Pairing Aqualung Legend ACD 1st stage with Apeks XTX50 2nd stage

[knyc2000]

Hi all,

I have an Aqualung Legend ACD and the 2nd stage is without the adjustment knob...
I am happy with the reg but still feels that I want the adjustment knob.

I am not able to buy a Legend LX 2nd stage because the dealer is not allow to just sell the 2nd stage... An option given is to 'upgrade' my current 2nd stage by adding the adjustment knob...

My dealer told me the XTX50 2nd stage can be purchase as it is and the cost is about 50% more than the Legend 2nd stage upgrade.

I thought this is a good idea as I can keep my Legend 2nd stage as spare or use it as Octo. Beside, I get a brand new 2nd stage...

My dealer told me there is no competible issues between the XTX50 and Legend; however I would like to hear other opinion before going ahead with this...

Thanks in advance...

Ken Chai

 

[herman]

Both Apex and AL use an IP pressure in the 135-145 psi (9.3 to 10 bar) range and as long as the IP pressures of the first stages are about the same, there is no reason you should not use any second stage that is designed for that pressure range. With a balanced second stage, like the XTX50, IP pressure is not as critical as with a non-balanced one, the adjustment feature makes the exact IP even less critical. With the exception of 1 or 2 brands, almost every manufacturer of regs uses an IP in the +/- 135 psi (9-10 bar) range.
In short, it should work fine.

 

[Trakker]

I'm considering trying a Legend myself at the moment and have checked out many reviews online. Apart from being an excellent all-round second stage, the one thing reviewers all seem to find in common is that the breathing adjustment knob on the Legend actually has an almost negligible effect in practice.

Of course they may all tend to compare the Legend to the Apeks range, which have a really effective breathing control adjustment. But many agree on this, and I suspect you might be disappointed if you spend the time and money upgrading an already excellent reg only to find the improvements in practice are minimal.

For this reason, and considering that the non-LX version (without the breathing adjustment) of this excellent first stage is somewhat cheaper and otherwise identical (and much cheaper than the Apeks equivalent), I'm tempted to go for the basic Legend ACD (non-LX) like yours, but the 'Supreme' version for cold water use.

I'd be interested if there are any Legend LX users out there who can say from real-world experience whether the adjustment knob on their LX really does provide a high degree of variation in breathing effort, or whether this model is indeed comparatively subtle in this respect, as the reviewers often claim?

 

[SDAnderson]

I'd be interested if there are any Legend LX users out there who can say from real-world experience whether the adjustment knob on their LX really does provide a high degree of variation in breathing effort, or whether this model is indeed comparatively subtle in this respect, as the reviewers often claim?

"High degree of variation" is highly subjective.

By the book: a magnahelic gauge should indicate an opening effort of +0.8” to +1.4” of H2O for a standard 2nd-stage, or +1.1” to +1.7” of H2O for the supreme 2nd-stage.​

Kind of hard to grasp without a frame of reference, isn't it? Look at is this way: most people find this swing to be significant but I suspect you'll be disappointed if you're looking for a life-altering experience. There is no reason not to pair an Apeks first stage with a Legend second. They'll work fine together.

For disclosure purposes, I'm the satisfied owner of half a dozen sets of Apeks regulators and a manufacturer trained Master Repair Technician for Aqualung and Apeks.

 

[keyshunter]

knyc,
If you absolutely, positively have to have the adjustment knob, why not add it to your Legend second. It is an easy upgrade. I do not know the cost of the parts, but it has to be less than buying an entire second stage.

 

[Fishpie]

I have to agree with keyshunter. See if your shop will order the adjustment knob for your existing reg...its a 2 minute job to remove the existing plastic plug and screw in the adjustment knob in its place.
If you go for the Apeks replacement you'll have no problem with compatibility as the Legend is made by Apeks anyway.

 

[Trakker]

"High degree of variation" is highly subjective.

By the book: a magnahelic gauge should indicate an opening effort of +0.8” to +1.4” of H2O for a standard 2nd-stage, or +1.1” to +1.7” of H2O for the supreme 2nd-stage.​

Reefraff, my apologies -- you're absolutely right, and I should really have said 'noticeable degree of variation'. I'm really curious why some 'pro' reviewers have commented that Aqualung's breathing adjustment doesn't seem to have any noticeable effect (whilst the same reviewers report that Apeks regs are particulary effective in this regard).

I guess my question is, can the extra cost of the LX model over the basic Legend (or the cost of upgrading a base Legend, i.e. by 'adding the knob') really be justified if one is so keen to have that breathing adjustment facility, or would one be better advised to consider a different make (just as knyc2000 is considering the Apeks)?

 

[SDAnderson]

I'm really curious why some 'pro' reviewers have commented that Aqualung's breathing adjustment doesn't seem to have any noticeable effect (whilst the same reviewers report that Apeks regs are particulary effective in this regard).

Heh. Good question.

I guess my question is, can the extra cost of the LX model over the basic Legend (or the cost of upgrading a base Legend, i.e. by 'adding the knob') really be justified if one is so keen to have that breathing adjustment facility, or would one be better advised to consider a different make (just as knyc2000 is considering the Apeks)?

Personally, I think the variable cracking pressure is worth having. Were I him, I'd probably go for whichever of his options is least expensive.

 

[knyc2000]

Hi,

Thanks for all the feedbacks.
My shop is able to do the upgrade for me and the upgrade cost is 2/3 of a new XTX50 2nd stage.
Given this, I am thinking of buying a new XTX50 2nd stage with long hose, use the legend 2nd stage as bungeed Octo; and sell my current Egress Octo.
I figure this should work out quite well...

I'm more or less decided on this unless there is a good reason not to do this...

Once again, thanks for all the helps given.

Ken

 

[herman]

Unless you have another reg, I would suggest you not sell the octo but rather put it in your save-a-dive kit. If one of your normal second stages starts giving problems on a dive, you can swap it out with the old octo and keep diving.