Given how enthused my fellow
Stereophile editors were over the sound of the Legacy Audio speakers at this year's
Axpona Show, I was really looking forward to hearing them. I was also looking forward to hearing the pricey, eye-catching Win Analog SET electronics, which had not fared well at a recent demo for the Bay Area Audiophile Society (BAAS).
Unfortunately, the mammoth Legacy Audio Whisper XD ($20,000/pair), which boasts 94dB sensitivity and comes complete with DSP-implemeneted crossover, was not a good match with the Win Analog V series amps ($75,000/each). Given their extremely low input sensitivity, Legacy's Bill Dudleston was compelled to use a tremendous amount of DSP adjustment—far more than usually necessary—and replace the Win Analog preamp ($45,000) with an Inex Innovator preamp ($12,000). Despite the excellence of the Lindemann 825 CD player, the system was muffled on the bottom and clattery/buzzy on top. Still, thanks to Legacy's DSP, and Bill's careful control of volume, the Win Analog electronics sounded better than they when they were paired with Rockport speakers at the BAAS event.
