11/6/2017 Von Gaylord Audio Legend Speakers IV Deep and wide soundscape coupled with rock solid imaging make for an inspiring listen. Review By Ro…

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November 2012

World Premiere!

Von Gaylord Audio Legend Speakers IV Deep and wide soundscape coupled with rock solid imaging make for an inspiring listen.

Review By Ron Nagle

If you do your homework, as any conscientious writershould, you will sit yourself down and launch a cloudsearch. If you punch in the word legend, the results are inno way a help. That is if you don't give a hoot about the floormats for the Acura Legend. What you could find is aspeaker company in Australia with a similar brand namecalled Legend Acoustics. In addition, you might find theKlipsch Company's old line of Legend speakers. Continuingthe list is the Eminence Companies Legend line of conedspeaker drivers. So might this be a clue as to why VonGaylord Audio has split off from Legend Audio Design? TheVon Gaylord Company has packed up and relocated fromBerkeley CA, to Sacramento CA. The original Legend entityonce marketed a Legend branded speaker with a roughlysimilar shape to the new Legend IV. The original LegendAudio Design speaker was launched back in 1993. Both oldand new speakers while markedly different share atruncated tapered pyramidal wooden enclosure. That's afancy way of saying they have a pyramid shape with the topcut off. According to my research, there are show reports ofcomplete systems made up of Von Gaylord components.However it seems that there is no product review extantspecifically written about the new Legend IV speakers. Von Gaylord Audio tells us they have, "The Return ofthe Legend IV". Indeed, aside from an approximation of the pyramid shape, this new speaker is an entirelydifferent audio animal.

What's Up With That? Well the Legend IV we be talking about is a rear "Ported" two-way stand mounted speaker. On the back panel,they are tagged, Made In the United States. The speaker's serial numbers are 201206-A and B to indicate thatthey are a matched pair. The front face is slanted backward to time align the two drivers. The Von GaylordCEO, Mister Ray Leung tells me the review samples have a Hi-Gloss Mahogany Veneered MDF enclosure.However, they actually look to me more like a black banded type of dark Rosewood. The physical dimensionsgiven are only approximations so I will post the exact measurements. The tapered cabinets are 14.5" High. Inaddition, they are 11.5" wide at the base of the front panel by 8.465" wide from side to side across the top.Since the driver face slants backward, the depth of the enclosure is 13.465" deep at the base and 11.5" at thetop from the driver face to the back panel. Most speakers come with some type of front grill. However, the latestLegend IV does not provide any type of speaker covering. In addition, they have a not so common inverteddome tweeter that measures 1.5" in diameter, the Mid-woofer diameter measures 7.25". Both of these drivers'diaphragms where made from hi-tech Kevlar fabric. There are two sets of Gold plated speaker binding posts atthe back panel. The top pair are labeled Hi-Frequency and the bottom pair are labeled Low-Frequency.Obviously, you have the option to power the speakers using two separate amplifiers. Not so incidentally, thespeakers arrived with no jumpers to connect the top binding posts to the bottom binding posts. A bit farther intothe review process a set of four Von Gaylord jumper cables arrived. Swapping the original jumpers and usingthe VG, black braided cables made a noticeable improvement. Speaker sensitivity is listed as a high 91dB/W/mso this should allow smaller 35 wpc amplifiers (manufacturer's specification) to drive these speakers. Althoughnot specified, each speaker weighed in at 31.3 Pounds. The Manufacturers list price for the Legend IV is$12,995. As an option, there is a $5995 dollar separate sub-woofer, designated as the VG-1 Plus. The shape ofthe sub matches the Legend IV tapered enclosure so it can serve as the base of a three way stereo speaker.However, my contention is that if you have a well designed two-way speaker, it can and should cover nearly 90percent of the audio spectrum.

Listening To my mind, the most important attribution of a smaller speaker is that it has an enhanced ability to disappear

as a music source. The Legend speakers are set up 5 feet apart on 24-inch high stands with a slight toe in.The distributor tells me the review speakers are broken in. At this point, I am powering these speakers with 360watts per channel Roger Sanders ESL transistor amplifier and an Audio Research SP-9 MK 3 preamplifier.

First up is The Beach Boys album, That's Why God Made The Radio Capital EMI CD (509996-02824 22). Thisis not strictly an audiophile disc but it contains my primary reference. And that is the sound of a human voice,this I know intimately. The first track is "Think About The Days". The introduction begins with music containing a

11/6/2017 Von Gaylord Audio Legend Speakers IV Deep and wide soundscape coupled with rock solid imaging make for an inspiring listen. Review By Ro…

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soft piano passage. My very first scribbled note was how natural the piano sounded and how it seemed toseparate and float free from the rest of the mix. The title song of this CD is on track 2, "That's Why God MadeThe Radio". This refrain reminds me of another Brian Wilson song, "God Only knows" a song similarlyhallmarked by Wilson's signature vocalese styling of intertwining chords and modulating keys. What I try toascertain when listening to speakers is the organic human overtones that identifies the singer/source. Clear tohear is Brian Wilson's slightly monotone affect delineating the passage of his years and substance abuse. TheLegend IV speakers have the ability to delineate voices in the Beach Boys harmony so that I can follow along(grinning).

The melodic thread that runs through this album inspirers in me a wistful nostalgia full of fond memories. Ittakes me back to a time when I gathered together with friends to "Hit Notes". We would harmonize Do-Wopsongs, most of the time we sheltered in a hallway. I can remember nights and although cold and shivering, wewould endure the night air. There were times when our acappella voices would echo off the walls and like achurch bell ringing deep in an alpine valley. The sound would reverberate and live carried on the cold night air.The Return of the Legend IV speakers resurrect that far away memory.

Now with a critical mind set I refer to my ultimate resolution test recording, Love[Capitol EMI 9463-79808-2] CD. In June 2006, a Cirque du Soleil show called Loveopened at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. The shows Beatles soundtrack was theculmination of a two year effort and collaboration between George Harrison andGuy Laliberte' the founder of Cirque du Soleil. It was a compilation of Beatles musictracks reengineered by George Martin and his son Giles Martin. I use the BeatlesCirque du Soleil soundtrack Love to test speaker imaging and resolution. The veryfirst track is called "Because". This is an acappella vocal track with very heavystudio reverberation. Almost totally buried under the tracks vocals at a very muchlower volume are the sounds of birds and a dove cooing. There are breaks in thevocal tracks and only in the quite segments can you hear some faint sounds. Atabout 52 seconds into this cut, you hear the sound of bird wings coming from theright speaker. This same segment when played through the new Legend IV, for thefirst time I clearly hear not just a flapping noise but for a brief second the sound ofwings hitting the bird's sides. At about 1.09 into this cut an even lower sound level,you can hear a buzzing from the right speaker moving across the sound stage andfading behind the left speaker. At first I thought the sound was coming from acommon housefly but the speakers tell me it is a larger insect. The whole first trackon this disc contains a menagerie of sounds recorded at whisper quite levels. All ofthese elements are layered over a very quite background made audible only by acrystal clear resolution of faint details. I use another cut from this same album titled,"Get Back", this song as you probably remember has a very dynamic driving bass.This Beatles track is more of a test of how deep the bass driver reaches. The plucked sound of the electricbass guitar is exactly what's on this recording, a blurry rhythmic boom riding along in the background.

Let's move on to listen to another recording and the string bass backing of Peggy Lee as she sings hersignature song, "Fever". This track is part of a demo CD sampler picked up at one of the shows I attended and Iknow not the origin. This is a far better test of the resolving power of the legend IV speaker's bass articulation.You should hear the resonant sound of the wood in the wooden body of the Bass Fiddle. Also audible thesound of plucked strings and the transfer of the initial transient energy to the wooden body followed by a verynatural resonant fade. All of these subtly resonant overtones are surgically separated and cleaved from thesound scape. This is a bass voicing test that the Legend IV seems able to sail through with ease.

Lets Try Tubes! My PrimaLuna Prologue Two is a 35 watt per Channel Integrated tube amplifier that has never received a badreview: (there was nobody who didn't like it). The amplifiers power rating is 35 wpc, which is the minimumpower rating given by Von Gaylord for these speakers. However, in practice, I could not turn up the PrologueAmplifiers gain past the nine O'clock position. Moving along to the new 2012 Diana Krall (acoustic) album,"Glad Rag Doll", CD [Verve 602537 126934]. Rather than using one popular magazines signature prose or techspec speak to describe the subjective response of this test, let's cut to the human element. The Legend IVspeaker delineates the resonant signature sound of Ms. Krall's upright piano. Diana uses it to create a thickbluesy barroom atmosphere. Diana Krall's voice projects an intimate smoky warm sexuality that makes it seemas if she is talking directly to you. The whole album is saturated in acoustic nuance, so much, so it is hard topick a single moment in time. The Legend speakers fed by tubes and Diana Krall's breathy voice are a naturalpath to daydreams.

That's A Wrap! I can find no obvious faults with the Legend IV speakers. The sound stage is detailed wide and deep and imageplacement rock solid. However if you listen to very loud dynamic music then you should look elsewhere. Thecomparison would be something like using a Guarnerius violin to play Turkey In The Straw. Everything I did,every change I made to my reference system was clearly audible. I recommend that you drive the Legend IVspeakers with a really good tube amplifier. The classic sound of tubes seems to compliment the personality andvoicing of this speaker. At the very deepest frequency range, the speakers lose some transient impact.However, that's exactly what I would expect from any two driver speaker.

Using the Rives Audio test CD I did get some usable bass in my room around 45 Hz. What was evident at 20Hz was undamped cone flutter. The Legend IV is a typical bass reflex design and the 7.25" mid-woofer driversare not frequency limited. The low frequency response is a calculation of VAS the (equivalent cabinet volume)driver size and the enclosures port. Understand when assessing speakers I am not really into deep bass. Infact, most of the time excess bass just overrides and swamps out a broad spectrum of the small details I listenfor. As always, the bottom line will be price and inevitably, everything comes down to Dollars. At nearly$13,000, we rise into somewhat rarified atmosphere.

To put this in prospective I did a bit more research and turned up the following information. This is the MSRP fora few high-end stand mounted speakers. The Sonus Faber Guaneri Memento $15,000, Sonus Faber GuaneriEvolution $20,000 and last but not least the Magico Q1 $24,950. The Legend IV are great speakers, that I canattest to, but at this level it is absolutely necessary that you find a dealer and audition them in person.

11/6/2017 Von Gaylord Audio Legend Speakers IV Deep and wide soundscape coupled with rock solid imaging make for an inspiring listen. Review By Ro…

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/1112/von_gaylord_audio_the_legend.htm 3/4

Foot Note At the very last moment just before I sent this article off to the publisher, I received a set of four speaker cables

from Ray Leung at Von Gaylord. The 7000S-HF speaker cables are constructed with Varistrand (variousgauge) silver and copper wires. There are two cables for each speaker; the eight-foot long quad cable set arelisted at $4995. They replaced my Kimber 12TC cables. Without making any critical comparisons I can say thatthese expensive cables made a wonderful improvement to the sound. There was greater extension at thefrequency extremes, both Treble and bass. The midrange expanded and seemed to contain many more finedetails.

From the Magazine, Enjoy The Music.

From me, Semper Hi-Fi

Sources SOTA turntable with Grado Signature tone arm and Haniwa HCTR01 MC Cartridge, Marantz 8400 Universal

CD, Player, ART DI/O Up sampling D/A and A/D processor, Amplification: Sanders ESL Power Amplifier, Prima Luna Prologue 2 , Audio Research SP-9 Preamplifier

Speakers: Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 SE two-way monitors, Mark and Daniel Omni Harmonizers, Legend IVMonitors all on 24-inch stands

Speaker Cables: Kimber 12 TC, Von Gaylord Legend 7000s speaker cables. Interconnect Cables , MonsterReference, 1 meter and 1.5 meters , Nordost Red Dawn, 1 meter , Audio Research Litzlink 2 pairs, 1.5 meter ,Chord Silver Siren, 1 meter , Audiobhan 0.5-meter digital

AC Power

Specifications Type: Two-way monitor speaker

Drivers: 7.25" mid-woofer and 1.5" inverted dome Kevlar tweeter Frequency Response: 28 Hz to 25 kHz (+/-3dB)

Sensitivity: 91dB/W/m Impedance: 4 Ohms

Cabinet: Ported design Time aligned driver orientation

Bi-wire ready with gold plated binding posts Rosewood with a durable high gloss finish

Dimensions: 11.25 x 14.50 x 13 (WxDxH in inches) Weight: 31.3 lbs.

Price : $12,995, optional 23" Von Gaylord stand are $795

Company Information Von Gaylord Audio

1050 Riverside Parkway Suite 100

West Sacramento, CA 95605

Voice: (415) 328-9572 E-mail: info@vongaylordaudio.com

Website: www.VonGaylordAudio.com

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