Audiophilepure

One thing you certainly can’t call the Linkwitz LX521 is “conventional.” Veneer and finish choices notwithstanding, it is very much a “form-follows-function” type of design that eschews any attempts at overt “beautification” in favor of what is needed for ultimate performance. I don’t know that I have had a more aesthetically polarizing speaker in my home before. Opinions ranged from “Wow, that’s different and cool looking!” to “A speaker that only an audio nerd and his mother could love!” I guess that means I technically fall into both categories! Seriously though, I think the design is unique and some of the finish options that Linkwitz offers (such as the full American Walnut and the Aluminum/Panzerholtz options) can look quite striking.

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/scansonic-m20

Nonetheless, I think that the speaker still sounds a bit soft in the treble, with a lack of sparkle on cymbals and space in atmospheric recordings, and only after a bit of experimentation do I work out what I assume to be the problem.

Despite the dispersion characteristics of that vertically mounted tweeter, I form a strong impression that, in my listening position, my ears are just too high for this short speaker – an opinion reinforced when I get off the sofa, which isn’t exactly high, and sit on the floor. This is much better, leading me to wonder whether this speaker is designed for bean-bag listeners, and then to try some ways of solving the problem. Some small wooden blocks under the front spikes gives the M20 an upward tilt, which seems to help, but things really improve when I trawl out of the shed a pair of old – and hefty – 12in stands I have for some long-forgotten speakers, and park the M20 on these. Suddenly there’s better treble detail and focus, and an altogether more involving sound.