I browse these forums often and am suprised to find that Martin Logans are rarely mentioned. The only "hi end" speakers I have ever heard were Logans at a local shop and I was blown away. Not sure which model they were but I know they were $5K/pair. I was just curious, based on how impressed I was, what you guys think of these and why so many other speakers are recommended when someone is asking for a $5K speaker.
If there are so many better competitors in this price range I cant wait to hear them, I think the local shop just set up some Wilson's, ill have to check them out.
Don't take this wrong, but you need to get out more.
While I'm sure MartinLogan has their fans, after listening to a pair of their "Source" hybrid-electrotatics this past week, I am not one of them.
I have read that electrostaic speekers are not for everyone, but never were there truer words spoken in the Hi-Fi realm, IMHO. The trade-offs in terms off overall resolution & soundfield, outweigh any perceived benefits, once again IMHO, that this hybrid-electrostatic design may offer.
Yeah, I have heard them a few times, and I think the Martin Logan speaker needs exceptional placing, room, and synergy to sound how they are suppose to. I have heard them sound horrible, and I have heard them sound very good.
Well I think the concensus shows why they aren't talked about around here. I wish there were more options here in Montana, but Thirsty Ear only carries ML, Infinity, Sonus Faber, although now they do have Wilsons on the floor. Unfortunately, every time I go in there the ML's are playing and considering I am a college student, I don't get the time of day when I go in there.
I understand the typical 22 year old isn't going to put down 10 grand for some speakers, but respecting a non-customer whose opinion is valued by potential customers is important for sales, even though it may not be apparent to a salesperson. Anyway, I just finished a gob of papers over finals week, enough writing for me.
I'm sorry to hear about the customer service (or lack of it) that you received at your local hifi store. They should realize that if they win your business now they may have a loyal customer...sad really.
I would like to hear the latest CLX. Giventhat this is a full range electrostatic, much of those problems with integration to the sub unit should be addressed. It's difficult to integrate an ordinary speaker with a sub properly, let alone an electrostatic which has much better speed due to the light diaphragm, so the CLX, which avoids the whole issue entirely, should be very interesting...in theory.
It depends on the speakers for me... I loved the sound of the ascents. Thought that they were very coherant, and then ML started porting the bass cabs on the speakers.
I was impressed with the clarity until I played some Melissa Etheridge on them, her vocals had the cab resonating like hell. It sounded like a mess.
I do have maggie mmg speakers in storage, and feel that the maggies offer much better value and are much more coherant than the LOWER END martinlogans.
However, I moved to KEF speakers last january and have not looked back. They have much of the cohesiveness and immediacy of my maggies with none of the boxy resonance found in the ML. They are also more dynamic than my mmg and have fuller sound. They also image liek nobody's business (something I never faulted with the maggies but worth noting)
I personally feel that ML primarily draw people to them because of the unique look. They do sound good, but all things considered I think I will keep my KEF.
The price point that I am looking at I feel that other speakers perform much better.
For what it's worth, I've owned Proacs, Polks, and Focals. I have a relatively small listening room. I recently purchased a pair of Martin Logan Source speakers and quite simply they are the best speakers (for my ears) that I've owned. Setup was relatively easy. Soundstage, imaging and tonal quality absolutely blow away the Proacs and Focals. To be fair, drawbacks would be the narrow vertical listening window and the necessity for high current amplification, so if you move around a lot or stand when listening I wouldn't recommend them. Just goes to show you, opinions on audio speakers tend to be somewhat subjective. Hope this helps.