Legacy SE versus Vandersteen Quatros

The Quatro is side-firing and would make a mess of the low end if it were not tuned. I'm not particularly impressed with the bass of speakers which side-fire their low end drivers. A significant amount of nuance in the lower frequencies is lost.

For those who say it doesn't matter which direction the woofer points, I'm not buying it. I have used side, down, rear and forward firing woofers in speakers and all alternative directions to front firing are not as pleasing to my ear. The bass simply sounds flabbier, less distinct and uncecessarily involves the room more. So, yes, it's a good idea for Vandersteen to work to control the drivers blasting the bass toward a side wall.

So the Whisper has bass that comes from front and rear, that must "involve" the room............right? How is it you note you dont like a speaker that fires from side or rear and yet you own one? Yes its Dipole bass but its still "involving" the room no doubt.
What experience do you have with the Quatro? Have you spent years listening to it? Because I have spent years with both speakers.
I know your a fan of Legacy, have reviewed and I assume recieved some tasty discounts on the models you bought after glowing reviews, thats cool and nothing wrong with that. But I dont owe anyone anything, I didnt get a discount of any sort on either speaker and I am not in it for anything more than honest experienced opinion.
Maybe you can get the boss at your review site to actually review this or any Vandersteen speaker. Surely such a well respected and otherwise well reviewed speaker is something you could learn more about to honestly discuss.
So there the OP has it, several opinions to mull over.............good luck on whatever you decide, like I said Legacy is a good speaker, Vandersteen is just beyond it IMO.

Doug, was your posting the -2db frequencies for both speakers suppose to be saying something about quality? I found that odd (especially for a subjective reviewer), unless you were replying to someone's question, but I did not see it. That sort of stuff seems meaningless in evaluating the qualitative differences between the two speakers, especially when one of them is -2db at 24hz. They do seem to be very different types of speakers in terms of sound, I would think what would gravitate to one or the other rather easily if you could hear both.

Chad, I have owned the Vandy 1B, 2CE and 2W subs, prior to reviewing. I have heard the Quatro at dealers and shows. I have also heard the 5 at dealer and shows, and the 7 at shows. I have more than a glancing familiarity with Vandersteen sound. When it first came out I was interested in the Quatro and reviewing it. However, hearing it a few times I've not been motivated to pursue it. There likely would be a couple of reviewers at Dagogo.com who would love to do so.

A primary reason I pursued multiple reviews with the Legacy line is that I love panel sound - have for decades. I also am loathe to give up one technology for another; I have hated the idea that I should pursue "the One" reference speaker, dynamic or panel as an example. Legacy is one of the very few speaker makers who design hybrid full range dynamic/panel speakers. I really enjoy that sound, as is evidenced by my other reference speaker, the Kingsound King ESL. I heard something very good in the Legacy HD, and felt that it would be worthwhile to pursue a reference speaker with those qualities only refined further. I found a technology/sound I like and pursued it as far as I can afford. Reviewers are supposed to have a reference, and over the years I've worked to establish mine.

Bill Dudleston has built into the Whisper's bass driver complement an electronic "brake" system implemented via the crossover, to limit backward excursion of the rear driver, thus limiting the amount of rear-directed energy toward the headwall. The paired bass drivers also create a null at 90 degrees - toward the wall, so there is little interaction with the room there as well.

One thing's for sure, we can all get passionate about our speakers! :)

Pubul57, yes, I should have indicated it was in response to Chad's comment regarding the bass. He and I have gone round and round about the Vandy's and Legacy's before. I think he over-dramatizes and he thinks I'm out to lunch, so it's a perfect sparring match! All in good fun - I think! ;)

We all know that the quality in terms of clarity/detail of the low end is important. I included the specs to show that there is a sizable difference in low end output between the Quatro and the Focus SE. For me this is one critical component of the quality of the bass. While it may seem on paper not so critical, in listening for things like impact, slam, etc. those additional -6 dB are extremely important. The extra 6 dB down were what convinced me to let go of the Vandy subs when I bought the Legacy Focus HD. Despite the V2W having 3 of the powered 8" drivers, the adjustable sensitivity and phase, I preferred the low end of the HD.

Obviously, opinions will vary. :)