Legacy Audio FOCUS SE, the secret of the professionals

Legacy Audio, in Spain and in Europe in general, is not a particularly well-known company, and like the most specific exclusive products, it has its loyal and devoted but not numerous audience. We are not talking about industrial production, as we know it in many current firms, but the closest thing to a small workshop. They have a single production factory, their own, in Springfield, Illinois, United States of America. And if you have read this many times and no longer believe anything at all, at the end of the article, there is a video (a few years old) made by the local television station, where a journalist with no knowledge of our hobby goes through the construction of some speakers, step by step. I love it because you can see everything, there are no mysteries or dark areas.

So far we could say that it is the same story of so many brands that exist in the market that make loudspeakers, nothing more. Although there is a fact that distorts this whole narrative, which does not agree with the end of the other stories, a differential fact. They continuously receive awards from many publications, fairs, competitions they participate in, etc., and they don't spend much money on advertising. Please don't make me spell things out more clearly for you to understand them, I'm just going to repeat them: "They continuously receive awards from many publications, fairs, competitions they participate in, etc., and they don't spend much money on advertising."

Anecdote before all else
When I contacted the importer, I wanted a small speaker model to make my work easier and avoid having to carry excess weight. When he suggested the Legacy Audio Focus SE, I looked at its technical characteristics and didn't accept it: "I want another model, a much smaller one". The long-term loan and installation on your part convinced me. A few days later, the USA Style speakers solemnly dominated my living room.

We are talking about a floor-standing model, with 4-way and 6 transducers inside. Without a doubt, our eyes are drawn to the top where there are two AMT transducers, one 1-inch for treble, and another 4-inch for midrange. These are framed at the top and bottom by another two 7-inch transducers to complement the middle part of the spectrum. Finally, at the bottom, there are two 12-inch transducers, each with a motor weighing almost 7 kilos. So, just in bass transducers, we have about 28 kilos of technology inside the room.

More basic data; frequency range from 18 to 30K Hertz, impedance of 4 ohms, cutoff frequency at 120, 2.8K, 8K, associated amplifier from 30 to 750 Watts and... 95.4 dB sensitivity. Then, if my maths is correct, each speaker has a capacity of 206 liters. Come on, how small are they not.

Like many other models, it has 4 terminals per speaker, for bi-amplification, or a bridge to use a single amplifier or power stage. Right next to it, two switches (one at the top and one at the bottom) allow you to attenuate the bass or treble by 2 dB. This is useful for adjusting them to the room.

My room is 30 m² and slightly rectangular in shape. As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, it is not a treated room, but a real one, where I live with my wife every day. The adjustments are discreet but effective, known to all fans: a thick carpet, wall hangings on some of the walls, fairly thick curtains (within reason), "messy" bookshelves on the sides, a sofa and armchairs, etc. With two very serious black spots: the ceiling and a piece of furniture with glass doors. As you can see, nothing is perfect.

The best advice I can give to any fan who finds themselves in the war of correctly positioning speakers in the room is to tell them that, in the end, the result is worth all the effort, no matter how great it has been, because in the end your favorite record awaits you with a smile on your face.

Equipment used in the tests

Sound source:
  » EMT 948 turntable
  » TEAC UD-H01 DAC
  » Cairn Swan CD player
  » > Roon Labs on dedicated PC
Power amplification:
  » Integrated amplifier Bow Technologies WAZOO XL
Speakers:
  »Speakers Legacy Audio Focus SE
Cables:
» Wires4Music in cabling:
    » Horus Hybrid RCA interconnection
    » Evolution in speakers and mains power
» AKG K-701 headphones
» Customized rack

Let's be honest, not having any bass trap in my room means I have to be careful with the potentiometer on my amplifier. Although, when you set the volume just right, before the room interacts in a clear way, you touch the sky. That's how clear I am when it comes to defining sound, with the presence that this monster of home sound gives off. And here you have to be able to tell the difference between good and bad sound recordings. When a recording has been made to be listened to with cheap headphones, in the street or on the subway, the bass saturation to give presence in these very unfavorable environments, turns into a little hell in dedicated listening. We know that, but the more spectacular the sound system, the more evident these problems become.

And on the other hand, the brilliant part. When the music relaxes, when the frequencies are not constantly on the ground and work more in the middle or upper area, or simply, they make trips to the subsoil, but do not stay there, we touch the sky and live in paradise. The electric guitars sound in such a way that it is hard to believe that they are not in front of you. The presence is of such magnitude that you completely lose the reference of the speakers to experience the sensation of feeling the whole front wall where the sounds emerge towards you, just for you. It's crazy, it doesn't make sense, and your head explodes because you feel important. I don't know how to say it, if I had had one too many drinks, maybe I would get up from the sofa to correct some string note. I repeat, it doesn't make sense, and surely Eric Clapton doesn't remember, even though he has been at my house with his The Definitive 24 Nights.

I went crazy over one song, and once I've explained it, you'll understand why. I'm talking about "Angie" by The Rolling Stones. In two different versions, the original studio version from "Goats Head Soup" and the live concert version from "Totally Stripped - Amsterdam". In the first, the clarity of Jagger's voice, with all its vocal nuances, with all its inflections as he sings, can be heard with surgical sharpness. The sound is of a band performing in front of you, with all its members in front of you. What we might call a classic, standard sound recording. This is a sweet version and brings out the most natural sound from the speakers.

Then we move on to the concert version and all of the above goes out the window... for the better, no; for excellent. You leave an internal, self-absorbed world and are transported to the central part of a concert, electric to the extreme, where Jagger's voice is the amplified voice, not the one he emits, but the one you hear at a concert. You can clearly hear the room reflections, the atmosphere, the frequency excursions, the rear sound columns. The sound engineer for this concert, the one who did the recording, deserves top marks for having managed to convey the true experience of a live concert. No mics on the band and a few ambient mics, and then we mix it all together. Nothing like that. Only the always-annoying murmur of the audience has been eliminated.

And following the line of sound engineers and users of Legacy Audio Focus SE, Herbie Powers and... Rick Rubin . Who have these two recorded with? Well, I guess some recordings with friends, local artists, new voices and... and... I almost forgot Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Toni Braxton, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, AC/DC, Neil Diamond, Metallica, etc.

If your motto in life is Use and Throw Away, Plug&Play and similar things, I don't think this is the product for you. It needs attention to ensure it is correctly placed in the room and any adjustments made to it. It needs time and dedication, like all the best things in life. If you don't have this time, seek professional help, if you don't want to spend this money, look for something else. Good professionals have chosen this brand, and many of them, these speakers in particular, for a reason.

Once adjusted to the room, you immediately understand why it is the speaker of choice for many prestigious artists and sound engineers. Its sound does not tire or fatigue, not at all. No matter how many hours you have them running. Those in the know understand what I'm talking about. These are not the speakers of piercing bells, but of intoxicating music.

If your main priority is not to have speakers with a groundbreaking design, made with scarce and ultra-expensive materials, with curved lines and exuberant shapes, with a lot of publicity and familiar faces promoting them; if your only premise is the sound and its quality, you should be able to listen to these speakers before making a purchase decision.

Legacy Audio is, in truth, a small manufacturer. And honestly, I don't think the gentleman has many years left in him, so when he retires, some multinational will buy the brand, promote it and thousands of speakers will be sold all over the world. Of course, maybe not of the same quality. So there's still time to buy an original product... maybe for a short time.