). Grimm Audio MU1. Aurender A20.
Loudspeakers: Focal Utopia Scala EVO.
Power cables and interconnects: Clarus Crimson pure copper OCC power cables, AudioQuest WEL Signature AES3 cable, AudioQuest Vodka TosLink cable.
Accessories: AudioQuest PowerQuest PQ-707 power conditioner. Puron and Nordost plug-in AC enhancers.
Listening room: Custom-built dedicated 21' × 15' room with 10'-tall walls and a 16' gabled ceiling, total volume around 4000ft3. Extra-thick…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Grimm LS1 system includes a pair of HIMACS LS1c DSP-controlled active loudspeakers (each supported on two outrigger legs), two SB1 subwoofers, an LS1i USB interface, and an LS1r Controller, which includes a display unit and a rotary volume control. The LS1i and LS1r are connected to the speakers with CAT5 cables. The LS1i has a USB port, which I connected to my MacBook Pro laptop to adjust the LS1c's settings with Grimm's LS1 Control app rather than using the LS1r.
The app reported that the system's firmware was up-to-date. Apple's USB Prober…
Manufacturer's Comment
We wish to thank Stereophile for publishing such a comprehensive review of our LS1c active loudspeaker system. We are dedicated to offer total clarity in the presentation of music by striving for perceptual neutrality in our equipment, and it is heartwarming to receive recognition for that by such a highly experienced team. We hope Stereophile's audience will enjoy the read and have the chance to experience the LS1c for themselves.
P.S. JA noted "a very slight upwards tilt" in the top end. That triggered us to check our new LS1 Control software. We found…
As I wound down the mad dash from first to fourth floors, from imbibing coffee to considering cocktails, there was still more coverage to put to bed. Deep Dive Audio of Palm Bay, Florida, resuscitated my senses with a large rig of top-flight entertainment components.
A J. Sikora Standard Max Turntable ($22,995), with a J. Sikora KV Max 9" Tonearm ($11,750), mounted with an Aidas True Stone Gold Web Cartridge ($5995), fed sweet analog signals to a Doshi Audio Evolution 2MC Phono Preamplifier ($21,995).
Not to be outdone, an EMM Labs DA2i two-channel D/A Converter with…
Ryan O’Connor, president of ReVox North America, was working the rooms and the halls, but his ReVox B77 reel-to-reel machine ($15,900) failed to make it to Tampa for the ReVox room. No matter; the room offered a solid setup, including a Playback Designs IPS-3 integrated amplifier ($13,000) producing 260Wpc into 4 ohms, driving Aretai Contra 100S speakers ($9000/pair).
Aretai’s entry-level Contra 100S stands 8.25" x 15.75" x 10" (WxHxD) and weighs 33 lb. It’s a 2.5-way, acoustic-suspension design with a pair of 6" polypropylene woofers—one up front, another around back. Bass response is…
It’s 3am on a Sunday morning. I must complete my tasks before Mark Henninger is awake. There are a handful of rooms left to write up, beginning with Room 265, where Supreme Acoustic Systems brought on Soulnote and others.
A Soulnote D-3 DAC ($22,900), with a Soulnote X-3 Clock Generator ($5495), sent signal to a Soulnote P3 Preamplifier ($22,900), followed by Soulnote M3 monoblocks ($21,900/pair). Also on board were an AirTight Reference Phono Stage ($34,975) and an AirTight ATH2 SUT ($6975). A BennyAudio Odyssey Turntable ($36,190) fed signals into these before reaching the rest of the…