Linkwitz LXMini Speakers with Nelson Pass ASP – Heaven!

I recently finished my build of a pair of Linkwitz LXMini speakers and the Nelson Pass designed Analogue Active Crossover and I am amazed at how good these odd looking speakers sound. I will add more to this post at a future date. My mom wanted to see pictures, so I’m starting this post with pictures first and more detail later. 😁

The Sound! Holographic! My LX-521 speakers are better in overall volume presentation and bass response, but these Minis are just as good in terms of holographic presentation. If two performers are in the same stage left area and one is a little further back than the other (assuming a live, 2-channel, minimalist recording vs a mixed-down studio recording) you hear that in the presentation! I’ve also noticed a little more detail in these that I recall in my 521s. For instance, in the original Star Wars (A New Hope) album, at the beginning of  the first 30-seconds of “The Little People Work” I always heard the one chair quietly crackle somewhere stage left. Through the Minis, I can now hear a few more background details of performers shifting in their seats or turning pages! I love hearing new things in familiar recordings. And I’ve heard this whole soundtrack well over 300 times since I bought the first vinyl double album back in 1978.

(Will finish writing this later)

Pictures:

Here are the finished speakers. The last image is a cover I designed and 3D printed to protect the speakers when I’m out sailing or need to store them when my son is sleeping on that berth/bench.

Here are in-progress pictures of the build. I 3D-printed the parts to hold the two ABS tube together. The grey images are the prototypes to make sure everything lined up properly that I printed in fast/draft mode. Good thing too because the original design held the upper speaker an inch too high from the lower speaker, which is a vast distance in this precise world.

I built the ASP from parts and circuit boards from DIYAudiostore, which is affiliated with the DIYAudio.com community. I love my idea of putting the power on LED over the second “i” in Mini. Such a cool idea! I wish more companies would implement similar design features so that they don’t look so thoughtlessly designed and mass produced.