If you own a recent HDTV or home theater receiver then you may have come across the name Audyssey. This company specializes in audio technology designed for movie lovers and audio buffs. Their technologies help address problems such as spikes in volume, complex room arrangements and improving sound quality at low volumes.

Besides providing technology for other company’s products, Audyssey has recently released their own digital speaker products. Their New York City inspired Lower East Side Media Speakers are designed to fit in with a computer, TV set top box, or media Center.

Designed with a retro appearance that provides a modern sound the Lower East Side Media Speakers are being marketed with a hipster ethos. This is immediately noticed with their use of Instagram style photos on their packaging and website for this product.

Audyssey ships the Lower East Side Media Speakers in a red cardboard box with images of the speaker on the front along with snapshots of Lower East Side of New York City. The back of the package lists features, specifications and box contents along with more pictures and some history about the Lower East Side.

 

 

The speakers system comes protected between two cardboard protectors. The contents of the packaging includes the Lower East Side Media Speakers, a power supply, a 3.5 mm audio cable and a speaker interconnect cable. Sadly not included in the package is an optical cable.

The Lower East Side Media Speakers are primarily all-black that measure 9.3” x 5” x 6” with a rounded body. A red trim wraps the around the front 1/3 of the speaker with a non-removable black grille on the front. The speakers angle upward with a metal stand with rubber grips on the sides and back to keep the speaker from sliding. The whole setup weighs in at 7 lbs.

   

Found inside each speaker are a 0.75” silk-dome tweeter, a 3.5” woofer and a 4” passive bass radiator.

The back of the right speaker has a red and black interconnect jack, while the left speaker features the same jack along with 3.5 mm audio input, optical audio input and power supply connector.

 

 

On the front of the left speaker is the power button, which also doubles as the volume control. An LED behind the grill indicates whether the speaker is in standby via a red light or on via green light. Adjacent to the power button is a 3.5 mm headphone input jack.

   

These speakers feature a passive bass radiator that work in conjunction with Audyssey‘s proprietary technology to provide a sound that usually comes from a 2.1 speaker system using a subwoofer. Looking at the back of each speaker you’ll see the subwoofer like lpassive radiator; just be careful when grabbing the speakers from the back not to damage this area.

Audyssey envisioned the lower East side speakers to work with Apple TV, computers, HDTV’s, Blu-ray/DVD players, cable or satellite set top boxes, PlayStation 3, Boxee, iPods and iPhones.

Specifications:

   

Conclusion:

Audyssey is a company who is specializes in audio and their Lower East Side Media Speakers showcases their technology and ability to pack a rich sound experience in a bookshelf speaker system. Don’t let their bookshelf size and retro appearance of the speakers fool you as they showcase a rich full soundstage. Acoustically I don’t have any complaints about the Lower East Side Media Speakers.

For its price point the LES is comparable to the Antec Soundscience Rockus 3D which I have reviewed in the past. Overall I prefer the sound of the Lower East Side Media Speakers. If you are looking for an outstanding set of speakers to pair with a game console, media player or computer then the Lower East Side Media Speakers is a fantastic option.

 

Pros:
+Terrific sound
+Retro design
+Well constructed
+Analog and digital enabled

Cons:
-Not wall mountable
-No built in equalization ability
-Lack of remote
-Does not include optical cable

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

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