DRIVEN TO IMPROVE
GRIMM AUDIO LS1 Congratulations on your purchase of the Grimm Audio LS1 playback system. In this manual we like to assist you in setting up the LS1 playback system. You will learn how to connect various sources and how to control the electronics, the LS1r Controller and the LS1 remote software for Mac and PC. Furthermore we like to explain what makes the LS1 playback system so different from all other hifi speakers, why they look, function and most important sound the way they do.
The Acoustics The Electronics The theory behind the LS1's acoustical design originates back to the 1930s and '40s. Cabinets in those days were flat but wide, which moved the so called ’baffle-step‘ frequency to lower than 250 Hz. Below the baffle step frequency, sound is radiated equally in all directions. Above the baffle step the sound becomes more forward directed, thereby attenuating reflections against the wall behind the speaker and the side walls.
Positioning Positioning Room Acoustics Keep in mind that one always hears the loudspeaker plus its acoustic environment. Although the LS1 has superior acoustical characteristics, positioning it correctly in your room remains of great importance. Let‘s first have a brief look at room acoustics and then see how positioning the LS1 influences them.
Positioning Positioning LS1 Setup Correct placement of your loudspeakers is essential for achieving the ultimate goal of reproducing the music as it was intended by the artists. During production in the studio the producer listened in a so called ’equal triangle‘ setup where the corners of the triangle between the two loudspeakers and the listener are all 60 degrees. When possible, please try to reach this arrangement. The distance between the loudspeakers ideally is between 2.5 and 3m.
LS1s - Subwoofer LS1s - Subwoofer LS1s - the optional Low Frequency Extension LS1s - Subwoofer With some kinds of music at higher playback levels, sufficient acoustic power in the low frequency range is required for high fidelity playback. In many cases the standard 2-way configuration will be able to deliver the full range at a sufficiently high level, because of the generally limited amount of ultra-low frequency sound in most music.
Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking and Assembly If you are ready to assemble your pair of LS1‘s, please first make yourself familiar with all components in the box. The open transport package should look somewhat like in the pictures on the left. First take out the ’accessory box‘, the CAT5 cables, both speaker cabinets and the extruded aluminium profiles, which for simplicity from here on shall be called ’legs‘.
Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking and Assembly Take a speaker cabinet and lay it down on the empty and closed shipping crate or on a big, clean table, with the drivers facing up. Place two of the legs next to it, one with and one without electronics. Normally, when setting up in a living room, you´ll prefer the electronics panel facing to the back side of the speaker in order to look uncluttered.
Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking and Assembly Put both legs flush with the cabinet on the table, until the four magnets have snapped onto the metal sides of the speaker cabinet. Please be careful, these are very strong magnets. Keep them far from anything sensitive to magnetic fields. Please secure the connection of the legs and cabinet by fitting the knurled screws (found in the ’accessory box‘) on the top part of the inside of the legs.
Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking and Assembly From now on it is really helpful and recommended to have a second person to help you setting up the speakers. The footplate is mounted with the four hexagon socket screws found in the ’accessory box‘ (as is the matching Allen key). Please only tighten those gently, there is no need to torque them down too hard.
Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking And Assembly Unpacking and Assembly Now you can carefully set the assembled LS1 upright. As mentioned asking a second person to help you is highly recommended. Best is to directly place the LS1 close to the right spot in the room. If you are on your own, the easiest way to carry the speaker is to stand behind it and grab it underneath the bottom profile of the cabinet with both hands.
HardwareHardware Control Settings Control Settings Hardware Control Settings Internal flow diagram of LS1 The LS1 is not just a speaker but a complete playback system. On the left page you see a flow diagram that illustrates the various internal processes. First there are switches that select a signal from the various sources. Some sources are connected directly to the LS1, some to the LS1r Controller box.
LS1r - Controller LS1r - Controller As we know already the LS1 is more than a speaker, it's actually a complete playback system with amplifiers, converters, volume control and source selection. These are the sources that you can connect to the LS1 system: LS1r Controller 1) Computer (Mac or PC) connected via USB 2) Analog Input (for any analog source, this can e.g. be a phono stage, a tuner or even a tape machine) 3) Digital Input 1 (directly on one of the speakers) via AES/EBU or S/PDIF (these can e.g.
LS1r - Controller LS1r - Controller Let's have a closer look at the functions of the LS1r Controller. The display on the front panel shows either the volume level, an activated MUTE (or DIM) mode or the respective input source while switching sources. LS1r Controller On top of the box you find a big dial that controls three functions: 1. Volume Control If you turn the dial clockwise the volume is raised, if you turn it counterclockwise the volume is attenuated. 2.
LS1r - Controller LS1r - Controller LS1r Controller Programming the LS1r Controller / IR Remote You can step through the available controls by turning the dial. Some features of your LS1r Controller can be adjusted to suit your preference. The LS1r Controller also has the ability to learn infrared commands from all kinds of handheld IR remotes to control various settings. This means you can use a remote control you already own from another product to control the LS1r Controller.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings The LS1 Remote software is designed to control all settings of the LS1 via the LS1i USB interface. You will use it during first setup of the LS1 system and whenever you like to make changes to the setup. Additionally it works as a fully functional remote control of the LS1's main parameters, such as volume and source selection. You can use it in stead of or next to an LS1r Controller.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings Advanced Studio Monitor Controls The main display offers a second mode in which more functions are visible. These functions are in general only useful for professional audio engineers. This mode is engaged by selecting the option ’Advanced Studio Monitor Controls‘ from the ’Tools‘ menu. The functions of the main screen will then be as follows: 1 1. These buttons let you select an input source. 2 4 3 5 7 6 2.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings 8. This button mutes both channels. Pressing the button again deactivates the mute function. You may also use the space bar of the keyboard to mute or un-mute the LS1. 9. Mute L and Mute R will mute either the left or right channel. They toggle with each other and with the large mute button. By clicking on the active button, the mute is deactivated again. 10.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings PREFERENCES When setting up the LS1 system for the first time, please check out the preferences or ’Settings‘ window of the LS1 remote software. It offers easy access to the settings of all LS1 parameters. Some functions may need occasional adjustment, so you may like to have a look at the settings once in a while.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings To perform your initial LS1 setup, please have a look at the LS1 page. We will guide you through all settings here. Most settings are stored in the LS1 and the remote as soon as you change them. Only if you want an EQ preset to stay active when quiting the software you need to press a ’save in LS1‘ button. System Setup - Please select whether you have installed a 2-way or 3-way LS1 system.
LS1 setup with 45° angle Software Control Settings LS1 setup with 30° angle SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Toe-in angle - Because of the acoustic properties of its wide baffle, the off-axis sound level of the LS1 becomes gradually softer for all frequencies above 250 Hz when the angle is larger. Since its tweeter has a wide dispersion up to high frequencies, the LS1 approaches this theoretical response very well. Grimm Audio LS1's can therefore be used succesfully in a ’toe-in‘ setup.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings The next page shows the EQ settings. The LS1 EQ can be used to apply some gentle acoustic correction in the bass and adjust the treble to taste. There‘s an option to save up to 4 preferences, that can be used for different listening conditions. One setting can be saved in the LS1 as the standard EQ curve which is used at power up. Filter Presets - If the ’Flat‘ preset is selected, the faders of the EQ cannot be operated.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings One tab to the right you will find the Woofers page. Dependent on the selection of a 2-way or 3-way loudspeaker on the ’LS1‘ page, you will find either the 2-way settings or the 3-way settings active. 2-way woofer settings - The only parameter here is ’Low-cut frequency‘. The LS1 can be completely linear down to 25Hz, even as a two-way system without the subwoofers.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings With the Crossover frequency function you can set the crossover frequency for the 3rd party subwoofer. If possible, please make sure to set your subwoofer to ’linear‘ and use the crossover of the LS1 in stead of the filter in the sub. A crossover setting near 70 Hz will usually work well. The final parameter is polarity. You may turn the polarity of the subwoofer in phase or out of phase to optimize the crossover region.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings Next up are the LS1r Controller settings. Here you can control the brightness of the LS1r Controller display. Additionally you can choose whether pressing the big volume dial activates the MUTE or the DIM function and if the display shows the volume, the input source or nothing at all. One tab to the right you will find the Pro Settings page. These are in general only useful for professional audio engineers.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings Dim amount - Here you can choose between a dim (temporarily attenuation) value of either -10dB or -20dB. The Dim function is activated in the LS1 remote software main window or (optionally) by pressing the volume knob of the remote. Warning indication - This turns on a warning indication by blinking the power LEDs on the LS1 fronts.
SoftwareSoftware Control Settings Control Settings Software Control Settings The last tab: System. System - Here you can see if the communication path between all parts of the chain (LS1r Controller, software remote, and LS1's) is properly working. In case you find an error message, please check the wiring and whether you have inserted the little cat5 ’loop back‘ plug in the last LS1's ’Thru‘ connector. If everything is running fine, there‘s an indication of the amount of LS1's detected in the chain.
Connectivity Connectivity In this chapter we will inform you about how to connect all cables to setup the whole playback system. Please follow these cabling instructions carefully. CAT 5 to LS1r Controller Connectivity 1. Being an active system, the LS1 needs power, so the active leg of each speaker has an IEC power connector that needs to be connected to a power outlet. If you have the three-way system with the additional LS1s subwoofer, you will only need to connect the subwoofer to the power outlet.
Connectivity Connectivity 7. If you use a subwoofer, each LS1 has a ’sub out‘, that offers an already filtered analog line level signal. The filter settings can be chosen in the LS1 Remote software preferences. In case you own the Grimm LS1s subwoofers, please also read the following paragraph about connecting the LS1s subs. 8. The ’AES/EBU out‘ XLR-out on the usb-interface will not be used in a hifi-setup.
Connectivity Connectivity The LS1 offers the following music source options: 1. Analog input on the left and right LS1 -> Here both speakers must be connected to the respective left or right line level output from your analog source. If no LS1r or LS1i is connected and there is no digital source present, the LS1 defaults to the analog input. Connectivity 2.
Connectivity Connectivity In case you do not use a pc or media player with 'USB DAC output' for music playback, you may remove the LS1i USB interface from your system after the initial setup. The connections are as pictured on the left page. As you can see, the LS1r Controller is now directly connected to the first LS1. Whenever you feel need to make adjustments to the LS1 preference settings, just connect the LS1i USB interface again. The input options in this case are as follows: 1.
Connectivity Connectivity Connecting the Grimm Audio LS1s subwoofers for a three-way LS1 system: If you have decided for the three-way-version of the LS1, there are only two additional connections to be made per speaker. The supplied symmetrical audio cable (XLR female -> male) connects the filtered and corrected audio signal from the ’sub out‘ connector of the LS1 to the ’input‘ connector of the subwoofer. Connectivity Unlike with the two-way system the powercable is now plugged into the subwoofer.
Table Of Contents Table Of Contents page 66 1. Welcome / Overview page 5 2. The Acoustics / The Electronics page 6 3. Positioning page 8 4. LS1s - Subwoofer page 12 1. Unpacking And Assembly page 14 5. Hardware Control Settings page 24 6. LS1r - Controller page 26 7. Software Control Settings page 32 8. Connectivity page 56 10. Table Of Contents / Notes page 66 11. Technical Specifications page 68 12.
Technical Specifications Technical specifications Frequency response: 20 Hz - 27 kHz +0.5dB/-3dB 30 Hz - 20 kHz +/- 0.
Grimm Audio Strijpsestraat 94 5616 GS Eindhoven The Netherlands info@grimmaudio.com www.grimmaudio.com Grimm Audio LS1 Manual, English, Version 3.
