Built for the love of music.....

[Antonmb]

Very cool Mark, congratulations.

[SCAudiophile]

Thanks Tony!

[Charles]

Mark, congrats on beautiful well researched upgrades. Understanding the value of acoustic isolation has certainly influenced and helped me tremendously improve the sound quality of my system.

Best

Charles

[mchydro]

Looking great, my friend!

[SCAudiophile]

Thank you guys!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by SCAudiophile

Thank you guys!

Mark, I know you have heard me comment on the uniqueness and the extreme thought you have put into your system. I just read the review of the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra multi-channel amplifier. What an amazing review. I probably missed it but would you care to comment on your amplification? Knowing you, I know you must be extremely satisfied with the Class D sound this amp produces.

I have never encountered a high end system so unique or well thought out. Can the amp drive the Valor to its limits? I know the Valor is highly efficient and can play loud easily.

Best

Charles

[SCAudiophile]

Originally Posted by Charles

Mark, I know you have heard me comment on the uniqueness and the extreme thought you have put into your system. I just read the review of the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra multi-channel amplifier. What an amazing review. I probably missed it but would you care to comment on your amplification? Knowing you, I know you must be extremely satisfied with the Class D sound this amp produces.

I have never encountered a high end system so unique or well thought out. Can the amp drive the Valor to its limits? I know the Valor is highly efficient and can play loud easily.

Best

Charles

Thank you very much Charles!

"Knowing you, I know you must be extremely satisfied with the Class D sound this amp produces."

The answer to that is no, I'm not just extremely satisfied with the "Class D sound" this amp produces...as that seems to carry with it some sort of typical audiophile bias that Class D is somehow not in the same league as other more traditional forms of amplification (A, A/B, etc...).

I am extremely happy and continue to be surprised at how great this amp sounds, removing any such qualifiers.

For years I held such biases against digital amplification going back 10+ years and always favored big, heavy, beautiful, expensive Class A, Class A/B solid state as well as the best tube amps out there. I swore I'd never have one channel of digital amplification, let alone TEN (10) channels as I do now.

Of those 10 channels, 5 per side, 3 are internal on each speaker (1000, 750W, 500W) and 2 (per side) are served by the i.V4 Ultra.

The internal amplification is Legacy-collaborated/design with ICEpower and it is generation2 ICEedge technology. The other 4 channels, 2 per speaker, mids & treble separately driven, are each served in over-kill fashion by 4 customized ICEpower next-generation Legacy modified design 1200AS2 boards. Each board has extra power supply, heat-sink and other features designed in for Legacy as an OEM offering and could drive 2 channels fully. Legacy optimizes the 4 channel amp by using one 2-channel board, differentially balanced to drive only 1 channel. (In short, this amp contains 8 channels of power harnessed to drive 4 fully balanced)

My feedback on the amp is equivalent to Doug Schroeder and others' reviews that are out there. I've yet to hear this amp hit its limit, get harsh, grainy or anything else. It remains incredibly musical, great dynamics, imaging, bass, mids and treble all rendered with great accuracy, tonal correctness, speed and nuance at the lowest volumes as well as the highest.

It's price (sub $9K USD) is a bargain however that's not why I've kept it for 2 years+.

It delivers on some incredible specs and remains musical:

610 watts per channel x 4 @ 8 ohms, all channels driven full range
1000 watts per channel x 4 @ 4 ohms, all channels driven full range
over 1 KW minimum into 2-ohms, all channels driven
1.2 kW from any one channel simultaneously at 4-ohms, less than 1% THD

Damping factor 750 averaged 20 Hz - 1 kHz
S/N is -127 db A-rated
Channel separation 120 db

That's all on US 120V power too. It auto-senses voltage so it can be plugged into a single 120V 20amp line, a single 230V 20amp line or DUAL 120V 20-amp lines using a double-headed power cord.

@Charles: This amp not only drives my Valor with ease....

It would drive your Wilson XVX with ease. If the XVX only takes 2-channels to drive it, it could drive a pair of passive subs as well!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by SCAudiophile

Thank you very much Charles!

"Knowing you, I know you must be extremely satisfied with the Class D sound this amp produces."

The answer to that is no, I'm not just extremely satisfied with the "Class D sound" this amp produces...as that seems to carry with it some sort of typical audiophile bias that Class D is somehow not in the same league as other more traditional forms of amplification (A, A/B, etc...).

I am extremely happy and continue to be surprised at how great this amp sounds, removing any such qualifiers.

For years I held such biases against digital amplification going back 10+ years and always favored big, heavy, beautiful, expensive Class A, Class A/B solid state as well as the best tube amps out there. I swore I'd never have one channel of digital amplification, let alone TEN (10) channels as I do now.

Of those 10 channels, 5 per side, 3 are internal on each speaker (1000, 750W, 500W) and 2 (per side) are served by the i.V4 Ultra.

The internal amplification is Legacy-collaborated/design with ICEpower and it is generation2 ICEedge technology. The other 4 channels, 2 per speaker, mids & treble separately driven, are each served in over-kill fashion by 4 customized ICEpower next-generation Legacy modified design 1200AS2 boards. Each board has extra power supply, heat-sink and other features designed in for Legacy as an OEM offering and could drive 2 channels fully. Legacy optimizes the 4 channel amp by using one 2-channel board, differentially balanced to drive only 1 channel. (In short, this amp contains 8 channels of power harnessed to drive 4 fully balanced)

My feedback on the amp is equivalent to Doug Schroeder and others' reviews that are out there. I've yet to hear this amp hit its limit, get harsh, grainy or anything else. It remains incredibly musical, great dynamics, imaging, bass, mids and treble all rendered with great accuracy, tonal correctness, speed and nuance at the lowest volumes as well as the highest.

It's price (sub $9K USD) is a bargain however that's not why I've kept it for 2 years+.

It delivers on some incredible specs and remains musical:

610 watts per channel x 4 @ 8 ohms, all channels driven full range
1000 watts per channel x 4 @ 4 ohms, all channels driven full range
over 1 KW minimum into 2-ohms, all channels driven
1.2 kW from any one channel simultaneously at 4-ohms, less than 1% THD

Damping factor 750 averaged 20 Hz - 1 kHz
S/N is -127 db A-rated
Channel separation 120 db

That's all on US 120V power too. It auto-senses voltage so it can be plugged into a single 120V 20amp line, a single 230V 20amp line or DUAL 120V 20-amp lines using a double-headed power cord.

@Charles: This amp not only drives my Valor with ease....

It would drive your Wilson XVX with ease. If the XVX only takes 2-channels to drive it, it could drive a pair of passive subs as well!

Mark, this is truly incredible. I don't have words to express how impressed I am with your system. It has no flaw from an intellectual perspective. It makes perfect sense to match the 2-channel external amp with the internal Legacy supplied amplification. I believe this is conclusive proof of that Class-D will become the preferred amplification for the future.

Eventually, Legacy will update their electronics as all manufacturers do. When and if this occurs the price of the Ultra is quite reasonable for upgrade. I can identify with your system and understand the choices you have made and why you made them. I think there is no substitute for power/watts and you have it in spades.

Thanks for the very informative response.

Best

Charles

[SCAudiophile]

Thank you Charles... have a great day!

[bart]

Mark, I hope you're being paid very well to promote the Legacy brand.
You're the best hi-fi influencer I know!




Just kidding of course.