Brutally Honest - The GOOD the BAD and the UGLY about Legacy Audio 

I have a pair of the Classic HD speakers which I bought in 2018 from their factory in Springfield. Bill himself took the time to understand my needs and show me their speakers. In fact he made me a custom center channel speaker that matches with the Classic HDs as I did not want the rear ported speaker (in their product line) due my placement constraints. After 5 years the speakers are till the main attraction when people come to my house. My friends are blown away by how good they sound. I spend at least an hour each day listening to music and everyday its an emotional experience connecting with the music. Absolutely love Legacy Audio...their value proposition is incredible!

I don't consider size to be "bad". The old axiom is true, there's no replacement for displacement.

Hi Adrian, thanks for the videos. I have a pair of Focus SE for 2 years now. To my ears they outperformed the few high end speakers I had heard. The price vs performance was a no brainer, comparing specs you would need to spend half again more to come close to what these offer. Soundstage is wide and distinct, bass is killer mids and highs are great. These beat out anything I had ever heard and I am thrilled every time I listen.

Great company and products. I bought a pair of used Magnepan 3As from Legacy Audio, in 1994. Bill sat me down and we listened to his Focus, then about $4k. Super kind, took his time, it was a terrific experience. If I had all the money, I would purchase his Aeris, they blow me away every time I get to listen, most recently at Capital Audio Fest, last month. Thank you for this video.

Legacy Audio - best sounding speakers, Studio, Signature, Focus, are favorites. Aeris and up are another type of design approach. Much love for their speakers and amps!

Thanks for taking the time and thought to make this series.

I have a pair of Focus SE's in my main system and a pair of Signature III's in my second system. The frequency response of the SE's is from 18 - 30k hz and sensitivity is 94.5 db (2.83v @ 1 M). Name me another non-Legacy speaker with that type of spec. There are very few. Your description of their sound is spot on. Mine are paired with Plinius amplification in both systems and they are simply glorious.

Adrian, I have a pair of Legacy Classics. I purchased them used in 2009. These are now discontinued. I'm not sure what year they were made but I've enjoyed them since day one. No issues at all. Great cabinet/woodwork, drivers and crossovers. I wanted a pair of Focus or Focus 20/20 but these Classics are more than enough for my room size. The Focus would have overloaded the room and caused an unpleasant listening experience. I agree with the other comment that the Aeris is just a fantastic speaker. Probably the sweet spot in the lineup. I've heard them at Axpona and they are amazing. A side note, if anyone comes across their older power amps on the used market grab them if you can. If memory serves Coda built the Legacy Amps very early on so you'd be getting a really solid amp most likely at a decent price with excellent quality/value.

I own and array of Legacy speakers. My first pair being the Classic HD purchased in 1995; in which I spoke to Bill prior to buying that I still own and love. I am hoping to be able to upgrade to the Legacy Signature series possibly later this year. I have a pair of Legacy Deco for my rear speakers and like another commenter mentioned I spoke to Bill about my center channel I would like to add and Bill made a custom sound bar to match the TV on the wall. A lot of people stop by to watch movies or hear the sound system and are taken away with it. Thank you Legacy!!

Adrian, your reviews are exactly what reviews should be with the "Good, Bad and Ugly". Most other review seem like sales presentations with everything hyped to the top. Cheap ordinary gear presented as being as good as expensive gear (whilst sometimes this is sort of true most times it BS). I've been considering Legacy Speakers but finding an honest review seems difficult. Yours is much appreciated.

I have had my Legacy Aeris speaker for about 5 years and they truly are some of the best speakers I've ever heard. I also think they're the best looking speakers in the lineup. I agree with you Adrian that the room correction software via the Wavelaunch / Wavelet DSP scares some people off. I have the Wavelaunch and I cringe at the thought of having to spend a couple thousand dollars to have a Legacy tech come into my house and re-program it if I ever move to a new house or decide to move it to another room. Really enjoy your videos! They're always informative and engaging! Happy Holidays!

Back in the day I bought the original legacy 1 speakers still have them! I tried replacing them with newer more modern speakers of different brands and they came and went,,, always went back to the legacy 1.

Thank you, Adrian. I have been a Legacy fan since the mid 90s. love my Legacy Aeris with Wavlet 11

Listened to LEGACY AUDIO at THE SHOW in Costa Mesa June 7-9th and they were 1 of my top 5 rooms of the show! Beautiful in person with an immersive soundstage!

I've owned Legacy speakers since the early 90s. Most recent purchase was a pair of Focus SEs. I also have a Silverscreen HD center and my late 90s Classics for surrounds. I got over the fact that Legacy gets no love decades ago. I've gone to hifi shops and listened to other speakers but never have I left thinking, wow, I need those. Always happy with what I already own. If there was any complaint about the Focua SE, it's that it borders on almost excess deep bass. When I crank things up, the windows in my house rattle. But the back massages are fantastic!

Great review. Have owned many Legacy models now on my 3rd pair of Whispers… have owned many hi-end brands…. Always drawn back to Legacy Audio, the performance just can not be matched… unless you wanna spend 100k+. Bill D is a mastermind!

I have the Legacy Focus SE and the Legacy Marquis center channel powered with their flagship iv amplifier. They are the best speakers I ever owned. The best bottom end of anything out there sub 40 k a pair. Excellent mids and non fatiguing highs. I can not say enough about Legacy and their customer service and their speakers. For people complaining that they are large well yes they are ! They produce incredible dynamics and bottom end to die for and that size is part of the physics of being able to do that ! There are a lot of poser speakers out there claiming to have sub woofer bottom end well let me tell you Legacy Focus SE does and all the models above the Focus. Btw getting a pair of Legacy Focus SE is definitely worth the cost. They blow away speakers I have heard that cost 5 times as much. Ohh an you mentioned the price being not high enough ? Well Legacy certainly is not cheap that is for sure ! You are wrong on the cost of the Focus SE stating they were under 10k. If you meant U S they are about 13 k us a pair now for standard finish still worth the cost. There is nothing out there that can touch them for that cost especially in the dynamics and bottom end. One thing nice about Legacy audio I like that many people do not know is they are a small family company. I like that that build inhouse in USA I LIKE THAT ! And two, I like the fact that they offer trades at discounted prices as well as a chance to upgrade your Legacy speakers and Legacy Equipment in the future if you desire too ! I got to say they stand behind their products too ! I ordered a flagship center Channel this month to match my two year old Focus SE towers which "I also ordered directly from Legacy Audio" and unfortunately the 7 k center channel was damaged in shipping due to shipping company not handling correctly. I notified Legacy and they paid to have the damaged speaker picked up and sent to them at their cost and rebuilt me a perfect speaker and had it to me in just two months in a pallet and shipping company at their cost ! They treat you GOOD ! After having the Legacy Speakers I really question the crazy asking prices of some of these companies pulling asking amounts out of their ass. I do not think there is any speaker worth more than 50 l a pair myself.

My fantasy speaker was the Legacy Focus SE for a long time, until the price approached the 5-figure range. Plus, in my current living situation, a delivery would be difficult. The Focus SE weighs only 5 lb more than my Mirage M-3si (135 lb vs. 130 lb.), but the Focus delivery weight is 188 lb per box. I heard them at an audio show several years ago, and was impressed, especially with how deep they can go in the bass. If I had the money and a house, I would go for them still. My current fantasy, which I've not heard in person, is the Martin-Logan XT F200.

I have owned Classic HDs and the Focus SEs, and enjoyed them. Despite being a "revolving door" audiophile, I wish I still had the SEs. The bass was tremendous, the highs smooth, and the sensitivity very kind. I was not overly enamored of the midrange, partly due to the looks of the drivers. I also suspect that my room may have been too small. Bill Duddleston seems to be a genius at engineering, design, and quality assurance. The wood finishes, especially rosewood) are gorgeous. I agree with the reasons you had for their lack of success. One is the weight. Shipping cost is horrendous (which also makes used sales difficult), and the retail outlets are few and far between. I know brick and mortar stores are dwindling, but I think they need to be heard.

I own a pair of Focus XD. Outstanding performance to price ratio. The best bass I have ever heard in my room. Good midrange with presence. Dynamic and lightning quick transient.

As a former dealer, Adrian, you should do one about TAD

Great review of a wonderful company. I love the Aeris and even find it beautiful; the Focus line is right at the top among the best values in audio, and the (Böhmer) Wavelet is at the leading edge of sound processing.

I am an owner of the Legacy Aeris, Studio HD speakers and Wavelet 2 processor, My opinion on why Legacy doesn't get their due respect. I think there is just a huge bias against DSP and D class amplification. It is a shame because the Aeris is simply outstanding at any value. If you are into live natural sounding speakers, well what is your argument. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr.Bill Dudleston, and he is always on the vanguard of pushing the envelope. I think we are stuck in the past and need to humble ourselves to the future. Class D amplification has improved tremendously and DSP whether you like or not is the future. I used to own Quad ESL speakers and sweet as their midrange is the Legacy Aeris provided the sweet sounding midrange, airy highs, and ass kicking articulate bass. You will have to spend a hell of lot more to get remotely close to this sound. Your money and preferences!!!!

Great video. I’m waiting for your video review of those McIntosh speakers behind you.

Excellent take on legacy! Just to set the record straight there are many companies which successfully carry the end to end offering from electronics to speakers like gryphon, MBL, Burmester to name a few

Hi Adrian, thanks for all the great work. There are other companies out there, admittely more in the ultra high end (Griphon, MBL, Burmaster) who make electronics as well as speakers, but the most famous one must be QUAD. 11:50

Signature SE were sonically the best speakers I auditioned back when I was in the market for speakers. They demolished all competition even +40% more expensive ones, including Focal, Sonus Faber, Dynaudio, KEF, B&W, Audiovector, Audio Physic. So why didn't I buy them? WAF - too big and too ugly for the living room. Nowadays, with proliferation of beryllium and planar magnetic drivers, things might be different.

I have had focus SE for many years. Shakes mine and my neighbour's foundations.. have the marquise center. Will never sell them! I used to upgrade speakers almost 2 times a year. These for me are perfect.

I purchased a pair of Signature SE's this summer with upgraded midrange drivers (7” graphene filled carbon fiber from the Signature XD). Driving them with a Bryston BR-20 preamp and Bryston 4B3 power amp. Small treated room. THEY SOUND FANTASTIC! Amazing you don't hear about these speakers everywhere.

One thing about the size of their speakers is, myself owning a pair of Magnepan, soundstage height is an attribute that cannot be overlooked. In the grand scheme of things after hearing your thoughts on them sonically, it’s a win win for the end user.

Great review from Audio Excellence. IMO; the Focus XD are the end game for me, just haven't decided on the cabinet finish yet.

I love my aeris Sometimes I feel like I would like a system without the DSP but it sounds so good and enjoyable with plenty of depth, imaging, dynamics, musicality and detail. I have listened to many if not most of the biggest brands and I can say, not because I have them but because in all reality they compete with almost anything out there. Of course system synergy and matching is a must but to me these could be end game for most people.

Great video. Would you consider doing Good,Bad and Ugly to Hegel?

I couldn’t agree more. I can only add one negative, as it relates to the focus SE, the “sweet spot” is a challenge to find. (Like a G spot, hard to find fun to look for) But let me tell you when you do find it, I would rate it above all the competitors. To me I have never heard a speaker that immerses you into the sound not just coming at you. As far as the class D amps to me very neutral. IMO if you have noise running their IV series amps on their speakers it has to be coming from another electronic. The only reason to get rid of a focus SE is to make room for the Aeris

What’s a better listen an artist playing in front of you or a recording on legacy speakers?

I have an old pair of signatures that I inherited from my father...they were a late 90s vintage and I got them in 2008, and they needed new drivers for the two bass speakers I replaced the drivers with parts express recommended drivers and was quite happy with their performance. Not as good as my old VMPS tower II se's that I absolutely loved until a fire took them to their grave. But still fine speakers in most ways. I want to buy a new pair of signatures and Focus SE's to go into the rebuilt house once the work is done. I expect the Focus SE's to be the equivalent in performance of my old VMPS towers. Any thoughts on that?

Somewhere in 98 I bought a power amp/preamp combo factory direct. Send it back a day later. The amp could not drive my Snell Type B. My system sounded like only a tweeter and a midrange were engaged. No mid bass or bass whatsoever. Never looked at the company again. Also,I heard from salesmen in NY high end stores that it’s impossible to resale the speakers used.

I heard legacy speakers at the factory in the late nineties and was very impressed. This was before the birth of the Wavelet DSP. My concern is whether the DSP is going to editorialize or degrade the sound of a high end DAC in the system.

I've always admired this speaker company. Back in the early 2000s, I decided to purchase a pair of Legacy Sconce center channel speakers to use as surrounds in my family room. Well, long story short, other speakers and electronics have come and gone, but the Sconce surrounds are still on the wall - still looking and sounding great. Superb build quality. No issues, ever. I've listened to the Classic, and the Focus, and while I certainly want them, I would really need to buy a bigger house first. Maybe someday.

Loving this series of videos

Since buying Coda amplification..power and pre.. Ive been looking at Legacy as a speaker upgrade. Been told they pair well.

They're about a 4 hour drive away from me. I'd love to take a day trip there and give them a listen!

Where does Legacy obtain their drivers from? They certainly don't make them in Springfield, IL?

Maybe a video on Bryston speakers?

I own a pair of legacy 20/20s. It is true, the finish it not something up to the latest trend, but the sound is amazing!. I have been to CAF to hear the latest and greatest for the last 3 years and even these speakers are old, they compete head to head with new and expensive ones. So I decided to barnish them and throw a espreso color to match my living room. If you have a chance to hear audionote speakers you will be in heaven, even thought they are really really ugly.

I have never heard a pair of legacy audio speakers back to the late 90s and early 2000s but have always known they were good and were a great value. The things you hit on in this are accurate. They were big, resale wasn't the best and yet folks knew about them back in the day for their advertising . Perhaps us audiophiles stick to a nitch group, websites or something but I was aware if them even back in the day. I was I terested in their speakers but their was no opportunity or dealer near me. I feel dumb as they are I just in the next state over from me saying that. Perhaps their partnering or rebrandong of others people electronics sorta watered down the brand back in the day. I have always been a fan of enlightened audio designs from Iowa that was famed for their dacs like the sap 1000, 7000 and 9000 that stereophile used as one of their defence for years along with the theatermaster line of 5.1 home theater pre/pros that was big back than. Ead was one of the first high end 5.1 pre/pro back in the day that was getting all kinds of acolaids in the press and even being used in the studio for mastering some films I belive. Long story short, legacy teamed up with ead to have a legacy branded (same as ead) prepro for their speakers back than. I don't think they were that successful as you don't see many legacy branded ead theatermaster pre/pros put up for sale.. I still see this same teaming up with other companies on electronics with the company Adrian mentions in the video. Thanks!

Nice video thanks guys

Maybe because they don’t show up the “best of” videos and paper print (e.g., Stereophile and TAS)? I have not looked, so just a first thought.

looking for a pair of studio HD for sale let me know what you have thanks Isaac.

Can you imagine them in a room from Architectural Digest or Luxury Properties magazines? No? Well, there you go.

Linn and also Audio Note

I recently had my focus XD speakers converted to the passive model. I spent 100’s of hours trying to match the gain of my mcintosh amplifiers with the speakers amplifiers with no end in sight. I LOVE there speakers.. but I believe they would be respected much higher amount audiophiles if they ditched this complicated wavelet.

Good,bad and ugly on perlisten s7???

For me, the name Legacy and font style they use, when I first encountered it, gave me the impression that it was a mid-fi audio brand trying to break into the high end. Something along the lines of Infinity speakers of the 80s/90s. Even though Infinity made the IRS speaker system, they also made a lot of mid-fi crap. Although wrt to Infinity, it was the opposite process. They went from High End to consumer crap.

The cabinets are heroically made? What, you have to be a hero to assemble cabinets for them? And how do they ascertain that?

Having my Focus SE for more than a decade now and substitute is still yet to be found even comparing it to those almost 10x the price (forget about inflation) unless I am willing to compromise the listening experience with those "futuristic leather-wrapped metal-skin wagyu-beef WAF boxy sound" speakers. Those that regretted probably have bought their sets from AliXpress because it was too cheap as per say. With internal upgrades, l'm almost certain that this could be my end-game, afterall I am LISTENING to music, NOT LOOKING at it.

Why, Adrian, are you going solo on your channel?

Maybe, just maybe one of the reason is there is no "WHERE TO BUY" on their website. Also MC901 wasn't born yet when you did the review 3 years ago, i think if you hocked up the focus SE to the MC901 it will be even more spectacular.

Many years ago I got to hear Legacy speakers at a demo they were giving and I was very impressed, but never really aspired to own them. To me, they look too much like DIY speakers, like a guy making speakers in his garage.

German Physiks Gaudi II speakers....Westlake Audio hugeeeee speakers

Fantasic speakers but viewed as not a status brand, while they beat many speakers who are viewed as status due to price and how they are viewed though magazines. Better built than many so called high-end speakers.

I own a pair of Legacy Aeris speakers/Wavelet system driven by a pair of Class A solid state monoblocks....The system is in a dedicated listening room in a newly built house....I tuned my room with corner bass traps, absorption panels and diffusers and the room correction in the Wavelet had very little to correct at that point....unfortunately I have to downsize my system for personal reasons and one of the best systems I have listened to is now for sale....The Aeris is an amazing speaker, give them a listen if you have a chance.....BTW love your channel🇨🇦

The real ugly is that Legacy speakers look like they're stuck in the 90s.

Someone else kind of stated it below, but I think so too - the image of the company (the website, the logo, the advertising), and even the style of the speakers could use a serious update. They make absolutely fantastic speakers, and surely beautiful to those in the know, but to most people Legacy's speakers look 20 years old.

I believe that their logo is a bit Kung Fu. It could do with modernizing, but it would be very important to keep the sweeps on the L and the A and the D. A good example would be Legend Bikes by BERTOLETTI. Take a view.

imo it is the looks of the speakers in their ads when they are all placed together that turns people away. To a casual observer they look over designed and almost too splashy or gimmicky. The size and number of all those "odd' drivers is a bit unusual in the high end market for that LITTLE money! If they cost 4 times as much i would think ooh look at all of that high tech stuff. and YES selling some w only active design is a huge turnoff for many audiophiles. great review!!!

When Legacy starts selling their speakers for big money , $100,000 , $150,000 , $200,000 , then more people will buy them. Jim Morrison was right , people are strange.

Not expensive enough ??? SMH...

The name of the company threw me off. Thought you were going to talk about old or vintage gear.

Definitely a design appearance issue they come across as legacy design rather old fashioned and unappealing visually. They are not modern at all…

Superb sounding speakers. But they are just too ugly to look at.

From their website: Unequalled in Aesthetics and Innovation…. I cannot comment on the latter but the former is simply not true. Wood is kind of out of fashion and I have no problem with their size (All those narrow 200k speakers don’t do it for me) but the loudspeakers look “butch”, not refined. Pity.

The materials are good. The aesthetics are wanting. They give me the impression (an employee owned a pair 25 years ago) of a product meticulously crafted but cosmetically deficient.

Used to be a legacy showroom in my town, knew the owner and Ive been to their main plant. Legacy deserves their rep. First, their smaller designs are mediocre. Their older smaller designs were trash. Next, Bill was buying drivers from sources you could literally obtain from parts express and then using brute force ctossover networks and the GR research approach to compensate. His philosophy was cheap drivers and lots of them so as to keep distortion down. Aka using Eclipse woofers. His speakers were big and had excellent dynamic detail with zero bottom end distortion, but were not cohesive and often very, very sibilant. His new designs feature much better drivers, but I still feel you are paying for a pretty cabinet. FYI airmotive ribbins are used in $250 Emotivas. Legacy's Whisper was a solid speaker witb excellent neutrality but had a tiny soundstage and was over priced. Sorry for being blunt.

These ads every two seconds is getting ridiculous. I’m stopping watching because of it

Their electronics are poor at best I owned and sold right away an iV2 Ultra. $4,700 for poor sounding ICE modules is a total ripoff. Still own an unused Wavelet 2. This is another poorly built and totally overpriced gear . This thing will degrade the sound quality noticeably. Speakers poorly built also. My Focus SE produce nasty internal vibrations that after a long battle Legacy Audio had to admit come from inside the cabinet. Basically stay away.

1st

I think the problem is they looked somewhat ugly and DIYish.

They just look so cheap. Sorry but when spending this sort of money you expect better than exposed screws and cheap looking drivers that look parts bin. No thanks, cosmetics are important too.