Legacy subwoofer build

[zumbini 6,147]

Are both of those drivers or is one passive? Are the two of them suited to the internal volume and did you put any damping material in? 

I believe they are both driven (each speaker has about 20 lbs of magnet) but they aren't listed in my 1986 or 2001 catalogs.

[pindrop 330]

  Good observation....I might try that first.....next time lol. But I'm just curious about what works with what we find and how you arrive in knowing what fits in what and works well and whether or not to use damping material ect. Hey, that's a good looking serious sub now. How well is it integrating  and sounding?

[PMAT 2,038]

Both of the drivers are active and are parallel wired. Polyfill stuffing. The chain is one piece hand carved wood from a ten foot piece of pine. As for the sound: let me preface with my prior subs. Hsu, Velodyne and B&W. All good subs. The Hsu was fairly musical and pretty good for home theater. The B&W was musical but didn't really go that deep. The Velodyne is great for movie sound tracks and if kept very low good for music. This Legacy is superb musically. It is matched with B&W FPM on wall speakers and I can play it at 150 hz cross and it doesn't muddy up the music! Incredible tone. AND this thing is a beast. The helicopter in Pink Floyd's The Wall will make your diaphragm shudder. It is incredible. Being sealed and having the two drivers facing away from each other at different heights loads the room well and is so tight. I talked to the tech at Legacy and he suggested 1000 watts of ice module. I am sure they can take it. The amp I put in will flex my walls so no need to change. 

[Zoom 373]

 

 

Amazing work, Paul!  Much better than the original. I'm always impressed by people who know how to work with wood, I can't do a darn thing with the stuff. 

 

That's some mighty big chain hanging next to your miter saw! Is that real (made of steel), or just a decoration?

Myself also.  I'm a pretty fair mechanical technician, mainly automotive.  but that involves 'simply' taking things apart and putting them back together.  I cannot, repeat cannot, do body work, or woodworking.  I am no carpenter for sure.

 

I am also curious about the driver configuration.....did you do rebuilds, or replacements, and did you try to get close to the original specs (not that it matters that much with a sealed enclosure...)?   And did you wire it opposing (push/pull)?

Very nice work by the way......

 

Edit:  Ok.  We must have been on the same wavelength for a minute

[00cbirdw 195]

Amazing work, Paul!  Much better than the original. I'm always impressed by people who know how to work with wood, I can't do a darn thing with the stuff. 

 

That's some mighty big chain hanging next to your miter saw! Is that real (made of steel), or just a decoration?

Myself also.  I'm a pretty fair mechanical technician, mainly automotive.  but that involves 'simply' taking things apart and putting them back together.  I cannot, repeat cannot, do body work, or woodworking.  I am no carpenter for sure.

 

That's pretty funny........not to 'toot my own horn', but as long as I have the tools available at my disposal I'm pretty darn good with wood (as long as it's not TOO complex).  On the other hand, I am DEFINITELY NOT very good with mechanical/electrical or steel working LOL!!!

 

Hey Paul, what are the dimensions of that beast and about how much does it weigh now?

[00cbirdw 195]

Whoops, nevermind.......just saw the link that Dom provided! That thing is deceptively small......it looks quite large tho!

[zumbini 6,147]

Legacy has always had top notch products and tech service going back to when they were Real-To-Reel Designs.

In those days (early 80's) it wasn't unusual for the president/chief engineer (Bill Duddleston) to answer the phone.

In fact when they built my custom satellites and subs (87/88) Bill drove them up from Springfield and set them up.

 

In 2010 when I called to discuss upgrades to the satellites, Bill remembered me and had the specifications at hand.

He even sent me a copy of his hand-written notes for the new bi-ampable crossovers.

 

[00cbirdw 195]

Legacy has always had top notch products and tech service going back to when they were Real-To-Reel Designs.

In those days (early 80's) it wasn't unusual for the president/chief engineer (Bill Duddleston) to answer the phone.

In fact when they built my custom satellites and subs (87/88) Bill drove them up from Springfield and set them up.

 

In 2010 when I called to discuss upgrades to the satellites, Bill remembered me and had the specifications at hand.

He even sent me a copy of his hand-written notes for the new bi-ampable crossovers.

 

 

WOW.......now THAT is customer service !!!!  I wish all companies were still like that........in this day and age you can't even get a personable HAIR CUT LOL!!!

[PMAT 2,038]

It weighs about 90 lbs. The amp is heavier than the original. I did not modify anything on the drivers. I just soldered the tinsel leads back on the spider. You can see from the one photo that the leads are woven in the spider fabric. The original owner was playing it at max volume during a party and the amp had a catastrophic failure of some sort and melted the leads. It must of went up in smoke literally. The rest of the driver was fine. It is a seriously over-built motor. I also got the amp off Craigslist for $80 from a contractor that had removed it from an infinite baffle in-wall home theater setup driving two 15 inch MCM pro drivers. 

[PMAT 2,038]

[00cbirdw 195]

It weighs about 90 lbs. The amp is heavier than the original. I did not modify anything on the drivers. I just soldered the tinsel leads back on the spider. You can see from the one photo that the leads are woven in the spider fabric. The original owner was playing it at max volume during a party and the amp had a catastrophic failure of some sort and melted the leads. It must of went up in smoke literally. The rest of the driver was fine. It is a seriously over-built motor. I also got the amp off Craigslist for $80 from a contractor that had removed it from an infinite baffle in-wall home theater setup driving two 15 inch MCM pro drivers. 

 

Sounds like you got a STEAL for $100 and a little elbow grease LOL!!!

[PMAT 2,038]

Yes I am so very happy with it. The elbow grease is the fun part. I love to work with wood. The new veneer is 1/4 inch thick so it can be refinished if damaged. The depth if the wood grain is incredible in person. I am going to make new wings in hardwood for my AL IIIs at some point.

[zumbini 6,147]

If those are the drivers I'm thinking of they should easily handle 1,000 watts plus over "musically signifcant" time frames.

[PMAT 2,038]

Those drivers will be the only thing working after Armageddon. 

[tlkohler 106]

Great work on the resurrection Paul

 

 

[PMAT 2,038]

 

 

I am also curious about the driver configuration.....did you do rebuilds, or replacements, and did you try to get close to the original specs (not that it matters that much with a sealed enclosure...)?   And did you wire it opposing (push/pull)?

Very nice work by the way......

 

Edit:  Ok.  We must have been on the same wavelength for a minute

The drivers are not set up push/pull. I called Legacy specifically for that reason. They are very nice there. The tech had a couple of used drivers there but no replacement amps. I could not match either so I repaired the drivers and replaced the amp with a higher current rated amp. The used amp was on MCM's website and I was able to spec it. Then a week later it was removed from the site. I got lucky there.

[pindrop 330]

Enjoyed the thread and especially like that you found a great product for $20 and knew exactly what you had and what to do and you end up with something that looks and sounds great.

[oldtexasdog 2,456]

Outstanding craftsmanship! I just love a good story when the good guys win:)