Hong Kong magazine Hifi Review posted a new version of their famed LS1be review on their website. It is heart warming to read this text, with such a positive vibe! We offer some translated fragments below.
Journalist Chen Weichang: “Honestly, I had great expectations in advance, but I was still shocked by this speaker. The cause of this shock is best described by the word ‘accurate’. (…) It is not that other systems fail to reproduce small details, like that a singer’s head moves slightly when singing, but the LS1be does it so easily, clearly and convincing. I have rarely heard that on any system, regardless the price. (..)
HiFi means High Fidelity. Many brands strive to make a ”high quality reproduction” and as a consequence often offer a “garbage in, garbage out” effect. (…) The LS1be however does not place a microscope on the extremes. It’s not like so often that good albums sounds much better, but bad ones much worse. On the LS1be all music is still enjoyable, and plays in a balanced manner. There is no emphasis on any instrument or on any detail. All aspects are improved in the same proportion. (…) With the LS1be, there is no longer a need to distinguish between hifi audio and pro audio. One system meets the needs of producers and music lovers at the same time, because its goal is to offer an accurate balance, without adding any emphasis. (..)
Tong Wenzheng said that this system allows her to become really connected to the music. It makes it easy to let her mind follow the music and forget about “catching bugs”. (…)
Anyone who considers to buy an LS1be should realize that the question is not about whether the LS1be is able to replay music at the highest level, nor whether it has the right price, or if their room is too small or big. All they should do is ask themselves what their audio hobby really is about: whether they like to play with a machine or listen to music. If it is the latter, then this set of speakers will give them tremendous satisfaction.”
Journalist Zhongyi: “At the start of my session we played a piece of Chai Ji “Xiao Ti Xie”, and I was stunned immediately. There is no emphasis on anything. Everything seems right: the smoothness (or boldness) of the music, the sense of solidity, the sharp focus in the stereo image – that is generously wide at the same time, the 3D feel of each instrument group, the rich and clean mid- and low-frequency range. There was no compression audible when it played loud, even though it is just a small flat cabinet, with a 200mm woofer. The vocals sound almost magical! I could hear the singer’s throat vibrate, sense subtle movements of mouth and tongue, and experienced a fascinating degree of realism and three-dimensionality. But even more important, the melody and harmony pulled on me, touching me with deep emotions. This is a fully digital system but it does not show any sign of ‘digital’ sound or harshness. On the contrary, I just wanted to ask if I could please listen to one more song.
When I then looked on the computer screen I was even more surprised: I saw the TIDAL app. I asked: Did we just listen to streaming? Yes. Was it standard lossless or MQA? Just ordinary standard… My God! At this moment I thought: there must be some magic trick inside.”
“I just wanted to ask if I could please listen to one more song.”
Zhongyi, Hifi Review
