July 2025

Chesky Audio LC1 Bookshelf Monitor Loudspeaker Review
Clean, spacious, and incredible transparent sound.
Review By Ron Nagle

   You know, I heard it through the grapevine. Chesky Audio's LC1 Bookshelf Monitor loudspeaker was mentioned in show reports I found online. Many critics remarked how great these inexpensive $996 bookshelf speakers performed. At the same time, I received a shout-out from my friend and colleague Rick Becker at Enjoy the Music.com, and he thought the LC1 would be perfect to audition in my smallish 12' by 19' foot ear cave listening room. Initially, that seemed to make a lot of sense. The old audio adage tells us, small speakers fit in a small room. So I cast my lot and submitted my case on the Chesky Audio web space.

It turns out that they were in such demand that there was a serious backlog. The designer, Lucca Chesky, is pretty much a one-man band who is busy 3D printing and finishing them by hand. The backstory has him still in high school when he developed the LC1 bookshelf monitor speakers as reviewed here. And concurrently doing an internship at Princeton University's 3D3A lab for 3D audio and applied acoustics. At the time, he had the guidance of Professor Edgar Choueiri, the creator of the incredibly modern and innovative BACCH DSP audio system.

Chesky Audio's Cute Cubes
They are the focus of so many and varied comments that we should go directly to the Objet d'art article. The Chesky Audio LC1 Bookshelf Monitor is a small loudspeaker with a unique multi-layered 3D printed enclosure. The internal volume is under one cubic foot. I measured the outside of the LC1. The front face of the LC1 is 8" wide, 10" high, and 10" deep. What you might not expect to see are the two large 8" passive radiators mounted on either side of the cabinet. They are dual internally balanced 8" fluid-coupled passive radiators tuned as a transmission line that extends bass response. As a two-way design, there are two drivers mounted on the front face of the cabinet. The first is a 1" soft dome tweeter, and on either side of that tweeter, there is a textured front surface called a Tessellation diffraction control. Just below the tweeter is a 6.5" polypropylene cone midrange/bass driver. Frequency response is from 50Hz to 20kHz and it is 86dB/W/m sensitive.

Set UP
The day they arrived, they came cradled in the hands of the inventor, the wunderkind, seventeen-year-old Lucca Chesky.

To my surprise, he was accompanied by his dad, David Chesky. Chesky Senior happens to be a brilliant piano virtuoso and composer, and he is the namesake of Chesky Records. When I first saw the speakers, I expected the printing process that forms the enclosures would leave a distinctive layered pattern on the speaker's surface. To my surprise, the terracotta-colored cabinets of my samples have a nice, uniform, slightly textured sandy finish.

It must have taken about thirty minutes to position the speakers in my little room. First, they tried placing the speakers on a pair of my 28" high speaker stands. However, Lucca specified that the tweeters should be higher, closer to ear level. It was only a lateral move of two inches that finalized their placement. That position now has them 6' 3" apart on top of bespoke 36" high speaker stands. With the tweeter's face angled forward, they are now toed in approximately 25-degrees, pointing toward my seated listening position.

Running The Gauntlet
The way Lucca Chesky set up the LC1 Bookshelf Monitor speakers, one can only marvel at the width of the center sound stage. I believe if I had an even larger room, they wouldn't have any problem painting an even larger panoramic picture. However, I have been tasked to find out what they are capable of. And so I most certainly can't leave well enough alone. I am a big fan of a three-dimensional sound stage. I wondered what would happen if I moved them a little closer together. And so inch-by-inch they took the grand tour around my living room rug. Since they have very wide horizontal imaging, the left and right position of the speakers proved not to be critical. But adjusting the center image of the speakers is still necessary.

I found that moving the speakers (in my room) 12 inches closer together with the tweeters at ear level and pointing at my shoulders, got me close to what I wanted. Still, I wanted a more immersive center stage depth, I wanted to make that center image so deep I could step into it. To my surprise, making a very slight change in direction (i.e.; toe-in) resolved even greater details in the center image, and made this professional reviewer happier.

I have another test, it is a subjective, broad frequency sweep using my Rives Audio test CD. Rigid acoustical measurements would normally place the LC1s in an anechoic chamber. However, I believe it can still tell me something not only about the speaker's response but the position in my room. I have placed the speakers as far away from the room boundaries as possible. The test CD starts at track one, representing 20CPS (20Hz) and ends at track #20, representing 20kHz (20,000 CPS).

Starting out, track one 20Hz and track two 25Hz produce no usable output. Track three at 31.5Hz, produced a low-level hum. At track four, equivalent to 40HZ I hear normal listening volume. The test frequency continues without any deviation out to 20kHz before it becomes inaudible to me. Of great interest is that the test beat out the 50Hz low frequency specification given by the manufacture. I do not doubt that the top-end 20kHz specification is accurate.

Critical Listening
The bass response at 40Hz is surprisingly good, but it is not a measurement of bass articulation. However, I do have a CD I use to test bass frequencies and low-frequency tonal integration. That test CD is Adagio d' Albinoni as performed by Gary Karr and Harmon Lewis. This is my go to bass reference. You should be able to hear not just low-frequency sound, but on this recording the intricate and subtle wooden overtones of Gary Karr's bowed bass fiddle. This recording was originally issued on a Japanese Firebird label and it may still be available.  It was recorded in a cavernous Japanese cathedral. It is a duet of a large sonorous pipe organ and Gary Karr's centuries-old Amati bass fiddle. 

he recording contains the reverberating echo of low-register organ pipes that hold the woofer for a moment on a deep, sustained rumble. Gary Karr's resonant bowing mimics the sound of life. It sighs and breathes a mournful moan that tugs at your heart. The sound is organic, and for a time, you forget that it's not flesh and blood crying out to you. At this point, you may ask why I spent so much time listening to bass frequencies. It is because the little LC1 does not have a woofer. The extended low-frequency response is the result of a very clever design calculation. It is an interaction of the two passive diaphragms tuned with the interior air space of the enclosure.

I have two super recordings of Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live, recorded at the Barns of Wolf Trap in January 1997. Both are Analogue Productions. The first is a two-record 180-gram vinyl reissue I purchased from Chad Kassem of Acoustic Sounds. It is Nils Lofgren, Acoustic Live [APP 090]. In addition, I have the same performance on a reference DSD CD, Nils Lofgren, Acoustic Live [CAPP090SA]. This offers an interesting opportunity to do a direct comparison between the vinyl recording and the DSD versions of these recordings. I connected the analog and the CD to the separate inputs of my Parasound Preamplifier. That way I can play both recordings at the same time and with my remote, switch back and forth in an A, B test.

I realize that while I switch between sources, I am not just listening to the Chesky Audio LC1 Bookshelf Monitor loudspeakers... but to everything in front of them. Consider the playback system as a constant; it is always there no matter the source or the speakers. But I call my system a reference because after many years, I know it like the back of my hand.

As you listen, you can hear the subtly present live sounds of the surrounding venue. Chesky Audio's LC1 Bookshelf Monitor has remarkable resolution! I could clearly hear the difference between these two sources and believe they were made from the same master tape. Listening to the vinyl tracks, I was able to hear by comparison the very subtle, more resonant sound of the mid-bass guitar strings. Conversely, the CD source had better control of higher frequency transients. Ultimately, I chose the vinyl recording to audition this acoustic performance. Spinning the vinyl version for an acoustic performance makes sense. The most noticeable difference between vinyl and the CD version is the sound stage. My favorite track from this record is, Some Must Dream. This immersive soundscape is a complex mix of many fragile sound echoes.

For me, a large portion of this quality is described by the word "continuousness" which is a term coined by the late Harry Pearson. It is used in part to describe a many-faceted sound or a presence that exists as you listen to a complex chord, a gossamer halo that slowly decays into silence. With an analog recording, those overtones decay into silence naturally, just as it is in life. I would like to mention one more recording, even though it is not strictly a reference but rather a fun recording I enjoy very much. It is a gathering of famous artists brought together to celebrate the Queen of England on her Golden Jubilee, and recorded live at Buckingham Palace Garden.

The sound of this recording is clean, spaciously immersive, as all outdoors, replete with a distant time-delayed echo. You can find it on Virgin [7243 8 12833 25] and it is an amazing ensemble of talent called Party At The Palace. Did you ever hope to hear Brian Wilson performing God Only Knows backed by The Royal Academy Of Music Symphony Orchestra? Of course, there is much more to commend it, like Rod Stewart, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Eric Clapton to name only some of the talent on this disc. It is wonderful music that is wonder-filled!

Coda
I wanted to approach the Chesky Audio LC1 Bookshelf Monitor loudspeakers with a completely open mind, without any background noise generated by other people's comments. Most of the comments emphasized the sound relative to the price of these inexpensive speakers. While that is true of this $996 stereo pair, there is a lot more to recommend them. I found they are relatively easy to set up because they can generate a huge sound space. In addition, they play best with powerful solid-state amplifiers that have grunt and drive to push these 86dB/W/m sensitive units. With that in mind, I never expected the transparency that they are capable of.

From the lowermost midrange on up to dog whistle, you simply hear the recording and the system that powers it. The bass does get a bit slower, but remember this is an augmented two-driver design. Still, all the integration of the two drivers and passive radiators is so skillfully done that the crossover is incredibly transparent. I consider that a hallmark of this design. I can't name any other small monitor loudspeakers below a thousand dollars that can equal the Chesky Audio LC1 Bookshelf Monitor. There came a time when I stopped listening for flaws, and I just sat and listened to enjoy the music. Bottom line if you build an affordable hi-end speaker they will come.

Remember to enjoy the music and from me, Semper Hi-Fi

Footnote
I can't count how many times at an Audio Society meeting the discussion turned to the average age of the people in the room. The discussion became, "How can we interest young people in high-quality audio?" That usually prompted a chorus of suggestions, though none of them seemed practical. A partial answer might be found in seventeen-year-old Lucca Chesky, who developed a new way to build a stereo speaker. Understand that he is a musician who grew up in a talented musical family.

As a matter of fact, he has a twin sister. She's (soon-to-be) a very famous singer named Paloma. I think we will be hearing a lot more from them both.

Specifications
Type: Two-way monitor / stand-mounted loudspeaker
Frequency Response: 50Hz - 20kHz, catering to a wide spectrum of sounds.
Tweeter: Wide-dispersion 1” dome surrounded by tessellation diffraction control technology.
Midrange/Woofer: High-resolution 6.5” driver with polypropylene cone.
Cabinet Material: Composite, multi-layer, and high-mass non-resonant material. 
Passive radiators: Dual inertially balanced 8-inch units for extended deep bass.
Sensitivity 86dB/W/m
Nominal Impedance 8 Ohms.
High-end audiophile internal wiring.
Crossover: Precision passive silver soldered crossover with high quality film capacitors.
Weight: 18 lbs.
Measurements: 10" x 8" x 10" (DxWxH)
Built by hand in the USA to exacting standards.
Warranty: One year coverage on all parts.
Price: $498 each in black, color edition Red or Brown are $625 each
  Stand not included

Company Information
Chesky Audio
Voice: (646)-712-0751
Website: CheskyAudio.com