Floorstanding loudspeakers — Legacy Audio Signature XD

The Signature XD is a floorstanding loudspeaker from Legacy Audio that combines a passive upper range with a powered bass section inside one sealed cabinet. It is a 5-driver, 4-way design, and Legacy prices it at USD 14,500 to 17,000 per pair according to the finish ordered.

Key specs that matter

Legacy gives the response as 22 Hz to 30 kHz within 2 dB. Sensitivity reaches 92 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m into a nominal 4 ohm load for the passive part of the system. Internal amplification totals 650 W and drives the woofers, while an external amplifier of at least 10 W is recommended for the upper range. Crossover points are set at 180 Hz, 2.8 kHz and 8 kHz, which places the handover from the powered woofers to the passive midrange low in the bass, below the fundamental range of most voices and instruments. Each speaker measures 122 x 30.5 x 35 cm (height, width, depth) and weighs 50 kg.

Engineering and use context

At the top sit two Air Motion Transformer drivers, a 1 inch super tweeter with silver HF wire and a 4 inch AMT tweeter. A 7 inch midrange using a graphene-loaded carbon fiber diaphragm in a cast frame takes over below the AMT section, and twin 10 inch spun aluminum woofers with rubber surrounds work in the sealed lower enclosure, which Legacy describes as using dynamic damping. Since the woofers have their own power, the outboard amplifier sees just the midrange and tweeters, which lowers the demands placed on it. The sealed alignment means the cabinet has no port. The standard range covers oak in black or natural and satin paint in black or white, a surcharge applies to walnut, rosewood and the two gloss lacquers, and exotic or custom finishes are quoted after enquiry.

Pairing

The bass amplifier accepts a preamp-level feed over XLR, or RCA with an adapter, and there is also a high-level input on one pair of 5-way binding posts. That means the powered section can be fed either from a preamplifier output or via the loudspeaker outputs of the main amplifier. A low-power valve or class A amplifier becomes a practical choice for the upper range in a 20 m2 room, provided it handles a low impedance load, because the heavy work of moving the woofers is taken over by the built-in electronics. Using the preamp-level input lets the bass level be matched to the passive section independently of the main amplifier gain, which is useful when that amplifier has an unusual input sensitivity.

Alternatives

The Legacy Audio Signature SE shares the same drivers and cabinet but is fully passive, with separate bass and treble terminals for bi-amping.