I have now owned the Classics for almost a year and they still impress me. The so called art of listening is depended among other things are your own two ears. It is amazing how much passion is exhibited by some of the people who post here, they obviously have an agenda.
There are many great speakers out there. Is the Legacy band the best? No. Are they among some of the best? I believe so. I will continue to give them high mark and my recommendation, for what it is worth.

My background is engineering but what does that have to do with listening to a pair of speaker or music?

Peace

THE LEGACY 1`S AND THE SILVER SCREEN CENTER CHANNEL SPEAKER IS BY FAR THE BEST COMBO I HAVE EVER HEARD IN THERE PRICE RANGE.I`VE OWNED KLIPSCH,DALQUIST,INFINITY,JBL AND BOSE.I HAVE HEARD THEIL`S,PARADIGM AND MANY OTHERS.LEGACY COVERS ALL THE BASES.I`VE READ SOME OF THE REVIEWS AND AGREE WITH ALL BUT A FEW BONEHEADS WHO DON`T HAVE A CLUE WHAT TRUE HIGHEND IS.CERWIN VEGA IS STRICTLY ONE DIMENTIONAL AND BOSE HAS NO BUSINESS EVEN BEING MENTIONED IN ANY REVEIW.HOME THEATER MAGAZINE GAVE THEM THE LOWEST SCORE I`VE EVER SEEN IN THERE REVEIW`S.I`VE OWNED THE 901`S AND THEY WERE A JOKE.THERE DESIGN IS ASS BACKWARD.

ATTN: LEGACY OWNERS - RUSTY WIRES INSIDE
First I should say that over the years, I have had many wonderful hours with these speakers, (Legacy classics, 8.5 yrs old) they have a very flat and extended response, and are extremely detailed. Voice, Guitar, and Piano can be very lifelike.

However, in recent years they have gotten more and more detailed - and then started to be harsh. About two years ago I had to turn off the rear tweeters. I noticed that the speakers only sounded good with the newest and clearest CD's. The system became very sensitive to AC power and to RF contamination. I started to mod or replace equipment around them, with temporary gains, but the sound continued to deteriorate.

Finally I opened up the boxes and looked inside.

I have just finished replacing the wiring runs to the HF drivers. I was dismayed to discover heavily rusted (black/green) stranded wiring inside. This had led to progressive deterioration of the highs (The sound out of the tweeters was horrible). Replacing these wires (with AQ type 4 solid core and some Cardas Litz wire for Ribbon tweeter) has solved the problem.

While I had the boxes open, I removed the telephone wire used for the two rear switches and replaced them with shunts (I use the default up case anyway). I am also replacing some of the larger stranded wire going out to the binding posts ( with AQ type 6) before it deteriorates. I also soldered some of the HF wires directly on instead of using the bolts and cheap spade lugs on the crossover board. For larger wires I used nicer Au plated spade lugs. I am planning to replace the 200 uF electrolytic capacitor in the midrange (and HF) crossover section with a PP film type. I may also replace some of the smaller mylar caps with PP, and install some SOLO foil air core inductors.

I would be interested in corresponding with anyone who has or plans to mod these speakers.

Overall, 4 stars, but with serious caution about the corrosion of the internal wires.

If I were buying these new, I would insist on better wire inside.

If buying used, I would be prepared to do a little wiring...(at a minimum to replace the dome tweeter and ribbon wiring to the crossover board).

This is a wonderful speaker. I've compared these to B&W 801's,802's,Paradigm Studio 100's, Thiel something or others, a 4000.00/pr of Klipsch towers to name a few. The Classic's sounded the most natural, had the tightest low end and are finished beautifully. They're efficient and can be run well without a lot of wattage. They'll go louder than you you'll later wish. This is the only pair of speakers, maybe the only thing I've owned that I have no regrets about buying. Combine a pair of these with a Legacy Silver Screen center channel speaker and you've got an almost no-compromise system. Five stars.

Classic ReviewIn 1983, engineer Bill Dudleston, owner of Reel to Real Designs, introduced a speaker line that sold factory-direct, offering high-end speakers at lower than high-end prices. Thus, the Legacy speaker line was born, with the original Legacy-1 as its flagship.
Today, the company-now called Legacy Audio-still sells factory-direct, with a dozen audition locations scattered around the country and one in Canada. The line has grown to 12 speakers, including the well-received Focus, Signature III, Accent, and Whisper models; the pint sized Studio; a variety of center-channel speakers; a couple of subwoofers; and the most popular speaker in the line, the $2,695-per pair Classic.
The Classic is a floor-standing four-way column system that exudes quality, especially for its price range. Available in standard finishes of black, walnut or medium oak (as well as in a variety of optional premium finishes), the Classic contains a front-mounted, 10-inch polypropylene composite woofer, a 7-inch Kevlar midrange driver, a 1 1/4-inch titanium-dome tweeter, and a 4-inch ribbon super-tweeter, which are said to augment the bass and enhance ambience. The front drivers are covered by a removable grille, the rear drivers are bare.
The Classic's factory specifications list a frequency response of 22 Hz to 30 kHz, ±2 dB, sensitivity of 90 dB/ 1 watt / 1 meter, and crossovers at 120 Hz, 2.8kHz, and 10 kHz. The recommended amplifier power is from 25 to 300 watts continuous.
The Classic is 44 inches tall, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. At 110 pounds, it is no lightweight. The hardwood cabinet is extremely dense: Rapping it with bare knuckles yielded no hollow ringing. On the bottom rear panel is an array of five toggle switches that engage passive internal filters and control driver selection for fine-tuning the speaker to the room. The switches for the passive filters become active only in their down positions, yielding a flat response when toggled up, according to Legacy's informative owner's manual. When you toggle it down, the first switch is said to reduce the level of the speakers midrange and treble by 2 dB, which is "passively equivalent to bass boost," the manual states. The second switch notches the bass output by 3 dB at 70 Hz. The third reduces output in the lower treble region, while the fourth changes the speaker impedance from 4 to 6 ohms-the latter to make the load easier on smaller amps. The fifth switch defeats the rear-firing tweeter.
The two pairs of binding posts are linked by heavy copper jumpers for use with a conventional stereo amp, or the terminals can be used separately for biamping. On the bottom are factory-installed, gold-plated spikes.
I auditioned the Legacy Classics for several months with a variety of amps, pre-amps, and program material. Eventually, I settled on a pair of 100-watt Pass Aleph 2 Class-A MOS-FET amps, a Pass Aleph P MOS-FET preamplifier, a Denon CD transport with a Parasound D/AC-2000 HDCD D/A convertor, and Alpha-Core Goertz speaker cables and line-level interconnects. I also did some rudimentary room measurements with an AudioControl R130 realtime analyzer (RTA) to see how the speakers interacted with my listening room.
After using a lot of muscle to move the 110-pound speakers into the room, I positioned them as recommended by the factory. When place at least 3 feet from the front wall, the Classics are designed to yield flat frequency response at far-field listening positions 10 feet or more away. I found that at least 3 feet of space from the side wall was necessary in order to prevent audible heaviness around 80 Hz in my listening room. On some material rich in upper-bass energy, I used the bass-reduction switch to lighte the bottom end. For the most part, though, I preferred the flat settings for these switches. With the aid of the RTA, I got the Classics to produce fairly flat response at the listening position and noted that the speakers had substantial bass output at 20 Hz. That's not too shabby for two 10-inch woofers.
My initial impressions of the Classic were quite good. The speakers produced an excellent soundstage with an openness and uncolored midrange and treble that I am accustomed to hearing only from high-quality ribbon-driver speakers. The bass was deep and tight, and the rear dome added an ambience that audible collapsed (the degree depended on the source material) when I switched it off. I ended up keepin it active. I listened to some of my favorite audiophile discs, representing a range of musical styles. I first tried out the western-swing country music of Wylie & The Wild West Show's Get Wild (Cross Tree Records 9405). This CD contains classic, reverb-soaked Telecaster twang and pedal steel embellishments ("Devil Woman" is a prime example) that can be clearly heard with a high-quality speaker. These characteristics were duly delivered by the Legacy. Bass and drums were deep and tight without strain at high levels. Depending on your amp, the Legacy can play as clean and loud as desired without strain.
On Johnny Frigo's Debut of a Legend (Chesky JD119), the violin tone was about as good as I have heard. Recording engineer Bob Katz's selection and careful placement of microphones for this performance made nuances of Frigo's violin playing (e.g., plucked strings) stand out with the Classics. The liveness of the room was also preserved with those speakers.
I also listened to numerous recordings of orchestral works, solo violin, guitar, and lute, dating from the 1960's to present-day. They all sounded strong. I especially liked the precision of the plucked lute in Ronn McFarlane's The Distant Shore (Dorian DOR-90242). Again, I really just cannot say enough about the sound of a well-implemented ribbon tweeter. It just adds that small degree of extra treble articulation without undue edginess.
On the other hand, the one liability of the Classics ribbon is its somewhat narrow vertical dispersion. If your listening position is above or below the ribbons ideal transmission path, high frequencies can sound a bit muted. Consequently, you need to sit in the sweet spot. I obtained the best sound with my ears about even with or just a few inches below the ribbon.
As an aside, I recently had recording/mastering engineer Tom Jung visit my house, and we sampled some of his just completed audiophile jazz CDs, using the Legacy Classics as monitors. His general opinion, without having other speakers on hand, was that the Classic was in good company with more expensive Thiels and B&W's. I agree. You would have to spend a lot more money to eclipse the performance of these speakers. I suppose that qualifies them as a genuine bargain.
As I mentioned earlier, Legacy sells factory-direct. You call them up, give them a credit card number, order a pair of speakers, and try them out for 30 days. If you like them, no problem. But if you're unhappy, you can return them and you account is credited. While I don't mind shopping that way, others may feel safer auditioning speakers in a showroom. I have bought gear from Legacy in the past, and the service was quite reliable. If you can live without the tire-kicking ritual of the retail hi-fi buying process, the savings can be substantial.

John Gatski
Audio Magazine, August 1998

After owning and struggling with a pair of these speakers for almost 1.5 years, I would like to share a few comments I have on these speakers. I'll group them into Strengths and Weaknesses.
Strengths:
-Resale: I had no problem selling them
-Customer service: Excellent. Unfortunately I had to use it very often early on.
-Bass extension: I could get <25Hz in every room I had them set up.
-Expensive midrange driver
-Attractive styling

Weaknesses:
-Placement: My biggest criticism of this speaker is how sensitive it is to placement. The 4-way, 6-driver complement is very sensitive (and somewhat unpredictable) to small changes to speaker/listener positioning. It is exceptionally easy to get lousy sound out of them.
-Imaging/Soundstaging: I barely ever could get these to soundstage outside the speakers. The images also tended to wander a bit.
-Resolution: It wasn't until I started auditioning speakers again that I realized how much information I was missing. I'm not talking raw detail - I'm talking about low-level information that gets integrated properly with the louder sounds. Though better than lower-fi speakers like DefTech and Klispch, clearly speakers like Merlin, Sonus Faber, and Joseph Audio (to name a few) kill the Classics in this respect.
-Build Quality: My 1st pair arrived with deep cuts in 2 of the 10" drivers, a dome tweeter with a mal-formed surround, and a crossover board that had forgotten to be attached. Bad for Kmart, terrible for Legacy. The 2nd pair still had some cosmetic problems that, though minor, really are unacceptable at the price point.
-Cheap bass drivers (Eminance), internal wire, and plastic rails for the cones

Though better than the majority of what might be found at most HT emporiums, Legacy claims that their speakers compare with the best at twice their price. I think not! I found their performance and quality sub-par when compared to the best at a given price range. The Joseph Audio's I replaced the Classics with easily outperform them in every area but SPL potential and the last few Hz of bass extension (they are also easy to set up, too!). These may serve well as an excellent HT speaker, though, because the demands of HT won't likely reveal this speaker's weaknesses as readily as 2-channel will. However, I am rating them as a 2-channel speaker: 2 stars!

After reading all the pro and con reviews and also having a pair of classics, I could see where most of the opinions, good and bad, were coming from, except maybe the very worst ones because this is just not a one star speaker.
Recently I started upgrading my system and began by replacing the Krell kav300i
with a FPB600 Krell amp and am now using the kav300i as a preamp. I loved the 300i until I cranked this up. Until I tried that amp I could understand a lot of the negative reviews. Now I can't.

Any edginess or harshness in the treble disappeared. The bass which before could be boomy at times is very tightly controlled. The combo sounds great and my question is now whether to keep the classics or go to the focus.

Like the previus poster, any problems with the speaker may be the result of matching problems or the use of inferior associated equipment.

I have owned my classic's for about a year...the classics are wonderful speakers...they provide that most elusive of all qualities what I would call "smooth detail", and a continuity of coherent sound (no base, mid, trebble, just music)...if they sound bad in your system, I would look upstream in that system...the only problem is that they are mail order, to upgrade electronics, it is hard to audition the electronics in an audio store with other speakers because all speakers in this price range and above sound like crap...and therefore it is difficult to evaluate the electronics...I drive them with a Parasound 1000a, which works very well...but I suspect they could use more power...five stars all the way...

I have owned the Legacy 1`s which are now called the Classics for 5 years.For those have not heard these they are VERY REVEILING.Meaning if there is any flaw in a recording YOU WILL HEAR IT.If it is a good recording you will hear EVERYTHING like it was supposed to be.The ideal speaker is supposed to bring out every little detail in music which the Classic does VERY well.If you have a dirty power amp and flawed recordings you will think these speakers are not that good.Some people have complained about the bass being boomy which it can be in small rooms ect.Legacy put toggle swiches on the rear of the speakers to help eliminate the problem and it does work well because I had to use them in a small apartment I used to live in.I have heard ALOT of other speakers in their price range which some are very good but none covered all the bases the way these speakers do.HIGHLY RECOMENDED.

Recently, I replaced all three of my stereo systems. After extensive comparison, I chose Legacy speakers for all three systems - Focus, Signature II's and Classics. The Focus and Signature III's are excellent. They are wonderful speakers. The Classics arrive later this week. Legacy has a good, solid design philosophy. The have fine build quality. The results are there.