Legatia 3" vs. Trius 3"

[npdang]

Frequency response, with the Legatia first:




The Trius has a more extended top end, and this is clearly audible on every song. In fact it even reproduces sibilant tracks effortlessly, which I've never heard from a cone midrange before You could also pretty much use it without a tweeter (albeit with narrowing dispersion above 5-10khz), which I wouldn't recommend for the Legatia. The small difference in efficiency of about ~1db between the drivers isn't really noticeable.

Non-linear distortion comparison, with the Legatia first:

200hz:



400hz:



600hz:



800hz:



2khz:




It's very easy to see that the Trius has significantly lower non-linear distortion than the Legatia. Second and third order distortion were generally at least -15db lower, and fourth order and higher products much lower as well. The tests were taken at about 96dbspl @1m. A fairly difficult level for such small drivers to produce full range.

Listening to a variety of tracks, I felt that vocals and saxaphone on the Legatia were heavy, congested, and when pushed hard the driver strained badly as compared to the Trius (although both drivers didn't offer near the dynamic capability and effortless reproduction of even a 4.5" driver). The Trius on the otherhand was very open, sweet, and more realistic sounding.

Keep in mind that the Legatia doesn't sound outright bad, like some Hi-Vi's I've tested in the past. Some people may even prefer the warmer, full bodied, huskier sound. In many ways it reminds me of the old Vifa classic drivers, with better top end extension.

[low]

wow. great review man. thanks.

[newtitan]

nice comparison, too bad those trius arent readily available in the US

dount theyd fit in my dash anyway lol

[WLDock]

Thanks for the review. I wondered about the Legatia and even considered buying a set to compare them myself.
Looks like I made a good choice in getting the TRIUS.

npdang,
I have been listening to the TRIUS connected to my home system and really would like to try some different tweeters with them.
Maybe the NEO3 tweeter?
What would be your choice on a nice tweeter to add to these?
On paper the TEC Planars kicking in at about 8KHz seems like it would make for a very nice match.
Will you be getting your TEC's direct from them?

[Scott Buwalda]

npdang-

PM sent. I eagerly await your response.

Bests,

Scott Buwalda

[Rbsarve]

Some notes on the Trius.

It was never intended to compete with bigger drivers. It was intended to compete with dome midranges. The DLS UR-2.5 to be specific. I wanted a driver that was able to cover a wider bandwith to allow flexibility, and dispite the distorsion increase I have to stress that they are very usable sub 800 hz. Infact our recommended in-car x-over frequency is well over 2 octaves lower then that: 160 Hz,> 18 dB/oct.

You do pay a penalty in added distorsion, but most listners still seems to prefer the coherence of one driver covering most of the vocal range, even with correctly time and amplitude aligned midbasses. So for you guys who have the Trius, please play around with x-over points and see what fit´s your installation!

And if you can fit a proper 4", like the Scan-speak 12M, that is the better choise! But small form factor drivers like the Trius gives you opportunities you didn´t have before!

[Scott Buwalda]

Rob:

I couldn't agree more. We have had great success using our Legatia's into the 140 Hz region. And despite the distortion on paper, the focussed imaging and staging provided from one set of drivers far outweighs potential pitfalls. All of the fundamental vocal cues through one pair of drivers really can't be beat...

Scott

[npdang]

Good points. If you are not comparing directly with a larger driver, the distortion is ofen unnoticeable to the untrained ear whereas other benefits maybe more readily apparent.

[bigwise1]

npdang, do you have any measurements of an ir3 for comparison?

[AzGrower]

Is there anyway to have some in car measurements, of both drivers? Then at least the data will be a tad bit more "realistic". As long as all testing parameters are maintained the same for both drivers, it should be a fair comparison.

[xencloud]

I think measuring in car would introduce too many differing variables...

[AzGrower]

Originally Posted by xencloud

I think measuring in car would introduce too many differing variables...

but would be more reliastic to explain/discuss real world data rather than an indoor testing arena. I may be mistaken, but both of these drivers are designed for car audio use...correct?

[npdang]

I want to compare the speakers themselves, not the listening environment or install. Essentially these are not "indoor measurements" which imply that a room of some sorts was being included, but rather "just the speaker by itself measurements".

In any case, there's no way an in car comparison would be able to capture the performance of every type of car and install... just mine. And, generally speaking in car measurements always make a driver look far worse than it really is.

So this way, you get a clear picture of how one driver stacks up against another without any confounding variables.

[PlanetGranite]

npdang, not sure how long it has been since you last listened to an ns3, but would you be able to say how the aura compares to either of these drivers?

[mitchyz250f]

Great question. I can't get the Trius and the Legatia seem too expensive for what they are. Don't have room for a dome. Looks like the NS3 may be my best choice until the DIYMA 3 arrives. If I cross the NS3 at 500-600Hz will they be more dynamic then? I assume they would be because now they can use the power to produce the higher notes which are less demanding. Then again I am ofter wrong.

[npdang]

I think the NS3's are a more detailed driver than any of these two, but colder and less forgiving. Still a very smooth sounding driver, with little coloration (as opposed to most hard cones). Efficiency is aweful though, almost to the point of being unusable. At 600hz you should be ok, but still sacrificing compared to a 4" mid.

[lightspeed]

I still think the Vifa MG10 is the way to go if you don't want to pop that much $$ for a mid. I am going to try the HiVi B3n first too see if I can even work a mid into my system. They are less than $10 ea.

Why is there almost zero info other than the highly smoothed specs provided by TB for this driver? http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=264-842
No one seems interested in testing it, not even PE! Wish they would at least measure the on/off-axis FR and impedance curve as they do with some drivers.
Looks good on paper. Could give the Aura/Trius a run for the money, but who knows?

cheers,

AJ

[PlanetGranite]

There are a few posts about the 1335s over at diyaudio, and one posters opinion was that the 1231sh was the better 3". But yeah, unfortunately, no test results have been posted.

Originally Posted by AJinFLA

Why is there almost zero info other than the highly smoothed specs provided by TB for this driver? http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=264-842
No one seems interested in testing it, not even PE! Wish they would at least measure the on/off-axis FR and impedance curve as they do with some drivers.
Looks good on paper. Could give the Aura/Trius a run for the money, but who knows?

cheers,

AJ

"A large motor featuring an underhung design plus shorting ring" realizes a whopping xmax of ... 0.5mm? Doesn't seem to be a typo ... the manufacturer's data sheet concurs.

I know xmax isn't everything, but it's hard to imagine this driver even playing in the same lower midrange game as Trius, Focal Be, Legatia, Aura, Jordan ...

Agree, disagree?

[kappa546]

looked at it before... only thing that worries me is its low xmax. i'd expect xovers at and above 200hz

maybe TB specs their drivers ... ummm ... differently

[rutger j]

Mr werewolf...

I don´t think I´ve read or heard in what car and config Your Trius´s ended up in...I´m really interested of your opinion of them.
I meen, with four pair of them you should be able to do something "fun" with them...

Wasn´t someone talking about a pair of Legatia 3" in each kick at Scotts forum/bulletin board...??
Maybe you, Mr werewolf, beat them to it with a pair of Trius´s in your car kicks...

Sincerely
Rutger

I think the xmax spec with an underhung motor like the TB can be a bit deceptive. The HiVi B3 has 3mm xmax right? Read on: http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...re/driver.html
I still probably wouldn't use the TB under 300hz, but if your spl requirements are not too high it might suffice.
I still favor the Aura. Planet 10's mod has prompted me to reconsider my dormant idea I've had since I saw the NS3. Something like he ended up doing, but a bit different.
Anything like that without before/after on/off-axis FR is rather dubious IMHO.

cheers,

AJ

I've almost forgotten it's been almost 7yrs since I've done anything to my front stage LOL.
http://www.jbl.com/car/products/prod...CheckProduct=Y
Still dumbfounded as to why JBL didn't update these. I think Ciare did one that was quite a bit bigger. I have ceased trying to fathom who manufacturers are aiming for with the stuff they put out these days, but it ain't my old a** .
I'll roll my own if I have to, but c'mon now, somebody break the cookie cutter in half and do something remotely different. NP? Infinity? A 3" CMMD neo coax please. Anything but a 6" woofer (2+ feet from) a 1" tweeter and a "matching crossover" for goodness sake....
Oh, yeah, a $200 paper cone 3" mid...spare me...

cheers,

AJ