Why ESL?

[wrat]

I came to ML by way of a pair of aging Apogees that were giving up the ghost. I had not auditioned speakers in 15 years it was a frustrating experience and I still miss my big 'ol Apogees but the 'Logans do a lot that I like

[martmag]

The Summits need to be placed well away from the back wall with bass traps,
like ASC tube traps (reflecting membrane pointing away from the electrostatic
elements). I have my Summits 6' from the back wall and 12 ASC bass and
mid range traps evenly spaced along this wall. I also have Magneplanar Tympani
IV bass panels along side of the Summits (woofers disconnected). The mid
and highs are extremely detailed and smooth with no irritation and imaging is
fantastic. Also because the Summits impedance at higher frequencies is very low
(capacitance is high) requires a amplifier that can drive this load without distortion.
My Arcam AVR 600 handles this load with out any problems and the highs are
extremely clean at low or high levels. Combining the Martin Logan summits with
the Magneplanar Tympani IV bass is a match that not many audiophiles have
heard. I also extend the bass down to below 1 hz with the Eminent Technology
rotary subwoofer and the total combo is awesome and coherent.

[Tonepub]

The Tympanis never had great bass to begin with...

Sounds like Frankensystem to me.

[Karma16]

HI All,
First post here. Glad to meet you. I know this is an old thread but maybe I can add something useful.

I have have had nothing but panel speakers since about 1980. These included Acoustat's, Apogee's (really liked), and finally my current Martin Logan CLS IIA's which are my favorite's by far. I purchased them in 1990 and have no plans to change.

My electronics have gone through many changes over the years ranging from Acoustat, Mark Levinson and several generations of Audio Research. I finally settled on ARC's SP-11 Mk 2 preamp, ARC's D250 Mk 2 Servo power amp (250W per channel) and Aesthetix's Rhea all tube phono preamp. CLS's require absolutely first rate amplification.

CLS's are not perfect. As has been stated elsewhere in this thread they are bass shy, can lack dynamic range, and are brutal on amplifiers. But, if these things are fixed, I consider the CLS IIA's to be the best speaker I have heard.

The key to both dynamic range and base response are good sub woofers properly crossed over at the right frequency. Mine are mated with Kinnergetic's SW800 sub's which were specifically designed to work with the CLS IIA's. I have two of them powered by a Mark Levinson NO. 23 amp (400W/chan into the sub's 4 ohm load).

It's my view that the CLS is by far its best with good tube electronics. ARC's stuff is ideal due to their lack of coloration, power delivery, and detail.

All in all, I'm a very happy camper.

Sparky

[dcc]

[bakerman]

Originally Posted by dcc

That rug really ties the room together...

Looks like a lot of Photoshop was was done here.

[Mlfan]

Originally Posted by Karma16

HI All,
First post here. Glad to meet you. I know this is an old thread but maybe I can add something useful.

I have have had nothing but panel speakers since about 1980. These included Acoustat's, Apogee's (really liked), and finally my current Martin Logan CLS IIA's which are my favorite's by far. I purchased them in 1990 and have no plans to change.

My electronics have gone through many changes over the years ranging from Acoustat, Mark Levinson and several generations of Audio Research. I finally settled on ARC's SP-11 Mk 2 preamp, ARC's D250 Mk 2 Servo power amp (250W per channel) and Aesthetix's Rhea all tube phono preamp. CLS's require absolutely first rate amplification.

CLS's are not perfect. As has been stated elsewhere in this thread they are bass shy, can lack dynamic range, and are brutal on amplifiers. But, if these things are fixed, I consider the CLS IIA's to be the best speaker I have heard.

The key to both dynamic range and base response are good sub woofers properly crossed over at the right frequency. Mine are mated with Kinnergetic's SW800 sub's which were specifically designed to work with the CLS IIA's. I have two of them powered by a Mark Levinson NO. 23 amp (400W/chan into the sub's 4 ohm load).

It's my view that the CLS is by far its best with good tube electronics. ARC's stuff is ideal due to their lack of coloration, power delivery, and detail.

All in all, I'm a very happy camper.

Sparky

Hi, Sparky,

Welcome to AA, I am too a CLSiiA all time lover. But gotta deal with their bass shy issue that somehow we must pair them with a fast Sub for lower end fill-in. However we can also take time, inch by inch move around the speakers in order to find out the right spots in the room, where the spots for the speakers placement are so called "Room Coupling" point. As listener is sitting in the sweet spot, he should be able hear (feel) better low end frequency due to room coupling effect. Good to try but pain-staking and time consumption. Once done, there is no need of Subs for the bass.

I am replacing my 25+ yrs panels for the CLSes. With better technology when ML make their new products nowaday, better conductive coating on the myler will be expected as well as the high quality processing on the stators. I am hoping the new one should show its powerful bass end if speaker placement is properly set. More to share once new panels are replaced.

[A.Wayne]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Thought it was time for a second thread here! I had always lusted after a pair of ML's. Just could never afford them until recently.

The major factor in me going with an ESL was I can't find a tweeter that does not irritate my ears. I was thisclose to buying a pair of Dynaudio C2. I had listened to them a couple of times and was just about sold. I happened to take a Yes CD (The Ladder) to the dealer for my final listen and there was a spot in several of the cuts that just hurt my ears. Unfortunately, my dealer does not carry ML or Magnepan. I'd have loved to give him the money I spent elsewhere to get the ML.

He was cool with my choice. He has the opinion that every ear has it's preference. He did try to steer me to some Avalon speakers but the WAF did not happen.

I'd be interested in hearing why some of you chose ESL's over cones and domes.

Gordon

If you are running from bright tweeters ML's will not work for you , the Quads are a better choice , then soundlabs, kingSounds and then maggies 3.7 ...

Oppsss old thread ...


Regards ...

[unitycoupled]

During the first year with my Summit Xs, I would have agreed. But now that they are settled in, the Summits are not at all overly bright. It's a very balanced and coherent speaker. My only complaint is the narrowness of the sweet spot and that they will "beam" at you if you are sitting directly in front of one. On the other hand, they do not interact with the ceiling in your room which, in my case, is a very good thing, since the ceiling in my room is quite low.

Originally Posted by A.Wayne

If you are running from bright tweeters ML's will not work for you , the Quads are a better choice , then soundlabs, kingSounds and then maggies 3.7 ...

Oppsss old thread ...


Regards ...

[GT in OZ]

I've had a series of the smaller MLs - Aerius, Aeon, Ethos, and just now, Montis. Partly room size, partly WAF, partly budget. I love their sound, though only with valve amps - I find them a bit 'hard' otherwise. I tend to listen to 'acoustic' music - Blue Note jazz, chamber music, folk blues (Ke'b Mo' etc). The Aerius and Aeon lacked bass, and were a bit flabby in what bass they had, so I bought (and still have) a Velodyne dd-15, but it's become increasingly irrelevant, except for the very bottom end - I have it turned down so far you can only hear it if I turn it off (if you know what I mean). If you love cleanly recorded acoustic (including voice), up to around ten instruments, they are truly magical.