Marten Duke 2
 

Wow! Did you all see this review?

marten duke 2

I'm really amazed by the sound of these new accuton drivers - so i can certainly see why he is saying these things

I hear them in that reviewers system all the time. They are a stunning achievement from a sonic stand point. That mid range driver has to be one of the most revealing, musical yet accurate driver around. There is some magic in the crossover design that makes these ceramic drivers sing like I've never heard them sing before.

shaizada, did you have an opporutinity to listen to MIles 3 or 5 speakers, how do the compare with Django. I am thinking about upgrading my Django XL, but so far looks like real upgrade is Bird 2, that is over my budged, so I was thiking may be Miles V since they have those wonderfull 7" midrange midbass drivers and great ceramic tweeter. Plus being 2 way speakers they may have better and more simplistic crossover than Djangos and may sound even more coherent. But my concern is thier bass and having smaller footprint, will they sound full enough?
Thanks

myjazz123, what is it about the Django XL that is making you feel like you should upgrade?

As you go up the line, you are buying into a more sophisticated sound, more openness, better drivers, better wiring, better looks etc.

I very strongly suggest you try and listen to the speakers you are thinking of buying. The django is a fantastic speaker with bass to spare. However, if you don't need that kind of bass performance and need more midrange magic, that 7" Accuton midrange is to die for, especially in the current generation crossover design. Frankly, the Heritage lineup is the sweet spot in the line up from what I have heard ALL the way to the top of the range with the Marten Supreme II.

shaizada, thank you for the info, you for sure know the martens. The Django XL overall are fine speakers, but to me they are lacking some refinement throughout the range.
I would like to hear more airy and focused highs, more defined mid-bass.
I can’t audition, the only marten dealer that I jave within 3 hour of driving have Djangos in his store.
Btw my dealer told me that Marten are raising prices 15% from June 1.
So I have 3 days left. I was thinking about Getz 2 or Miles 5, but like you said, without audition it will be risky to buy these models,
since Django can be overall better in my system. Looks like sure bet is Bird 2. But they come with out of my range price, unless I somehow convince my wife,
which will be impossible (:

You are correct, prices are increasing across the board from June 1st. Bird 2 will retail for $40k in the USA. Frankly, if you can, buy the Getz 2....you will not NEED to audition them. It will be an extremely safe bet because for bass performance (if you find it lacking, which I seriously doubt that you will), you can always add in a Marten Form Subwoofer later. What you gain over the Djangos, more importantly is a much better midrange to high frequency performance. Again, the Django's are not lacking, but there is more control to be had in the new crossover design over the ceramic drivers.

You will get a more sophisticated sound compared to the Django's, if that is what you are after.

I agree - u do not need to audition. If u like the house sound and you clearly do, you will get all the things you are looking for by moving up the range with very little or no trade offs.

i bought my coltrane tenors without listening to them first. Was i a little concerned - u bet. But they actually sound better than i had hoped for. The ceramic drivers really are excellent in every way, and i think (don't quote me ) all the models we are talking about share the same 7inch ceramic midrange.

good luck

Is it safe to say the Miles 5 is the Duke 2 with a bit more bass? Anybody know the price of the Miles 5.

Thx

i think it would have to be - same tweeter but one extra 7 inch which crosses over a tiny bit lower than the duke 2.

its rated a bit more efficient than the duke 2 so it might be easier to drive.

ive noticed on my speakers which are 86db that compared to my old magico's which were also rated 86 db, that i turn my amp up way less - its quite dramatic where i used to listen at a volume -20 i now listen at - 40?

shaizada and pweg, thank you for your advice, I am leaning toward Miles V for its midrange and tweeter and may go with 2 subs, like Rhythmik or JL . Marten Form is too expensive. What do you think? Will it be better than Django, or I am moving sideways. Very difficult to make any decision without actual demo. But with marten its not possible for me to demo anything above Django line.

Go ahead and upgrade to the Miles V. It will put you in the Heritage line with the latest crossover design and better cabinetry, especially the better internal bracing. This will provide you a better midrange to top end performance.

I've had great experience with the REL Stadium III (older subwoofer design) integrating perfectly with ceramic drivers in terms of speed and tonality. REL now has a superior subwoofer with the G1. Maybe you can add that later. You will get better bass performance than the Django at that point, especially if you do stereo subs as if feasible.

Good luck!

Shaizada, Two days before price increase I pulled the trigger for Marten Bird 2.
I hope they worth the huge effort convincing my wife and big dent in my finances.
It will be about 6 week until I get them. Do the require long brake in?
Thanks for all your valuable comments.

Congrats! I LOVE the Bird 2 speakers. Break in is about 1 day at most. The drivers are mostly broken in before delivery.

What color did you get? What are the associated electronics?
We have 4 owners of Birds where I live and they all sound different. Electronics make a HUGE difference...I love it. The speakers can sound like whatever you want them to sound like. Weirdest speaker design ever!

I decided on piano walnut color. I hope it to be my last speaker.
Shaizada, I love the sound of Djangos and based on your comments and my understanding of drivers and technology, the Birds should sound more refined, open and natural. They will be driven by plinius hiato integrated with esoteric k-01 front end. I love the sound of Plinius. After trying many brands I always come back to plinius and with Martens, Plinius sounds terrific. I liked it better than Vitus RI -100 integrated. Cables are ch acoustic and gold based KCI silkworms SE. Birds 2 should be my last speakers.

Hi All, I have a pair of Miles 5. I've had mine for about a year and half.

I found that their sound changed appreciably during burn-in and settled at around 500 hours. The rest of my system remained constant during this period and had completed its burn-in.

I have been very impressive by the speakers. They sounded amazingly quick and detailed on install. I was stunned when I listened to flamenco guitar on the 1st night. The speed of the speakers gave them explosive textural detail. Hard for me to explain, but simple string scrapes had huge impact. Dynamics from within, if that makes sense?

To begin with, however, the speakers sounded a little lean and their imaging was not quite there; all of which resolved itself during burn-in.

Here's what I experienced during burn-in…

- At around 100 hours, bass had increased. Bass continued to improve throughout burn in.
- At around 300 hours, the soundstage seemed to snap into focus and the sound had become more coherent. This was the most significant point during burn-in where I felt most gains were made.
- At 400 hours, they sounded a little off tonally. Bass seemed a little detached from the upper frequencies.
- At 500 hours, coherency had returned and imaging had become denser and more realistic. The speakers sounded richer as a result.

Sitting at around 600 hours now, I can't say that I've noticed much more change in their character.

I really love these speakers. They seem to balance great speed, detail and transparency with a beguiling (slightly warm) tone.

myjazz123, congratulations on your new Bird 2's. I'm sure that they will keep you happy for many years to come.

myjazz123, great choice in Piano Walnut :) It was between that and the Piano Cherry for me....I went with Cherry due to this wondrous burl I got in the cherry wood.

Though the Bird 2 are extremely musical, I think you will have to rethink the source. The Esoteric digital is extremely high resolution, but I feel it lacks emotional connectivity that the Birds are able to convey. I experienced your digital player over many hours in an all EAR, Marten setup.

Just something to think about. With the Djangos, the Esoteric would be JUST what the doctor ordered ;)

Shaizada, thank you for advise, I may agree, but I will give it a listen first. I also have esoteric k-05 on hands, and being less resolving than k-01, it is more musical to my ears.
But if esoteric will not cut it, I think I may go with AESTHETIX ROMULUS Signature cdp that a lot of people raving about.

Conster, thank you for the info on a brake in, will be noted for sure. What volume level do you brake your miles with?

Conster... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Hi Ivan, thank you for the welcome. :)

myjazz123, I didn't do anything special with burn-in, just normal listening. To play it safe though, I kept the volume low/moderate for the 1st few days, but I'm not sure that I really needed to.

Regarding matching, I've found my Miles to be very revealing of the source. They improve (and come to life) with higher resolution components, but they also demand high levels of refinement in them. You will certainly hear it if something isn't quite right.

I should add that as my speakers improved in body during burn-in, so too did their presentation of higher resolution sources.