In response to Zhikmark's comments:
In all due respect, the man was asking for a comparison between his older Focus and the new 20/20's. I too would like to read any comments people might have that have may the upgrade. I have read other criticisms of the Legacy line, but have not found that they fit my experience. I have owned Legacy-1's, Sig II's since 1987, and my Focus for 10.5 years, and the latter look and sound as good now as when new. I have toured the Springfield factory including the woodworking shop, and I saw nothing to criticize. The PVC piping that is used for the mids is rabbeted into the front and rear panel. Surely better than the cardboard tubing some manufacturers use. I watched the XO boards being hand wired. I saw nothing wrong with the components used, nor the wire. My Focus have hyperlitz wiring of the ribbon drivers. Each speaker is matched to a mother, and the XO's are tweaked to null the differences. How many manufacturers do that? Regarding the toggle switches. They can be defeated if you don't like them, or can be useful if you have particular room problems. What's wrong with that? The Steradian is a further embellishment to help some of us who have speaker/room interaction problems. If you are a purist, and hate the idea of using a signal processor, I suggest that you never go to a recording studio or mastering lab, you'll die of shock. I believe the Focus line has stood the test of time, has good quality drivers and some of the best cabinetry in the business. I suspect that it is even better now since manufacturing has been moved to the Allen Organ factory. Better, in my experience, when compared to the Dunlavy line, for example. Bill Dudleston is a well respected designer who doesn't overengineer his products just to make a buck. Also, updates have been evolutionary, not changes for marketing purposes only. The 20/20's have some significant changes over my older models; however, and I plan to check them out soon.
BTW, I also respect John Dunlavy as a designer. I had visited with him on several occasions in his lab in Las Cruces, NM, probably 25 years ago. He is a recognized world expert in antenna design and was doing work for White Sands Missle Range and was designing audio equipment as a sideline. He then moved to Australia, resurrected the Duntech line of speakers, then moved to Colorado and came out with the Dunlavy line. His emphasis has always been the ability of a speaker to pass an impulse with minimal distortion. I don't think he ever used any exotic drivers, most were off the shelf models, his cabinetry was good, but not exceptional and I don't think he was a fan of exotic wiring. Good products, good sound, with a strong following. I think most of us, including nonowners, were sad to see his business shut down.
There are a lot of excellent speakers out there. Many with different design goals, all with their own limitations and compromises, and most sound somewhat different from one another. Take your choice, "whatever floats your boat". I guess I just do not care for blanket condemnations. Everyone has an opinion though, right or wrong.
