What are your opinions of DSP's for speakers

I’m a bit mixed on this.  As a purist I don’t want any extra processing going on in my system and would prefer using room treatments to mitigate those issues.  But many years ago I got to hear a six-figure system in a dedicated and treated room using the TacT 2.0 preamp utilizing their room correction (now employed in Lyngdorf products) and the results were fairly astonishing.  The system sounded very good in bypass mode without room correction, but it was undeniable with correction the sound was significantly better across the board.  I heard something very similar at a TacT demo at a show several months later so this wasn’t just a one-off impression.  Kal Rubinson did a review of the same unit in Stereophile around the same time, and what he found in his treated room was pretty spot on with what I heard and summarized it well in the review when he said “And even though I have concerns about the absolute transparency of the TacT’s A/D performance, those were more than outweighed by the advantages of room correction.”  Those echo my experiences exactly, and here’s the review where his listening impressions  start on page 3 if you wanna skip all the setup hoopla.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/tact-audio-rcs-20-digital-equalizerpreamplifier-page-3

So initially as a purist I was very resistant to using any DSP in my 2-channel system, but knowing what it can potentially do I will definitely give it a shot at some point just to see because if/when it works it really works to the point where you don’t wanna listen without it.  So I’d say don’t knock it til you at least try it.  Just my experience FWIW. 

I am going to go against the grain here. I do have the Legacy Audio Focus XD's with the Wavelet II DSP. I use it as my preamp fed by my Terminator 15th DAC. I have a dedicated 14 x 18 x 6.5 room. (Low ceiling) with a massive amount of room treatment, dedicated AC lines, the whole ball of wax. The Boehmer room correction is simple to use and does a dramatic job, especially with bass control. You can turn the DSP on and off using the software either on a cell or laptop with the click of a mouse. The difference is not subtle! Maybe it's not the answer for everyone, but Bill from Legacy Audio is onto something in his design of Masters Collection Speaker line. Speaker plate amps are modular if they fail and can be replaced if that ever happens. The processor can be sent in for repairs like any other component. I am getting fantastic sound in my medium modest system. I also use a HD Plex LPS for the Wavelet and just ordered a Revelation Audio Labs ambilocal cable for it. So for me it works very well, for others maybe not.

@fthompson251 Thanks for your feedback. I just listened to the Legacy Focus SE with Wavelet II at AXPONA and it was impressive. I'm not really wanting to substitute my existing preamp and DAC for the wavelet though and that's another reason for my hesitation with the technology. I am interested in the SE version or possibly the XD version, but I need more information on them. Thanks for your opinion on this. I want to hear both sides.

@ghdprentice Mic drop! One of the most simplistic, coherent, sensical, and best replies I have seen! Makes 100% total sense👍🏻

I haven't read all the posts here but will add my two cents FWIW.

I spent a good 2.5 hours of serious seat-time A/B auditioning a pair of GoldenEar Triton 2+ and a pair of Martin Logan Motion 60xti speakers, using a Simaudio Moon Neo 340 IX, a Marantz CD player and some CDs I brought for this audition.  I was told the Tritons had about 20 hours break-in time on them and the ML around 30 or 40.  Both of these speakers performed spectacularly, as far as my (and my friend's) ears were concerned.  My friend and I, both, loved both of these speakers, a lot!  However, in the end we both gave the ever so slight nod to the ML.  Although I loved the GE and would have been plenty happy with them in the right room, their sound signature was something I still can't quite put my finger on or describe any better than this:  it was like they did everything super right, reproduced every instrument's sound correctly and faithfully but somehow didn't mix all of that up into one cohesive or mixed musical reproduction.  I'm sure there's a word or term for that in the audiophile's lexicon but damn if I know what it is.  I kept telling my friend they lacked "fill".  That's the term I used for not being able to put everything together.  Remember!  I'm still splitting hairs here!  Don't know if the built-in Class D subs had anything to do with this or maybe lack of break-in, component matching issues, etc. but they were just lacking "fill".  The other thing I was and am wary about when it comes to powered speakers like this is the fact that they need to be plugged into an electrical outlet and probably individual outlets of their own.  Maybe that doesn't matter but the last thing I need is more wires & cables behind my rack or more circuit breakers, power conditioners, etc.!