Price Paid:  $7000.00 from a factory rep,Jason

Summary:
The Focus 20/20 redefined my music listening,Im bi amping one unison integrated amp and one coda (same mfg.) Im very sory I dont really subscribe to watt rating because a 30 watt Jolida rocks more than 500 watts of xy or z brand name amp. So I really dont know the watts Im using,I think 100 watts will sufice to claim. Im using 12 ga. bulk wire from radio shack . and very much needed high bit (24 ) cd /dvd/sacd player.. the patrica barber "companion " cd is sacd and its BREATHTAKING. you can hear hers and not your own. I dont think rock projects well from them ..but when blue note does a recording its the a real experience ...I will never go back to listening to bad speakers and dont know of better,unless you want a subwoofer and a pair of Whispers and double the price. and watt requirement. and have a crane to set them up with.

Strengths:
they are the best, they dont need a sub woofer, inputs are great hi bit live vocals and most live recordings are wonderull.

Weaknesses:
expensive for most people and big. you will not like bad recordings anymore. you will even change the type music you listen to to get a good recording. untill they remaster your old favorite recordings you wont want to hear them.

Similar Products Used:
James #10 spkrs.

Price Paid:  $6400.00 from L&M Custom Home Elec

Summary:
This is for the FOCUS 20/20. I smile whenever I look at them and just knowing their incredible sonic competence whets my appitite for a prolonged listenting session! I have owned Infinity Betas, Genesis 201s (updated ribbon and bass amp) and, most recently, Revel Salon Ultimas. Each of these speakers was spectacular overall and had its own major strength. Where the Focus 20/20 is so unique is that it comes very close to the major strenghs of each of those great speakers and does it at a small fraction of the cost of any one of them. THIS IS THE FIRST AUDIO EQUIPMENT FOR WHICH I HAVE EVER PAID FULL PRICE!!!! I'm talking 30 years of buying used gear, dealer demos and and on the rare occassion of buying new, wheeling and dealing until I got an acceptable price. Yes, I could have waited until I found a pair and bought off the internet, but for only $6,400 + tax, I was able to order the custom curley maple finish we wanted, own them brand new out of the box, support my local dealer who allowed me to audition them hours and hours on end, delivered them to my house and took care of me when I had a minor problem early on. The 20/20s repesent such an unbelieveable bargain, I felt that even at full retail, I was STEALING them! Legacy and Bill D. deserve a fair profit for what they've pulled off. If that's not a testament to one of most crowning acheivements in audio, I can't think what is. I have NEVER, ever paid full price for a piece of equipment in my 30 yrs of supporting this great hobby. Describing the 20/20s sound isn't a challege - GREAT! Deep clean tight bass, never boomy (I use a Steridan for base optimization - HIGHLY recommended). The sound at my listening position (approx 12 ft fm spkrs, toed in so no side cabinet visible, 13 ft apart center-to-center) is totally coherient, solid center images, deep sound stage and width well beyond the speakers and, on some recordings, the room walls. What surprises me most about the 20/20s how much they remind me of the Maggies 3.6 on vocals. Absolutely finger-walking-up-your-spine realism! Holly Cole, Jennifer Warrens, Arron Neville, et. al. give a private concent in your listening room. Deep solid, tight bass and the effortless realsim of ribbons/panels in one affordable gorgeous speaker. This is a major accomplishment! I drive them with a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 into a pr of Power 3 monoblocks (220W). I've used up to four 600W monos to drive previous speakers, the high efficiency of the 20/20s have never audibly stressed my tube amps and I like to listen at whatever the live level would be for the acoustic source - which can be very loud at times. Overall, there are only two or three audio products I've owned that truly delivered on the cost/performance expectations I had for them when I made the purchase decision. The Focus leads that small group. The Betas and the Power 3s are the other two. I confess, I've been an audio snob. Friends have been telling me for years to audition Legacy. How could speakers so low priced be cabable of TRUE high end sound??? I prejudged that yeah, they may be good to someone moving up from mid-fi but, hey, I was in the "HIGH" end and how could a $6K a PAIR - not even each! - speaker meet my expectations? Well, I stand humbled and awed. And the true test - I had to put my money where my ears fell in love. I compared the Legacy's against everything I could audition up to $20K. Don't get me wrong, I like many of the speakers I listened to, I just could no longer justify the price differntial. I keep coming back to the 20s, transducers that cost less than my CD player. All my doubts notwithstanding, I have always trusted my ears and once again let them guide me. I have not looked back. Legacy has really pulled off a stellar coup and they are to be congratulated. It's not one of the typical cases where they are great sounding but of questionable quality, no they are great sounding AND full of premium components; its not that they are technically outstanding but of mediocre finish - they are technically outstanding AND have an beautiful, wife-pleasing hardwood finish with intricate cabnetry - there just isn't any obvious compromise in this speaker, especially in its sound! It has to be rated as overall superb. I look forward to many years of listening pleasure, and I doubt anything else will my attention for quite some time. Well, except maybe the Whispers.... Naw! I'm a happy camper.

Strengths:
A wonderful, minimal compromise speaker that does some things superbly and most everything very well. Highly satisfying listening experience. An visual asset to any room.

Weaknesses:
Size. Would like greater range of adjustment for the mids and highs. External crossover for bi-amping would be convienient.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity Betas, Genesis 201s, Revel Salon Ultimas. Others auditioned: Vandersteen 5A; Maggie 20.1; ML Prodigy; Dynaudio Evidence Series; B&W 800 Signatures; BW 802s; Avantgarde Duos (very nice); VMPS

Price Paid:  $4400.00 from Reel to Real Designs

Summary:
I must have too much time on my hands to be doing this, but here goes. I purchased the Foccus speakers in the Spring of '92 from Reel to Real in Springfield, IL via the mail order route (known today as Legacy in Allentown, PA). So, like me (soon to be 57), they've got some age on them. Unless I win the "Power Ball" or some other significant lottery soon these will be my last major purchase for main speakers. I recently did purchase a Legacy Cinema Grand center channel from a Legacy retailer in Columbia, Missouri. It was a pleasant experience and I received a "Grand Opening" discount. When using the speakers I switch program material between an old Hafler Iris preamp for stereo and a new Outlaw prepro for multichannel. The Foccus are horizontally biamped -- an old MTX Soundcraftsman for the bottom half and a semi-old Adcom for the top half of each speaker. Both stereo amps are capable of putting out almost 400 watts rms into a four ohm load, and over 200 watts into an eight ohm load. When one of my old Soundcraftsman amps went bad (which led to the purchase of the Adcom) I used the remaining good Soundcraftsman to power the entire speaker system in the typical stereo configuration. I did notice a difference in the sound of the speaker systems in this configuration and could hardly wait to go to the biamp configuration again. I suppose all that has to do with the subjective crap that the "Stereophile" and "Absolute Sound" magazines tout. Maybe there is something to subjectivity in listening to electronic reproduced music, although I'd prefer to read what the "Audio Critic" has to say than the other two aforementioned mags and pretenders similar to them. When I purchased them originally they were set up in a 25' x 17' room. I would think that this is close to ideal for these speakers. At the time they were simply the best damn cone speaker I had ever heard. I've not spent a great deal of time in high end audio shops auditioning speakers over the last several years, so I'm not sure what I would compare/contrast them to/with today. Currently they sit in a 14.5' x 14.5' room, a little overkill I must admit. I made the decision not to trade them in for something smaller (actually there was no decision that had to be made). After over eleven years I am still quite pleased with them. I know new ones cost considerably more today. When I do frequent a high end shop (maybe every other year or so?) I'll give a casual listen to what's set up. I've never heard $100K Wilsons, or anything close to them in price. A couple of years ago I did hear the Whispers in Springfield (had to be sometime before they moved to PA). What I heard out of the Whispers in a listening room significantly different than mine wasn't enough to make me foam at the mouth for the Whispers, although they certainly looked a lot cooler than the Foccus -- old or new. At this time I am still enjoying the Foccus pair immensely. Even if I hit the lottery I may elect to spend or waste my new ill-gotten booty in other ways and continue to enjoy the old Foccus pair.

Strengths:
I love the sound of the human voice and i also like to experience lot of punch. I am also, at times, fond of mass quantities of bass. The Foccus deliver all of these in spades, big time. When I switch them in as part of a multi channel set-up (i.e., using a dvd, etc. as source material) they are just mind-boggling.

Weaknesses:
Originally I had trouble communicating with the company (REEL to REAL) when I encountered a couple of problems during the first year with one of the Kevlar mids. I suspect that REEL to REAL was undergoing growing pains. Obviously over the years they not only changed their name (to Legacy) but their location (Springfield, IL to Allentown, PA) as well. I spoke to someone in service a year or so ago and received much more information over the phone than I did in person ten years ago. So the company has improved in that area. I do know that if certain drivers (upper and lower mid range) ever go out in either speaker that their replacements will not physically fit where the old ones are. I suppose I'll either have to box the speakers and send them off, get a local carpenter to get the replacements to fit, or just put up with the defects.

Similar Products Used:
I've never had a product similar to the Foccus. The mains that they replaced were Marantz Imperial 9s. The Marantz speakers are still around, in my brother's home. When I got the Foccus I did an AB te

Price Paid:  $5000.00 from factory

Summary:
I have owned and enjoyed a pair of Focus speakers for several years. I am also a part time recording engineer. I normally do not like any type of processor in the chain of a good home stereo, as I fnd they usually add some unwanted distortion or effect. One day just for fun I put a BBE sonic maximizer (model 482) between the power and preamp. I was absolutely amazed at the affect it had on the Focus....with no detrement to the audio. I thought they were really good before, but now I am absolutely stunned by the sound quality. The difference is overwhelming, and I am not easily impressed. I feel like I have a new set of speakers. I purchased the BBE on E-bay for $100. You can also hear demo's on the BBE website, but nothing like a live demonstration. I suggest all Legacy owners give it a try....mine is never coming out!

Strengths:
Overall soungstage and imaging in very high...highest soundfield I have ever experienced in a home.

Weaknesses:
Size, they are big and heavy.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Legacy Aucio

Summary:
In short, the Legacy Focus facilitates a perpetual celebration of recorded music. Rarely have I auditioned a loudspeaker that is in its element across such a wide range of source material. Three years down the line I am still amazed by their ability to play so warmly at low volume. Don’t get me wrong, when the volume goes up the entertainment and delight factors go right along for the ride. You can read all about the specifications and design aspects at Legacy’s website. So, I won’t rehash those here. In fact, forget about frequency response and/or efficiency and have a listen to your favorite artist on SACD or DVD Audio via the Focuses. Take track 6 on James Taylor’s October Road SACD for example. Vocals, piano, guitar, bass, and drums – all present in your listening room. Switching gears to the 5 channel SACD mix of PF’s Dark Side of the Moon, all I can say is “be careful.” At the very least turn on the lava lamps and invite the neighbors over in order to keep the peace. I’m using the Focus as part of a home theatre set-up. I had a subwoofer in the pre-Focus days. I suspect in most situations, even home theatre applications, a sub is really overkill. Given their physical size, which is not small, it’s nice to get a little floor space back vis-à-vis not having to have a subwoofer. If you are buying a new pair of Foci let them get through their break-in period before you shell out the ducats for an appropriate sub. I admit that I was naïve about break-in…now I know. Amplifier power is important, but high end receivers don’t seem to have any problems. Separates are nicer. The only set-up that I’ve ever heard that was really tragic included a pair of Sig III’s (a great speaker in its own right) mated to a lowly Harman Kardon AV Receiver. For me, 200 watts per channel (8 ohm rating) gets the job done very well. My experience is that any quality receiver or amplifier with power north of 100 watts per channel will do. I’ve gone on high-end speaker listening treks a few times when the ever diligent hi-fi store (different stores by the way) sales rep explained that the $20,000 ‘Whatevers’ won’t sound right without spending another $10,000 on a new preamp and amplifier, speaker wire extra. The Focus is not exactly chump change I realize. However, when you consider that spending twice or three times the money on a lot of other speakers often produces lesser results, it seems like a pretty good value.

Strengths:
Spectacular bass, mid-range, trebble, imaging. Beautiful Rosewood. OK, just about everything is a strength with the Focus.

Weaknesses:
Not exactly petite, is it?

Similar Products Used:
B&W 802's.