Best Places To Buy Little British Monitors

The Little British Monitor (LBM) is a pair of small active speakers, handmade to order, with line and Bluetooth connections. The speakers are 12cm x 12cm x 20cm and are designed to be equally suitable for recording engineers, musicians, or music lovers. The LBM was created by audio engineer Simon Ashton and launched on Kickstarter in 2016, receiving over three times its required funding. The speakers can be purchased either fully built or in kit form. They are available to buy from Audiosmile, Ashton's company, and from What Hi-Fi? magazine.

Little British Monitor MKII on Kickstarter

The Little British Monitor (LBM) MKII is a reference micro speaker system by Simon Ashton. The LBM first launched on Kickstarter in 2016 to great success, receiving over three times its required funding. The LBM MKII model was launched on Kickstarter in November 2018, with the campaign ending in December 2018.

The LBM MKII features a new transmission-line front-firing bass port, a stainless steel back panel, and a variable 'boundary adjustment' dial, which allows the balance of the speaker to be adjusted according to placement. The speaker system includes a volume-controlled subwoofer output, and inputs via RCA and a 3.5mm jack.

The LBM MKII crowdfunding campaign received £28,875 in backing, exceeding its £8,000 goal. The LBM MKII was designed and built by hand in England by Ashton, with a goal of building the best loudspeaker possible in a small size of just 12 x 12 x 20cm (2.8L). The speaker system offers 4x50W of Class-AB analogue amplification, with each driver independently powered.

The LBM MKII is available in kit form for £345, including 9mm birch plywood, drivers, baffles, ribbon cable, knobs, port damping foam, and a comprehensive DIY assembly manual. The fully assembled product is available for £559, including a pair of "little feet" stands with wooden stands, neoprene isolators, and steel plates.

Little British Monitor DIY kits

The Little British Monitor (LBM) is a compact, hand-built, Bluetooth-enabled speaker that can be purchased either pre-assembled or as a DIY kit. The DIY kit includes 9mm birch plywood, drivers, baffles, ribbon cable, knobs, port damping foam, and a comprehensive DIY assembly manual. The LBM II DIY Kit is available for purchase on AudioSmile and was previously available on Kickstarter.

The LBM was designed and built by Simon Ashton in the UK with the goal of creating the best loudspeaker possible in a small size of just 12 x 12 x 20cm (2.8L). The LBM features a bass loading technique called a 'micro transmission line', which is capable of tighter and more extended bass than standard port tubes. This technique is usually only found in large and expensive speakers, making the LBM a unique and powerful little speaker.

The LBM also features Class-AB analogue amplification, which provides significantly better sound quality than the class-D digital amplifiers commonly found in compact speakers. Each driver is independently powered, resulting in 4x50W of amplification. The LBM also includes a volume-controlled subwoofer output and a new transmission-line front-firing bass port, allowing for a powerful and immersive audio experience.

In addition to its audio capabilities, the LBM offers a choice of walnut or oak real wood veneer finish, giving it a stylish and elegant look. The LBM also comes with optional "Little Feet" stands, which feature a constrained-layer damped surface to isolate and dissipate vibration, ensuring that your audio experience is uninterrupted by unwanted vibration and sound colouration.

The LBM II DIY Kit provides a rewarding creative experience for audio enthusiasts and allows for a final result that can be cherished for its sound quality and craftsmanship.

Little British Monitor with Little Feet stands

The Little British Monitor (LBM) is a pair of small active speakers, handmade to order, with line and Bluetooth connections. The LBM was designed by audio engineer Simon Ashton and launched on Kickstarter in 2016, receiving over three times its required funding.

The LBM II is an upgraded version of the original LBM, featuring a new transmission-line front-firing bass port, a stainless steel back panel, and a variable 'boundary adjustment' dial. The design goal was to "build the best loudspeaker in a true desktop size of just 12cm x 12cm x 20cm (2.8L)".

The LBM II can be purchased in kit form for £345, which includes the 9mm birch plywood, drivers, baffles, ribbon cable, knobs, port damping foam, and a comprehensive DIY assembly manual. For those who do not wish to build their own speakers, the fully assembled LBM II can be purchased for £559, which includes a pair of "Little Feet" stands.

The "Little Feet" stands are custom-designed vibration damping and isolating stands that match the LBM. They are made using the 'Constrained Layer Damping' technique, which comprises two steel layers laminated using a specific acrylic adhesive. The support plate is de-coupled from the stand body with neoprene, and the stand acts as a sink for unwanted vibrations that would otherwise pass to your desk or shelf, causing colouration of the sound.

The LBM II with Little Feet stands can be purchased directly from the manufacturer, Audiosmile, for £335 for the wood effect finish or £415 for the real veneer finish.

Little British Monitor in walnut or oak veneer

The Little British Monitor (LBM) is a compact, active desktop speaker that offers a "buy or DIY" option. The LBM MKII model features a choice of walnut or oak real wood veneer and measures only 20cm high and 12cm wide.

The LBM was initially launched on Kickstarter, offering a build-it-yourself kit for £345. The kit includes 9mm birch plywood, drivers, baffles, ribbon cable, knobs, port damping foam, and a comprehensive DIY assembly manual. For those who prefer to purchase the finished product, the LBM MKII is also available fully assembled for £559.

The LBM MKII features a transmission-line front-firing bass port, a stainless steel back panel, and a variable 'boundary adjustment' dial that allows the balance of the speaker to be adjusted according to placement. Each driver is independently powered, providing 4x50W of Class-AB analogue amplification, which is uncommon in desktop speakers.

The LBM stands out from other desktop loudspeakers with its attention to design and construction details, including its micro transmission line, custom-designed "Little Feet" vibration-damping stands, and Class-A/B Amplifiers. The LBM also incorporates Bluetooth aptX HD technology, enabling wireless streaming from almost any device.

The LBM MKII is a significant upgrade from the original LBM, which was first introduced through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016. The new model offers enhanced features and improved sound quality, making it a great choice for recording engineers, musicians, or music lovers.

Little British Monitor creator Simon Ashton

The Little British Monitor (LBM) is the brainchild of Simon Ashton, a young British speaker designer and entrepreneur. In 2015, Ashton founded the audio brand AudioSmile, which has been crafting audio experiences by hand in England since 2008.

Ashton's Little British Monitor first launched on Kickstarter in 2016, where it received over three times its required funding. The design goal, as stated on the Kickstarter page, was to "build the best loudspeaker possible in a small size of just 12 x 12 x 20cm (2.8L)". The LBM is a high-end, Bluetooth-enabled, fully active loudspeaker that can be purchased either as a finished product or a build-it-yourself kit. The DIY kit includes 9mm birch plywood, drivers, baffles, ribbon cable, knobs, port damping foam, and a comprehensive DIY assembly manual.

The LBM is a successor to Ashton's previous designs, the LBM and LBM MK2. While these earlier models focused on combining quality and convenience, the new LBM prioritises "the distillation of high-end studio monitoring into a compact form". According to Ashton, the new LBM is "designed from the ground up to excel in every metric, it’s perfect for those who demand purity of sound whether for mobile recording, desktop audio or simply to create an unobtrusive listening system with the added convenience of Bluetooth aptX HD connectivity."

The LBM features a custom-designed tweeter waveguide, which minimises cabinet edge diffraction while ensuring consistent directivity across the full frequency range. It also has a low 1.5kHz crossover frequency and close driver spacing, providing consistent high performance regardless of listening angle, even in the vertical axis. The LBM's bass port is another notable feature, utilising a bass loading technique called a 'transmission line' to achieve more extended and tight bass than standard port tubes. This technique is usually only found in large and expensive speakers, making the LBM's utilisation of it in a compact form quite remarkable.

The Little British Monitor is available for purchase directly from the AudioSmile website, with the finished product retailing for £529 GBP and the DIY kit for £349 GBP.

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