Wharfedale LX-15M

The LX-15M enclosure is made from what Wharfedale call MDF/Particle — which should be good news as far as minimising cabinet resonance is concerned — and the 'woodwork' is covered in black carpet, which appears to be very tough and well fitted, without any loose patches or gaps at the corners. The entire front of the LX-15M is protected by a steel grille, which follows the slight outward curve of the cabinet and is therefore slightly convex. This adds to rigidity and makes the grille more resistant to being dented inward (and feels nice and solid because it doesn't bend inwards easily when you push on it) but the carpet covering at the centre point of both top and bottom panels may be slightly vulnerable to wear if the unit is transported up against something flat or rested on its front edge. If carpet finishes or even MDF boxes aren't your thing, have a look at the LX-15ME, because the 'E' suffix models (available throughout the LX range as far as I can tell) are made using 15mm plywood and have a smooth black-paint coating.

To try out the LX-15M I strapped it across the end of a 500W RMS power amp and ran some of my usual CD test tracks through it. Straight away it was apparent that this speaker has plenty of top end, and I experimented a bit by rolling off the HF and increasing the overall level until I achieved a very fair balance. As this is a monitor speaker, its intended target will very likely be sitting or standing right in front of it, and therefore projection or coverage pattern isn't all that critical so long as it's reasonably focused. The bottom end starts to get much more lively when driven quite hard, so in live use I would probably start with the high EQ backed off. The 1.4-inch exit HF driver (not all that common on boxes of this size, which tend to use smaller one-inch exit horns), with its large 1.2kg magnet assembly, certainly puts out some serious level, and the bass end seems to stay well under control — not boomy or loose-sounding at all, but perhaps just lacking a bit of depth at lower levels (probably because the top is so strong, and after all, it is a monitor). There are some speakers that, when I listen to them for the first time, I get the feeling that they're just asking to be driven hard, and this is one of them. I therefore felt it necessary to give the LX-15M a right good caning (just below amp clipping) for fifteen minutes or so with the punchiest tracks I could come up with. Even with the bass boosted by a few decibels, the 15-inch driver took everything in its stride, and the manufacturer's 'more power' tag is more than justified. As I had bought this speaker specifically to use as a kit-side monitor, I spent a while playing tracks 74 through 78 from my Sound Check 2 CD, which is a very handy thing to have if there's no drummer around, and I was more than satisfied with the big, crisp sound the LX-15M kept pumping out — if anyone wants 'more monitor' then I should certainly be able to oblige! I did use it briefly with a real live drummer at one rehearsal but I got nowhere near the sort of levels I'd be using at a bigger gig or possibly on an outdoor stage — although from the testing I have done I'm absolutely confident that it will take lots of big stick and do the job with knobs on when it goes out 'for real' later this month.