Thanks. One of my objectives is to get the HF clarity of my Elacs (I made a mistake above, they are 403s the bookshelf not 407s, that I play in my kitchen) or better in a tower speaker for my main listening room. Dave and Troy distinguished the Alecs and Elacs from the Legacys with the comments about clarity of both speakers. I also get a wow factor sometimes on female vocals with my Elacs that I don't get with the Revels, and drums sound more fully present. There always seems to be some compromise with speakers and I'm wondering if it's some aspect of HF extension with the Legacys. Thoughts? Note that I almost certainly will get a new amp regardless of where I land even though both companies have told me the Prima Luna will work well. The 100 amps peak current would make a Coda a contender for sure. Oh, one other consideration. I have cherry floors and the Legacy cherry finish option would work better...these things matter to some. lol
Alta Alec vs Legacy Signature SE vs Elac Vela 408.2
I'm thinking of purchasing new floor standing speakers and have narrowed the field to the three mentioned in the title. My focus is mainly on the first two. Reviews are consistently great. The Alecs appeal because of references to their somewhat unique - if that's the right word - sound. Natural, musical. Definitely want musical. Their size is also perhaps a better fit. But there are comments about their needing a low of power or current. I'd be willing to change my amplifier options to accommodate this if necessary (I have a Prima Luna tube power amp and an NAD C298 amp that I can try). I just want to "best" sound, which of course is somewhat subjective. The Legacy's seem to be unequivocally full range, and being an old guy, I like the 10" woofers. I like the two AMTs also. As a four-way speaker, do they lack coherence? They are big, but the sealed design can allow me to place them closer to the wall which mitigates this issue. Still not sure I want to have my ears below the tweeters though. I was told by the manufacturer that vertical dispersion is good. Where the Elacs fit in is I have a pair of Elac 407s (bookshelf) with the jet 5 tweeter (the new ones have the next evolution, the jet 6). They aren't available yet but are coming shortly. I love the HFs with the Elacs, and it's one reason I'm moving from my Revel Performa 226 BEs that have really good sound (supplemented with a REL sub) but sound a touch dry to me in the HF range. Why not just wait for the Elacs? Well, you know how it is, I'm wondering if I can do better and reviews suggest I probably can. I'm interested in any comments or experience with the Alecs and Signatures. I can have trials with both but I'll probably like them both so I may just end up with the first one ordered. So any input from the masses could help me decide.
Been using the Legacys for a decade and never looked back. Legacy itself does not recommend tube amplification unless it's very high end. High current is a must. I am currently using CODA amp with 40 watts of pure Class A into 4 ohms and 100 amps peak current. The Class A gives you a warmth equivalent to tubes, while the current tames recordings with huge, bloated bass. No longer use subs because, well, the Signature SEs are truly full-range. Like OP, I have old ears and wouldn't trade the spectacular bass for anything. FWIW. |
Great input from all. Every time I think I've decided, I'm pulled back onto the fence. lol That said, I'm currently leaning toward the Alecs. Everything I read or hear suggests they are somewhat different, or maybe the better word is special, in some hard to articulate way. I think I have a better idea of what the Signatures will give me and if I buy them, they'll almost certainly stay. I'm more curious about the Alecs and if for whatever reason they don't work for me, I can send them back and get the Signatures. And I don't need the speakers to play really loudly. I tend to listen at modest volumes. Interesting that kmcong upgraded within the Legacy family, a strong endorsement. |
@gickcf I’ve got the Alta Audio Alec’s. Have had them for about 3 years now. Prior I had Focal 1028BE floor standers which had a Beryllium Tweeter. I wanted to love the Focal, at the time Focal had changed up their line up, they discontinued the 1028 / 1038’s which had the same tweeter medium / woofer medium used in their top of the line, flag ship speakers, making them great value within a well established speaker company making everything in house. What I found with the Focal’s was on many recordings the highs overpowered everything else, cause listening fatigue. With the right recording, they sounded breathtaking, unbelievable, with most recordings I couldn’t listen for a long period of time and to get the blend of bass, mids and highs, had to crank the volume up which only accelerated the listening fatigue. My impression of the Alex’s is a fuller sound, the highs are still very detailed, imaging is fantastic. Based on the design, the bass presence is, we’ll present, it’s a highlight of the speaker design. What I’ve found is the speakers will accentuate bass differently based on the recording, all speakers do this but I find the difference in recordings to be more substantial than I have with other speakers and I equate that to how they are tuned. They also are a speaker that sounds best when you are in the “sweet spot” they don’t disperse sound quite like some other speakers will off axis and finding the placement to balance the high and low frequencies took more time than with other speakers. I don’t have today but did have a Primaluna Evo 400 integrated that I drove them with. It was a really nice pairing, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I now run them with a solid state amp, Krell 300XD, the extra control gained from the amp design kicked the speaker performance up a notch but they sounded great with the Primaluna as well. They aren’t a speaker for you if you go by measurements of their performance and are chasing a speaker that reproduces the sound exactly as recorded. They were designed with the concept of looking at the speaker as an instrument that was “tuned” to what sounded best, not what measured best, it’s at the core of how the designer designed and implemented things, that to some creates a big issue as it is a t different philosophy to speaker design. Some also point to the midrange lacking some details due to being 2 way, I have never found that to be the case but outside of the trial period, I haven’t compared them to other speakers. I can’t comment on the other speakers you’ve got on the list as I don’t have any experience with them. I like a warmer sound signature, these speakers have a great balance between the tweeter and woofer, the tweeter has the sparkle, images really well but without the harshness, it isn’t warm in and of itself just never harsh. The design of the woofer, transmission line blended with the tweeter presents as what some would call warm but without the negatives that come with a warmer speakers, no veil, lack of detail. Hope this helps, good luck, exciting times, looking at new speakers! |
I purchased a pair of Signature SE two years ago. Prior to that I had a pair of Legacy Audio Classic HD. Always regretted not going with the Signatures right from the start, but the factory gave me a really generous trade in deal. Sound characteristics between the two are very similar, but the Signatures just have "more " of everything. The dual AMT provide really clear and detailed mid range and highs. Bass is well controlled but plenty of it; never bloated. However, my real hot buttons are soundstage and imaging. And the Signatures really come through here. The soundstage is wide and deep, with really great 3d imaging. I listen to a lot of classical, and individual instrument placement in the orchestra really stands out, as does tremendous detail. I also listen to a lot of blues, and here the voices really sound lifelike and present. I attend quite a few live performances, so I am well aware of what live music sounds like. And while you are never going to achieve the exact sound of a live performance, these Signatures come pretty close. I am driving them with mostly PS Audio electronics, including a Direcstream DAC Mk1 moded by APS Transformers (Jeff Richards). Hope this helps. |
Thanks winoguy! Very helpful. Big is a relative term of course. My Revels are about 40 inches tall vs the Signature SEs that are 8 inches taller. Two things for me. One is handling them - I'll need help to get them in the house and, unlikely but not impossible, if I had to get them back in the box, then more handling issues. They are 150 lb in the box. Maybe more important is the tweeters on the Revels are at ear height in my usual sitting position whereas I'll probably be looking up at the tweeters on the Signatures. But I can place them further back so that mitigates the issue somewhat. The tweeters on the Alecs would also be at about ear height. I agree that the Legacy finishing options are great though. Thanks also to Dave and Troy. It's definitely down to the Signatures or the Alecs. Decisions decisions... |
you can drive both the alecs and the legacys with the prima luna
here is a summary between the legacy’s bs the alecs legacy bigger sounding it is a larger loudspeaker, plays louder warmer low bass
Alecs tighter deep bass with less warmth wont play as loud incredible clarity with a tad more brightness overall.
elac 407 smallest sounding out of the three, great treble clarity not as dynamic as the others.
Dave and Troy audio intellect NJ legacy, Alta, Elac dealers |
I purchased the Signature SE about 6 weeks ago brand new. Dealer said give them at least 100 hours to break in, woofers take awhile due to being a sealed box. I absolutely love everything about these right out of the box. They are the most "musical " speaker Ive ever had. Everything is there but nothing draws attention . The separation between instruments and voices is something I didn't realize I wasn't getting to nearly this degree. Harmonies are so much more distinct. The bass is the most realistic Ive encountered in my room. If it's on the recording, these can shake my room, but bass is tight and controlled. Ive seen comments about how "big " these are and don't get it, they are no bigger than any other 3 way floor stander Ive ever had, and they are absolutely gorgeous. My wife loves them ! ( always a positive ). Im not good at trying to articulate what I hear, but I will just say these are the best to ever grace my room. Good luck on your journey. |