Having reviewed several for Dagogo.com, and owning a special edition of the Whisper, I would not hesitate to go for the Aeris. The added benefit of the Aeris with Wavelet would be a sensational amount of control to contour the sound to taste using Legacy's software remote for the speaker system. Nearly any preference could be accommodated. That would not be available with the McIntosh pre and the Focus SE.
No one can predict the outcome of a comparison for another, but if I were setting up I would opt for the more capable speaker and the capacity to tune it up to taste. It would also set you up for HT purposes. Legacy has a good HT lineup, no slack. I can't say more at the moment, because I am engaged in a review of a Legacy product (disclaimer). I can say, however, I have enjoyed the sizable Legacy Silvercreen center speaker. It's larger than most L/R monitors!
