Legacy Audio's imposing system, made even more imposing by the photo of the entire line that dominated the wall to the left of the system, included both the 63" high, 235 lb. Whisper XD loudspeaker ($20,995–$23,5000/pair, depending upon finish) and, to the inside, the smaller 56" high, 184 lb. Focus SE ($9200–$10,500/pair, depending upon finish). That's a helluva lota real estate for the money.

Coupled with the Ayon CD-07 ($2250), Coda CL preamp ($2550), and Coda CX monoblocks ($12,000/pair), the Whisper XDs produced an inviting, warm midrange with some edge on top. (I have a feeling that power conditioning, which was not indicated, would have cleaned that up). Surprisingly, for a speaker this big, much of the lowest line of Ivan Fischer's superbly engineered hybrid SACD of Mahler's Symphony No.2 was understated. I'll betcha, had the equipment been set up on a proper rack with good supports under each component, and different cables been called into play, the lowest bass line would not have been missing in action. Be that as it may, or rather, as it was, there was a lot to love in the sound.