Craig Chase of Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity has helped test over 150 subwoofers in his listening room over the years. He recently selected 5 “fantastic products from companies that invest heavily in proper engineering” and put them through the paces with both listening tests and measurements. Subwoofers selected included the SVS PB-4000, ELAC DS1200 Varro, Definitive Technology DN15, DALI K-14 F, and the Legacy Audio Metro XD.

Metro XD, in Premium Black Pearl finish

"The Legacy Metro was the ‘shock’ of the five units tested. For a 2.37 cubic foot box to hit 19 Hz is nothing short of remarkable.”

“The Legacy stood toe to toe with the much larger subwoofers in terms of sheer impact.”

“How could a smaller than 2.5 cubic foot subwoofer pack an active 12-inch driver, a passive 15-inch radiator, and a bass floor of 20 Hz into one package? As it turns out, it did.”

“Tron: Legacy had the Metro surprising everyone with its incredible power as Sam enters The Grid. The pulse was immediate, powerful, and distortion-free. The battle scenes had the most percussive bass (albeit by a small margin) of the subwoofers here. As the discs hit the wall, the smack in the chest was so defined that it felt like multiple sealed drivers were at work. The motorcycle battles were potent and believable, and quite capable of making the room shudder when asked to.”

“Avengers: End Game was total immersion into each scene. When Ant-Man is in his giant form during the end battle scene, he punches one of the flying war machines so hard that the machine crashes. The “whomp” in the chest was exceptionally powerful and with just a bit extra of that elusive percussive feel. When Thor finally gets his act together along with Hulk, their respective hammer hits and punches are class-leading in their delivery. By the time we get to Thanos’ ship crashing, we are taking for granted the ability of the smallest sub to deliver outstanding performance.”

“Open Range showed off the Metro’s ability (along with the ELAC) to start the thunderstorm with that extra mid-bass clarity of the storm off in the distance. As the storm approached, guests actually went to the window to see if this was the movie, or if a real storm was on the way.”

“That is a testament to the accuracy of the “little” Metro. The gunshot scene was so well rendered that I started to wonder what a quad pack of these subwoofers would do in our room. The shotgun being centered in that 25 Hz range was smack in the middle of the Metro’s wheelhouse, and the pressure one felt with each blast was beyond impressive. The Legacy Metro is worthy of the category of subwoofer.”

Metro XD Rear Panel

“It [Legacy Metro XD] is the second highest- priced and smallest subwoofer in this test, and it proved to be worth the investment.”

“Excellent performance and value in the highly competitive $1,500 to $3,000 price range.”

Read the full article "Beauties and the Beasts: A Tale of Five Subwoofers"


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