Details & InsightsReviews

Legacy Focus SE “let the music soar in unbridled splendor… a treat for the ears and the heart.”

Review Date: March 2015

Publication: Stereo Times
Reviewer: Frank Alles
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Related Product(s): Focus SE

"I was hearing each instrument, voice, and subtle nuance come through with all their attendant nuances and inflections. In other words the music was rendered in a very emotive and natural way that enhanced my musical pleasure and sucked me into the performances causing me to extend my listening sessions for longer than I had planned."

"Heck, much of the time I didn’t even take notes because I was in my glory, relaxing and tappin’ my toes to the music."

"…in my room almost every speaker I’ve tried has needed a fair degree of electronic equalization in order to sound its best. With the Focus SE I found that the sound was quite satisfying even in the EQ bypass position of the Lyngdorf DPA-1, which I have to admit was a first." "Where they part company with most other speakers lies in their ability to reproduce lifelike dynamic contrasts (both micro and macro) over the full audible frequency spectrum. Whether it’s the body and presence of struck cymbals or wood blocks, the delicacy of a triangle ringing, or a full symphony orchestra blaring at full tilt the Legacy Focus SE’s capture these musical moments extremely well."

"And not only do they do justice to classical and symphonic music, they are a real hoot pumping out the beat in dance or rap music or portraying a bombastic drum kit accompanied by vocals and wailing electric guitars. One gets the feeling that he or she is actually attending a live event. This is because as the music gets louder the Focus SE’s do not compress the sound nearly as much as most other speakers do. They let the music soar in unbridled splendor. Fortissimos and crescendos emerge unfettered, clear, and lifelike."

"Playing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue conducted by Lorin Maazel circa 1974 (United Artists UA-LA441-G), I was struck by the scale and dynamic breadth of the piece. And it was not only the punch of the bass and the crescendos that blew me away. It was the subtle dynamic gradations I heard from the piano, from the very soft and subtle to medium intensity and then back, and then on to the much louder pounding of the keys on fortissimos. It was a treat for the ears and the heart!"

"...you will see these rather stylish party animals listed as my new reference loudspeakers."