ICE amps vs analog amps for bass

Thanks for all the suggestions. The Legacy Helix cannot be run full range. They are designed to be quad amped with a stereo amp for the treble, a stereo amp for the midrange, a stereo amp for the bass, and a stereo amp for the subs. The setup from Legacy included ICE amps for the subs, ICE amps for the bass drivers which are built inside the speakers cabinet. My Levinson monos are arranged as follows one pair for the midrange, one pair for the treble drivers. I've chosen to use monoblocks (which I owned already) so that each speaker sees about 1,750 watts per channel. This is truly a remarkable and innovative setup. Please read the Dagogo review on the Helix speakers.

Again I'm glad for all your help and suggestions.
Oh, I'm using silver interconnects from Signal Cable from all the crossover connections to the speakers.

Thanks,
STeve

Icepower 500 ASP I believe two per speaker. I'll have to check further with Legacy. Also the impedence is 4 ohms and I don't know the sensitivity although the speakers are very efficient at over 98db. Please go to the Legacy Audio site and read about the speakers. The amps are directly plugged into the wall, and I assume always on, as they play as soon as I send a signal to them from the preamp.

I don't believe they are the Powerblocks. They appear to be unmodified ICE Power Modules. Yes they have played more than 500 houes as I've had them sinse May.

I have painstakenly moved them through the listening area. Bill Duddleston,the designer and owner of Legacy Audio, set the speakers up himself. The Xylex crossover is unique in that all parameters of the speaker can be adjusted through the crossovers software on your laptop. He adjusted the speaker so that it each driver was time aligned and zeroed in the speaker.
However, I recently reversed the polarity of the right speaker, and things immediately jelled. Bill and I are both puzzled about the results and are investigating further.
Yet even though the speaker is overall clearly superior to my Revel Salon/JL Audio combo, there are still nuances that I miss when I listen to familiar recordings. They don't sound bad, I just know there is something missing, and it is in the bass/sub bass area. This appears hard to convey to the designer.
This is why I suspect the ICE Power amps. The bass does jump out at one, and is impressive, I just don't hear the bloom and subtle shadings I was used to.

Anyway thanks for all the suggestions. I will try positioning the speakers some more. I've seen this make a great difference.
I'd sure welcome other opinions, I'm sure there is something I'm not considering.

Againg if you're not familiar with this SOTA contender,
check out the DAGOGO.
http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=55

Thanks,
Steve

Thanks Guido,
This is what I'm suspecting!
If they were modified in some way besides just the modules themselves I think they could sound great.
Steve

Some amps I'm considering are the Brston 7B monos or the 14b stereo version with a damping factor of 300 at 20 hz or the Parasound JC-1s. The JC-1s have an over the top damping factor 1200 at 20hz. Any ideas wich ones might match up with my Levinson amps?

Thanks again for all suggestions.

Coofeey, Thanks for reminding me about the damping factor thing again. I believe you'd be right.

Vman71, The ICE power, I've no doubt would be just the thing, however the ICE power amps installed in the speakers are not modified in any way, just raw as B&O designed them.

So I'll be looking at Bryston 7b monoss or a 14b stereo. Would I need to get the latest spec to use as bass amps? As I have space limitations, maybe I should look at 14b ssts. Has anyone compared the newest version to the older sst series? Can older amps be updated by Bryston?
Thanks again for all your input.
Steve

Atmosphere,
The speakers are designed and can only be played quad amped which is pretty unique and exciting. Legacy speakers are always built with efficiency in mind, but in my experience, have sounded better with wattage doubling amps like Krell. The Helix is usually sold with 1 pair of ICE amps to control the subwoofers. The owner then supplies 3 pair of stereo amps for the midbass, midrange, and treble.
I chose to use an additional pair of ICEamps for the midbass drivers, and it seems this has been a mistake. The ICE amp modules in question, seem to play the bass as one note, it is there, it is full of impact and dynamics but small nuances that I know the recordings I've used to adjust my new Helixes to the room are vague or missing. I've been working with Legacy to solve the problem and we have made various adjustments through the Xilica 480 digital crossover/processor,but I believe that I need to add separate pair of external amps for the midbass.

I heard and auditioned the Helix with 3 pair of stereo amps plus the ICE amps on the subs and the sound was to die for. In trying to hold down the expense at the time, Legacy suggested going with a second pair of ICE amps for the midbass. It sounded good at the time if it worked, but I'm afraid I'll need to get a 3rd set of monoblocks for the mid bass and see if it solves the problem I'm hearing.

All the answers everyone has given me have helped to confirm what my next step is in the search for the sound I know these speakers are capable of.
Thanks for all your continued help and suggestions.

I'm listening and learning.

Thanks again,
Steve

Hi Coffeey,
Thanks the info I'm not hearing is on the recording as I've heard it on my previous system and others. I know the Helix should be able to provide this definition also. I heard it at Legacy headquarters, but have not been able to find these missins notes at home. That is why I'm questioning the ICE amps built into the speakers and am considering switching out the ICE amps for the midbass and using a more normal amplifier design like the Bryston or Parasound.
Thanks,
Steve