LSA 20 Statements review

I had a previous thread where I was asking for recommendations for speakers and I received a lot of fantastic advice.  Those discussions ended up leading me to Underwood Hifi and the LSA 20 Statements.  I have now been using them for a couple of months and wanted to post a review for others to be able to see for their own searches in the future.  

Before I get into it I want to make it clear that this is not what I do for a living. I lead software development teams so I am far more used to writing bug reports and technical manuals than reviews of hardware.   

What I wanted was to improve my setup for pure music in my home office. What I started with was a Emotiva BasX pre-amp and amp, Emotiva T2+ speakers, & RSL Speedwoofer 10" sub. For a source I used a USB C to optical adapter with optical cable from my Macbook Pro running Amazon HD Music.  Also coming off the laptop for music and meetings, I had a Drop Grace DAC, 789 headphone amp, and Dan Clark Ether CX cans.  The Emotiva speakers came from the front L/R of my home theater that I upgraded to Martin Logan Motion 60xti's last year.  The system was was not bad but I knew there was more to be had.  

After taking advice from my post and reading lots of reviews and stuff, I ended up going with the LSA 20 Statements.  This put me under my budget which then allowed me to get the Audio-GD R28 and an upgraded USB cable.  Even with them, I was still under my original $5k budget.  How often does that happen in this world? 

The R28 is a DAC, pre-amp, and headphone amp.  It allowed me to greatly simplify my setup.  Now I have the Statements, the R28, and the Emotiva BasX amp.  I use the upgraded USB cable to connect the R28 to the Mac.  I also have my Dan Clark cans directly into the R28 so I was able to remove that DAC and Amp from the system. I have since upgraded the speaker cables and RCA interconnects from the R28 to the amp and they did make things a little better still. But for this review I don't think they really change what I want to talk about.  The R28 did arrive before the speakers so it was hooked up prior.  And even though it also was in the burn-in period for the R28, I could hear a difference in my T2+'s.  They did sound a bit better with the new setup. 

One last call out is the R28 does not have a dedicated sub output and neither does the Emotiva BasX amp.  So in switching, I am no longer running a sub.  

The LSA 20 Statements were on a pallet delivered by a freight company.  The boxes had a couple of small dings but were otherwise intact.  I hoisted the boxes into the house and into my home office which is honestly, right there when you come in.  The boxes were heavy but manageable by just myself.  That may not hold true for everyone.  When I unboxed them, I was very happy with what I saw. The veneer is a gorgeous rosewood with a mirror finish. They were well packed and none of the shipping dings on the boxes were transferred to the speakers.  In with the speakers were the metal grills and a set of 3 spikes and washers.  I have hardwood floors so I did install the spikes without issues but I honestly, didn't like how they sat on the washers as they felt unstable.  The stability also was not helped by the fact that they use a tripod design for them instead of 4. Truly, the only complaint I have with the speakers is this,  I would love to use a set of outriggers to widen the stance and make it more stable so if you know of any that would fit, please let me know.  I did pick up a set of solid rubber speaker "feet" and I have them sitting on those.  I thought about the IsoAcoustic feet but I am finding it difficult to mentally wrap my mind around the cost of them.  I had gotten a similar set from SVS when I purchased my PB3000 sub for my home theater.  They worked great with the sub but those were far less expensive than the IsoAcoustics.  Now, about the sound.  I think they sound amazing.  My Emotiva's were good, but these are better.  I consistently am hearing little sounds I did not before...extra vibrations to the guitar strings or a waggle to the trumpet for a couple of examples.  While they have settled in a bit over the last couple of months, they still sounded good out of the box. 

I freely admit that I don't have much experience with really high end speakers.  I've never heard Legacy, Goldenear, or other ones that would be consider top shelf speakers.  I have heard some setups in shops like Fry's and Magnolia Hifi but that's it and those are always in a room designed for something like that.  In my setup here, they are about 5 feet apart, behind my desk chair, and angled inward to where I sit.  These are not as big as the T2+'s so the tweeter is about 6" below the level of my ear.  They are about a foot off the wall but they are angled so if you run a line from the rear port or the rear 5x7's, it is closer to 2' from the wall in that manner plus any reflection bounces away instead of right back.  I don't know if that truly matters but I am trying to make sure I don't miss any details that someone might find important. 

Back to the sound.  The highs are clear and can have subtlety if the music does.  But I have not found them to be particularly fatiguing like I hear about some speakers that are too detailed.    That doesn't mean someone else will have the same experience though because they will have a different setup and, well, different ears.  The mid range is also clear and present without being overpowering.  The bass is available when the music calls for it but do not hear thump outside of that.  This was a bit of an adjustment for me because I was running a dedicated sub in here as well as my home theater and even in my truck.  These speakers are listed down to 25 hertz if I recall correctly and while I am not buying a meter just to check, they do hit low.  But compared to what I was used to, it was understated.  The more I think about it however, my thought is that these speakers are probably doing a more accurate job of replicating what is in the music and with the subs, I generally over-bass things. I don't know if that is actually a word but I think you understand what what I am trying to get at.  It is my perception that needed changing, not a flaw in the speakers.  

All in all the music floats to me and I can get lost in it.  It doesn't matter if I am listening to the Moonlight Sonata like what is playing as I type this sentence, or if I am listening to Joe Satriani make a guitar sing.  I was listening to Pump up the Jam by Technotric an hour ago and everything was clear with plenty of bass.  I listen to all sorts of music and I have not been unhappy with any of it. 

If I crank it up (generally not when I am still sitting there), I do find things get a little muddled. However, I think that is more due to my amp than any issue with the speakers.  A new amp is my next purchase for this setup so I will be able to say for sure at that point. 

So to wrap up my long winded pontification, I am very happy with the speaker.  I find it to be nice looking and solidly built. It is well put together and it sounds amazing.  I am looking forward to using it for many years to come.  

In the future, is there anything that you would like added to these reviews so I can do a better job?