In 2015 German Lowbeats editor Jürgen Schröder was blown away by the original LS1 at the Munich High End show. In his words: “It called into question my previous experience with regard to what was sonically feasible with loudspeakers.” Half a decade later he writes a review of the LS1be, that shows his deep understanding of the LS1 philosophy. We are heavily impressed by this article. Therefore a few more (translated) quotes than usual.
“Hardly any other speaker system has had such a lasting impact on the speaker world over the past decade as the fully active LS1 from the Dutch specialist Grimm Audio. Both acoustically and electronically trend-setting, the LS1 became the model for a new generation of loudspeakers.”
“Shaped by my job as a sound engineer in the mastering area, I prefer speakers and headphones that are spectrally neutral and have a good dynamic precision – plus everything that can be described with the terms focus and clarity. In order to ensure that a production translates well to the end user systems, I need to absolutely rely on my monitor loudspeaker. Objectivity is required here – great sound alone is not enough. The Grimm LS1 is without doubt made for this profile.”
“More enigmatically, its refined technology also opens doors to musical worlds that were previously not directly accessible. This is what happened to me with the track “Min Módir” by the Faroese singer Eivør – a live recorded, rather bombastically arranged world music ballad with plenty of Viking pathos. Despite its pleasing, catchy melody, I was never really able to make friends with this track and therefore mostly skipped it.
Reproduced with the Grimm LS1be however, the character that so far seemed rather pompous to me, suddenly gave way to an authentic, inner drama. This was particularly expressive in the furious finale, in which the musicians give “everything” again. It always seemed a little artificial to me. But now instead I was fascinated by the fine sound details – such as the unbelievably realistic sounding crash cymbals that the drummer skillfully played. Applause from the audience not only for the musicians, but also for the new beryllium tweeter.”
“The pictured measurements show that the Grimm SB1 actually stimulated the 43 Hertz room resonance in the large LowBeats listening room much less than an active compact monitor positioned in the same position – with the same sound pressure level.”
“Developed by top-class audio specialists as an uncompromising playback system, the Grimm LS1be cleverly combines the “worlds” of professional audio and high-end hi-fi. The basis for this is its acoustic concept of comparatively little room stimulation, which largely helps to avoid position dependent aberrations. Sound professionals can thus work with more confidence on their mix, which leads to results that translate well to other systems. Music lovers, on the other hand, get a highly potent, but comparatively small loudspeaker system with the Grimm and the certainty that what they hear actually comes from the loudspeaker and less from its acoustic environment. Both combined are an important step towards faithful reproduction of music, by offering an escape from the so-called “Circle of Confusion“. This term, that was coined by audio luminary Dr. Floyd Toole, describes the eternal uncertainty when working with “shaky”, that is: interdependent, references.”
“As the ‘be’ upgrade proves, you definitely don’t buy a one-hit wonder with a Grimm LS1. Rather, you acquire a music system “for life” that is exemplary open to future developments. In my opinion, a worthwhile and sustainable investment that leaves little to be desired in terms of sound.“
“Its refined technology opens doors to musical worlds that were previously not directly accessible.”
Jürgen Schröder, Lowbeats
