I was listening to this this very pair, you may have been too, at Axpona 2025.
And I am happy to report they made it from Schaumberg to the Barn unscathed.
The Grimm LS1c are not your typical active speakers, kinda in line with my findings that the Barn resident Grimm MU1 (review) and Grimm MU2 (review) are not your ordinary digital components. Case in point:
This is the tail end of my MU1 and if you scan from left to right, you’ll see an Ethernet jack called “LS1 control out” which is meant to connect to:
“control in” on the back of the LS1c. Another Ethernet run connects one LS1c to the other and you’re in business, more or less.
The LS1 manual is 68 pages long and it is jam packed with real info.
To hit just the tip of the highlights on the hardware side, the LS1c’s driver compliment is comprised of a “unique wide dispersion TPCD [Thin-ply Carbon Diaphragms] Carbon tweeter…developed in cooperation with driver manufacturer Seas” sitting under an 8” midrange-woofer also from Seas, powered by 120 Watts of NCORE-based Class D power per side. The frequency response for the LS1c, without the optional SB1 subwoofer, is a claimed 35Hz–27kHz +0.5dB/–3dB.
Grimm makes good use of DSP for many applications in the LS1c both in terms of overall performance—assembly included making sure the serial number of the leg with the electronics matched the speaker because every pair are calibrated using DSP to correct for any driver anomalies—and user settings including toe-in, EQ, and a number of parameters for property mating a sub, whether Grimm’s SB1 subwoofer that sits comfortably on the speaker’s base firing up extending the LS1c’s low end to 20Hz, or a third party pick (but why?).
Of course there’s tons more to talk about like the included LS1 Remote (center) that will come in handy for people who do not own a Grimm MU1, the LS1i USB interface, and all those cables. While I’ll give the Remote a spin, I imagine the MU1 will be the way I roll for most of the review.
Stay tuned for much more!
Grimm Audio LS1c Active Loudspeaker System
Price: starts at $26,500/pair | $31,400/pair in white HIMACS as reviewed | optional SB1 Subwoofers: $12,750/pair
Company Website: Grimm Audio
Technical Specifications
Frequency Response:
20 Hz – 27 kHz +0.5dB/-3dB
30 Hz – 20 kHz +/- 0.5dB (unsmoothed!)
Deviation from linear phase: <10 Degrees
Amplifier power: 2 x 120 Watt (per side); 400 Watt (per Sub)
Idle power, drawn from mains: 16W per LS1
Max SPL: (about) 105dB
Signal to noise ratio: 114dB (unweighted)
Crossover functions:
1550 Hz – 4th order Linkwitz Riley
70 Hz – 2nd order Linkwitz Riley (3-way system)
sum corrected to linear phase in normal mode, not corrected in ’low-latency‘ mode.
Supported sample rates:
44.1 – 192 kHz
Via USB with LS1i USB interface: 44.1 – 384 kHz (‘DXD’), DSD64 and DSD128
Level: The default ’0‘ setting of the LS1 remotes volume setting gives 79 dBC at the listening position with a -20 dBFS reference noise (’K14‘).
Latency: 7.3 ms (2-way) | 40 ms (3-way) | 5 ms in ’low-latency‘ mode
Current drawn from USB: 250mA
Maximum allowed USB cable length: 2m
Height: either 1150mm for Hifi use (standard sofa height) or 1450mm for studio use.
Width, Depth: 520mm x 160mm
Cabinet volume: 14 liters