The Lady & I listened to the Marten Bird 2 today driven by Vitus Audio with a McIntosh MCD1100 source. Beautifully deep & expansive soundstage especially in the mids & a nice crisp & tight upper range. Upper bass response was good, lower bass was a little loose & lacked the presence compared to what I am used to with the Dali Grands.

The listening room's rear wall was a little reflective however, which may have contributed to the muddy bass.

The price point is In between & a stretch into the Coltrane territory would no doubt be a more gratifying investment IMO.

As an owner of the Bird 2 (there are only 2 pairs in the whole USA currently. My pair and one in a dealer show room), I can say that the Bird 2 have absolutely no bass problems at all with proper setup and associated electronics. In my full EAR setup, the Bird 2 sing in a full cohesive voice from top to bottom with no anomalies.

In fact, before playing with positioning, I used to play with the 3 position bass knob in the 0 or -1 setting. Sometimes it was too much bass and sometimes less. I repositioned the speakers and now am comfortably setup at the 0 position. There is an art in setting these up and they require care with associated electronics in a given listening room. I found my perfect sound signature with some tube rolling and now the sound is heavenly :)

Having said that, I picked the Bird 2 over the Coltrane line due to a sense of naturalness I felt with the Birds. The Coltrane II and Coltrane Tenors are extremely revealing, amazing speakers...yet I didn't feel connected to them over extended listening sessions in multiple setups. The Coltrane II's were fantastic and I would have loved to get a pair, but it would simply not match up in my modest sized listening room and not be kind to my wallet either ;). I preferred the sonic signature of the Bird 2 over the original Coltranes and the new Coltrane Tenors. The carbon / kevlar cabinets in the Coltrane line up seem to lend a further purity and speed to the drivers, but I constantly feel an unnaturalness in the sound as well. The dynamics are explosive, the frequencies are well represented yet there is a a slight disconnect in the listening to my ears. I feel that I am listening to a state of the art reproduction of the sound, but my shoulders never relax. I feel I have to be at attention ALL the time. With the Bird 2, I feel there is that balance restored. I can pay attention and get everything sonically AND I can relax after a hard days work.

Different perspectives. Just wanted to share mine as an owner.

Have any pics to share?

Sure...took a few when the speakers arrived in my listening room....

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7302/...6ba186f4_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7379/...975bcae2_b.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3750/...9c380fca_b.jpg

Sweet looking, and I'd imagine, sounding set-up..
*Love TdP tube gears! ..and oh, your rack too. :D

Great looking speakers, and rig! thanks for sharing. :ok:

That is nice. How is the bass with those drivers, slower with a touch of fuzz or punchy & quick

Thanks guys.

Jules, there is no fuzz in the whole Marten line up. Everything is just clean and clear. The speakers are extremely fast akin to electrostatics and dynamic as cone based speakers are :) Speakers offer a very clean window into the electronics.

Thanks, after looking at your pics I went & had a really good look at the EAR site, would love to hear a system like yours with the same gear, those speakers really are a beauty to behold

Great set-up!
Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:

Bird2, lovely color & finish :)

+ 1...especially the Stillpoints ESS rack! Marten with EAR and Vitus are both pretty classic combo's. I found however my previous Coltrane Alto's liked more power and were very happy with a combination of Boulder solid state amplification and a tubed line stage (Ayon). With this combo I had power, speed, tube warmth/sweetness and excellent control with deep bass.

I've heard the Bird 2's in a treated room in a couple of different setups. On each occasion I was never really satisfied with the bass. They do have a lovely timber finish though :) The S5's otoh are clearly better than the Coltrane Alto's & Bird 2's overall, especially in the bass.

wow. Every post always comes around to the superiority of your gear!

S'zada, those are some *gorgeous* speakers. Great looking set up. You might tell that dealer a thing or two about how to set these up!

shaizada, great looking speakers. I habe marten django xl latest, did you have a chance to listen both. Were birds 2 exel in compare with martens? Thanks.

That is such an idiotic comment. The first thing members need to know is you've got form having digs at me on this forum which resulted in me permanently ignoring you. Secondly, I have actually owned Marten Coltranes, heard the Bird 2's on several occasions in treated rooms and currently own Magico S5's, so i'm not speaking out of my rear end. If you can't handle that, I invite you to ignore my comments and we can move on in mutual acrimony :icon_thumbsdown:

Good idea!

I'll respect Ivan's wishes to not respond to you directly, though I still must object to your use of "idiotic."

I apologize unreservedly for using that word, but suggest all parties move on.

shaizada...congrats on the Bird 2 and wonderful overall set-up. Always been a fan of EAR and TdP's designs.

I have heard the Marten Djangos XL when they first came in to the US market. They sounded splendid! I love the fullness and richness of sound they portrayed with such ease. However, there were the Coltrane Tenors sitting right next to them in the same setup. The combination of a diamond tweeter and that accuton midrange in the Tenors was really something special. The Bird 2 have the same midrange and tweeter which have a more sophisticated mid and top end compared to the Django. Hence, I went with them. Marten has never designed a mediocre speaker from what I've heard from them over the years.

You have clearly chosen an EXCELLENT speaker my friend. Enjoy!

Thanks! Me too ;) There is a "rightness" about his sound that I seem to really enjoy and savor.

Very nice! :applause: