Amp suggestion for Legacy Focus

I would suggest looking at your sources next instead of the "backbone". Knowing the tonal characteristics at the front and the rear of the signal chain will help you to fill in the middle ( preamp and amp ) with more certainty. After all, if you "voice" the system with a power amp and preamp now and change sources after that, you'll be starting off with a completely different "beginning". This will surely change your "end" result. Sean
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I own a pair of Legacy Classics and I'm driving them with a Classe CA-200. I find the match a good one, the Classics are high definition with the ribbon supertweeter and can sound harsh with some electronics. The Classe with its rich full sound matches well with these speakers.

Sean,
I was wondering about that. It seems there are two schools of thought regarding which way to go on up-grading components, front to back or back to front in the signal chain. As Jmcgrogan2 says, the focus can be a little strong on the top end and I would like to match accordingly. If I can go from the speakers back I would really like to. I like the amps I mentioned and would like to match my upgraded equipment to them, if that's possible! What do you think? Thanks.

Since an amp / preamp "should" simply amplify what is fed into them, it is important to find a source that gives you what you want in terms of sonics in the first place. If the source is "junk" to begin with, you are kind of "forced" to band aid it all the way down the line whether you want to or not. At the same time, i am a firm believer that a system is only as good as its' weakest link. This means building a balanced system and not concentrating on any ONE specific component. You might be surprised at what finding the "right" combo of components can do, regardless of price or "name brand". I would highly recommend starting with the source and working backwards. With that in mind, i think that the Classe and newer Bryston pieces offer somewhat similar sonics. I've owned both and don't think that either would mate real well with Legacy's. Keep in mind that this is MY PERSONAL OPINION ONLY, so don't take my word on it. For the record, my Father owns "Classic's" for mains and uses "Studio's" for center and surrounds, so i know what to expect out of their products and am not just talking "out of my hat". When i brought over one of my Classe' amps to his house, my Father absolutely HATED it when mated to his speakers. I would tend to agree that it was a poor match IN THAT SYSTEM. I am not familiar with the Rowland stuff first hand and if the Marsh amps sound like the solid state preamps, they are definetly on the warm and full sounding side with good depth to the soundstage. You might want to CAREFULLY listen to the treble on the Marsh though and see if it is to your liking. Out of curiosity, you did not mention a digital source. Do you have or use one or still looking ? Sean
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PS.... Does this mean that i'll get negative votes from all of the Classe' and Bryston owners ?????

I do have a digital source, it's also the Yamaha CDX1000U model. I will be upgrading this also at a later date, or maybe sooner. You definitely have my attention on upgrading the sources first. I'm going to give the upgrading the source first more research. Would like to know what your father has matched with his Classic's, and do you like the sound of that match? I know alot of people aren't quite fond of the Focus sound, but my wife and I do enjoy our Legacy's. I'm also thinking that matching a tube pre-amp with the SS amp will smooth out the top end a little (mellow out the brightness some). I don't want to get too warm of a SS amp that I lose too much of the detail. Does this make sense? Sean, Thanks for the suggestions.