Martin Logan Vantage Speakers

Martin Logan Vantage speakers purchased new by me in September 2011 from Magnolia.
Overall great shape. The cabinets have 3 small pinhead/pencil head sized dings that I could see (see photos), but otherwise look great. The fronts look perfect. They work like new and I am only selling since I wanted to try something new. Local Pickup only due to size. They include all factory accessories (spikes, feet) and manuals. Price is firm at $1,500. Retail price was $5,695. Payment is cash as in greenbacks. I live in Inver Grove Heights, MN. They are boxed up in the original boxes and ready to go as shown in the photo. xkf18oh621pr.jpg
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Comments

  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Those look sweet! But I do wonder how the buyer will audition those given their packed away status?

    GLWS!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    edited January 2018
    These are no longer for sale here. Rooftop59, I was looking to sell a pair of speakers, not have an open house for auditions. Next time, please mind your own business.
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,505
    We don’t know why they’re all packed up. But it could be for many reasons... he could be moving or he just wants them ready to go.

    Most of the time when we buy equipment it is sight unseen and unheard other than pics posted, so I don’t find this to be anywhere close to a deal breaker.

    The vantage (I’ve owned it before) are cumbersome but easy to pack and unpack, I’m sure if someone were really interested and local, they can open up the box and take a quick look.

    I agree, it’s his prerogative if he wants it auditioned, but that should not hurt sales.

    It’s his house and his rules.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    well-that-escalated-quickly.jpg

    Polkitup2 wrote: »
    These are no longer for sale here. Rooftop59, I was looking to sell a pair of speakers, not have an open house for auditions. Next time, please mind your own business.

  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    @Joey_V I believe this is a case of: it's not what you say, it's how you say it. The chosen verbage is much more aggressive than necessary.
  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,588
    Joey. If you don’t mind. Could you give us your impressions of these? If you think it will hurt his sale then forget about it. I know you have owned a lot of BA speakers so your opinion holds a little weight with me. I am local and the room is 12’ by 16’. Peace. D
    MIT Magnum MH-750, Monster HTS 5100MKII, Sony 77" Class - A80CJ Series - 4K UHD OLED,PS4, Def Tech 15” sub,LSIM 706c, Sunfire Signature Grand 425 x 4,Parasound hca 120, LSiM 702 x 4, Oppo 103D, SDA SRS 1.2, Pioneer Elite SC63 , Pioneer Elite BDP-05 “Why did you get married if you wanted big speakers?”
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    edited January 2018
    Dabutcher wrote: »
    I am local and the room is 12’ by 16’. Peace. D
    But it doesn't matter, because:
    Polkitup2 wrote: »
    These are no longer for sale here.

  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    I wish I had seen this thread in the 9-minute window between when the OP's second comment was posted and when it was edited. :o:p
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,505
    edited January 2018
    Dabutcher wrote: »
    Joey. If you don’t mind. Could you give us your impressions of these? If you think it will hurt his sale then forget about it. I know you have owned a lot of BA speakers so your opinion holds a little weight with me. I am local and the room is 12’ by 16’. Peace. D

    For your room it would be ideal.

    I recall these quite well. Depends on what you’re looking to do and where you do your listening. If you’re alone and listen in the sweet spot then for sure you are hard pressed to do better for the price he is asking for.
    If your rooms entrance is to the side and you do a lot of Nonsweet spot listening (public area next to a kitchen or dining area) then perhaps you might look elsewhere.

    Bottom line, in the sweet spot at this price you can’t go wrong. It has good bass response and if I recall, it has bass level control at either 25 or 50hz.

    But given that it is a panel, it has limited lateral dispersion... so it will have a tremendous sound quality dip when you’re off center or to the side.

    But that can also be a good plus, it has limited ceiling and side wall interaction so you’ll be getting good sound without significant room treatments.

    Put it this way, I’m looking to replace my game room speakers with the newer Martin Logan Impression/Expression.

    In the grand scheme of things, panels cannot reproduce the dynamics of the best driver speakers nor does it have the pinpoint staging of the best dynamic speakers... but at $1500, it’ll run circles around nearly anything I can think of for similar price point... at the sweet spot.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,505
    Viking64 wrote: »
    I wish I had seen this thread in the 9-minute window between when the OP's second comment was posted and when it was edited. :o:p

    I saw it.

    All it said was “no longer for sale”

    You didn’t miss much.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • So much for Minnesota nice.
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    Joey is spot on regarding the Vantages. One of the reasons I did not want to have auditions with these is that you really need to take the time to set then up correctly with your own gear in your own room. Since my new speakers occupy my main system, me cobbling together a second system in some odd spot of my house would only result in disappointment. It literally took me weeks of trial and error to get them positioned correctly for the best sound. And then even more time getting the right cables and gear to squeeze the best out of them.

    When I demoed these speakers at Magnolia where they were driven by a cheap AVR and source, I thought they were the worse sounding speakers I had ever heard. But based on the excellent reviews, I wanted to give them a chance in my room with my gear and I was rewarded.

    These speakers do have are a fairly small sweet spot and are geared to one listener for critical listening. Although they seemed to work fine for HT as the fronts with a large SVS sub. They also need at least a couple feet to breathe behind the speakers.

    Although they can rock, if you like room shaking tactile bass you might be happier with something else. Although, I thought classic rock like Allman Brothers sounded incredible on these speakers. I think they really excel at Jazz music. Electrostats do sound different than cone speakers, being less tactile, and more transparent. You will hear all details in the recording good or bad and any short comings your gear may have.

    These are back for sale here. They are also on USAUDIOMART at a higher price. I do ask that unless you have comments that will help buyers with their decision or you have some questions about the speakers, please keep whatever other comments that may be rolling through your head to yourself. I am sorry if some feel my wording with Rooftop59 was aggressive - his comment rubbed me the wrong way as I felt it was obvious from my listing and photos that I didn't plan to have auditions for these. Why the question? Yes, I could have worded my response better and have thrown in some of that Minnesota nice, but the reality is that I am a cranky old ****. :)
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    @Polkitup2 and @Joey_V I've read both your comments concerning the Vantage's placement and performance, but noticed neither mentioned the rest of the gear in the rig used to drive them. I'm curious as to what either of you used, and if either has thoughts on potential improvements (different equipment) that may benefit the speakers AND next owner?

    The last time I had my ears on a set of MLs was a generation or 2 prior to the Vantage in a mildly treated room on mono block tubes and an sacd. Unfortunately that was well over 10 years ago and I wasn't experienced enough to pay more attention to the rig. This was at GNT Stereo, a mom 'n pop HiFi shop in my hometown.
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    I have used a variety of equipment including a 30 watt Musical Fidelity A1 integrated, Bel Canto Ref500 mono blocks, and now my current McIntosh C2300 pre with MC302 amp all with good results. However, the Vantages benefit with more watts. They really shine with the Mac gear. I would not recommend using an entry level AVR.

    I use MIT Shotgun S1 cables, I have tried Audioquest type 8 cables but found them bright sounding. I use a Wyred 4 Sound DAC 2 DSD SE for source. I do think that the wrong combination of gear/cables could result in a thin bright sounding system with the Vantages.

    They are a great speaker for someone who likes to try out different gear and cables. Every change will be heard (except the Vantage power cables, I didn't hear much difference there).
  • The speakers seem to be in excellent condition from what I can see in the images. Anyone who likes the sound of ML's and has the right equipment would be stealing these at this price. They are gorgeous.
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    Joey_V wrote: »
    We don’t know why they’re all packed up. But it could be for many reasons... he could be moving or he just wants them ready to go.

    Most of the time when we buy equipment it is sight unseen and unheard other than pics posted, so I don’t find this to be anywhere close to a deal breaker.

    The vantage (I’ve owned it before) are cumbersome but easy to pack and unpack, I’m sure if someone were really interested and local, they can open up the box and take a quick look.

    I agree, it’s his prerogative if he wants it auditioned, but that should not hurt sales.

    It’s his house and his rules.

    All true, but he doesn't have to be an azz about it.
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    kharp1 wrote: »
    Joey_V wrote: »
    We don’t know why they’re all packed up. But it could be for many reasons... he could be moving or he just wants them ready to go.

    Most of the time when we buy equipment it is sight unseen and unheard other than pics posted, so I don’t find this to be anywhere close to a deal breaker.

    The vantage (I’ve owned it before) are cumbersome but easy to pack and unpack, I’m sure if someone were really interested and local, they can open up the box and take a quick look.

    I agree, it’s his prerogative if he wants it auditioned, but that should not hurt sales.

    It’s his house and his rules.

    All true, but he doesn't have to be an azz about it.

    Late to the party @kharp1 ... Situation has been resolved.
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    FestYboy wrote: »
    kharp1 wrote: »
    Joey_V wrote: »
    We don’t know why they’re all packed up. But it could be for many reasons... he could be moving or he just wants them ready to go.

    Most of the time when we buy equipment it is sight unseen and unheard other than pics posted, so I don’t find this to be anywhere close to a deal breaker.

    The vantage (I’ve owned it before) are cumbersome but easy to pack and unpack, I’m sure if someone were really interested and local, they can open up the box and take a quick look.

    I agree, it’s his prerogative if he wants it auditioned, but that should not hurt sales.

    It’s his house and his rules.

    All true, but he doesn't have to be an azz about it.

    Late to the party @kharp1 ... Situation has been resolved.

    wait, did he apologize? I must've missed it ;-)
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    Dear Rooftop59, I apologize for being a meanie in response to your query. From now on I will think about rainbows and kittens when I post. ;)
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Polkitup2 wrote: »
    Dear Rooftop59, I apologize for being a meanie in response to your query. From now on I will think about rainbows and kittens when I post. ;)

    well now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside ;-)

    Once again, Good Luck With the Sale!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,505
    Had a cary slp05 tube pre into Plinius sa102 classes a biased amp.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    Sold these on usaudiomart. Got lucky, while not a Polkie it was fellow audio enthusiast who was familiar with the speakers and made the deal very easy. He used uShip which I had heard of but never used. It was fast, cheaper than UPS or FEDEX and worked extremely well. The couple of dings I mentioned in the add he said he couldn't even see. I tend to overstate imperfections.

    The downside is that I already miss them. I think I will have Mls again at some point in my audio future. The Harbeth's HL5+ that I replaced them with sound incredible on some stuff, but not as good as the MLs on other stuff. Always a trade off.
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,560
    Congrats on the sale.

    Planning on posting up a review of the Harbeths after you get some more time on them?
    Polkitup2 wrote: »
    Sold these on usaudiomart. Got lucky, while not a Polkie it was fellow audio enthusiast who was familiar with the speakers and made the deal very easy. He used uShip which I had heard of but never used. It was fast, cheaper than UPS or FEDEX and worked extremely well. The couple of dings I mentioned in the add he said he couldn't even see. I tend to overstate imperfections.

    The downside is that I already miss them. I think I will have Mls again at some point in my audio future. The Harbeth's HL5+ that I replaced them with sound incredible on some stuff, but not as good as the MLs on other stuff. Always a trade off.

  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    Thanks, I appreciate the offer. I'm still dialing them in, but may ping you for some input.
  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,619
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Congrats on the sale.

    Planning on posting up a review of the Harbeths after you get some more time on them?

    Thanks, and yes I will post my thoughts on them after I get them settled in.