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With Linkwitz’s factory crossover and EQ settings, Isaac Adams measured a broadly even response in his room from about 45 Hz to 13 kHz and heard particularly strong imaging, ambience, and midrange detail. He also found less bass weight and high-frequency air than in his reference system. Those results describe one setup—not a universal prediction of how every LXmini will measure or sound.
How the LXmini was set up and measured
In Part 4 of his build series, published September 24, 2026, Isaac Adams removed the EQ changes he had made during the previous installment and returned to the kit guide’s settings before measuring and listening. He placed the speakers about 1–2 meters from the rear walls in an equilateral-triangle arrangement. For measurement and initial listening, the triangle was about seven feet on each side. He found that distance produced a distinctly separated, almost headphone-like stereo image, which he did not prefer as much as a less close presentation.
Adams used a miniDSP UMIK-1 USB measurement microphone and Room EQ Wizard (REW). With the manufacturer-supplied crossover and parametric EQ settings, he reported an in-room response centered around 83 dB from approximately 45 Hz to 13 kHz. Output fell quickly outside that span. These are his measurements in his listening room, not a controlled independent test or a guarantee of response in another room. Adams’s measurement and listening report.
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Room response versus near-field response
At the listening position, Adams saw peaks between 100 and 600 Hz and dips from 1 to 6 kHz. He attributed these irregularities to room interaction and cancellation between the speakers when the microphone was slightly off-center. Near-field measurements lacked most of those peaks and dips, but showed a noticeable peak around 10 kHz. Near-field results should not be read as a direct substitute for what a listener hears across the room; Adams noted that they showed more bass energy than his listening-position measurements.
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Response tilt and distortion
He described an approximately 3 dB tilt from the low end to 13 kHz, which he heard as a slightly warm balance with substantial bass. His distortion measurements showed predominantly second-harmonic distortion, with even- and odd-order distortion decreasing as frequency increased, plus a second-order hump around 1,350 Hz. He suggested that a nonlinearity in the full-range driver’s surround might explain the hump, but presented that as a guess rather than an established cause.
What the measurements mean in the context of the design
The LXmini is an active two-way design. Linkwitz Lab specifies a 700 Hz LR2 electrical crossover between the woofer and full-range driver, with DSP equalization. The manufacturer’s store page lists a 45 Hz to 20 kHz frequency range, but that range is not the same as a claim of flat in-room output or unrestricted loudness across the band. Linkwitz Lab’s LXmini design documentation describes the design and its frequency-dependent radiation pattern.
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In particular, the LXmini’s cardioid behavior is around the crossover region; its radiation pattern changes with frequency. The store page notes a physical limit on maximum sound level below 150 Hz for the small woofer. Linkwitz Lab’s design documentation says the equalized woofer response is 3 dB down at 45 Hz and identifies woofer excursion as the expected output limitation. A speaker can therefore reach into the low bass while still having limits on how loudly it can reproduce bass without excessive driver excursion.
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How Adams tuned the speakers for listening
After evaluating the factory settings, Adams wanted more bass and more high-frequency information. He raised the existing 50 Hz peak by 3 dB and adjusted EQ above 10 kHz, including a broad 8 dB peak at 17 kHz to soften the perceived effect of the rolloff above 13 kHz. He said these changes added bass weight and the high-frequency detail he felt was missing.
Those adjustments are an account of one listener’s preferences in one room, not recommended corrections for every LXmini. The measured room response, placement, listening position, and individual preference all affect whether a change is useful. Anyone experimenting with EQ should treat Adams’s values as an example of personal tuning, not a preset to copy.
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What the LXmini sounded like
Adams listened to Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out, Pentangle, The Stooges’ Fun House, and Tegan and Sara’s Love You to Death. Across those selections, he praised the midrange, soundstage, ambience, and imaging, describing instruments and voices as natural-sounding.
Imaging, ambience, and midrange
On “Blue Rondo à la Turk,” he noted saxophone and reed detail. Pentangle selections brought out clear guitar and glockenspiel. These impressions align with his broader praise for stereo separation and the sense of space around instruments, though the close speaker placement also contributed to the presentation he described as headphone-like.
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Bass and scale against his reference
On The Stooges, he heard convincing groove and upper-bass authority. Against his Meridian DSP6000 reference speakers, however, he found the LXminis smaller in scale and less capable of delivering bass weight. He also heard less high-frequency “air” than from his reference system, which used a beryllium tweeter.
That comparison is subjective, not a controlled head-to-head: the report does not establish matched playback levels or blind listening conditions. It is best understood as a useful description of what Adams preferred and noticed in his own system, rather than a definitive ranking of the speakers.
Who may appreciate these results
The listening account points to the LXmini’s strengths in spatial presentation and midrange clarity, while also clarifying the trade-offs a prospective builder should consider. The design’s DSP and active crossover allow deliberate system tuning, but the small woofer’s low-frequency output limits and the need for multiple amplifier channels matter when planning a room and setup.
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- Room and placement: The reported response changed between the listening position and near field, and the seven-foot triangle shaped the stereo presentation.
- Bass expectations: The design reaches into the low frequencies, but maximum output below 150 Hz is physically limited by the small woofer.
- System requirements: A stereo pair requires four amplifier channels and a compatible miniDSP crossover configuration.
- Tuning: Adams’s EQ changes reflect his tastes and room; the manufacturer settings were the baseline for his measurements.
- Comparisons: His observations against the Meridian DSP6000 are a single reviewer’s account, not a controlled comparison.
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