Legacy Audio Aeris - My Take

Part 3
The Sound without the Wavelet II

I anticipated hearing loose, boomy bass and a less cohesive soundstage without the Wavelet. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The bass remained tight and well-controlled, still delivering some of the best bass I've ever heard. I'm comparing this to Wilson speakers, which are known for their bass performance. I don't mean to suggest that the Aeris outperforms the Wilsons; I'm merely stating that I can't remember better bass, and the Wilsons were exceptionally good in that department. As I played track after track, the sound remained visceral, dimensional, and cohesive without the Wavelet. Perhaps there's even greater purity in the recording that I'm hearing?

I attempted to remove the Waversa LAN network filter but found that after about three minutes, I had to put it back in. The sound became noisy, and the Aeris speakers proved to be quite sensitive, more so than any other speakers I've owned, in terms of their sensitivity to the source. I've been using a $1400 Serbian-designed preamp in place of the Wavelet. My gut feeling is that this allowed the Allnic D10000 DAC to showcase more of its inherent purity of sound. The Allnic DAC doesn't employ output transformers or output coupling caps, and when I mentioned that it doesn't sound like a DAC, I truly mean it. Music simply flows through it. I found the Holo May KTE DAC to be a fine instrument, and while it was the best DAC I owned before the Allnic, I don't miss it either.

Cables and Power Supplies

As I mentioned earlier, the Aeris and the upstream components, particularly the Wavelet, require high-quality cables and power supplies. Linear power supplies are difficult to find (at least until yesterday), and I've been using the provided switcher. Without a doubt, the sound will improve with better power supplies and power cables. I've had the opportunity to use a 3m Audioquest Pegasus on loan and hope to test a Kabula Sosna cable someday. I also used the DH-Labs Revelation cable, which I purchased for the connection between my turntable and the Wavelet—it was spectacular. The speakers come well-equipped with a full complement of cables and other accessories to help you get up and running without the need for online orders or trips to the hardware store. I like that!

What I Didn't Like

The $15 remote control. I don't understand the strategy here. I would have gladly paid $50 or more for a high-quality remote control. In fact, I recently spent $32 on an AliExpress remote with only four buttons, made from milled aluminum. The remote that came with the Wavelet has unnecessary extra buttons, and the volume up and down buttons are painfully slow. The Wavelet offers fine-tuning of the volume control, and perhaps I'm using it incorrectly?

The Wavelet screen. It appears to be made of glass and reflects the floor, which, in my case, is white carpet. I can see the white carpet clearly, but the display is hard to read. I've placed a large black cloth on the floor in front of the screen to alleviate the issue, but it's not an ideal solution. Perhaps I can find a non-reflective coating or tape to address this problem. Of course, I could also consider relocating the Wavelet higher on my rack, but the higher areas are reserved for sources that I can easily access.

Regarding streaming, it's essential to ensure your network is well-maintained. The Aeris will reveal any network noise you haven't addressed. This isn't so much a dislike as it is a heads-up for potential buyers.

I ordered extra coats of finish for the speakers, but I can't discern whether that's what I received. This is a minor point, as I don't know the difference.

I will continue my thoughts on these speakers as they continue to settle in, the cables too as well as the Eventual LPS for the Wavelet which was surely handicapped.

Side Note:
It was confirmed by Legacy Audio, the Wavelet II produced not output in their testing. The first they've seen of this. A new one has been shipped.
I could never be a good reviewer. Aside from not having great writing skills, I don't know when to stop when it comes to moving cables, components, and tweaks, and this is especially true of the Aeris. The Wavelet, of course, adds another dimension, having a 'built-in' DAC, a preamp, and room correction. And then there's the cables. I have logged hundreds of hours of testing. My wife too, is not one to let anything she feels is amiss. But this is our journey, so here it goes.
The Wavelet II arrived, and so did the 3m Kubala Sosna balanced cable to do battle with the Pegasis and the Revelation. I won't go into details, but for our ears, the Revelation was the winner, giving the music more focus, clarity, and especially space, and my wife likes space. My wife noted a 'buzz', for lack of a better word, with some tracks. It bothered her ears. I didn't note that through my listening but did take notice that when music, and it does especially with rock music, everyone is playing at the same time, of course it sounds a bit busy. That's just normal for this former concertgoer. So I swapped my venerable Verastar XLR's for a pair of Allnic RCA's. That was surprising. For some reason, the Verrastars did not like the connection between the Wavelet and the Allnic integrated. The Allnic RCA removed this 'buzz' to an extent, and my wife was happier as was I (you know happy wife hap..). The system was sounding fine except for one nagging issue I had with the setup. I did not like the idea of having my Allnic Dac reprocessed through the Wavelet. Remember, I really liked the sound without the Wavelet. The Wavelet brings in room correction, which works well. It has tone controls and user-defined presets for various sound profiles, depending on what one is listening to. But it loses something too. It can't compete with the Allnic's DAC by itself. Around this time, I got word that my buddy had to give up his Usher Grand Tower speakers. They won't fit in his new home, so he offered them to us at a very good price. We know these speakers. The best speakers we had ever listened to, while listening to symphonies or classical music, I started thinking... Then arrived a Linear Tube Audio power supply for the Wavelet. Let it be known that this is an essential piece of gear when purchasing or owning the Wavelet. This added depth and clarity and widened the stage a bit, as expected. At the end of the day, it was the DH-Labs Revelations that won us over. Everywhere we put them, someone had cleaned a window into the music.
The Wavelet in full control.
Now that we have a proper power supply feeding the Wavelet, how might it sound if I removed the Allnic DAC and employed the Wavelet's built-in DAC all by itself? Not just that, I removed the Allnic T2000 30th integrated and replaced that with my BMC-S1, a 200WPC 100-lb German-bred amplifier. Upon first listen, it was somewhat laughable. The sheer amount of clarity and dynamics was startling. My wife loved it. The 'buzz' was gone, and space? Now we have an amazing amount of separation, and while I wouldn't say one was placing instruments in specific locations on the stage, they were clearly defined and occupied their own space. Percussion instruments rang distinctly, often well in front of the speakers. Again, my wife really loved what she was hearing and remarked that this is what she's been waiting for. My own feelings were somewhat doubtful at first. - continued
 
I could never be a good reviewer. Aside from not having great writing skills, I don't know when to stop when it comes to moving cables, components, and tweaks, and this is especially true of the Aeris. The Wavelet, of course, adds another dimension, having a 'built-in' DAC, a preamp, and room correction. And then there's the cables. I have logged hundreds of hours of testing. My wife too, is not one to let anything she feels is amiss. But this is our journey, so here it goes.
The Wavelet II arrived, and so did the 3m Kubala Sosna balanced cable to do battle with the Pegasis and the Revelation. I won't go into details, but for our ears, the Revelation was the winner, giving the music more focus, clarity, and especially space, and my wife likes space. My wife noted a 'buzz', for lack of a better word, with some tracks. It bothered her ears. I didn't note that through my listening but did take notice that when music, and it does especially with rock music, everyone is playing at the same time, of course it sounds a bit busy. That's just normal for this former concertgoer. So I swapped my venerable Verastar XLR's for a pair of Allnic RCA's. That was surprising. For some reason, the Verrastars did not like the connection between the Wavelet and the Allnic integrated. The Allnic RCA removed this 'buzz' to an extent, and my wife was happier as was I (you know happy wife hap..). The system was sounding fine except for one nagging issue I had with the setup. I did not like the idea of having my Allnic Dac reprocessed through the Wavelet. Remember, I really liked the sound without the Wavelet. The Wavelet brings in room correction, which works well. It has tone controls and user-defined presets for various sound profiles, depending on what one is listening to. But it loses something too. It can't compete with the Allnic's DAC by itself. Around this time, I got word that my buddy had to give up his Usher Grand Tower speakers. They won't fit in his new home, so he offered them to us at a very good price. We know these speakers. The best speakers we had ever listened to, while listening to symphonies or classical music, I started thinking... Then arrived a Linear Tube Audio power supply for the Wavelet. Let it be known that this is an essential piece of gear when purchasing or owning the Wavelet. This added depth and clarity and widened the stage a bit, as expected. At the end of the day, it was the DH-Labs Revelations that won us over. Everywhere we put them, someone had cleaned a window into the music.
The Wavelet in full control.
Now that we have a proper power supply feeding the Wavelet, how might it sound if I removed the Allnic DAC and employed the Wavelet's built-in DAC all by itself? Not just that, I removed the Allnic T2000 30th integrated and replaced that with my BMC-S1, a 200WPC 100-lb German-bred amplifier. Upon first listen, it was somewhat laughable. The sheer amount of clarity and dynamics was startling. My wife loved it. The 'buzz' was gone, and space? Now we have an amazing amount of separation, and while I wouldn't say one was placing instruments in specific locations on the stage, they were clearly defined and occupied their own space. Percussion instruments rang distinctly, often well in front of the speakers. Again, my wife really loved what she was hearing and remarked that this is what she's been waiting for. My own feelings were somewhat doubtful at first. - continued
Yes, that sounds great, and what I just wrote is fairly accurate on my account. But I look for tone. I fell in love with the Allnic due to its tone. What was missing was that the music's soul seemed to enter the dark side. On one hand, for instance, in Radiohead's song 'Fake Plastic Trees', I never noted the hundreds of times when Thom's vocals starting out in this song said "Fake plastic watering can". I never knew what he said. And song after song, it's like, Oh, I don't need much of a lyric sheet because I can now understand certain lyrics! Even more so, instruments I had never noticed before now appear within the framework of the song. Sade too; for instance, there are so many different instruments within her recordings that we found it startling and actually really fun to listen to. With older music too, the recordings are fresher, more alive, and more nuanced. I mean, you appreciate the artist more for the details, while with the Allnic, it more captures the soul of the song. So the music changed somewhat. My brain appreciated the change, the detail, the space, and all that went along with this. I'll call it what it is: a radical change. When I was listening to the Allnic components, I was really connected to the tone. Even playing Eric Clapton's "EC Was Here" and an old mid-seventies live album, I could hear Eric's guitar resonance. It was just something I did not think about ever, and I still can't believe what is buried in the recording. Whereas the Wavelet brings forth energy and space, the Allnic brings a different type of space, more rooted in the foundation, giving warmth without the sacrifice of detail for details sake. I think (and I'm probably wrong), but maybe, with some music, my wife doesn't prefer the second-order harmonic? And still, with the constant changes, I don't believe she heard much of what was going on with the rapid changes of the system without the Wavelet. And then another cable showed up. It's an RCA from a company called UIT I believe. This cable replaces the Allnic RCA that sits between the Wavelet and the amplifier. This was a welcome change for me as it added a bit more midrange and was not tilting the music towards clinical. Less DAC sounding, if you will. Not Allnic DAC-like, but better—for me. The wife was OK with the change as well. I'm still unwrapping (my brain that is) the Allnic T2000 integrated Wavelet compatibility. The T2000 plays much better with the Usher Grand Tower than with the Aeris Wavelet, but by itself—no Wavelet—it's amazing.

I know it sounds like an Allnic review now; sorry about that, but I am making a point here. The Aeris speakers, on their own, will play with great authority or subtle nuance, depending on the wide scale of everything upstream from the speakers. From network to streaming gear, vinyl to phonostage, but especially cables. Will one go through hundreds of hours of tuning? Maybe not to our extent, but that's part of the fun, right?
So our 'Aeris" setup is with the Wavelet II. I'm not unhappy; in fact, blessed. Remember, "I started thinking..". Upstairs is a much larger room. Just for the heck of it, we moved the Allnic gear upstairs, where our Buchardt S400 MKII's sat silently, and now the Usher Grand Towers. I moved the Pro-ject RS2-T upstairs so we can spin CD's until we get a streamer transport. Music throughout the house!
The Aeris continue to sing at a very high level. They telegraph the recording, not getting around that. But they don't error with overly aggressive highs, as pop music seems to favor. Bass is there when it's in the recording and missing when it's not. Bass is solid with and without the Aeris. Your room will decide.
 
Legacy Audio Aeris - My Take, probably reads more like a novel. I'm hopeful it's not too disjointed as I had to process changes I made in my brain - the Wife's to - as we learned how to extract what these speakers are capable of.

Now we have the Usher Grand Towers in the main room upstairs. It's not a sit down and listen critically room, you can I think, but there's currently a Christmas tree in the way!

The Aeris are sounding great in the 'Audio Room' using the BMC/Wavelet electronics. As I mentioned, I can't get behind another DAC conversion with the D10000. It will play happily with the Ushers and a good streamer.

Thanks for your comments!
 
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@MichaelHiFi , have you been able to get your sweeps done on the New Wavelet? I do recommend you send Ed an email with your Wavelet serial number and have them look at your sweeps, it helped me a LOT! I am still waiting for the slow boat from China for the Ghent DC cable, it says it's in JAMAICA, NY 11430, Departed Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item for 5 days now since Nov 18th. It's not moving.
Yes, the sweeps were performed and as a bonus, Ed noted that my 'normal' 85 on the volume control was overloading the measurement. Ed pays attention. He had me lower to 77 to get a better calibration.
 
Yes, the sweeps were performed and as a bonus, Ed noted that my 'normal' 85 on the volume control was overloading the measurement. Ed pays attention. He had me lower to 77 to get a better calibration.
Interesting, Ed had me drop to 79 for my sweeps. I just did them again a week ago as I made some treatment changes to the room, it just keeps getting better.
 
Interesting, Ed had me drop to 79 for my sweeps. I just did them again a week ago as I made some treatment changes to the room, it just keeps getting better.
Nice!
I just noted you have what I need, the Aurender N200 Music server to front my Allnic DAC. And you have the same speaker cables.
 
I put a bid on the Aeries that were at the 22 axpona, but they were fully active so when I was outbid I let them get away. I enjoyed the effortless presentation and am a sucker for their looks. Congrats.
 
Hopefully 2.2.1 will address that.
Hey Ed, can I ask;
Address what? And can I assume 2.2.1 is a Wavelet update?

I might do a 'Take Two'.
I wasn't a fan of having my Allnic D10000 DAC playing in front of the Wavelet as it was - I feel - compromised having to go through another DAC conversion. Yes it did improve the sound, shall I say, giving it some soul, a bit more meat on the bones and improving on spatial cues but along came a rose.

Roses are what every Wavelet should have. Game changed my system.
 
Hey Ed, can I ask;
Address what? And can I assume 2.2.1 is a Wavelet update?

I might do a 'Take Two'.
I wasn't a fan of having my Allnic D10000 DAC playing in front of the Wavelet as it was - I feel - compromised having to go through another DAC conversion. Yes it did improve the sound, shall I say, giving it some soul, a bit more meat on the bones and improving on spatial cues but along came a rose.

Roses are what every Wavelet should have. Game changed my system.
The volume should be a 75-85 range not 85 only.
 

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