As I’m wedging my hand into position to remove the oil filter from my 86 325ES, John Hiatt’s “Slow Turning” comes on, and this feels eerily suspicious – like maybe Spotify is paying too close attention to me and my habits. But sometimes the soundtrack of your life just lines up, like watching the evening news and listening to Devo. But I digress.
Auditioning small speakers in the garage while I’m working on my cars is a lot of fun and relaxing, plus it’s a great way to poke fun at my female friends that claim men can’t multitask. Change oil and review loudspeakers? No problem. Today’s treat is the new LSA-10 Signature speakers. You may not want to put a $1,750 pair of speakers in your garage, because hey, you can get a great set of coilovers for that kind of dough – right?
However, if you are one of those mancave garage people, who’ve garage is more of a home away from home, or at least an additional wing of the house, a pair of these might just be your cup of. Exquisitely finished in a chocolate rosewood veneer, the LS-10s look great in the garage with your favorite auto nearby. You might just love em so much, you’ll pull them in the house, or buy a second pair, but then it’s always easy for me to spend your money.
There’s only one caveat with these speakers – they have a rear firing passive bass radiator, so they will need to be a bit out from the wall. If you hang these on the wall, or put them up on shelves, they will not deliver their best. Again, I’m thinking more of the fancy garage people here.
Even hooked up to my vintage Marantz receiver out in the garage, the LS-10 Signatures fill the space. That rear firing bass radiator gives solid output down below 40hz, and really don’t require a subwoofer, so that’s a big plus. Their black, industrial, perforated grille is perfect for this environment and they should work well from an aesthetic standpoint.
Somehow, working on cars always channels classic rock, and a few CD’s worth of Allman Brothers (Eat a Peach, Live at the Fillmore, and Hitting the Note) has my toe tapping while I’m pouring some fresh oil in the crankcase. Does that count as doing three things at once?
These speakers are so much fun to listen to, once the cleanup is complete it’s time to have a properly social distanced cold one with my neighbor, who’s also been digging the tunes. Two beers later I feel like Hank Hill and Boomhauer. Blasting through some Zeppelin, Head East and a bit of Rush, we are both convinced these speakers are dynamic, and offer up some killer bass too. Soon, we are having too much fun, and the neighborhood grumpy pants stops by to tell us to turn it down. A true marker for success.
My neighbor exits stage left, but I’m having too much fun listening to these speakers, so it’s time to pull the E34 in the garage and put some leatherique on the seats. We’ll have more about that in a week when we’re done. Even at a lower level, listening to some Pat Metheny, I’m still having a great time.
For those wanting a more in-depth audiophile-y review of these speakers, there will be a full review in the upcoming issue of TONE magazine, where we put these speakers through their paces with a wider range of music and some higher end source components. But suffice to say, that whether you need a great pair of speakers for your home environment, or want to spoil yourself out in the garage, the LS-10s are an outstanding choice. Call Underwood HiFi and tell them we sent you. Click here for a direct link to their site…
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