Chesky Audio’s $498 Audiophile Bookshelf Speaker is Kicking Ass and Taking Names at CAF 2024

As a parent, you kind of expect your kids to be a bit rebellious. Whether its in their taste of music, selection of life partner or choice of a career, the apple sometimes tries to distance itself from the tree. So I would imagine that David Chesky, owner of the audiophile recording label Chesky Records, may have been a bit surprised when his 17-year-old son Lucca came home from his summer physics research program at Princeton University and said, “Hey, Dad, I have a great idea for a new loudspeaker design.”

But as any good parent would do, the elder Chesky encouraged his son to “go for it.”

Experimenting with different absorptive and anti-resonant materials and advanced 3D printing techniques, Lucca Chesky toiled for weeks refining his concept, building prototypes and ultimately deciding on a final design. And so Chesky Audio, and its first product, the LC1 Bookshelf Monitor was born.

The design itself is relatively straightforward. It combines a high-resolution 6.5″ bass/midrange driver with a wide-dispersion 1″ dome tweeter surrounded by what Chesky calls “Unique Tessellation diffraction control.” It features a hardwired silver soldered crossover with audiophile-grade film capacitors and high quality internal wiring from a brand well-known in audiophile circles. To maximize bass response from the tiny cabinet, the LC1 features dual inertially-balanced 8-inch fluid-coupled “subwoofers” which are said to extend bass all the way down to 40 Hz. And the speaker comes in at a surprisingly affordable cost of $498/each ($996/pair).

In Lucca’s words, “I wanted to offer that high-quality audiophile sound to a younger generation of buyers, who may not have the space – or the budget – for a pair of high quality bookshelf speakers from one of the more established brands.” Chesky’s exposure to advanced damping materials at Princeton’s labs inspired him to incorporate these into 3D-printed cabinetry to create a more optimized loudspeaker housing, free from the resonances that can impact a speaker’s performance. And, from what we’ve seen and heard so far, he seems to be onto something.

We got to hear the Chesky Audio LC1 at Capital Audio Fest in Rockville, MD this week and have to say we were impressed by what we heard. This “little speaker that could” was holding its own at a high end Hi-Fi show where some of the systems ran into the half million dollar range and beyond. The LC1 features pinpoint imaging, surprisingly robust bass and a toe-tapping tuneful musicality that was missing from many speakers at more than five times the size and cost. I had left the room and resumed my weary ambling when a cut from Hans Zimmer’s “Dune” soundtrack called out to me, bringing me back to my seat to just sit down and enjoy the music emanating from the LC1s for a few minutes longer. For those attending this year’s CAF show, be sure to stop by room #859 to hear these little gems for yourself.

Of course, no loudspeaker is perfect and the design tradeoff in making a small speaker that can reach down so low is that its efficiency rating is only about 83 dB (2.83V@1m). So you will want to pair this with a fairly powerful amplifier. And, while the system was loud enough in a medium-sized hotel room to capture the dynamics of songs from a variety of different genres, you can’t expect it to reach cinematic reference levels in a larger room. Also, the speaker is currently hand-made in New York City by the young Master Chesky himself. So if you order a pair when he’s got a final exam or a school project due, you might have to wait a few days.

Specs from the Manufacturer:

• Wide-dispersion 1” dome tweeter surrounded by tessellation diffraction control technology
• High-resolution 6.5” bass/midrange driver with polypropylene cone
• Dual inertially-balanced 8-inch fluid coupled subwoofers
• Frequency Response: 40Hz-20KHz
• Sensitivity: 83 dB (2.83V@1m)
• Dimensions (HWD): 10″ x 8″ x 10″
• Weight: 18 Pounds

The Bottom Line

In an industry that is slow to innovate and hard to infiltrate, it’s refreshing to see a new voice taking a new approach to providing affordable high-quality sound to the next generation of music lovers. We were seriously impressed by what we heard and are hoping to get a pair in soon for a full review. Meanwhile, those interested in checking out the LC1 now can visit the company’s web site: Cheskyaudio.com.

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