Has anyone listened to Legacy speakers?


I have seen several ads. and read bits and pieces of info. from Legacy. However, being in the military I haven't had the chance to make it to a show to listen to these speakers. I would like to hear your comments, good or bad. I believe my ears will make the final determination, but are they worth giving a listen? Thanks.
limabean683
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.
Tubeears, i would like it very much if you could report the crossover info. I am new to the technical side of hi-end. In fact I own some legacy classics and enjoy them greatly. Is it really that important to have big time power with the legacys? What will all the muscle do for my "sound"? If some one can advise me about this I would really appreciate it.
(Sbox) ... I will take a look at the crossover today and report back to you on it. I am indeed a curious puppy now. Just a note about the power. Although very efficiant, the Legacies can absorb tons of raw earth shaking power. They seem to do it without strain, changing it directly into dynamics of high levels. However ... An audiophile friend brought his Kora Galaxy (a 50 watt per channel tube amp) over this last weekend (he also helped with the inspection of the inside of my Legacy's). His 50 watt amp did not strain at all. In fact, the sound of the combo was so lucious in the midrange that it enveloped the entire room with sound that I have never heard before from any solid state amp. I have always loved tubes, but the pick of speakers for them has been limited. The Legacy will play perfectly with low power ... as long as the power that you feed them is high in musical quality.

Tubby ......
Speaking of tubes, I have run my Legacy Signature III and the Studio using my Cary 2A3 monoblocks which are 5 watts per channel. The sound was pretty good considering all. Of course I usually run the Legacy with solid state high current. I have personally never had a problem with sizzle or bass boom. My speakers are well constructed and purchased 5 and 7 years ago.