Chesky Audio Revises Its Compact Speakers and Keeps the Pair Prices
An upgrade that keeps the price in place is easier to get interested in than another explanation for a price increase. Chesky Audio’s LC1.2 Bookshelf Monitor and LC2.2 Reference Monitor arrive at announced prices of $1,250 and $2,000 per pair, respectively, with changes to the cabinets and acoustic hardware.
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The company’s November 6 announcement introduces StrataMax cabinet construction. Chesky describes a multilayer structure using constrained-layer damping to control cabinet vibration. Both models also receive new bass/midrange drivers, tweeters with integrated waveguides and a revised passive-radiator system.
The smaller LC1.2 gains an aluminum front baffle, bringing that aspect of its construction closer to the larger model. Satin Graphite is the announced finish. These details belong to the new versions; measurements and dimensions from the older LC1 and LC2 should not be assumed to carry over.
Chesky claims better bass extension and improvements in resolution and imaging. A new cabinet or driver can be a meaningful engineering change, but the release alone does not tell us how much improvement reaches a listening seat. That needs measurements and listening under known conditions.
The unchanged prices make the comparison with the previous models straightforward enough to investigate. The more useful comparison for a buyer will be with other complete speaker systems at the same cost, including any stands and amplification the setup requires.
These are passive speakers priced as pairs. The announcement makes a clear case for examining the redesign, while leaving the eventual sound assessment to evidence beyond the company’s description.
