Tobb: This is a very long and happy story...my current system is built around
Legacy Focus SEs since March 2010. With proper speaker, interconnect and
power cables on my system, I have been able to extract sound out of my Focus SEs
that vastly exceeds any expectations I could have had and also eclipses many more
vaunted and expensive speakers and setups I have heard in various venues over the
last 7 years. Please see my current virtual system to see a detailed list of the configuration
and where I've been holding over the past 3 years. I have an extensive CD, XRCD,
HQCD and SACD collection that spans many musical styles. No matter what I throw
at the Focus SE, they never cease to amaze at the finesse, dynamics, impact and
musicality that they are able to deliver
One important fact is that the full potential of the Focus SE was not fully revealed
until I went with David Elrod's speaker cables, power cords and interconnects along
with Kubala ELATION AES/EBU cables and BNC clock cables. This entire mix
pulled down the walls so to speak on what my system as a whole, and in particular,
what the Focus SE put out there. The mix is (no exaggeration) a jaw dropping
Over the years I've had the following;
Home Theater 5.1 and 7.1 with passthrough 2-channel;
Focus 20/20s, Silver Screen II, 2-pair of MISTs, REL B1 subs
FocusHDs, Focus 20/20s (surrounds), Silver Screen II, 1-pair of
MISTs (rear surrounds), REL B1 subs
Focus HDs, Focus 20/20s (surrounds), Silver Screen HD, Victoria LE
(rear surrounds), REL B1 subs, best 7.1 I ever heard out of my system when
coupled with Edge NL 12.1s (2), custom built G-8s, G-8 mono, and
G-8 custom 4-channel
Final Config: Experimental 6.1 (no center): Focus HDs, Focus 20/20s
(surrounds), Victoria LEs (rear surrounds), REL B1 subs; removing center
channel and letting Focus HDs provide phantom center with Classe SSP-600
proc was the best config of HT I ever heard.
In 2008-2009 I 'got serious' about pure 2-channel; the HT and Video industry
and its constantly changing standards, models, formats, etc
.was causing mental
anguish and 'chase the dragon' syndrome that meant one was never truly done or
satisfied no matter how good things looked and sounded. I also found myself missing
2-channel whenever I was deep into immersion in a great movie with killer soundtrack
so I left all that behind and focus quite happily (even more so than ever before)
on my 2-channel experience.
As of the last 6 months or so I've had the good fortune to spend 4 listening sessions
with the new Aeris, 2 with the latest Whispers and 1 with Helix. Thanks to the gracious
hospitality of a gentleman in St. Louis I was able to spend about 8-9 solid hours over a
2-day period with that pair of Helix in his room with a wide variety of discs in hand.
I was very impressed by the size, depth, height and density of the sound stage that the
Helix delivers. The room they were in was good size, a bit smaller than my 19x24 room;
I can easily see how the Helix could require an even much larger room given what they
produce despite the fact that they sounded great in a room of similar size to my own.
I came away appreciating what I had also as a result as I really gravitate towards a speaker
that also has deep, immediate and hyper-accurates 'punch' and bass transient/decay
behavior while covering full range and having great mids and highs.
I am now contemplating my next multi-year speaker and it is looking to be AERIS
(or the potential for Whisper with integrated internal subs and the new mid and AMT
drivers) so the fun continues! In all my listening sessions at Legacy with the AERIS
I have been absolutely blown away by the Helix-like density, size and depth of the
soundstage they produce. The new mid-bass, mid-range and AMT high frequency drivers
are, I believe, Bill's crowning achievements (IMHO) thus far in driver design along
with the bass and sub-bass drivers in the AERIS that are the same drivers he brought
out in the Focus SE. The AERIS is truly a 'total package' audiophile speaker (again,
IMHO) in what it delivers. It is also at a price point that defies the over-multiplied
norm in the industry regarding what a SOTA speaker normally calls for.
I simply loved what I heard coming out the AERIS; the mids and highs had an
ultra-realistic aspect to them with instruments (percussive and otherwise) and
voices having the naturalness and true 'color' and palpability they have when
you hear them live. My general feeling walking out of the room after the
3rd and 4th trip is that as they break in properly and Bill finalizes his processor
curves for them (believe he's done so now) that they will be a true speaker to
reckon with. Most importantly I left the room with the feeling that they
would be my next multi-year lspeaker choice.
On the other Legacy speaker thread from a few years ago, you made a comment
regarding the value and quality of what Legacy brings to the table; you could not
be more right about your last statement regarding the pound for pound and dollar
for dollar analogy on Legacy speakers and what Bill D. brings to the table for
all of us who truly love listening to musical and exciting/involving speakers.
The entire line of speakers is special in what they deliver and the value that
comes with Legacy's realistic pricing, attention to detail and finish and the
best customer service out there consistent with that which you find from certain
high-end component manufacturers that I've had the good fortune to own
equipment from including Esoteric, Edge and Classe
