LGK 2.1 Sneak peak

Hobbsmeerkat · « **on:** 17 Aug 2022, 05:35 am »

The first pair of LGK 2.1s are up and playing!
(a little too late to crank them though..)

Here's the crossover layout which takes up the entire bottom of the speaker, with Just enough clearance for the woofer

More info to follow shortly!

kickngas · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Aug 2022, 01:43 pm »

First impressions?

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Aug 2022, 01:50 pm »

I finished them at 11:30 last night, so I couldn't turn them up to really hear them without getting nuisance calls.
Soon as I have a chance, I'll compare them directly to the smaller 2.0s.

EdwardT · « **Reply #3 on:** 30 Aug 2022, 11:22 pm »

And how did they do? I liked that woofer in the desktop mini (which played well above its weight.)

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #4 on:** 31 Aug 2022, 01:26 am »

They've turned out great!

Taking the bass frequencies off of the LGK driver really helped to open up the midrange performance. So vocals and strings sound fantastic.
It also allows you to push the speaker a lot further/louder than the LGK 2.0 alone, so they're better suited for larger rooms, even without a sub.

The bass on the 2.1 isn't quite as detailed, but being able to push it further and having a more gradual roll off is a fair trade-off, plus it also allows for near-wall placement and easy integration with a subwoofer without the need for a high-pass filter.

Here's the On-Axis response.

If you find the very top end to be a little bright, towing them out to roughly 10° will help to soften it quite a bit. I personally didn't have a problem with it.

Addressing it with a notch filter, like on the 2.0, would have required a larger cabinet, or using two separate boards, as it's already a tight fit as it is.

Danny plans to film a video on it this week, likely to go live after the Klipsch RC-64 III upgrade video.

bhassel · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Sep 2022, 10:46 pm »

Well thankfully it's more than a sneak peek now! Great job!

The center channel LGK 2.1 and a tower version - wow

Bob

mkrawcz · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Sep 2022, 11:06 pm »

I just had to order a pair of these. Can’t wait.

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Sep 2022, 11:26 pm »

Quote from: bhassel on 14 Sep 2022, 10:46 pm

Well thankfully it's more than a sneak peek now! Great job!

The center channel LGK 2.1 and a tower version - wow

Bob

The 2.2 & 2.4 cabinets are finished, i just need to pick them up so we can get started on the crossover design work.

We're also considering a version of the 2.4 towers with a 2nd LGK on the back to make them into a di-pole, very similar to what we did with the old "Skinny 6" but we're not there yet.
They'll need some extra space behind them, but should make for a more open, spacious sound.

We're hoping to have more info on the next versions soon!

Quote from: mkrawcz on 14 Sep 2022, 11:06 pm

I just had to order a pair of these. Can’t wait.

Your order just went out today so it should arrive pretty soon!

bhassel · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Sep 2022, 01:31 am »

Wow that's fast. now to look up Skinny 6...

Is that sort of like open baffle without the open?

Bob

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Sep 2022, 02:15 am »

Very much so the rear driver would be playing from 3000Hz up.

Danny currently has the Skinny6 and Flat5 in his living room.

OrangeAgent · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Sep 2022, 01:49 pm »

I was just looking at the horizontal off-axis response for the 2.1 and am curious why it falls off so abruptly at 6-7khz. Is that where a 3" driver starts beaming?

How would you compare the tonality of the LGK to the X series? I have some old Paradigm Atoms as my surround channels and the LGK cabinet would be workable in their place, but im not sure how well they would blend with my Encore/Voce LCR setup.

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Sep 2022, 02:17 pm »

Quote from: OrangeAgent on 15 Sep 2022, 01:49 pm

I was just looking at the horizontal off-axis response for the 2.1 and am curious why it falls off so abruptly at 6-7khz. Is that where a 3" driver starts beaming?

How would you compare the tonality of the LGK to the X series? I have some old Paradigm Atoms as my surround channels and the LGK cabinet would be workable in their place, but im not sure how well they would blend with my Encore/Voce LCR setup.

You are correct about the beaming, that's the limitation of a 3" wide-band driver. You see the same things with 8" & 12" wide-band drivers as well, but they're beaming point is much lower, especially as the driver gets bigger. A secondary, inner-cone can help, but only so much.

The 2.1s have a more natural sounding midrange and lower treble thanks to the lighter moving mass. They're not quite as detailed up top or below 350Hz, but using a single driver over a larger frequency range makes for a really smooth and coherent presentation that is difficult to get with most typical 2-way speakers.

Overall though, they should be fairly similar, but there will be some differences, likely less than your Paradigm Atoms. And they are output limited to 30-50W peaks, but should be fine as surrounds, since they don't often see the same needs in volume/power as the main drivers, with bass being taken over by the subs.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Sep 2022, 07:55 pm »

Quote from: OrangeAgent on 15 Sep 2022, 01:49 pm

I was just looking at the horizontal off-axis response for the 2.1 and am curious why it falls off so abruptly at 6-7khz. Is that where a 3" driver starts beaming?

How would you compare the tonality of the LGK to the X series? I have some old Paradigm Atoms as my surround channels and the LGK cabinet would be workable in their place, but im not sure how well they would blend with my Encore/Voce LCR setup.

I address that comparison in our latest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWDPieaILIg

alaska_grown · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Sep 2022, 09:22 pm »

Question on the 2.1 finished cabinets, are the sides rounded off or straight-edged?

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #14 on:** 17 Sep 2022, 08:56 pm »

Quote from: alaska_grown on 16 Sep 2022, 09:22 pm

Question on the 2.1 finished cabinets, are the sides rounded off or straight-edged?

They are rounded over.

alaska_grown · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Sep 2022, 06:44 am »

Quote from: Hobbsmeerkat on 17 Sep 2022, 08:56 pm

They are rounded over.

Thanks, thinking about purchasing these so I can replace the LGK drivers I have been using at my computer in tandom with a pair of tb mini subs... I want to try something else with them. But i dont really like the color difference between the white woofer with the copper LGK. Would a foam ring with fabric glued around for a woofer cover impact the sound that much?

Danny Richie · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Sep 2022, 04:45 pm »

Quote from: alaska_grown on 20 Sep 2022, 06:44 am

Thanks, thinking about purchasing these so I can replace the LGK drivers I have been using at my computer in tandom with a pair of tb mini subs... I want to try something else with them. But i dont really like the color difference between the white woofer with the copper LGK. Would a foam ring with fabric glued around for a woofer cover impact the sound that much?

If done properly a grill could be added.

bhassel · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Oct 2022, 03:49 am »

First, right out of the blocks, I'm ducking. So why am I ducking?

The image of the cabinet, it's tempting to look at that, as an open baffle (ala NX Studio monitors) option with no lid.

There I said it, duck, duck duck...

Bob

And just because I love the look

Danny Richie · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Oct 2022, 08:40 pm »

We may try some open baffle versions of it next.

mkrawcz · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Oct 2022, 07:18 pm »

Finally was able to finish up my LGK 2.1s last weekend. Kudos to Killian for sending me beautifully veneered cabinets in Walnut. After a week of break in, these speakers have a midrange to die for. One of the most natural sounding speakers I’ve heard. I love them. They are perfect for a bedroom speaker. The only thing I did differently from how it comes is I added Duelund JDM pure copper foil bypass caps on the 2 caps in the signal path. There is still much more break in needed and i can tell these are probably never coming out of my bedroom system.