More Bass


I recently purchase a pair of Legacy Signature speakers from an on-line retailer. I purchased them unheard, but I did my due diligence in researching them and I would have thought with the 7" woofers and a rated frequency response of 22-30K hz, there would have been a bit more bass (although there is a couple of tunes I have played where there is some bass that is really deep and sounds all garbled, very weird, but I just won’t listen to those songs,I guess).

I bought floor standers so I wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle that goes along with setting up subwoofers, also with all the space they take up and the negative WAF that goes along with them.

They are a little bright on the top end, but I’ll blame that on my room, it probably needs more treating, just limited on funds at the moment.

If I thought I needed subwoofers, I'm thinking I might have bought a pair of Fritz bookshelfs and a pair of subs, for probably less than the Sigs.

The price of Legacy subs is over the top for me, so do you think there is any way to get more bass without subs or are there any subs that are a bit smaller, that might do the trick as I am pretty limited on space (and funds as previously mentioned!) Thanks

 

 

128x128navyachts

 

Sadly I can't find any data on the impedance curve of the original model.  If it follows the same pattern however the issue will be straightforward.

@navyachts As mentioned, I owned both the Focus SE and Aeris. I found that smaller "full range speakers" and subs were the way to go for my room. With subs, you have better dedicated control of the bass through separate amps and are less limited to positioning the full-range speakers for bass balance. Also with the Focus, while the extra midrange is nice, the increase in the size of the drivers also increases the height of the Legacy Air Motion Transformers, which can be detrimental in sound quality for some if the tweeters are too high for their ears.

I don’t want to detract people from getting a Focus SE as it is a wonderful speaker and there are other benefits in addition to stronger bass, such as a richer midrange. But if you are already happy with the performance of the Signature SE aside from bass performance, upgrading to the Focus SE is not necessarily the answer. In my room, even with the Focus SE and Aeris, I preferred having subs due to the improved control, more even distribution of bass, and the benefits across the frequency spectrum I mentioned in an earlier post.

@erik_squires - "If it follows the same pattern however the issue will be straightforward" and that problem being?

@blisshifi - Thanks, I like your train of thought! I understand though that it's a crazy, pain in the butt deal to setting subwoofers up. Any tips or tricks? Also, in a subwoofer thread I recently started, @mike_in_nc states this:

" Not to be pedantic, but you do know? Subs often are used to help fill bass nulls, and the absolute worst placement for that is adjacent to the main speakers"

But, this is the only location I have to put the subs. Any thoughts?

Two thoughts in agreement with @erik_squires and one about positioning:

  1. If you don’t have an amp that can handle a low-impedance load, try one
  2. Get some measurement capability, so you and others have a better idea of what’s going on
  3. My thought about positioning subs is that if (1) is not the answer and you are dealing with room nulls, you will be frustrated perpetually by putting subs right next to the main speakers -- at least, if your goal is flat, extended bass. Unfortunately, there is no way around physics.

and that problem being?

Wrote about it above. The speaker’s impedance < 100 Hz is far too low for a 4 Ohm speaker. If indeed this is a 2 Ohm speaker below 100 Hz it will require an abnormally stiff amp to sound good.

If you can’t find a review, call Legacy and see if they’ll tel you what the minimum impedance of the speaker was. Last option is to buy a DATS and measure the impedance yourself:  Alternatively, if you feel a little DIY get Room EQ Wizard and use the impedance measurement feature.