Original Legacy Studio Speakers


I’ve been kind of feeling like my LSA-10’s are a little too laid back for my amp, and I stumbled across a listing for a pair of Legacy Studios over on US Audio Mart. I’m thinking they might be a good match for my (CODA built) Legacy amp. 
Problem is that although the ad states that the drivers are original, they look different than the pics in the manual I found on Legacy’s website. Tweeter housing is different and woofer seems to lack the characteristic woven texture of kevlar.
Is it possible that these are an early version with slightly different drivers, or is this likely a bait and switch? Just thought I’d see what you guys thought...

the listing:

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649735854-beautiful-legacy-audio-studio-v1-bookshelf-speakers/

the manual:

https://d2digq31msfd9c.cloudfront.net/uploads/manuals/studio.pdf?mtime=20210224113924&focal=none

thanks and cheers


rfnoise
It doesn't look too suspicious to me; seller states these are the original version, and I believe they were in production for a while which makes it quite likely there were changes over the years. The drivers probably don't cost much to begin with, so this wouldn't be a very profitable scam. 

I had the early-2000s Legacy Signature III and like seller states placement was absolutely KEY, as was amp matching (for which you have the very capable CODA). Mine had the premium Rosewood finish too and it was GORGEOUS - I really prefer it to today's ubiquitous glossy finishes in this price range!

Could be a fun experiment.
There were several versions of the Studio prior to the Studio HD. I believe the one in the ad is in fact a version prior to the one shown on the manual. The drivers changed between them. Some had one dip switch on back and some had two. I had a pair at one time with this driver compliment, but the one I had included only one switch on the back. This ad appears to be legit.
Well, crap... I’ve been informed that the Studio series would be a pretty poor introduction to the Legacy sound, and not representative if their typical sound quality. Sigh.
@rfnoise, regarding the PM I sent you, I also owned a pair of the Legacy Signature III and I liked them, I don't know if they are to large or expensive for what you are looking for.

I swear my Signature III sounded mediocre until I boxed ’em up for sale. Then I got a local interested buyer who wanted to demo them - and set them up quickly in a different location, where they just so happened to sound AMAZING. Ah, such fun times I could’ve had with them if I wasn’t such an idiot. And to think I sold them for only $1800 (Rosewood, mint condition), an absolute steal.

My friend also had these speakers in his dedicated basement room where they also sounded awesome, so I should have known it was setup at fault.

The Signature III is pretty damn close to "true" full range with its trio of 10" woofers per side. A LOT closer than other audiophile speakers in its price range. Sounded better integrated than a subwoofer too. That’s what made it such a fun listen. I guess you won’t get that from the Studio monitors, which were probably intended either as nearfield monitors or as rear/surround speakers :(

There is also an old Classic model which is just a slightly compacted Signature III.
Look for some original Legacy Focus. Sig. 3 was good, but Focus took to another level. I know, owned both.
I’m pretty much restricted to stand-mount monitors due to the size of my listening space. Of course, there’s the Calibre, but at $5000+ those ARE out of my price range.
I had the old LSA 10's. Liked them, slammin bass but a bit too warm. I now have Calibres and they are amazing.

I've heard the newer Studio HD's twice and they can flat out rock but are also rich, full and detailed on jazz etc. I can't vouch for the earlier versions but Bill Dudelston designs great speakers and I can't imagine you'd be disappointed. Don't be afraid to give them lots of power.
With speakers that are now pushing 20 years old, should I be concerned about the crossovers needing rebuilt? Caps drifting out of spec, etc?
@bajaed Were your LSA’s from before Underwood HiFi acquired the company? Jealous of your Calibres, btw...
@rfnoise not sure if you’ve already completed your decision process … re your last question … yes, you probably can expect some caps can have drifted some out of spec (but probably more at risk in those much more than 20 years … I have some speakers in the 30-50 year old range) … if post 2000 more likely to be ok. The rest of the crossover elements (resistors, inductors, …) don’t really drift but there may be better or higher quality than what was used in what you have now. Degree of improvement obviously dependent on baseline original and degree of degradation. Good luck!
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@bajaed 

Nothing particularly juicy, just a flurry of random spam posts. At least it wasn’t research chems or bootleg viagara this time.

But since that spam put this thread back in rotation… I ended up concurring with your assessment of LSA’s being too much on the warm side, and have since moved to Thiels.