Advent maestro vs. legacy speakers

[freebird4808]

I have a line on both these speakers for cheap. What one performs the best ? Both need new foam.
Like the size of the Legacy but do have room for the maestros. Which one would you choose ?

 

[leesonic]

Both are good. Get both, refoam them, and then sell the ones you don't like. The Maestro is (I think), one of the few Advents that had a midrange driver.

 

[swechsler]

While I've never heard them, from what I remember reading, the Maestro isn't all that great (however I'll defer to @leesonic if he has heard them). The Legacy is pretty good; I own a pair.

 

[freebird4808]

Is there any Maestro owners out there with an opinion ?

 

[WillMeyer]

The Maestros and Legacies use the same woofer (except for the rare Legacy III) and, I believe, the same tweeter. They use different crossovers and of course the Maestro has a midrange.

I have the Legacies and they are a great sounding speaker. I have never heard the Maestros but I am actively looking for a pair.

If I was in your place, I'd also get them both, refoam them, and keep the best, the other I'd consider selling but would be tempted to keep them and use them as B speakers.

Btw... Which Legacy? There are 3 versions. I have the Legacy 1s (tweeter is wider than it is tall). There is not much difference between the 1s and the Legacy 2s (same cabinet but the tweeter is taller than wide), they sound the same. The rarest Legacy is the 3. This can be easily identified by a switch on the back selecting 6 or 8 ohm operation. The case is also taller, like a mid height tower. The woofer uses a dual voice coil and (so I've heard) does change the voicing of the speaker when selecting between 6 and 8 ohms. If I can find a 3 locally, that is also on my wish list.

 

[Qsiris]

I have Maestros as main speakers. Overpowered mids make vocals less clear.
I use EQ to correct that. Highs are crystal clear, love it. Bass needs a boost.
I simply keep loudness switch always on. After that sound is really enjoyable .
Also you can drive Maestroes at 100W+ easily if thats what you want.
Never heard Legacies.

 

[grillebilly]

Legacies really surprised me on how balanced they sounded. I got them because they were close and really cheap needing refoamed. Sat around for a couple years before I fixed them. Been in 3 systems since and still in use today in my adult daughter's system.
I agree with the others, get both and unload your least favorite.

 

[leesonic]

Legacies used to be available really cheap. I would pick them up whenever I saw them, repair them, use them for a while, and then sell them on. Now, as with all things vintage, the price of ones with rotted out woofers have gone over $100. I don't bother any more.

 

[stereofanboy]

I've done both. I'd pick the Maestros.

 

[dly66]

Have Legacy IIs in the living room. Nice sounding speakers. Seem to have a broad dispersion pattern to them which helps in my living room situation.

If both cheap and you are comfortable re-foaming, try both and flip the one you like less.

 

[bubbajack80]

I have a line on both these speakers for cheap. What one performs the best ? Both need new foam.
Like the size of the Legacy but do have room for the maestros. Which one would you choose ?

I see you are still active here. What did you end up doing? @freebird

I picked up some CV DX7s on the cheap. I told some people in a vintage FB group that I like a warm sound. A couple recommended Advents. I knew that I remembered that they are generally a lot less powerful than CVs. At least, according to Grok, the Maestros are the most powerful in the Legacies are next. Searched up Advent Maestro and here I am - once again directed to AK.

 

[bubbajack80]

Legacies really surprised me on how balanced they sounded. I got them because they were close and really cheap needing refoamed. Sat around for a couple years before I fixed them. Been in 3 systems since and still in use today in my adult daughter's system.
I agree with the others, get both and unload your least favorite.

Did you listen to it loud on the Legacies or does your daughter? How do they sound when you crank it up?

I mostly listen at reasonable volumes, but sometimes I do like to jam out when I’m cleaning or doing things around the house and on the rare occasions I have people over.

 

[grillebilly]

Did you listen to it loud on the Legacies or does your daughter? How do they sound when you crank it up?

I mostly listen at reasonable volumes, but sometimes I do like to jam out when I’m cleaning or doing things around the house and on the rare occasions I have people over.

Neither are JBL's loud but the Legacy's sound better at all volumes.

 

[stereofanboy]

I see you are still active here. What did you end up doing? @freebird

I picked up some CV DX7s on the cheap. I told some people in a vintage FB group that I like a warm sound. A couple recommended Advents. I knew that I remembered that they are generally a lot less powerful than CVs. At least, according to Grok, the Maestros are the most powerful in the Legacies are next. Searched up Advent Maestro and here I am - once again directed to AK.

I remember reading a magazine review of the Maestros in the eighties and being impressed that they had fed the Maestros over 500 watts each with no ill effects.

I've had several pairs of Advents from both the original era and also the Jensen era including Legacys and liked the Maestros best.

I've also had at least eight pairs of Cerwin Vegas and preferred the DX-9s over all the others. All the Vegas did loud well and did bass well while playing loud. The models with fifteen inch woofers (AT-100s/AT-15s/DX-9s) did bass at lower levels much better than all the others, including those with twelves. Sometimes you want enjoyable bass without resorting to cranking the volume up beyond conversational levels.

Of the speakers I've mentioned in this post, I'd rather have the DX-9s first and the Maestros second.

 

[onwardjames]

I remember reading a magazine review of the Maestros in the eighties and being impressed that they had fed the Maestros over 500 watts each with no ill effects.

I've had several pairs of Advents from both the original era and also the Jensen era including Legacys and liked the Maestros best.

I've also had at least eight pairs of Cerwin Vegas and preferred the DX-9s over all the others. All the Vegas did loud well and did bass well while playing loud. The models with fifteen inch woofers (AT-100s/AT-15s/DX-9s) did bass at lower levels much better than all the others, including those with twelves. Sometimes you want enjoyable bass without resorting to cranking the volume up beyond conversational levels.

Of the speakers I've mentioned in this post, I'd rather have the DX-9s first and the Maestros second.

I've had many, many speakers.

One pair I regret selling were my DX-9's. I had removed the stock tweeters, and used Seleniums from Parts Express. The improvement was not subtle. Far gentler, yet stronger highs. Kept up with that mammoth 15'' woofer. I darn near gave them away.

 

[leesonic]

The Maestros and Legacies use the same woofer (except for the rare Legacy III) and, I believe, the same tweeter. They use different crossovers and of course the Maestro has a midrange.

I have the Legacies and they are a great sounding speaker. I have never heard the Maestros but I am actively looking for a pair.

If I was in your place, I'd also get them both, refoam them, and keep the best, the other I'd consider selling but would be tempted to keep them and use them as B speakers.

Btw... Which Legacy? There are 3 versions. I have the Legacy 1s (tweeter is wider than it is tall). There is not much difference between the 1s and the Legacy 2s (same cabinet but the tweeter is taller than wide), they sound the same. The rarest Legacy is the 3. This can be easily identified by a switch on the back selecting 6 or 8 ohm operation. The case is also taller, like a mid height tower. The woofer uses a dual voice coil and (so I've heard) does change the voicing of the speaker when selecting between 6 and 8 ohms. If I can find a 3 locally, that is also on my wish list.

I got some Legacy III speakers with Technics woofers. I tried to find some of the correct III woofers, but they are like hen's teeth. What I ended up doing is fitting some Legacy I or II crossovers and woofers. This give the more "tower" look of the III, but with the sound of the earlier models.

Stacked Advents, though probably not the ones you're thinking of. Advent Legacy.