Legacy Audio Xtreme XD Subwoofer Review

Overkill or nothing

If you’re going to do bass, do bass! Knowing what the Legacy Audio Helix with its 15” powered sub and accompanying 15” downward firing radiator could do, I was quite certain similar LF performance would be attained by the XTREME XD. I was not disappointed; consider that the bass extension of the two are nearly identical:

Helix: 16Hz +/-2dB
XTREME XD: 16-100Hz

While Legacy often shows tight specs, it uses general specifications in the Owner’s Manual for the XTREME XD. Yet, Legacy usually measures a speaker’s frequency response to +/-2dB. My presumption was that one would get Helix-like bass from the XTREME XD, and my listening sessions left me with the impression of it being so.

There are times when I become the “Overkill Guy”, demanding over-the-top performance, as when the roof on the garage at our first home was in danger of collapsing due to being built with a flimsy 1”x8” ridge beam. It had split over the years and was sagging desperately. When the contractor came to replace it, he suggested a 2”x6” beam. I said, “Put a 2” x 10” beam in there!” He said, “That would be enough strength to hold a compact car,” to which I smiled broadly and told him to go ahead. I drove past the old house the other day and made sure to glance at the garage roof line; still straight as an arrow!

Likewise, when I built my listening room I didn’t let anyone else do the work on the wall construction or the ceiling. They simply would not have been as maniacal as I was; the proof is in the 7.5” thick walls and double ceiling with an absolutely seamless hidden ceiling beneath the drop ceiling. Overkill, just the way I like it. The room is acoustically isolated from the rest of the home to a degree that when the utilities are running full tilt on the other side of the wall, they cannot be heard.

When looking for a sub, I had no interest in the myriad of little pumpers with a single 8” or 10” driver in a box about two inches wider and ten pounds heavier than the driver. No, it was going to be overkill or nothing. The XTREME XD’s 15” driver with a 15” passive radiator tipping the scale at 115 pounds would do just fine thank you. Better yet, two of them would make for perfect overkill. If I’m putting together a statement speaker system I do not want merely high performance, I want overkill because that is the only way it will have a chance at impressing me.

I am not referring here to listening levels, as the quality of the subwoofer’s composition is independent of the listening level. I do not care to overkill the output of a subwoofer; it holds little attraction for me to try to shake the cement of my basement listening room, although I do for testing and the rare return to a concert of my youth. I far prefer an erudite sound to a bombastic sound. LF is hugely important for a state of the art system, but that has less to do with how loudly it is played. Big, boomy bass impresses neophytes, but not the well cultured audiophile. I sought a sub which could bang with the best, but I didn’t intend on using it to abuse my ears. (A remarkable statement.- Pub.)

Big mistake, big omission

With the insertion of the XTREME XD subs into my rig, I realized that I have been making a big mistake for several years by cutting out subwoofers from my system. The insidious creep of frequency extension compromise happens so subtly! One hands back a few Hz at a time until it becomes acceptable to hear a rig with depth of only 30, or maybe even 40Hz. In adding a variety of technologies to my speaker harem, I had forgiven the scant few Hertz missed by the Kingsound King ESL. It wasn’t until I started thinking the King Tower omnidirectional’s 35Hz was acceptable low end due to the uniqueness of the technology that I finally woke up and saw my folly. After all, isn’t killer imaging worth more than a few Hertz? Once I recovered my wits, the answer was obvious – no, absolutely not! I used to hold firmly to the philosophy that I will not compromise on any aspect of performance, and I vowed to return to it.

The moment I listened to the XTREME XDs supporting the King Tower, I knew I had escaped one of the most persistent mistakes in audiophilia, the “Quantity vs. Quality” false dichotomy. Historically in audio I have been an “I want it all,” kind of guy. I want both frequency extension and quality. I want radical resolution and zero listening fatigue. I want massive soundstage and pinpoint imaging. I want a sub which is profoundly powerful and as delicate as a midrange driver. The last year or two I had slipped on my demand for frequency extension, but no longer. Hard core is back! 20Hz-and-up no longer cuts it, not for a top flight audio system. I vowed it was time to make up for past audio offenses! The best way to do that would be to pair the subs with whatever I could lay hands on. So, besides the King Tower, I laid hands on the new King III ESL and the Daedalus Audio Ulysses full range dynamic speaker system. I had a grand time getting my priorities straightened out again!