StereoTimes Interview with Duke LeJeune/Audiokines

FYI, back in the mid-70s James Bongiorno gave a talk to our local audio club. Talking specifically about Magnepans, he recommended aiming them to cross 3-4 feet in front of the listener to widen the apparent "sweet spot". That seemed pretty radical at the time.

It's fascinating to hear a manufacturer talk so openly about his design goals and the choices he makes to achieve them. Thanks for sharing.

I should have added that I've never heard one of Duke's speakers and I've never spoken with him asking for any advice. But I hold him in high regard for his straight forward answers on the audio sites, even when it does not involve one of his speakers, or products. If only we had more designers/manufacturers/retailers like him!

Congratulations Duke
If you're ever in Toronto Canada please look me up

The toe-in that Duke recommends works extremely well to provide both the sense of an extremely wide soundstage and a smoothness to the highs that I've rarely encountered in any dynamic driver.

Duke has stated many times that his inspiration for his speakers was the wonderful SoundLab. I owned the A-1PX previously, and can confirm that he certainly hit his target - with one minor exception. The physical height of my Planetarium Betas is, of course, somewhat less than that of the SoundLabs. As delivered, the illusion of height is not quite the equal of the A-1PX. There is a very simple solution, however. I placed the main speakers on a pair of 4" spiked, extremely dense lyptus wood amp stands that I had available, and was fairly well amazed at the difference they made. Since the main units are only handling frequencies down to about 65 Hz or so, there are no deleterious effects that I can discern. The stands can be seen in my system photos if anyone cares to have a look.

I think it's a shame that Duke's speakers are not more well known amongst the audio press. After 35 years of this mad hobby, I've found few if any products that provide so much value for money.