CLX Art Demo

[netroamer]

I'll have a pair of CLX's for demo soon. I have concerns that the MC303, that I use for the Prodigy's I have, will not be enough for the CLX's. Although the speakers specs are well within the 303's output.

The MC303 may sound adequate, great, or somewhere in between, but I am looking for some comments about the need for a amp upgrade.

If that proves true, the budget, and physical space, for both the speakers and an Amp upgrade is just not there.

[Masterlu]

Those panels do love power.

[Taylode]

One of the members here is powering them with 501s and I've heard them with 2301's where they fully pressurized a large room -- and sounded great! Also, a popular pairing is 1.2kws. How your 303 will do I don't know but I'll bet it will sound good. Certainly good enough until you get the bug to uprade your amp.

[netroamer]

The CLX Art's are here, and with the help of Dennis Chern, from M-L who came over to give a hand in setup, they sound great. The MC303 is doing a fine job powering them, but I am sure the MC601's would be an improvement. However, I may not be in any hurry to bring them in.

[netroamer]

I placed the order for the CLX Arts, Friday. It will take a minimum of 6 weeks as I have requested a special stain match. When they come in, and go through break-in, I will borrow my dealers' 601's to compare to the MC303. If I like what I hear, I will order a 3-pack of 601's for the front. It's a lot to $$$ to make this change, but what the hell, you only live once!

[jrsystems]

Congratulations on the CLXes John! They are wonderful speakers.

What's the word on your order? Mine took quite a while. They also need a lot of break in, 200+ hours before they really start to sing. But they are well worth the wait!

Why don't you do MC601s for the mains and the MC303 for the center and surrounds? I think that would be a nice combo.

[Mikado463]

Originally Posted by jrsystems

They also need a lot of break in, 200+ hours before they really start to sing.

jr, for the life of me I can't see how or why that would be ??

[jrsystems]

Break in is one of the great mysteries of audio and is very real. My MC501's took a few weeks to start humming. Most interestingly, my Harmonic Technology speaker cables sounded terrible out of the box and improved drastically after about a week. My buddy had listened with me when I first set them up and then came over a week later and on the first track, asked what I had changed in the system. He noticed a dramatic improvement and he is not an audiophile. He could not believe it was just the cables breaking in.

The CLXes were dramatic in their improvement. The break in period is a known issue with these speakers, the owners manual recommends 100 hours. When I set them up, I kept them on for about 5 days continuously at a fairly moderate volume. After about 100 hours I think they actually sounded worse, very bright, even harsh. I was worried that I had made a mistake. However, after about a month of regular listening sessions at modestly loud volumes, they got progressively better. They are now simply sensational. The harshness is gone, replaced with the dead accurate top end that they are known for. They still do not take kindly to poor recordings, but on the good ones they are great, and on the great recordings they rival the best speakers out there.

So to all those who may join the CLX club, be patient!

[Mikado463]

Originally Posted by jrsystems

Break in is one of the great mysteries of audio and is very real.

jr, thanks for the reply. Your opening sentence speaks volumes....'mystery' aka phsycoacoustics...... myself I acknowledge and firmly believe in it's powers over ones perception.

When I hear talk of 'break in' I firmly believe there are two 'lanes of traffic' , both of which are traveled. The first relates to electro-mecanical 'changes' taking place in a given component the second (and here's the mystery part) is the 'break in' of ones mind to the new component.

So when I hear folks telling of break in times in the multitudes of hundres of hours I for one know full well where the majority of those hours occur !

With regards to Martin Logan speakers there is really very little to 'break in', you've got a piece of coated mylar sandwhiched between a couple of metal stators. IMO, their hybrid line without question actually takes more 'real' break in time for the dynamic driver(s) used for the bass needs 50-100 hrs to trully 'keep pace' with the stat panel. Granted recent cross over changes in the past five years have made this integration far more seemless.

For the record I am a M/L owner (Spire's), have had plenty of 'seat time' listening to the CLX's, which are without doubt a great speaker.

[jrsystems]

What a kind way of saying it's all in my head. I gather Martin Logan's engineers determined the average time for their typical customer's brain to acclimate to their speakers to be about 100 hours. The "mystery" is why it happens, not if it is or is not really happening. I know exactly what I heard.

When you get a new set of CLXes and experience a month or so of regular listening, please let us know what you hear, or think you hear.