Classic Rock Listener - Help me build my system

Sean,
I bought the speakers used from someone close by who purchased them new 2 yrs. ago. He also had a control knob installed in back of each but Im not sure what its for. Plus the 4 switches also makes things more confusing trying to find the best position for each, but until I fix the other stuff, the switches and which position is the least of my problem. I do switch the rear tweeter on which helps a little.
I have about 4 to 5 ft. between amp and speakers.
Sorry to Reb1208 about the misquote.
Dave

Dave: You really should find out what all the switches do. The potential sonic differences might be quite a bit when properly configured. Dudleston typically includes some type of switching for the "warmth" region, which may help lean out the upper bass a bit. It is also possible that you may have the tweeters attenuated too.

You should probably contact the previous owner and / or Legacy technical support to see exactly what options the switching provides. If the knob on the back was a custom feature that the previous owner had installed, that may be something that only they can help you with.

As a side note, Legacy used to use telephone wiring going from all of the circuitry on the crossover board to the switches on the rear panel. While some think that this isn't a big deal, in some cases, all of the signal for that driver(s) has to pass through that cable with no other path for the sound to complete that circuit. On top of that, the woofers were wired with 18 gauge. The only place that heavy ( 12 gauge ) wiring was using was from the binding posts to the crossover boards themselves. Nothing like feeding 10 - 14 gauge speaker wire into a cabinet plumbed with 18 - 24 gauge wiring.

As far as converting from four binding posts down to two binding posts, i know that audiogon member "Darrylhifi" did the same thing with his Signature III's. He said it was quite simple i.e. a matter of moving a few wires attached to ring terminals using common tools. The earlier designs were actually soldered in place, making this more difficult.

If you don't mind Dave, i'm going to drop you an email. I've got something that i want to discuss that may save you some time and money. Sean
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John,
I purchased a Classe CDP-1 new when it came out in 1995. Kept it for 5yrs. Wish I did not sell it. I like the sound of 1990's digital much better than the soft sounding stuff made today.

Budrew,
I am sorry to say- I just sold a Naim CD5/Flatcap2. The sound was too distant with closed in ambience. Not a good player for electronic/rock music. IME

About AQ speaker wire and solid core copper in general. This will give a more pronounced midrange/midbass. The highs are sweet but lack sparkle and air. The only solid core copper I have heard that I could live with is Tara Labs.

Sean, I have owned the DR-15 and Model 15. The main difference is the model 15 has better bass and is more dynamic. The Model 15 is a David Reich design with an output stage tweaked by Glenn Grue to make it sound more aggressive and alive. The Classe of today (CA series) is more refined/polite/controlled and comes off leaner-brighter
I never heard their Omega models/technology but these I am told are fantastic.

Reb1208, you can go home again. Look for a Classe CDP-1 to come back up for sale. IMHO, you can't beat them for under $1K.

Daveheine, sorry, I'm not a real Theta fan. I know they have there fans out there. They are dynamic, but a bit edgy sounding for my tastes. That doesn't mean it's not for you though.

Regards,
John

I own The Signature III and have experienced hard dark sound which I was able to eliminate. Some of the possibities.

1/Acoustiz Zen speaker cables sounded very hard on my system. I have no idea why, Im sure others have tried them with success.

2/Over tightening the binding posts. Sometimes if you over tighten them the nuts inside the speaker posts become loose.
You can pretty much tell by if the outside posts move at all . If they do ,you have to open the back plate and tighten them from the inside. This is very easy to do.

3/Your interconnects and speaker cables cannot be touching any power cords ANYWHERE.

As Ive said I own Them, Ive heard it, and Ive eliminated it. Let us know ! Good Luck.