I have Legacy Focus speakers ($5400) and love them. They're clean, dynamic, and efficient. Bass extends very low, but when you play them, you sometimes think bass is weak. If there's little bass in the source material, the speaker will not produce bass--unlike many other speakers. My Focus speakers each have 3 12" woofers, but Legacy designed them where there's very little woofer movement. According to Legacy, long woofer throws increase distortion and delays. It's difficult to explain, but these speakers are not designed for rap material. Cabinetry is first rate as well. My Focus speakers are 6 years old and I've never had a problem with them. Legacy states that they've been designed to make it easy for the customer to self service. This may be true. It's easy to remove the front grill and all drivers are held by screws. I definately do not want to move or ship these 175 lbs. speakers. |
I visited their Springfield, IL factory/showroom and thought the "Classic" was the best sounding thing there. Their larger models might shine in a HUGE room but I wasn't that impressed with what I heard. |
I enjoy my Legacy Focus speakers very much. I bought them new after auditioning them at the factory over five years ago. It is now possible to audition them at various spots around the country. Legacy usually runs ads for auditions in the mainstream audio magazines. There are a number of different speakers to choose from so it is easy to find one that will fit your room and checkbook. My speakers have been completely reliable and have run on Carver, Adcom and Mark Levinson amps. |
I own some Legacy equipment in addition to other manufactures equipment. Legacy makes good high quality, big bang for the buck equipment. I really like my Signiture III, and Studio speakers. Coda makes their amps and pre-amps, I have not had a problem with my amp or pre-amp. I highly recommend them. You must hear and see to appreciate! |
I sincerely hate to be the negative one in this post. But, Legacy speakers(along with Carver electronics) are the source of my biggest disappointments in audio. Both write great advertisement. Both are as underwhelming, and as disappointing(compared to their ads) as it gets. Both taught me the most important lesson I have learned in audio. You can't judge a book by the cover... I remember in the 80's, when I got my first Legacy catalog. I had been dreaming of buying(and/or building) the ultimate speaker. Here it was! Somebody did it. It had to be the best. It all fit together so well. Everything(physics, craftmanship, logic, etc.) on paper added up to a home run. One day, a local dealer had a used pair of their flagship model at the time(maybe now the Classic or Signature???), at a really LOW price(they were not a dealer, Legacy was factory direct at the time). I brought my favorite CD's. And my credit card. I was so excited. I would have bought them sight unseen(and sound unheard) if the dealer was not local. They started to play. And... NOTHING. Not bad(like the mass - fi stuff I sometime check out at Circuit City or Best Buy), just did not move me in the least. Left me as cold as anything I have ever come across. We tried a different system. Same thing. About 7 years later, I received an invitation(I stayed on their mailing list) to an audition(at one of their sites they still use). It was their first go around with this type of thing. Incomparably nice event. Food, drinks, music. Bill Duddleston was there. He was very witty and congenial. Mingled around, stopping to chat. Everyone with their questions on his philosophies, which he was only to happy to share. I listened to almost all of their speakers. Was there 3 or 4 hours. I was going to buy speakers that day(there or somewhere else). I had been shopping for a LONG time. Today was D-day. I had waited to make my move until I heard Legacy at the show. Sadly, my reaction was the same. NOTHING. They had left me colder than cold. On the way home, I stopped off at a local dealer, and bought my current Coincident speakers. I gave them one final listen. As before, they touched me in a way that I feel the equipment you keep forever does. I have been completely happy ever since... |
Upgraded from a pair of infinity Kappa 8's to the Legacy Focus and am very pleased. Fantastic in the low end and the midrange is excellent. Build quality is first rate. If you don't like the larger size speakers or are hurting for room, then the focus are not for you. If room or size is not an issue, you owe it to yourself to have a listen to the Legacy Focus. The smaller models are excellent also, but my wife and I really wanted the bass extention that the Focus provide. Excellent speakers!!! |
relja - Just wondering in what way they dissapointed you. I feel the same way. I look through the catalog and think, "somebody has hit a home run with these designs". Of course I'm looking for a rock speaker, one that gives me the feel of a live concert. I would think that all those drivers will move massive amounts of air, but like you say, " looks can be deceiving". I live near Salt Lake City, and to hear these I've got to travel. I want to make sure it's worth my trip. Thanks |
As they say Flip, one man's meat is another man's poison. There are probably many who find them the best loudspeaker they have ever come across. I found the Legacy's to look fantastic on paper(and in person). The amount of drivers is quite impressive. However, the music produced by them seems to have no soul. No drive. Nothing. Like I said, not bad, like mass - fi stuff. But, not great either. They will produce volume, and probably measure perfectly fine. Maybe that's it. Speakers designed to measure great in an anechoic chamber are often lambasted as sounding lifeless in a real room. Who knows? Perhaps, some would say that I am the problem. That the speakers are actually neutral, etc. But, I have heard SO MANY speakers with both heart and soul, that to my ears, it has to be the speakers. As the British like to talk of the ability to get one's toes a tapping; these are not the speakers for this type of behavior. They do not seem big, in terms of sound. As Tmartinjr states, despite all that cone area, the speakers seem weak in the bass(to many people). I think the rest of the audio band is as equally uninspiring. They seem to me to be the audio equivalent of white paint. Believe me, no one wanted to love those speakers more than me. That is why the whole thing was so utterly devastating. But I can honestly say that there is NO way I could ever live with Legacy speakers. I would go mad trying to change every other part of my system, frantically trying to inject a pulse into the music. I compare them so much to Carver products, because they left me with the same emotions. When you read their ads, you may convince yourself that once in the presence of this equipment, you will finally hear music for the first time. That everything will be infused with a glorious glow, that no other equipment has ever presented to you before. And then when you actually listen, the music is completely antiseptic. I expect to be crucified by some because of my opinions. But, to say anything other than what I have in this thread would be disengenuous. So, let the lynch mob loose... |
I must agree with Trelja. I live very near springfield and made the 30 min trip to audition some of the moderate size speakers. After making several trips to legacy, I was not willing to dish out the money nessessary to take a pair home. They are probably one of the most georgeous speaker lines made, but cosmetics alone won't cut it. The smaller monitor type of speakers sounded very good, but that was not what I was shopping for. I ended up with Apogee Duettas. |
Trelja, Just wondering as to the comment of "weak in the bass". The bass on my focus are incredible. My wife's lamps start rattling when we have source material with bass. Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon is good for some house rattling. Not only can you feel the bass but things start moving, literally. Especially the lower frequencies that the ears can't hear, you know it's moving the air because the lamps are rattling like crazy (even though the frequency is below audibility). Just wondering? Singed, In Love With My Focus. |
Anyone aware of some serious high-end journal reviews of leagcy speakers? Folks here on this site have praised the Silver Screen center speakers, but I never saw any reviews. |
