Update on the Marquis amp connections. For a reason unknown to me at the moment, it sounds better with the speaker terminal jumpers in place. I've read that bi-amping may effect some speaker crossover's. That may be it. I don't understand why, but, can certainly hear it.
After reconnecting the jumpers, the surround timbres of the Marquis and Studio HD rears perfectly match. |
I've recently changed surrounds to a Marquis HD and two Studio HD's. My Proceed pro has 10-volt balanced LCR out's and the Procced AMP 5 requires 2.24 volts for full rated balanced output of 125 watts 8 ohms and 250 at 4.
With the extra signal headroom, I split the pro's center balanced out using a XLR splitter into two balanced AMP 5 channels and bi-amped the Marquis. The smaller Studio's are getting single AMP 5 channels.
I prefer pure 2-channel for most 2-channel recordings. My surrounds are primarily for videos, yet, had to meet balanced music demands. I chose similiarly loaded larger surrounds to match large front main's, especially for videos. In multi-channel DVD-A, SACD and DTS music, multi-channel timbre synergy of the Legacy's through the AMP 5 is very delicate yet robust. A optional L/R Surround mode transforms 2-channel into a thoroughly enjoyable 5 or 5.1 musical experience. I'm very happy with the multi-channel resolution from the Legacy's and Proceed front-end. |
Classe amps sounded great with Focus 20/20...that setup lasted a few years. |
I own the Classic and they are very good speakers. I had a good experience with Symphonic Line, BAT and Ayon. |
I used to have Legacy Classics and used a Rotel RB-1080 and it worked just fine. A good, high current, class A/B amp will give you great results.
Legacy used to, or still does, make their own amps so asking them would go a long towards answering your question. |
Hi all!
Thanks for the great information! Now I have a few things to check out.
Dave |
I agree that the Legacy speakers like power. I have owned many Legacy speakers over the years, with the chance to try out quite a few amps on them. My two favorites were the Legacy mono bloc and the Aragon Palladium 2 mono bloc (my understanding is the Palladium 1k is electrically identical). I actually preferred the Aragon over the Legacy amps by a small margin. Note: I did not like the original Aragon Palladium at all on the Legacy speakers I owned. The Palladium 1 & 2 can be told apart by the face plate, which is flat on the 1 but varies in thickness on the 2. I also had on hand a Pass Aleph 30 in a second system that I tried out on a pair of Legacy Classic HD's. It was absolutley great sounding within its limits, but it is only 30 wpc. With that in mind, I would suspect that the x150.5 and x250.5 would also be excellent choices. Best of luck. |
Id say look into Class D as well
. Wyred, or Bel Canto maybe. With the right SS preamp, maybe the NuForce amps.
Ive heard a few Legacy units. Focus, IIIs, Studio. Each one had diff amps. The better the amp in terms of quality, as much as power, were the better sounding units. Rotel, Yamaha, and Harmon Kardon.
They are eff speakers but have a low imp range
newer ones, with their own sub/bass amps, are easier loads.
Id want 200 300 wpc minimum
myself.
Maybe a Rowland Capri preamp, and some D amps, Audience, Voodoo, SR, Kimber, Harmonic Tech or Audio Art wires and you should be hot to go.
For a tube pre, the VTL 2.0 sells here often enough, so does Horizon and Monarchy
for pre solutions in the not too pricey but pretty good camp.
Class D power is probably going to be your best value in the cost per watt arena these days
and the non Hybrid Legacys like power. |
I heard the Whisper XD at AXPONA a few weekends ago. They were driven by Coda. They sounded awesome: balanced top-to-bottom, well extended, clean, clear, real, not harsh, plenty of power. Had I the means I would have snatched up the speakers and amp and taken them home with me. |
A high current amp with 200 watts or more should work nicely. I would also think a class D amp such as wyred 4 sound with large watts should do the trick and also sound good. Just trying to open your eyes to other possibilities. At one time I owned the Signature III's and the Studio's for several years. |
I had the Coda idea too. From what I understand, Coda used or uses legacy speakers at the factory. (no first hand exp. though). I would have first hand exp. if Coda had some dealers around. I live in the same town as Coda (sacramento) and have never seen one product. |
You may want to try finding some used Legacy Audio amp gear. Most of it was actually made by Coda (their Continuum line) and biased for Legacy speakers. I use the amps with my Tyler Acoustics speakers, and I have been quite impressed. Usually the Legacy 2 channel HC Amp sells around $750 used, give or take.
---Dave |
I listened to my friend's Focus driven by Plinius and was impressed.
QN |
I've used a McCormack DNA-500 on both Legacy Focus and Whispers - with excellent results. I'm sure they've got a preamp that would also match up. I've still got the DNA-500 - couldn't bear to part with it - its that good. Good luck. |
My friend has the focus with a krell KSA 250 but has used Bryston also.Simaudio W-5 is 70lbs and can be found for $1800...ish sim has great control and never run mega hot.
I have had great results with Classe CA 300/400 but love Krells brute force on Rattlesnake Rocker. |
How about asking Legacy about a great electronic match for their speakers?
Those guys have probably heard dozens of options with their creation and that experience plus customer feedback should cover most of what's out there. |
