Life with the Legend L800
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nooshinjohn
Posts: 25,100
in Speakers
It has been 4 months now since the Legend L800 took the place of my 1.2TL’s, so I felt it was time to provide a more long-term impression of the speaker and how they have responded to the other changes made in my setup. To date, they have around 500 hours on them, and they continue to just get better and better.
Gone is my Pass Labs stack, turntable setup, and the PS Audio DAC. I am now running everything through the Arcam AVR30. While initially I had some struggles getting one that worked, the Arcam/Legend pairing has been nothing short of spectacular. The AVR has taken the Legends to a level the Pass gear never did. Much of this I attribute to the room correction capability of the Arcam.
I have not attempted a Dirac calibration yet, only setting the speaker type and distances, but even that was enough to elevate the performance of the L800’s. I find them to be very well balanced in their presentation. Imaging is better than anything Polk has done in the past, with near laser-precise placement of instruments and vocals within a soundstage that is simply huge. Bass has substantial weight to it without ever becoming boomy.
Bottom line is that I could not be happier with the direction my rig is taking at the moment. I know there are those that think I took a giant leap backwards by placing all my eggs into the AVR30, and moving on from the big 1.2TL’s... and before I actually did so, I would have never thought it would work, but it does! My room has neve sounded better, and with the ease of being able to just play music and enjoy, I can actually use my system again rather than just look at it.
With the Arcam and L800, life is good.
I should mention that I have not even tried the home theater side of things yet...
Gone is my Pass Labs stack, turntable setup, and the PS Audio DAC. I am now running everything through the Arcam AVR30. While initially I had some struggles getting one that worked, the Arcam/Legend pairing has been nothing short of spectacular. The AVR has taken the Legends to a level the Pass gear never did. Much of this I attribute to the room correction capability of the Arcam.
I have not attempted a Dirac calibration yet, only setting the speaker type and distances, but even that was enough to elevate the performance of the L800’s. I find them to be very well balanced in their presentation. Imaging is better than anything Polk has done in the past, with near laser-precise placement of instruments and vocals within a soundstage that is simply huge. Bass has substantial weight to it without ever becoming boomy.
Bottom line is that I could not be happier with the direction my rig is taking at the moment. I know there are those that think I took a giant leap backwards by placing all my eggs into the AVR30, and moving on from the big 1.2TL’s... and before I actually did so, I would have never thought it would work, but it does! My room has neve sounded better, and with the ease of being able to just play music and enjoy, I can actually use my system again rather than just look at it.
With the Arcam and L800, life is good.
I should mention that I have not even tried the home theater side of things yet...
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
Comments
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Glad to hear you are liking it!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Seems like you came from quite the set-up to begin with. I, also, am glad you are stoked about the new toys. It's always nice to "take the leap" and find out it's better than what you had, even though you wouldn't think so!Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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Just goes to show, in this hobby not everything is written in stone. Rock on with your bad self John.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Just goes to show, in this hobby not everything is written in stone. Rock on with your bad self John.
It definitely pays to keep an open mind.
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I didn't see where you sold your TT..
Glad you are liking it John.. -
I still have the table, but the arm, cartridge, and preamp are sold already.I didn't see where you sold your TT..
Glad you are liking it John..
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
It's good to hear you're very pleased with them.
My L600's also keep improving also. If they ever get the black M6SI's back in stock, I'll be curious how they sound with it.
Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables. -
Curious how you came to decide on the Arcam, or an AVR for that matter. No judgement here, just wondering. At first I was thinking you wanted to meld the music and HT into a single killer system, but since you haven't explored the HT side of things, I guess I was wrong.
As always, you have a sweet system.Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
John, are you into streaming?
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Curious how you came to decide on the Arcam, or an AVR for that matter. No judgement here, just wondering. At first I was thinking you wanted to meld the music and HT into a single killer system, but since you haven't explored the HT side of things, I guess I was wrong.
As always, you have a sweet system.
The Arcam is going to be HT as well, just have not had the time to delve into that side of it yet.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
John, are you into streaming?
Just feeling my way around that now... I am using Qobuz and am in the trial period. So far, I like it.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Understood. Going from laptop to Arcam's internal DAC?
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Understood. Going from laptop to Arcam's internal DAC?
From a desktop PC to the Arcam over HDMI.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Oh ok, cool. Enjoy! I love the convenience and sound quality of streaming.
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I'm happy to hear John didn't sell that TT. I know the history of that table and he could probably get double what he paid for it, but would cost 4-5x what he paid to actually replace it.2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
John, are you using your Arcam pre-out's to your Carver Statements? I know Arcam makes some really nice stuff. Congrats on finding your sweet spot!Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
John, are you using your Arcam pre-out's to your Carver Statements? I know Arcam makes some really nice stuff. Congrats on finding your sweet spot!
Yes I am...
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
txcoastal1 wrote: »I'm happy to hear John didn't sell that TT. I know the history of that table and he could probably get double what he paid for it, but would cost 4-5x what he paid to actually replace it.
The table is next to go unfortunately....
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Congrats John. I have been following your post for some time now on your SDA's & now your new system. Sure it sounds great..
..
..
Randy/Maine -
An amazing turn of events for you John - every time I read your posts."Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"
Harry / Marietta GA -
nooshinjohn wrote: »The AVR has taken the Legends to a level the Pass gear never did. Much of this I attribute to the room correction capability of the Arcam.
There you have it folks!
Good you are finding synergy within your system, and good a 2 channel aficionado is sharing this information on the Polk Audio forum. Some of the clapback to question and audiophile blasphemy has been tough around this place at times.
The high end AVR vs. 2 Channel component debate will continue to rage out of control. Yet, there are some that are finding satisfaction using high end AVR's, or Pre/Pro, 2 channel components, or active speaker systems with room correction for HT and/or music systems.
Musician know the effects of the room when they play an instrument that they know very well in different spaces and it sounds SO different. Many can't always alter their living spaces with room treatments. Room correction can work for some.
To my ears, my old entry model Anthem MRX310 sounds better for home theater in my space than my older more powerful flagship Onkyo TX-NR5009 or the Pioneer Elite SC-65 I had. It just does not make sense but its my experience. My HT is at a standstill because it will take $$$$ to go up a level. I want an AVR with Dirac Live or one of the new Anthem units!2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2 -
There is an Arcam AVR10 for sale on Audiogon right now.... Dirac and the same processing as the one I have....nooshinjohn wrote: »The AVR has taken the Legends to a level the Pass gear never did. Much of this I attribute to the room correction capability of the Arcam.
There you have it folks!
Good you are finding synergy within your system, and good a 2 channel aficionado is sharing this information on the Polk Audio forum. Some of the clapback to question and audiophile blasphemy has been tough around this place at times.
The high end AVR vs. 2 Channel component debate will continue to rage out of control. Yet, there are some that are finding satisfaction using high end AVR's, or Pre/Pro, 2 channel components, or active speaker systems with room correction for HT and/or music systems.
Musician know the effects of the room when they play an instrument that they know very well in different spaces and it sounds SO different. Many can't always alter their living spaces with room treatments. Room correction can work for some.
To my ears, my old entry model Anthem MRX310 sounds better for home theater in my space than my older more powerful flagship Onkyo TX-NR5009 or the Pioneer Elite SC-65 I had. It just does not make sense but its my experience. My HT is at a standstill because it will take $$$$ to go up a level. I want an AVR with Dirac Live or one of the new Anthem units!The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
@nooshinjohn Great post! You seem quite happy with your new speakers.
I have not interacted with you as far as I know on the the forum, but was great to read that the "new stuff" really works out great compared to the "old" stuff we mostly started out with!
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I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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I would have said exactly that two months ago.... I am not saying at all that a two channel pre would not be my preferred choice, but the Arcam is a stellar performer and with it’s capabilities, easily replaced everything I had before with zero loss of quality sound and in many was surpassed the old setup.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Well... finally got a taste of the L800 with a basic HT setup on the Arcam, and I am now firmly convinced that for my space and budget, there is no way I could ask for a system that does everything as well as it sounds now. My HT outperforms the Pioneer/SRS 1.2TL combination by a wide margin... not even close.
Two channel still sounds amazing and getting better. Anyone on the fence that have not taken the plunge on the Legend series is really missing out on something quite special.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
So when are you going external crossovers?
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nooshinjohn wrote: »It has been 4 months now since the Legend L800 took the place of my 1.2TL’s, so I felt it was time to provide a more long-term impression of the speaker and how they have responded to the other changes made in my setup. To date, they have around 500 hours on them, and they continue to just get better and better.
Gone is my Pass Labs stack, turntable setup, and the PS Audio DAC. I am now running everything through the Arcam AVR30. While initially I had some struggles getting one that worked, the Arcam/Legend pairing has been nothing short of spectacular. The AVR has taken the Legends to a level the Pass gear never did. Much of this I attribute to the room correction capability of the Arcam.
I have not attempted a Dirac calibration yet, only setting the speaker type and distances, but even that was enough to elevate the performance of the L800’s. I find them to be very well balanced in their presentation. Imaging is better than anything Polk has done in the past, with near laser-precise placement of instruments and vocals within a soundstage that is simply huge. Bass has substantial weight to it without ever becoming boomy.
Bottom line is that I could not be happier with the direction my rig is taking at the moment. I know there are those that think I took a giant leap backwards by placing all my eggs into the AVR30, and moving on from the big 1.2TL’s... and before I actually did so, I would have never thought it would work, but it does! My room has neve sounded better, and with the ease of being able to just play music and enjoy, I can actually use my system again rather than just look at it.
With the Arcam and L800, life is good.
I should mention that I have not even tried the home theater side of things yet...
Did you end up running Dirac? If so, did you do it with SDA on or off?nooshinjohn wrote: »It has been 4 months now since the Legend L800 took the place of my 1.2TL’s, so I felt it was time to provide a more long-term impression of the speaker and how they have responded to the other changes made in my setup. To date, they have around 500 hours on them, and they continue to just get better and better.
Gone is my Pass Labs stack, turntable setup, and the PS Audio DAC. I am now running everything through the Arcam AVR30. While initially I had some struggles getting one that worked, the Arcam/Legend pairing has been nothing short of spectacular. The AVR has taken the Legends to a level the Pass gear never did. Much of this I attribute to the room correction capability of the Arcam.
I have not attempted a Dirac calibration yet, only setting the speaker type and distances, but even that was enough to elevate the performance of the L800’s. I find them to be very well balanced in their presentation. Imaging is better than anything Polk has done in the past, with near laser-precise placement of instruments and vocals within a soundstage that is simply huge. Bass has substantial weight to it without ever becoming boomy.
Bottom line is that I could not be happier with the direction my rig is taking at the moment. I know there are those that think I took a giant leap backwards by placing all my eggs into the AVR30, and moving on from the big 1.2TL’s... and before I actually did so, I would have never thought it would work, but it does! My room has neve sounded better, and with the ease of being able to just play music and enjoy, I can actually use my system again rather than just look at it.
With the Arcam and L800, life is good.
I should mention that I have not even tried the home theater side of things yet...
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No Dirac yet... two kids under 5 equals zero time. I am going to pay for professional calibration in the coming months...The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
I’m messing around with my calibration now. I finally got decent results. I’ve been having a harder time getting a real strong SDA effect. At least as strong as the one in the store front.nooshinjohn wrote: »No Dirac yet... two kids under 5 equals zero time. I am going to pay for professional calibration in the coming months...
I have a 4 year old and 6 year old, so I can totally relate. I took today off work to work on Dirac.
Now I’m pivoting to try and get the SDA effect stronger
