Has anyone listened to Legacy speakers?

I've auditioned the Legacy line-up twice - largely because there were qualities I liked a lot about them and some that I really didn't. I understand why so many people are happy with the speakers, they are definitely a "rocker's speaker" and I'd recommend anyone to audition them. But, with that said, I didn't end up buying them.

First, I felt the Focus was the sweet spot in the line-up. I didn't like the new Empire speakers - they were not natural sounding to me. And, the Whispers are just not a real-world speaker for my home (speakers too big).

I thought there were significant benefits of the Focus versus the less expensive speakers, particularly in the area of mid-range and vocal transparency.

If you love rock, love moving a lot of air, this speaker will immerse you in the sound. And, if you want a fairly revealing mid-range, then the Focus may be the speaker for you.

My problems had to do more with coherence and the boom. But, everything is a trade-off. If you end up getting them, enjoy.

By the way, I ended up going a very different direction than the Legacy. After auditioning Thiels, Revels, B&W's, Ariels, Dynaudio, etc. over a two year period I narrowed my search down to Revel and Harbeth's. If you like the full sound of the Legacy, you may love the Revels (which I did), and I strongly recommend them. But, I ended up with the Harbeth's 7ES. It's a much smaller speaker, but I love the mid-range. I heard the Red Rose the other weekend in NYC and found them an even more revealing speaker. I loved them, but they were another $1,000 more than the Harbeths ($2,400).

This thread is greatness and I hope that noone got any negatives. My only feedback is that some (can't remember who) need to use spaces in long passages, much easier to read.

I became interested in the Legacy focus because I read in TAS that mega producer Rick Rubin runs them and says they make the big noise in the right way. He bought them over the Dunlavy SCV's and B&W 800's; Dunlavy didn't go low enough-boxes too big and B&W too modern looking in his listening room. He described the Legacies as "open-airy on top" and "boom and punch...in a bombastic way" down low, going all the way to 16 Hz. (typical reviewer gibberish).

According to some of the above though, Rick has bought the wrong speakers. Now, my question is where do I go to hear a set? Do you just order them up and send them back if you don't like them? I need a little help here. My psb silvers are running out of steam when I try and teach my neighbors the words to all the songs on Boston's first album. Did I miss it above, or is there a dealer network? Thanks, my neighbors would really appreciate it.

J thunders,

There are two ways to audition the speakers without "buying" them on a 30 trial basis. First, you can go to one of 8 or so audition locations. Check Legacy's website (I think it's legacy-audio.com) for locations. Second, you can wait for them to come to you (or close enough for you to drive to). Legacy does road shows across the country to major metro areas. This is how I auditioned them.

Kimber Kable, heavy guage angulated tube ports, compartmentized internal bracing and silver solder is what I found inside the Legacy Convergence. After reading the horrors, in the postings about the "bad wiring", (on selected Legacy's) I wanted to see for myself. What I found inside the Convergence was more than just a relief. The overall construction and material is some of the best that I have ever seen. Each driver is wired with Kimber Kable and with double runs to each of the woofers. The soldering is first rate and done with silver solder. The internal bracing is compartmentized for the optimum cubic needs fr each driver. All bracing is done with at least inch thick board. There is heavy use of doping at all the vent and internal encloser joints. The venting tubes are shaped to proper cabinet length to maximize the air flow ... in other words, not just a hole with a pretty cap around it. Indeed it is a plumers nighmare. I did not get to the crossover, but did pull the Lexan panel that holds the WBT speaker lugs and switches. Yes, for what appears to be a resistor switch loop (for tailoring the highs and mids) there is small gauge sheathed hook-up wire (not "telephone" wire) soldered (again with silver solder) to high quality Microswitches (brand). The neccessity for wire (with this purpose in mind need) only be of small gauge. The by-pass switch (Microswitch) is wired with Kimber and the wire coming off of the WBT speaker lugs is OFC heavy gauge standed copper. Impressive to say the least. I seen a lot of speaker guts and these are amoung the best. It is like the mods were done so that one would not have to do any mods. I'll get to the crossover later and report on what I've seen (if anyone want's to know).

Tubby .....

Limabean,

This is my first post on this board. I have followed the Legacy dialogue with interest, being an owner of the Signiture III's. Some points I would like to add to the conversation:

Timeframe - I think it would be helpful if people would give a timeframe when mentioning their experiences with the Legacy product. Sean mentions Legacy 1's, which haven't been manufacutured in at least 8 years. Another poster mentioned that they weren't aware if the Classic and Signature brand name was still being used, which shows a lack of current information. Manufacturers of Hi End audio equipment normally are updating the materials used in their products periodically, so what is being used 5 years ago may not be in the current product. My Sig. III's are 1.5 years old, so my experience is fairly recent. My wife and I went to the Legacy factory in Springfield to audition the lineup. We heard the Classics and the Sig. III's. One look at the Focus and it was obvious that they were way to big for our room. The Signitures were clearly more open and relaxed than the Classics, which made our choice fairly easy.

Build quality - While at the factory we were given a tour of the facilities,and I had a chance to look at the materials used. The speaker cabling looks like the original Monster cable. Nothing special, but then nothing subpar about it either. I personally met the lady who does the crossover assemblies because I couldn't understand how the Classics and Signitures could have the same crossover frequencies but substantially different driver arrays. She took the time to show me the crossover of both the speakers so I could see the difference between the two units. I am not sure what the specifics are, but it was obvious that the Signitures crossover was tweaked differently than the Classics. The speaker are built by "people", not machines, so there is room for error, but all and all the manufacturing was very impressive.

Sound - I don't know why Legacy is know as a "boom and sizzle" speaker line. I have never had any problems with sizzling treble in my system. My speakers before the Signatures were Snell Type D's. I also audition Von Schw. VR 4.5's and Platinum Solo's. I am very familiar with my friend's Proac Response 3's, not to mention other speakers heard in various showrooms. I haven't heard anything to indicate that the treble in the Legacies are more prominent than the norm. In my system, they are, if anything, laid back and very unobtrusive. The bass can be problematic. The speakers reach very low in the bass. This takes careful positioning in the room to make sure that the sound is even. No more so than any other speaker that has a significant, true, low end.

Equipment - I don't think that you can expect "any" mass market receiver to have the backbone to drive Legacy's bigger speakers. The control over the multiple woofers is very important in getting the best out of these speakers. I tried Carver, McCormick and Muse before I settled on the Electrocompiniet (sp) 250 watt amplifier. I'm also using a VTL preamp, Pink Triangle/MSB and GyroDec SE/SMEIV.

I have listened to quite a few speakers since I purchased my speakers, but haven't run across any that I am willing to pay the "premium" for to get a better sound. They are not the best speakers in the world. Heck, they aren't even the best speakers in the Legacy lineup, the Whispers are. But for the money, and in my room with my equipment, they give a really nice sound. If you have a chance for an audition, try for the pair that fits your room the best. Sometimes bigger is not better. Hope this helps.