Legacy Audio AERIS: RMAF/listening impressions?

They are in New Haven now. Great guys. They carry Hegel, but didn't have it in stock. It was the Aeris and top line Classe. It sounded really nice, but not in the Ayre Vandy league for my ears. Not even close when you listen carefully. I listened to the Vandy's for hours and never got tired. I liked the Legacy's, but hated last years HF driver unit. Hated it. Way too much energy on top. The new one sounds really nice, but I didn't feel it integrated perfectly with the bottom end. The Focus's were paired with Rotel separates and they were nasty. I couldn't listen as my ears were bleeding. I love NAD for that range I guess. Marantz too. HATED Rotel. I used to love it, but no more, wow. I've heard them on B&W's too and hated them. I heard the Diamond B7W there and they were ok. Nothing special, especially for the price. I think you can get way more for your money with a smooth top end and everything else a speaker should do. I think the Vandy Treo/quatro and 5's blow all the Legacy's out of the water for my ear. Ayre is the most tube like from the mid's up with controlled bass that I've heard in a solid state unit.

Liking those AQ cables too.

Depends on Taste and music and also depends on the room. The Whisper are one of the best images you can get. The mid range is very revealing the new High frequency driver is smooth and clear. It really depends on amplifier and cables on how well the mids and tweeter are tamed. Tried it with silver cables and the midrange was too forward, too revealing to the point of getting headaches and the top end energy was too sharp. Changed it to Copper and it was so much more relaxing the changes are so easily noticed on the whisper its very sensitive to cable changes and upstream electronics.

Legacy recommends using a DSP processing to control the high frequency cut off points and delays. I tend to stay away from DSP to avoid the extra ADA process. I like it much better with out the DSP in my room which is heavily damped.

Thanks Dragon. Yes, my ears are sensitive to the high end. I like a relaxed natural sound. I have had proacs for years now, so staging and imaging are very important. When I heard the top line Vandy's, I got most of the staging and imaging, but it was much more musical. I just wanted to sit down and keep listening. Now that I have Ayre on my Proac Supertowers, I'm loving them. It's like a new speaker. I still want the Vandy's, but it really is amazing at how every change can make a huge difference.

Is there a driver on the bottom of the AERIS? Why is there a grill on the back (or am I mistaken)?

Dont' think there's a driver on the bottom. The grill is on the side as it's an open design. Kind of like Dalquest and Vandersteen. It's a great speaker. I'd love to hear them vs the Vandy Quatro carbon that are about 6k less I think. I have heard both a fair amount but with different electronics in different rooms. I have loved the Vandy's with all Ayre gear. I heard the AERIS with Classe as I stated above. They have a similar sound, but the Vandy's just get it right. I loved the piano on heard on the Vandy's better than any speaker I've listened to.