Marten Django
 

These new Marten Django speakers sound interesting. Based on the description of the sound in the review below, it seems like I'd like them.

Positive Feedback Review

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...es/django1.jpg

Jason...thanks for the link. This definitely sounds like it is worth seeking out for an audition. :thumbsup:

My local dealer is looking to get a pair in, I'm looking forward to hearing them.

Mike...let us know what you think. Marten speakers are always paired with EAR tube electronics at shows (primarily because the importer of Martne speakers, Dan Meinwald, is also the importer of EAR electronics but also because they make a good pairing apparently), so let us know what ancillary equipment you hear with the Djangos. Thx :thumbsup:

interesting brand.....love the coltrane series but never have the chance to listen to Marten speakers

Hi Mike,
In Hong Kong, audiophiles usually pair Marten with Vitus amplifiers & Jorma cables.
Django is not available here yet. Please tell us your impression after the audition.
Thanks a lot!

Welcome to AA CKKeung :wave:

CKKeung... Welcome To AA!!!


:welcome2.:

Hi Cyril & Jeff,
I am from Hong Kong and an AA newcomer.
My 2012 upgrade plan is to replace the speakers. My Revel Studio is too long in the teeth.

An audiophile friend of mine has the Coltrane and the other has the Soprano. Both models are very good & musical and have changed my impression of ceramic drivers.

The Django's price is so attractive! There are a lot of Marten fans in Taiwan & some of them have already pre-ordered Django despite there isn't any demo in Taiwan yet!

I'am eagerly waiting for audition reports on Django in AA. Many thanks!

CKKeung glad you found us!!

CK, welcome to AA! We've got some great members on here from Hong Kong.

CKKeung... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Hi KahunaCanuck, 80B & Masterlu,

I have learned a lot by reading the posts in AA! Thanks!

Welcome CK from a fellow Hong Konger!

I am looking into the Marten line of speakers at the moment and it looks very interesting. Last pair I heard was the Cotranes and they were fantastic. I'm gonna need to seek an audience with them again. :yes:

howie

I believe the Djangos were supposed to be at CES. Anybody here hear them? Thoughts? Pics?

The first Chinese review of Django
 

The first review in English is by Positive Feedback.

Here is the first review in Chinese:
ÈðµäMarten£¨ÂíÌDjango speakersÈý·ÖƵÒôÏäÊÔÌý¸ÐÊÜ - Hi-Fi ÒôÏì - ¼ÒµçÂÛ̳ - Powered by Discuz!
This is a review written by a customer of a hifi shop in Mainland China. In Chinese but there are some photos.

Two pairs of Django arrived at that shop in Dec 2011 and were sold immediately! :eek2:

They were there. No idea how they sound though.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_0674cc.jpg

What is the price for the Django's?

Cheap. About USD15k over here. :yes:

$15K in US and 10K Euros in Europe.

Here's a question I haven't seen mentioned about these - where do they fall into the Marten line? They don't seem to fit in with the Coltrane, Heritage or Form. Are they the start of a new line perhaps?

Thanks for bumping this.

I've now heard these twice, each time with different gear. In a word, fantastic! Resolving, but not clinical, nice imaging and a great soundstage...even off axis they still sound very nice. The low end digs deep and tight. A huge plus, bass response is adjustable, so you can tailor it to your room/preference.

I wouldn't be afraid to put these up against anything costing twice as much.

It's interesting because from what I've seen of the PR and Bob Levi's early write-up in Positive Feedback (django), Marten is upping the value proposition here. Bob owns the top end model of the Heritage line, the Bird, so his opinion is a knowledgeable one. He doesn't say how they compare to the Miles III or the Getz, but his write-up seems to suggest that they are almost as good as the Bird, which has a diamond tweeter vs. ceramic. If that's the case, I wonder where the Getz and Miles III models fit now?

I own the Dukes, listen to Miles III regularly, and hear the Birds from time to time... I can only imagine just how good these will sound. Wish I could own them myself. All powered with VTLs.

Press release of Marten Design:
http://marten.se/pressreleases/marte...ten_newsletter

The Django is given a new name: Django XL.
Probably in future there will be a new series with some smaller models.

Four other models are upgraded with new drivers.

Well, now that makes sense and brings everything into focus. The Heritage line stays, but gets upgraded drivers and the Django looks like it will be the the top dog in a line to be fleshed out later. That makes the comparative pricing understandable and I would expect the other models in the Django line to have a similar design aesthetic as the XL. Personally, I still think that the look of the 2 lines is so close that, side by side, the higher cost Heritage models don't stand out. My gut feeling is that if the XL's sound really is that good, especially when compared to the Getz 2 and Bird 2, I could see it cannibalizing sales of the latter 2. That's good for consumers as it would allow them to get better sound at a lower entry point but not necessarily good for Marten - unless the DJango line takes off and really sells in volume way beyond what they've done before with the Heritage.

All the Django were sold out here and not even unboxed :tears:

Your "unless" point is likely what's happeniing. Looks like intro of Django has been most successful in history of Marten according to the company, and while the revenue and profit per speaker in the Heritage line (Miles/Bird/Getz) is higher than in Django, if they can make it up in volume (which it sounds like they are doing), they will do that trade every day. Plus the more accessible the product in terms of price point, the more likely they will attract new customers, and not necessarily cannibalize from their higher priced models.

All good points and I would agree. I wonder if the revamped Heritage will have some associated price changes. Nothing crazy, but I could see the line shift upwards just a bit.

I'm looking into these speakers right now. I noticed that these are down firing port speakers. Since never owning a downfiring speaker would I need to be concerened with my speakers sitting on Hardwood floors?

Face since you listen to these twice can you compared them to any other speaker you heard?

I don't know for sure, but I would think the hardwood floor would help the bass response from a down-firing woofer.

It's hard to compare them directly to other speakers besides what I've heard in that rig before.

Smooth but revealing. You hear everything but there isn't any harshness. Large soundstage...great imaging. They also sound great from anywhere in the room. As for the bass response, there's a knob on the back to help you tune it to the room. When tuned correctly, it's very powerful without any boom.

As for the downward firing port, I wouldn't be concerned. Unless a port is right up against a wall and wasn't designed to be, it's nothing to worry about. Some like to make a bigger thing out of it than it really is.

That's exactly what happens with my Coltrane IIs. They can be placed very near the back wall and the knob helps with the tuning. I am loving its sound. Very revealing without being very fatiguing :thumbsup:

howie

Congrats Howie. Your system looks awesome. I am glad you like those beautiful speakers.

Thanks Mike for your input. I'm going to check these out. They look really nice. I'm wondering if my Luxman 590AX has enough juice to control the bass.

John...looking forward to your impressions. This is one speaker I am interested in. The other nore likely candidate is the Rockport Mira 2s. Please let us know what your thoughts are when you give them a listen :thumbsup:

Bring it with you when you demo them.

The dynamics from W4S 500 watt monos was to die for, but they also sounded good paired with Carver's new tube monos.

World-Premieres-by-Marten
 

John...looks like you have added the Djangos to your signature line. Any thoughts on how this speaker is sounding to you with the Luxman integrated? Thx

Sorry for the delay Cyril.

Well, I received my Djangos on Monday and they have been burning in continiusly 24/7. They arrived double boxed covered in a fabric cloth bag. The owners manual is presented in a notebook ring binder. The speakers foot print is only 11 inches wide and has a depth of about 20 inches so the look is definitely narrow. But lifting them out of the box quickly made me realize that these speaker have some weight to them 104 lbs to be exact. Once set up it took my eyes a little while to adjust to the narrowness since my Tannoy Canterbury's were 53 inches wide. Since I owned the Tannoys for eight months compared to my previous speaker before that the Hansen Audio V2 princes I will compared it to that since I owned those for 3 years as well as the Tannoys being a different animal. Plus the fact that a lot of the Django advertisement boast that this is a $30,000 speaking selling for $15,000 and the Hansens sell for $39,000.

Ok the touch, look, and workmanship are A1, compared to the Hansens they are almost as nice but I give the nod to the V2. Weight wise the V2 is twice as heavy and is made of a whole bunch of composite matrix material while the Django is made of MDF (you wouldn't know it, if you saw the Django). The Django tweeter and midrange are ceramic drivers while the Hansens are lamented cone drivers. Just listening to the mid range and tweeter for 2 1/2 days the nod goes to the Django (smooth mid range). Bass drivers are Aluminum (three 8" drivers) compared to Hansens one 10" lamented cone woofer driver). Lets just say this Django eats Hansens lunch when it comes to bass. I'm not bashing Hansen but my ears are.

I'm running the Django with the Luxman 590 AX 30W 8 ohms and 60W 4 ohms. All I have to say is the Luxman still has balls even though the Django is a 89 sensitivity into 6 ohms speaker. But being the power hog that I am I will have to hear a higher power class A amp someday for the effortless effect. But that will have to wait as my next venture will be to replace my Wavelength Cosecant V3. It's no slouch but a lot has changed in the dac arena in the last 3 years.

Ok the bass is authoritative and extremely tight and goes extremely low. If you don't like a deep tight bass you're not going to like these speakers because they rock big time. They have switch on the back to control the bass. 1,2,3, selection without the numbers. 3 was to much for my room but 2 is just right for curling the hair up on the back of my neck.

The mid range is to die for very open and neutral sounding with a lot of detail the best my ears have heard (not fatiguing at all). I'm loving the Accuton ceramic drivers big time. I keep hearing stuff behind me must be the speaker depth front to back.

So is this a $30,000 speaker selling for $15,000 not really more like a $39,000 speaker selling for $15,000.