2012 RMAF Coverage, Part I

King Sound King III speakers with AMR CDP-77, Purity Audio Design Statement Preamplifier, Bob Carver Cherry 180 Amplifiers and Kaplan Cables

These men have more than 60 years of experience as Electrostatic speaker owners, auditioning the King III

AMR CDP-77, Purity Audio Design Statement Preamplifier and Kaplan Cables

The King Sound King III (Recently reviewed, to be published, my new reference panel speaker) with Abbington Music Research CDP-77 Player ($12K), Purity Audio Design Statement Preamplifier ($16,500), Bob Carver Cherry VTA-180 Monoblock Amplifiers $7,400/pr, prototype power supplies for the speakers from Purity Audio, and Kaplan Cables. This system was nuanced and delicate, the upper end especially with refinement. The bass was less defined, but not overtly tubby. When I was present three long time ESL enthusiasts with over 60 years of ownership of electrostatics, including the Beveridge brand, seemed impressed with the performance at the price point. I certainly would not argue that! You will see an in-depth review of the King III published soon here at Dagogo.

Alien ship? No, internals of Legacy Audio Aeris Speaker

Legacy Aeris Speaker with AVM CD5.2 player, Evolution PA5.2 preamplifier and MA3.2 Monblock class D amps

Another speaker company I am quite familiar with, Legacy Audio, premiered its newest model, the Aeris (MSRP $15,900; $17K as displayed), a four way with active crossover and internal Icepower amplification for the double actively crossed 12” bass drivers. The AVM CD5.2 ($4,790) was paired with PA5.2 Preamplifier ($4,900) and MA3.2 Monoblock Amplifiers ($6,710/pr), and Wireworld Silver Eclipse 6 Interconnects and Speaker Cables.

I continue to be frustrated with the paring of Legacy with AVM at shows. I wish these speakers had been paired with a powerful, refined Class A/B amp or a larger tube amp. I know what Legacy’s are capable of, given that I have reviewed their top models and have the Whisper as my reference hybrid dynamic speaker. The Aeris seems to hold to Bill Dudleston’s current design trend, and has what most would consider today an oversize 8” midrange and 10” mid-bass drivers. These lended a perfectly ease-full characteristic to the Aeris, which was perhaps as opposite in design ethic as the KEF Blade with 5”/1” Uni-Q driver alone firing forward. (see below).

They also were showing in a very unfavorable room, the largest at the show with cavernous ceiling and no walls close by. The result was a true full range speaker with plenteous power that sounded somewhat small! I am quite sure this was a function of the room, since the speaker is +/- 2dB down to 18Hz! Recently, my wife and I purchased a new sofa. It appeared diminutive in the vast furniture showroom, but was big when placed in our family room, where it also looked a lot better. The same is true with speakers as is evidenced by the stunning sound of the Doshi Audio room with the Wilson Maxx 3 speakers. Anyone who ever parroted the line that big speakers can’t sound good in a small room would have been forced to reconsider had they the opportunity to hear the Doshi electronics with the Wilsons. This combination was glorious, particularly because they were being driven by uber-lush electronics by Nick Doshi and were being played at an eminently sensible listening level.

As an aside, Legacy, Clarity Cable and I just concluded a collaborative effort to massively upgrade my pair of Whisper DSW speakers in an experiment to determine the efficacy of elevating the internal wiring of the speaker. The speaker was fitted with 10 Ga. Clarity Cable throughout to all drivers, for both active and passively crossed modes. The speaker also received Clarity Capacitor treatment, and was the first to receive the new Legacy Air Motion Tweeter system! The result is a speaker which now stands alongside other favorites of mine like the Wilson Maxx 3. A detailed owner’s review will be written up in the near term.