A Note from Chief Designer, Bill Dudleston: The Adventure Continues for Legacy Audio

(Springfield, IL) – July 24, 2025 – As founder and Chief Engineer of Legacy Audio I am pleased to introduce to our customers, dealers, distributors and press our new CEO and owner Jay McArdle.

Legacy Audio began more than four decades ago with the vision of advancing loudspeaker performance while bringing exceptional value to our customers. As a privately held, family owned and operated company we never stressed this vision with corporate quarterly demands where product cycles can be short-lived and the consumer is often abandoned. Instead, we allowed products to be thoughtfully refined over time; true to the goals outlined. We backed them with a seven-year warranty while maintaining liberal trade-in policies.

We continue to set the bar in the areas of directivity control, DSP implementation, room correction and internal amplification resulting in the most technically advanced products in the industry while still designing and assembling them at our factory in Springfield, Illinois while extending an open invitation for all to visit and listen.

Twenty years ago, I met a brilliant and ambitious young man, Jay McArdle. I watched him grow a family business (RoomReady.com) with his brothers to a very successful $50M by implementing digital audio technologies. Located only 65 miles away, Jay would frequently stop in to visit me at Legacy with unusual loudspeaker installation needs in theaters, universities, churches, museums, stadiums and boardrooms. Possessing a clear understanding and appreciation of audio (a Legacy Whisper owner) Jay has registered numerous application patents and was soon recruited to head the Product Planning & Strategy at HP’s Poly division, where he has most recently presented to NATO at the Hague in Netherlands, and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Jay had expressed a passionate interest in Legacy ownership several times in recent years which I admittedly helped to cultivate. After I returned from the week-long trip with TAS editor Robert Harley to Dubai for the SoundCultureProject, Jay and I put the transaction together. The factory would remain rooted in Springfield with no fundamental changes, and I remain on as Chief Designer. Staff would be retained and health benefits added. We began the transition in April during AXPONA in Chicago where Jay observed the Legacy displays in the ballroom and then hosted the two rooms at T.H.E. Show SoCal in early June.

Extending a successful legacy requires careful planning. These time-honored principles are etched in stone at Legacy.

The adventure continues,

Bill Dudleston