Напольная акустика — Legacy Audio Focus SE

The Focus SE is a passive full range floorstanding speaker built by Legacy Audio in Springfield, Illinois, presented as a mastering grade design for recording and mastering studios, audiophiles and home theaters. The Focus line has been refined continuously for more than a quarter of a century, and each cabinet is hand constructed. Legacy prices the pair at USD 15,000 to 18,000 depending on finish. It has no internal amplification - the powered version of the same tower is sold as the Focus XD.

Key specs that matter

Six drivers operate as a four-way system. At the top sits the Dual Air Motion Tweeter System, combining a 1 inch AMT super tweeter wired with silver HF wire and a 4 inch AMT that covers the midrange. Two 7 inch graphene filled carbon fiber midwoofers and two 12 inch ultra-linear bass drivers, each with a 6.8 kg motor, complete the lineup. Crossover points are set at 120 Hz, 2.8 kHz and 8 kHz. Legacy specifies 18 Hz to 30 kHz within 2 dB, a 4 ohm impedance and a sensitivity of 95.4 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, and recommends amplifiers of 30 W or more. Each tower is 140 cm high, 36 cm wide and 39 cm deep and weighs 62 kg, rising to 85 kg in a 157 x 56 x 56 cm shipping carton.

Engineering and use context

Legacy introduced its first air motion transducer in 2006 as a modernised version of the AMT developed by Oskar Heil in the 1970s, using a folded Kapton diaphragm and R45 neodymium wafers in place of ceramic magnets. For the 4 inch unit, about 103 cm2 of Kapton is accordion-folded into a chamber 10 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, and it shares one faceplate with the 1 inch super tweeter for more uniform dispersion. The two midwoofers form a symmetric array intended to prevent floor reflections. Bass loading is an assisted 6th order Butterworth alignment with dual rear ports. The rigid MDF cabinet uses interlocking joinery, with select veneers hand-rubbed several times on every exposed surface. Rear toggle switches give a treble trim of minus 2 dB at 10 kHz and a bass trim of minus 2 dB at 60 Hz that also raises impedance for budget receivers. Legacy covers the speaker with a seven-year warranty on defects in materials and workmanship.

Pairing

Two pairs of binding posts feed the treble and bass sections separately, so the tower can run from one amplifier channel with the jumpers fitted, or be bi-wired or bi-amped with the jumpers removed.

Alternatives

The Legacy Classic HD is a smaller passive floorstanding model with four drivers in a three-way layout, including a 1 inch dual pole AMT ribbon and two 8 inch woofers.