No love for Legacy Audio
Hello all. I have been on a few discussions here and read many more. I have not seen many of the posters here talk much about Legacy Audio speakers. I am referring to the Signature SE model and the Focus SE model. I am curious why people don’t seem to like them as much as several other brands that get talked about much more here. What is it you like better about the ones you are consistently raving about. Thank you.
@big_greg You are correct. The Focus speakers are made for larger rooms. My room was specially built to accommodate them at a smaller size (those 4 wall built-in bass traps). Just keeping them away from the side and rear walls is important and alleviates too much bass (overload). I'm sorry Legacy, but the original Focus are better than the SE and superior to the HD (tweeters mounted in the wrong direction). The 20/20 has a more difficult to drive low impedance (2.2 ohms versus 2.8 ohms in the bass) but otherwise should sound nearly the same. |
I have a pair of Legacy Audio Empires. Although they have a large soundstage they are not my favorite for music, however they are great for movies and games. Dialog and soundstage sounds big, Tie Fighters sound like they’re flying over and passed you. With EQ to boost the lows explosions have a lot of punch too even without a subwoofer, which I was surprised considering they’re open baffle . Out of curiosity I called them and ask them a few years ago if they have replacement components for them and they said they even still have replacement drivers for them. The speakers are 30 years old and weren’t huge sellers at the time yet I can still get some support from the company if something goes wrong, I think that says a lot about them. |
I'm a Whisper owner...and they're the best speaker I've heard in any of my spaces! Pacing, detail, and proper volume of different instruments in the mix is uncanny!!!! They create a ...hate to say it...a holographic space! Oh and I have the original ones...so it used the Step One processor which serves me now as decorative signage, I've found that Audyssey MultEQ-X with REW does a much better job. Now if I went to a Wavelet 2 that may be a different story. Loving these "Dream" speakers and my sweet spot it alot bigger! |
Back when I was brand new to 2ch audio, I heard a friend’s Legacy Signature III setup. It was one of my first exposures to "real" hifi with turntable source and quality separates (BAT 6H30 tube preamp, Parasound Halo JC1 amps). I really loved it - such a fun, engaging listen! A year later I got my opportunity to buy those same Signature III’s - and having NO idea what I was doing, pieced together my first "serious" 2ch system, including a Sunfire 600 Signature amp and BAT VK5i pre. Wow, was I excited to fire it up! Then (drumroll)...wow, it sounded pretty awful! I significantly improved things by ditching the Sunfire (eventually landing on my friend’s JC-1’s), but it never surpassed "mediocre" enough to justify its expense. Chalked the experience up to a bad room / apartment, and listed the Signature III’s for sale. A local fellow contacted me, wanting to hear them first. Damn! They were already boxed up, and I knew he’d lose interest upon demo - but I obliged and set them on the long wall (the very wall I’d avoided due to "conventional" acoustic wisdom). Upon setup, my jaw dropped! All the fun sound from that first listen at my friend’s was back...and then some. I was genuinely impressed, the buyer was very impressed (of course he bought them immediately), and then I was sad I’d unlocked their potential literally 5 minutes before they walked out the door forever :( But I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Legacy! The rosewood finish was truly gorgeous, too. I’d seen a lot of wood veneers that don’t hold a candle to Legacy’s work. |
