Legend Big Red 4 User manual

Owner’s Manual
Big Red 4
Legend Acoustics

Their Design
Congratulations on your excellent choice! The Big Red 4 loudspeakers have been
designed to give maximum enjoyment when you listen to your music, whatever that
type of music may be.
They have state of the art electronic and acoustic components synergistically
combined using extensive theoretical knowledge as well as industrial experience.
And although our methods also include sophisticated computer design &
measurement systems, the final decisions have always been made by that most
sensitive of musical test instruments, the human ear, only after extensive listening to
all sorts of music.
Our goal has been to recreate live music in your home. By maximising the flatness
and equality of output of a pair of Big Red 4 loudspeakers, we preserve the true tones
of instruments in a wide and deep soundstage. And by minimising distortion and
energy storage, both electrical and mechanical, the Big Red 4s reproduce the foot-
tapping speed and emotional impact of a live concert.
Your Hifi System
Because the Big Red 4s are so transparent to musical signals fed to them, their
performance will be limited by the quality of the other components in your hifi
system. There is no heirachy of importance of hifi components because the saying
‘garbage in, garbage out’ applies to each and every component. The hifi chain is only
as strong as its weakest link - and with the Big Red 4s, loudspeakers are no longer the
weak link. We therefore recommend that you use the Big Red 4s with the highest
quality other components in your hi-fi system.
All components in the system should be mounted on very stable & isolated platforms
and connected with good quality cables.
Connecting up the speakers
The top mid & treble drivers have passive crossovers and so are connected to your
amplifiers in the usual manner. You can use a single speaker cable to do this in
which case you should use the lower pair of black/red pair of terminals at the top of
the back of the speaker. However we recommend removing the brass bars between
the terminals on the terminal plate and connecting the mid and treble terminals with
separate wires back to your amplifier (biwiring) as in the figure of the next page.
The bass units has its own built-in amplifier, a 300W BASH (Bridged Amplifier
Symmetrical Hybrid) which as its name suggests is a hybrid design combining the
best of analog and digital technology. It has a tracking digital power supply for very
rigid supply rails yet low wasted power - combined with an analog class A/B
amplifier for deep, tight and musical bass. The signal is provided to this bass amp
module by a lead inside the cabinet connecting the lower (mid-range) inputs on the
upper terminal plate to the BASH amp module. You should therefore NOT make a
separate outside connection to the BASH amp.

On the BASH amp module the following settings should be made (from the top left):
Power: Auto or On
Phase: 0
Volume: one third to full volume (2 units)
Frequency: maximum (150)

Setting up the speakers
Spikes
So that the speakers are firmly grounded to the floor and won’t wobble we have
provided spikes under the base of the Big Reds to penetrate your carpet without
damage. If you have a sensitive floor covering the spikes can be placed on small
coins to prevent damaging it.
With the speakers lying on their sides, insert the spikes by about 1/4 of their length
into the holders under each corner of the speaker base. With the locking nuts not yet
tightened, place the loudspeakers in their listening position and adjust the length of
the spikes for the speakers to be vertical. Tighten three of the locking nuts firmly and
then adjust the length of the fourth spike so that the speakers do not ‘rock’. Finally
tighten the fourth locking nut.
Positioning in your room
To enjoy the Big Red 4s to their fullest, you must also set them up correctly in your
listening area. For best results, they should be placed at least 0.5m from any
reflecting surface (wall, cupboard etc) to minimise the confusion caused by reflected
sound.
To create the best acoustic images and soundstage, you should sit near the apex of an
equilateral triangle formed by the speakers. But you should also try to avoid sitting
on the diagonals between the opposite corners of the room where ‘standing waves’
will muddle the bass performance. Ideally, your listening room should not be square
but if it is you can improve its performance by judicious use of cupboards, curtains
etc to break-up or absorb these standing waves.

For best tonal balance you should sit with your head height approximately halfway
between the mid-range and treble units. We also recommend the speakers are ‘toed
in’ slightly, approximately midway between pointing straight at the listening
position and straight down the room. But you may wish to experiment with these
recommendations to find your own preference in your room.
Grilles
The speakers have plug-on grilles to protect the drivers when not in use. We have
designed them to minimise their effects on sound quality but inevitably they will do
so to a small extent so you should remove them for critical listening.
Listening
Now just relax and play your favourite music - that’s what it is all about. We hope
you enjoy your Big Red 4s as much as we do. If you would like to comment, we
would appreciate your feedback. Please write comments on your warranty form
before returning it or email us at info@ legendspeakers.com.au.
Warranty
The Big Red 4s are guaranteed against manufacturing defects and for reasonable
domestic use for 3 years for amplifiers and 7 years for all other parts. Please fill in
the attached warranty form and return it to us within 14 days of buying. Thank you.