🤯 Legacy Audio Calibre XD humming + no low ends & boxy sounding


I have recently purchased a pair of Legacy Audio Calibre XD from a friend, and upon wiring it using XLR straight to the DAC preamp, the sound shocked me with disappointments. I wonder if this is the Legacy’s house sound or that something is wrong with the pair?

Symptom: 

(1) left speaker emits audible hum on all drivers with only the IEC cord attached; unless a balanced XLR is plugged in. Right speakers are near silent when on. 

(2) when playing music via XLR the bass below ~60-80 Hz is almost absent—the front mid-bass driver barely moves while the top woofer carries vocal/mids. REW sweeps below (I don’t have the best measure mic). 


(3) I was expecting clarity, dynamics, and separations of instrument due to the Calibre being a 3-way speaker. But I found the sound to be sort of muddy and similar to a JBL with worn out drivers.... I now start to wonder if it’s just my sonic preference for highly resolved speakers or that something in my set up is wrong. 
 

Checks done: rocker switch is down (full-range). Source is a Topping D90 II Discreet running Pre-amp mode with 4V out and -25db level. Source runs fine with a BW 805 D3 + External Amp with full bass. 

Contacted Legacy service via email but haven’t heard back yet. I wonder if anyone had experience with Legacy Audio product line, particularly the XD line, who know what this is about? 🙏

kvnuc

Do you have the hi and low frequency binding posts connected with a jumper bar or something or biwiring? Sounds like the bass drivers are not hooked up.

The XD (active version) has an XLR in and 2 terminals. Manual says when you engage the full power mode, you just need to have XLR in. 
 

Very very strange. Sounded very incoherent. I also reached out to Legacy but nothing in response yet. 

The graph does not seem to match their specs, but it still should not sound as poorly as you describe. Any chance they are wired out of phase so the bass is cancelling? Have you tried a different set of XLR’s?

I don't have another set of XLR, but my DAC/Preamp does have a RCA out and I have set of RCA -> XLR and I tried that. It sounded the same... The RCA out sounds AMAZING with external amp + BW805.

I am in disbelief. I also tried phase inverted setting in the preamp but it's the same. When listen closely to the woofer, deep bass doesn't come out at all... I don't think it is the phase-canceling issue. 

I am trying to convince myself that I am not crazy...