Upgrading speakers...Legacy Focus 20/20???


I want to hear as many opinions on Legacy Focus 20/20 as possible. I listen mostly to rock, blues, some jazz/fusion.
e.g. Dream Theater, Allman Bros, Jon Butcher, Liquid Soul. I am actually home demo'ing a pair of 20/20 right now for two weeks, but they are not broken in yet. My setup...speakers about 11' apart, 22" from rear & side walls(I know, not good), listening position about 11' from speakers, 10' high ceiling. My gear...Audio Research SP16L, Pioneer Elite pd-65, Aragon 8008bb on woof's, Manley Neo-Classic 250's on mid's/tweet's, PSB Stratus Gold's(not i's), Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects, Harmonic Tech's Fantasy speaker cables. I have loved my Gold's for seven years, but as my income increase's over the years... So far I'm pretty impressed with the 20/20's, the bass slam is really something(albeit a little boomy due to placement) and the soundstage is quite a bit larger than the Gold's. But at this price point, $6,800 in cherry, I'm not 100% convinced yet. And again, keeping in mind that the Foci are not broken in yet. Also, Phoenix area lacking wide selection of higher-end audio at this time.
Let me hear from 'ya...Thanks in advance
perfectionist

Showing 2 responses by sean

The Focus 20/20 are too big for this width room and that type of speaker placement to work optimally. In the grander scheme of things, your PSB's are probably more accurate speakers, but won't play as loud or deliver the same specific sonic signature. If your personal preference leans towards a speaker like that of the Legacy's, have at it. I don't think that they are a good match for your room and i won't go into my thoughts / experiences with the 20/20's or other Legacy products here. If interested, you can search the archives here or at AA. Sean
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Even if you were able to optimally place these speakers in any given room, you'll never be able to cure the lack of definition / damping / ringing that the bass suffers from. This is a built in design trait and unavoidable without making modifications to the design of the speaker itself. Some people may not notice this as they are used to listening to ported speakers. Until one hears tightly controlled low Q bass, "sloppy bass" sounds normal because that is what they are used to. In fact, speakers that actually display much higher levels of accuracy with low Q designs are typically referred to as being "lean" sounding.

On top of that, seated listening height DRASTICALLY affects the sound / tonal balance of this speaker, so one should be aware of this. This has to do with the geometry of the drivers and the radiation pattern that results. In order to achieve proper tonal balance, one would either have to be much taller than average and / or use a seat that is higher than most. Once you do this, then you'll be on axis with the tweeters and you'll see how bright and glaring that they really are.

Other than that, this is a speaker that offers a lot of visual impact for the money and received a great written text review in Stereophile. Many people will be fooled by these factors. Having said that, this speaker lacks design integrity and execution. This fact was displayed quite obviously in the published test results of that same issue of Stereophile. If one has well trained ears, their listening experience would confirm those test results, not deny them. As to whether someone likes this speaker or any other model for that matter, it is a personal preference and nobody can argue with that.

Having said that, it almost seems as if Legacy designed this speaker so that the brightness was balanced out by the "robust" bass output. Kind of like the "old days" of youth when many people cranked up the bass and treble controls or ran their equalizers in the "Flying V" or "smiley face" shape. This allows those that consider themselves to be "audiophiles" to eschew "bad things" like tone controls and equalizers. At the same time, they can still achieve a tonal balance that they find "exciting", "dynamic" and to their liking without resorting to "devices that distort or colour the sound". In effect, the same results are achieved, but done so with a somewhat "cleaner conscience". In effect, Legacy has been able to achieve a "sonic placebo" effect, sell gobs of products and smile all the way to the bank.

Like i've said before, buy and use what you like. You're listening to your system and making that an enjoyable experience is all that counts. With that in mind, others should take ANYONE'S comments or suggestions with a grain of salt. That includes me too.

Due to the high levels of divurgence from accuracy / neutrality in many systems, and systems that were built to please one's own personal preferences, what sounds good to one person in the confines of their system might sound horrible to another person in their system. Unless a system is built to achieve a high level of neutrality and / or the person making the comments has a preference for neutrality, any comments made are subject to personal interpretation and preferences. If one's opinions / comments can be compared and contrasted to "standardized test results", that at least gives you something to compare those comments / opinions against when forming a baseline for your own thoughts and opinions. Sean
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