Clash of the Titans: Dunlavy vs. Legacy

I'd like to add this- the comment made by hellohifi is only 1/2 correct, and partially incorrect. What I mean to say is-any speaker or audio component will sound as good as YOU think it does, point being audio like anything else is a matter of personal choice/preferance not what some magazine or so called pro says it is. I play Gutair, Clarinet, and dabble in keyboards from time to time, I've been to 100's of shows and not always does the sound sonical move me.As music can be "studio recorded" or "live", the 2 have absoultely nothing in comon-save both are music. When a band or group of musicians ect. go to record usally it's done in a studio, as well sometimes "live" here-in lie many crucial differances- the lack of control of many differant parameters to numerous to list. It's very easy to make components look good, it's much harder to make them sound good. Just remember these 2 rules-1.Buy what you think sounds good, remember you have to live with what you have bought so take your time. 2-The best judge of any audio component is very simple-You and your ears.

We have attended symphonies in the following places: Vienna & Solzberg Austria, LA CA USA, London England, NYC NY USA, Krakow Poland, and Budapest Hungary. Besides selling audio professional for about a decade, these are my qualifications for recommending hifi gear. I find that most audiophiles really don’t know what music should sound like since they have never (or rarely) been to a live symphony, which usually costs less than one non audiophile CD. Attend a symphony, go to a jazz club or bar! Please! Most rely on magazine reviews (& most magazines rely on advertisers to stay in business). Many also rely on their friends advice, which in many cases, their friends know less than they do. If you really know what music sounds like, what an instrument sounds like, then you will find Dunlavy to reproduce these sounds better than any other speaker in the world. Do you know how speakers are demo’d at the Dunlavy factory? Well, they do something that, as far as I know, no other mfr does: they make a live recording of a baby grand piano (with you in the room), then they play it back for you a few minutes later on a very modest system (about $10K retail + spkrs). I don’t want to “re discover” my CD’d or LP’s. I simply want to hear what’s on them, the way they were recorded (and yes, you aren’t going to enjoy Dunlavy with poor recordings). Use your memory of live music to make your hifi purchase decisions, we do!

I own Dunlavy IVa's. Went to a Legacy showing in Dallas and had to leave after 10 minutes the sound was so bad. It must be their marketing that keeps them in business. The Dunlavy's are the best I've heard. Although their higher priced speakers are better than the IVa's, they all sound alike except for the subsonic bass. This alone should say something about Dunlavy's ability to design speakers. Hi fi has been my passion since the mid '50's.

you call these two speakers "TITANS"? get real, whispers are with out a doubt much better than the "DUNLAVY" but neither can hold a candle, a tweeter, a mid,even a speaker spike or a woofer to " VON SCHWEIKERTS VR-6s " regards jammer

To Twilo, Thanks for your info on these speakers. A few questions if I may... Were the Legacy speakers positioned properly in the room? What was the size of the room? Was there any experimenting done with regard to the speaker's placement? Were the Whispers being used with the included Whisper bass-dampening box and was it adjusted to suit your taste? I have heard the Whispers to sound boomy or flabby in the bass if this black box control knob is set too high. Dialing back on the knob tightened the bass right up, at which time the bass became very tight and tunefull in that particular room. Anyone else have any thoughts?

I'v heard the Dunlavy 5 speakers and the Legacy Whisper speakers. There is no comparison. The Dunlavy 5 speakers are light years better then the Legacy Whisper speakers. The Dunlavy 5 speakers sound so sweet and articulate. The speaker sounds so cohesive. The drivers blend in great together. On the Legacy Whisper speakers, it was the exact opposite. I felt the speakers sounded awkward. The Bass was booomy and blabby sounding. The drivers did not blend it together. I later found out, Legacy uses a woofer called Eminence. These are very cheap woofers. Get the Dunlavy 5 speakers. Also, the Dunlavy 4 speakers, are superior to any Legacy speakers.