No experence with Legacy , but i have speakers shop in Brooklyn, can help
🤯 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? 🙏
16 responses Add your response
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. |
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My question, exactly. You said you just recently purchased the speakers from a friend. It would seem that a friend would not have sold you a faulty pair of speakers (hopefully). Did you get a chance to audition the speakers before purchasing? If you auditioned the speakers at the seller’s house (your friend) before purchasing, and the speakers worked just fine, then you know that the problem exists somewhere within your own audio system, and it’s something you just have to figure out for yourself. If you purchased the speakers from a friend who lives far away, and you had them shipped to you without auditioning them first, then your friend just may have sold you a pair of bad speakers. If shipped, it's also quite possible that the speakers could have been damaged during shipping, which could've effected their performance, too). Good luck. Happy listening. |
@ronboco, I think one of the iceamp probably has a problem with grounding or bad capacitor yes. Because when I plug XLR in it becomes quite (grounding loop). |
If one amp were at fault, the other channel should still sound good. @ronboco had some pertinent questions about how you came to own the speakers and whether you auditioned them prior to buying them. |
@audio_guy_uofw yes I tried L and then R, humming is only from the L one but both play music. The lack of bass is consistent between the 2. Legacy’s support said possibly front driver failed and didn’t offer much insight besides that. Just a one-liner response. |
@kvnuc That graph you posted is essentially flat to 45 Hz. That's pretty great for bookshelf speakers, isn't it? Just get a sub. |