LSA 20 Statement Speakers

I briefly had a pair of the original LSA statements. As others have said the enclosures were horrible. The cheap veneer was splitting everywhere on both speakers. Hopefully the new ones are better. The sound was just ok but not great. Never understood the hype for that brand.

Interesting info about the cabinets, and I looked it up and they weigh about 70lbs each so certainly not MDF.  But, reading the universally glowing reviews they seem to have chosen wisely to keep costs down.  Yeah, they’d probably sound a little better if the speakers weighed 120lbs, but then they’d probably cost double or more.  Given the results and price, it looks like they started with a great design and then chose very wisely where to cut costs.  When reviewers are buying the review samples, well, that pretty much says it all. 

I have reached a certain point in my audio life where I won’t put up with shortcuts or manufacturer-opted compromises. At least no more than I have to put up with. If you look at my profile you will see signs of that. I have since added two headphone amps, an Ampsandsound Nautilus and a Luxman P-750u, an SW1X DAC III Balanced DAC, and an Aurender W20. And two of ZMF’s top tier sets of headphones including custom Verite’ Closed. My choice of loudspeakers (Devore O/93’s and Spendor D7.2’s) are not claimed-by me-to be among the best but it was important to me in making my buying decision that not only did I like the sound but also the manufacturer made the enclosures in-house. I believe all Devores are built by a single gentleman in John Devore’s Brooklyn factory unless he has found additional help. If there is a heavier, beefier, more fundamentally built 8 watt SE amp than the Ampandsound Nautilus I would like to see it and try to pick it up. All of my gear should be alive and kicking for my grandchildren, particularly my two turntables (again, see my profile-if you wish). It gives me intangible pride of ownership over and above the tangible qualities.

I own a set of LSA 20 Statements, for about a year now. They replaced a much smaller set of Monitor Audio RS 6's, which were great speakers, but in my medium-large room they were a little lacking on low end. The LSAs have more low end, sure, but not that much. In fact that's my biggest complaint, they don't exactly lack bass but they don't have as much as I feel a speaker of that size should.

Imaging-wise they do well, and to my ears they sound relaxed and neutral. I was worried they might sound a bit harsh with my (all solid-state) gear but they don't. 

Mine arrived in perfect condition, and I don't have any experience or knowledge of poor cabinet quality, but I suspect they're relatively cheaply made as others have said. Which is concerning because my LEAST favorite thing about them is the too-narrow 3-point cone base. It feels to me like if anything bumps into one it will fall over easily, and then I'll get some first-hand knowledge of the cabinet construction. These speakers need a better base.

So I guess my opinion is pretty neutral. I think these are a decent value for the price (the real price - nobody should pay the "list" price of $6k for these things), but you get what you pay for, like everything. When I bought them, they fit my budget, and that was the deciding factor. If I had to do it over again, I may look elsewhere, but I'd likely end up spending twice as much for a marginal improvement in sound.

I had a horrible experience with LSA 10s.

There are so many warning signs and serious quality issues.

There are so many other choices, why take the risk?