Legacy Classics and bottom end?

Entrope brings up a good point, but in kind of an indirect manner. That is, specific rooms can really compound specific loudspeaker non-linearities. That is, placing a speaker with large frequency response deviations in output inside of a room that happens to create peaks or dips at the same appr frequencies can really bring such problems to the forefront. Even if the room itself doesn't reinforce the speaker response deviations, certain speaker placements within the room itself can do so.

Not to harp on the subject, as i've already pointed this out amply in the past, but different Legacy models have been shown to demonstrate large bass peaks in different reviews as conducted by different magazines in different testing facilities. The fact that the peaks are almost identical in amplitude and center frequency tells me that this is part of their "house sound" rather than just some random coincidence.

The fact that all speaker designers know that a speaker of this type will be used in a room, and all rooms share some similarities in terms of bass reinforcement, tells me that the speaker is either purposely designed for this type of response or is a highly under-designed product. To top it off, Legacy also offers their Steradian processor, which is meant to deal with bass related problems, so they must at least be aware of the situation.

By blaming the room for what is basically a speaker design problem, they can get away with selling an expensive add-on accessory to those that crave a more linear output and make even more money at the same time. Obviously, this is just my point of view, so take it for what it is worth. Sean
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Entrope..... I am glad you like your classics. Sean has a good point. They may not be "user friendly"to some. But the fact remains that there are hundreds if not thousnads by now, people who love the products. I prefer the Legacy "sound" over the B&W. Or at least what I have heard. But that is taste an opinion.I am not qualified or have the "ear" to tell people what they will like. I am aware of the "room effect". Look at all the products for this. While some will blame the "speakers" the same goes for Amps, cables, players ect. The quest for finding "the sound" in ones "room" is what fills these pages of comments. I think..... building a home system to taste and liking is sometimes a case of ketchup on eggs. It's 2005 and I have yet to read a review where the "holy grail" of sound playback has been achieved. Plus, all this starts with a mic pointed towards a sound and then recorded and mixed and mastered. If one has not done any recording, then the choice of ALL that equipment is another topic. ( long too I might add.....LOL!) I am not going to "falt" any one product or brand.

I was surprised by the strong split in opinion over the Classics. Reviews are generally good but there are some very negative opinions on some chat sites. Legacy was on my list to try as when it was trade in time. The Classics were very affordable used.

I find the sound very much "front row", crisp and quick. Vocal harmonies sound particularly good. Great soundstage depth and imaging. Sean's tip about the sourrounding the tweeter with felt was helpful as I have found the highs a little hot on some recordings. Marble platforms also have helped in the clarity department. Well-we know about the bass. Mids are excellent with tube power.

Again I am fortunate to have a large fairly dead basement pretty much to myself to a listening area. It is nice to have intelligent chat rather than mindless flaming. Hopefully, Sean's fixes will work for you.

Entrope: While i'm glad that my comments led you to better sound and greater enjoyment of your speakers via the "felt trick", most everything that i post here is not of my origin. That is, i'm simply passing on insights and tidbits of knowledge that others have shared with me, either in person, over the internet or phone or in some form of printed magazine or book. As i said in another thread, i only know what i know because i've made a lot of mistakes in the past and have tried to learn from them when i could. If what i've learned can help others avoid specific and similar pitfalls, i'm glad to help. Just don't think that i have all the answers, as i only have about 10% of them. On the other 90%, i'm a bloomin' idiot. Just ask my girlfriend : ) Sean
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I saw this old thread and thought I'd contribute something I have learned about the Classics' bass. Like the author of this tread, I thought my 1998 Classics were a bit bloated. After tightening the loose screws on the woofers, it helped, but not enough. I biwired, and that helped too, but not enough.

I next tried biamping, which so sweetened the top end I didn't care for awhile about the low end bloat. As luck would have it, my Proceed preamp allowed for stereo sub output, and allowed the crossover to be set at 120z -- thus matching the Classic low crossover point. Assigning my upgraded McCormack DNA 1 power amp to driving bass alone helped tighten the bass too, yet I still wasn't happy.

Next I wondered if dedicated wiring might help. I had been using high end MIT cables for all, but now decided to use it only for mids and upper range. After some experimentation, I reasoned that silver for the bass end might help tighten things, and so tried Signal Cable Silver Resolution, and wala!!! the bass tightened very significantly, and I noticed no synch problems from using different cables for lows and mid/highs. Thinking a cable with more silver might be even better, I tried 12g pure silver Wegrzyn Silver Slams, but I lost the quickness the Signals provided. I suspected skin effect rendered the thick silver sluggish.

For months I lived happily with that set up, but being an avid jazz listener, I eventually missed the bass "weight" that Silver Resolutions sacrificed to get its quickness. Hmmmmmm, what to try. I wondered if thick, flat copper, like that found in Analysis Plus cables might help, and since a pair was selling cheap here at Audiogon, I tried them. Sure enough, they added bass weight, but I totally lost the quickness of the Silver Resolutions.

And here's where the best thing happened. I'd ordered the Silver resolutions with banana plugs, and the Analysis Plus Oval 9s were spades; the posts on the for bass on the Classics of course allows for both spades and bananas, so I hooked BOTH the Signals and Analysis Plus cables to the bass-end set of posts, and then to my McCormack.

All I could say was "wow" when I heard it. Just the most effortlessly quick and weighty bass I'd ever heard from them. And now, a year later, I am still completely thrilled with them. The only thoughts I've had is trying Oval 8s if I ever see a bargain. Also, I'd like to try silver ICs between the preamp and McCormack someday, but I've been so impressed with Audio Metallurgy ICs I haven't felt the need to change.

Good luck . . . I think the Legacy Classics are great speakers for the price, and with the right wiring can be brought around nicely.