HELP: Legacy OR Monitor Audio 5.1 set-up? Huge $ decison that I do not want to regret

[Irvrobinson]

irvrobinson, it appears like you do like Legacy. Do you currently have or had any of their speakers?

I'm not advocating them, and I haven't heard their most recent models. I owned the original version of the Legacy Focus for many years. In its day, the early to mid 1990s, the Focus was a good value and I took a chance on them. Previously I was a multiple generation owner of ADS speakers, and when ADS went south I was looking for a reasonably priced alternative.

The original Focus was a product of contrasts. Powerful bass down to 28Hz or so. Very nice midrange, and the transition from bass to midrange was very good, which is important for a solo piano fan like me. A surprising number of speakers don't do solo piano accurately. The higher frequencies of the Focus were not so smooth, but that leaf tweeter could accurately reproduce the shimmer of cymbals, which was rare. Most speakers had tweeter issues back then. The Focus also wouldn't image worth a damn, and the ADS speakers threw a pretty good image, so that bugged me. I got my Focus pair in 1996, and by 2002 I was seriously shopping around.

I never warmed up to the Whisper, though it had remarkable open-baffle bass, like the Linkwitz Orion, but the highs still didn't sound right to me. I've heard great things about the new Focus SE, but haven't heard them.

Stereophile went gaga over Focus 20/20, but I always thought the review was little contrived, just like the one they did for the YG Anat. The measurements for the 20/20 weren't especially good. Not bad, but not great. Nonetheless, as Atkinson noted in his comments, there was evidence of some really competent engineering. Based on that I'm keeping an open mind about the latest Legacy products until I see a rigorous review.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

That is the way it looked to me also - I would be more concerned about
how it sounded to me, and not allow the subjective/objective curve balls
to distract me.

As we all can agree, the actual sound is the most important. The measurements are still nice to have, but actual sound is more important.

Well, the buyer determines what's the most important.

For Monkish54 or GranteedEV, perhaps the measurements (comprehensive as possible) are the most important. No right or wrong. Just difference of opinions.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

AcuDefTechGuy, out of curiosity, have you even been able to personally audition any of the Legacy Audio speakers?

Unfortunately, the auditioning was less than ideal for both MA and Legacy Audio. For the MA set-up, it was powered by a Marantz receiver (lower end version with only 100 watts per channel as far as receivers go), two GX 300 towers, the RX Sliver Center, and Broze surrounds. So this was a total sonic mismatch, as each series has different tweeters and frequency response (especially with the GX having ribbons and the rest in the set-up not having any). This was also via a Blue Ray with a subwoofer in the mix as well. For the Legacy Auditioning, it was via CD's in two channel mode only (no subwoofer), as they did not have a center channel or surround sound speakers. Additionally, the Signature SE did not have the new dual air motion tweeter, which is an improvement over the set-up that they had.

I have not heard either.

Did you listen to the MA GX300 in 2.1?

I would just compare the MA towers vs Legacy towers in 2.0 and compare their midrange & tweeter. Whichever you like better is the winner IMO.

 

[addictaudio]

^^^^ That is the dilemma. The new Signature SE has also received a lot of praise. Now it has the new dual AMT as well. It is a smaller version of the Focus SE in a smaller sealed enclosure. It does have Dayton Audio subwoofers (two ten inch woofers. The seven inch midwoofer and 4-inch midrange along with 1-inch midrange ribbons are proprietary of Legacy). The Focus SE does use the Aura 12-inch woofers.

 

[addictaudio]

I have not heard either.

Did you listen to the MA GX300 in 2.1?

I would just compare the MA towers vs Legacy towers in 2.0 and compare their midrange & tweeter. Whichever you like better is the winner IMO.

Unfortunately, I did not listen to the GX 300's in two channel mode. The source was a blue ray. The towers, center, and surrounds did not match either, and they had a subwoofer as well. The Legacy was in two-channel only with no subwoofer with just CD's playing in stereo mode with an amplifier. The only issue is distance. The nearest Legacy or MA dealers are around a 500-mile round trip from me, and on opposite directions.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Unfortunately, I did not listen to the GX 300's in two channel mode. The source was a blue ray. The towers, center, and surrounds did not match either, and they had a subwoofer as well. The Legacy was in two-channel only with no subwoofer with just CD's playing in stereo mode with an amplifier. The only issue is distance. The nearest Legacy or MA dealers are around a 500-mile round trip from me, and on opposite directions.

And what is the nearest speaker dealer to you? Any brand.

I forgot why MA & Legacy re the only 2 candidates? It's because there are no other speaker dealers near you?

No Revel, KEF, B&W, PSB, Paradigm, Focal, Dynaudio, or any other brands?

As Irvrobinson, zieglj01, Nuance, and others have said, as much as we all want to spend your money on Salk, Philharmonic, Ascend, Funk, Revel, KEF, B&W, Focal, PSB, etc, you have recall which towers sounded best to you for music.

I think any of the brands I just listed would sound very good, in addition to the Legacy & MA.

 

[zieglj01]

No Revel, KEF, B&W, PSB, Paradigm, Focal, Dynaudio, or any other brands?

As Irvrobinson, zieglj01, Nuance, and others have said, as much as we all want to spend your money on Salk, Philharmonic, Ascend, Funk, Revel, KEF, B&W, Focal, PSB, etc, you have recall which towers sounded best to you for music.

I think any of the brands I just listed would sound very good, in addition to the Legacy & MA.

It would be nice, if these were near the OP
http://www.musicdirect.com/p-38930-focal-electra-1027-s-tower-speakers-pr.aspx

 

[hizzaah]

OP. Tell your wife you're going to buy bread. Drive to the airport. Fly to large city. Audition many speaker brands. Fly back. Drive home. Don't forget the bread.

Profit.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It would be nice, if these were near the OP
FOCAL ELECTRA 1027 S TOWER SPEAKERS (PR) at Music Direct

Timing is soooooooo everything!

Man, where was that deal about a month or two ago when I bought the Focal 826V?

Not fair at all! I am soooooooo .

 

[addictaudio]

And what is the nearest speaker dealer to you? Any brand.

I forgot why MA & Legacy re the only 2 candidates? It's because there are no other speaker dealers near you?

No Revel, KEF, B&W, PSB, Paradigm, Focal, Dynaudio, or any other brands?

As Irvrobinson, zieglj01, Nuance, and others have said, as much as we all want to spend your money on Salk, Philharmonic, Ascend, Funk, Revel, KEF, B&W, Focal, PSB, etc, you have recall which towers sounded best to you for music.

I think any of the brands I just listed would sound very good, in addition to the Legacy & MA.

There are not many choices near me dealer wise. I live in the Central California area. Most dealers are either North in the San Francisco area and South near the LA area, so around 200 miles each way. I already took several auditions. I had some Paradigm Monitor series 7 Monitor 11 towers, Center 3, and Surround 3. They were plagued with workmanship issues and flaws. The pricing that I am able to negotiate and obtain is also a big factor. In the end, there are hundreds of brands out there, and impossible to audition most of them. Even when you find a dealer to audition, the setting is not ideal,as was the case with both of my auditions with MA and Legacy.

 

[addictaudio]

It would be nice, if these were near the OP
FOCAL ELECTRA 1027 S TOWER SPEAKERS (PR) at Music Direct

Do they also have the matching center and surrounds for that series? Are those new? I know that they sell a lot reburbished products.

Is this a current or discontinued series?

 

[zieglj01]

Do they also have the matching center and surrounds for that series? Are those new? I know that they sell a lot reburbished products.

Is this a current or discontinued series?

This is a discontinued series on closeout pricing, and new
in the box.

The bookshelves can be used as surrounds
FOCAL ELECTRA 1007 S BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS (Pr) at Music Direct

Will need to track down a center, or also use a bookshelf
as a center channel.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Oh, that would be a great 6.1/5.1 system: 4 x 1007 (center & surrounds) + 2 x 1027 (fronts).

Another question, do the front speakers need to be towers or can all speakers be bookshelf?

If you are using great subs, I don't see the need for towers unless you just got to have towers. I know a lot of guys must have towers as fronts, which is cool also.

And are you able to audition the Focal?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

This is a discontinued series on closeout pricing, and new
in the box.

The bookshelves can be used as surrounds
FOCAL ELECTRA 1007 S BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS (Pr) at Music Direct

Will need to track down a center, or also use a bookshelf
as a center channel.

I really wish I had known about Music Direct and Dedicated Audio like months ago.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What is Music Direct's policy on returns? If they allow 30-day returns, that would be great for home auditions.

If bookshelf all around is okay, and if Music Direct allows returns, I would also recommend the TAD 2201 monitors. I bought them new from Music Direct for $1691 delivered per pair (they retailed $3,000/pr original MSRP).

TAD doesn't make that many speakers. They make an $80K tower, $30K tower, $30K monitor, & this $3K monitor.

http://www.pioneer.my/data/my/imgCont/Cnt_907/TAD2011.pdf

http://tad-labs.com/en/professional/tsm_2201_lr/catalog.pdf

You can see that the frequency response (done by TAD) is about +/-1dB and good to 60 degrees off-axis. These are ultra-accurate speakers.

Monkish54, GranteedEV, Nuance, DS-21, & AJinFL would be proud of those measurements.

They have waive-guide tweeters, 8" mid-woofers, and an in-room sensitivity of about 90dB/2.83V/m (these TAD sound exactly as loud as my B&W 802D2 side by side).

 

[addictaudio]

Thanks again guys (and gals if any have replied) for all of the input. I am learning quite a bit. I have a SVS PB12 + 2 subwoofer (one box with two 12 inch woofers) that I bought back in 2005 that is working great. Granted it was not used too often. I had bookesheves as mains many years ago, and quite frankly do not like the look of bookshelves, espesically on stands. So I guess that I am a "Tower man". Additionally, the room had already been wired win in-wall wires and wall plates for towers. I need a conventional type of center, and cannot use a tower or bookshelf as a center, due to the audio rack, TV positioning, and room layout. Also, I need traditional wall mountable surround sound speakers. Bookshelves woud not work, as they protrude too far and most are rear ported, which will not work well due to the wall right behind it. The surrounds will be mounted directly to the side of the listening position.

 

[hizzaah]

They do appear to have a 30 day policy.. You'll eat shipping though

Return Policy

Music Direct offers a 30-day money back guarantee on most equipment/accessories (excluding fluids, pastes, aerosols and special order items, none of which are returnable).

We'll require an explanation for the return (defective, damaged, etc). Don't be surprised if we ask you some pretty detailed questions about the reason for your return. Hearing first hand what our customers are experiencing will enable us to provide you with the best possible service.

Returns will not be accepted without a Return Authorization #, or RMA# which must be obtained by phone or email. An RA must be obtained within 30 days of the purchase, and Music Direct must receive the package within 15 days of issuing the RA. Note that after 30 days all sales are final. Please write your RA# on the outside of the shipping box (not the product box). Failure to do this will delay the processing of your return. Your return package must include the following: a copy of your invoice, a note detailing the reason for the return, all original packing materials, including cables, power supplies, instructions, remote controls, warranty cards, etc. Your package must arrive in resalable condition. If these instructions are not followed your return will not be accepted.

If your return package is deemed acceptable after inspection, Music Direct will refund the purchase price of the returned item. Shipping costs will NOT be refunded. Return shipping costs are also the responsibility of the customer. Music Direct will absorb the shipping costs only in the case of defective merchandise (this does not include shipping costs for defective music titles, which is the responsibility of the customer). Please note that if defective merchandise proves to be non-defective upon inspection, the customer will be charged a re-stocking fee at Music Direct's discretion. Any and all packages that are refused delivery and sent back to music direct without an RMA number will not be refunded the initial shipping charge and a restocking fee will be added to the return.

 

[addictaudio]

Through my very limited auditions, I did audition one speaker earlier this year, and liked it. Many here consider them bright and fatiguing, and not accurate at all. This was the Klipsch RF7 2's. We listened to Eagles (Hotel California and a few other songs). I believe that it was a 5.1 set-up, and know that they had a Klipsch subwoofer (I think that it was a SW311) in the mix. I believe that it was powered by an Anthem 700 AVR. The room was treated and I would say was large as well. The RF7 2's played loud, clear, and with no audible distortion. I listened to them for maybe 15 minutes, and to me they sounded quite nice and detailed with the Eagles. They did NOT sound bright or fatiguing to me. The midrange/midbass was nice and well controleed and the highs sounded nice to me.

In retrospect, at another location, I listened to the RF 82, and they sounded horrible. The highs on those were actually muffled and not clear at all, as if someone was holding their hand to the tweeter. Different location though, and powered by a Sony ES receiver.

 

[addictaudio]

PS: I know that I wil have to make a final decision, but if it is not to much to ask, if any of you live nearby a Legacy Audio or Monitor Audio dealer, it would be great if you all or a few of you audio buffs could audition both set-ups that I am considering, and provide some input.

 

[addictaudio]

Guys, I just checked again, and it appears like Legacy rates their speakers frequency response at + or - 2 decibles.