Martin Logan Clarity/Aerius vs Polk LSi 9/15

Joey_V

I went to Tweeter today to simply listen to the some Martin Logans. I always wanted to see what all the hoopla was all about with regards to electrostatic speakers.

I went into the auditioning room and found out that Tweeter had the LSi9 and 15s (actually the entire LSi line) right next to the Martin Logan Claritys and Aerius. So, this became somewhat of a shoot-out. Hehehehehe...

First, I listened to the Aerius. Very NICE! The sound was very airy - no boxiness whatsoever! The voice was full, soundstage was wide and deep.... a wall of sound was coming right at me. The only thing I felt lacking was imaging... things werent exactly dead center, but overall... the Aerius was spectacular.

Second up were the Clarity. Although it gave up VERY little compared to its brother in terms of soundstage width and depth, not to mention the "wall of sound".... the Clarity sounded a little thin with regards to its vocals. I dont know why, it's a very subtle "thinness" (if that's even a word) that isnt easily identifiable unless you AB both the Clarity and the larger Aerius. Imaging was good, too... but is definitely its weaker aspect.

Then, I braced myself... I had the guy power the LSi9 (my little babies)... I braced myself for disappointment especially since the LSi looked intimidated standing next to the MLs.

Boy was I wrong!!!

The LSi9 held their ground!! Very admirable indeed! A 900$ speaker versus the $3300/$2700 juggernauts... wow! In my opinion, I felt that the LSi9 beat the Martin Logan with regards to vocals... the Vifa just cant be beat! It is a bit more involving than the overly laid back electrostats and had noticeably better imaging than the MLs. However, the MLs had better midrange and perhaps an overall larger soundstage (width). Soundstage depth is pretty much a toss up... perhaps the nod go to the MLs.... but this is probably a 55-45 split, very close.

I then switched over to the LSi15. I was very impressed as well! The 15s definitely extended lower (but a 9 and a sub takes care of that).... but it seemed to improve the midrange a wee bit. I dont know why perhaps it's because the 2 drivers are more dedicated to the midrange rather than sub 200hz bass. Very warm and very involving.

My opinion of the MLs (clarity and aerius) is they seem very accurate, the soundstage is insane, the wall of sound is definitely awe-inspiring at the right passages, and the overall ability to COMPLETELY disappear is downright scary. However, at this particular audition, it didnt have pinpoint imaging - very good, but not as exceptional as I was hoping they were to be.

After tonight, I have a new found respect for the LSi. They definitely are very good speakers. The highs are very sweet, the sound is very involving. Soundstage depth and imaging is impeccable. These speakers almost disappear - but MLs do it better. The LSi have good midrange - but not at the ML level.

Yet, with its weaknesses, LSi's strengths allow me to have no problem recommending either the LSi9 with a sub or the LSi15 over the ML Clarity.

Would I recommend the LSi9 or the 15s over the Aerius? I'm not sure. The Aerius are definitely a notch better than the Clarity.

Prices:
LSi9 = $899
LSi15 = $1499
ML Clarity = $2699
ML Aerius = $3299

Well, hope you guys enjoyed my .02.

lomic

Very interesting, thanks for the review. Wish I had a tweeter around here - too lazy to search for a place that carries the higher end semi-consumer grade stuff.

pjdami

I then switched over to the LSi15. I was very impressed as well! The 15s definitely extended lower (but a 9 and a sub takes care of that).... but it seemed to improve the midrange a wee bit. I dont know why perhaps it's because the 2 drivers are more dedicated to the midrange rather than sub 200hz bass.

Nice review! I suspect that what you have said (different crossovers) between the 9 and 15 and the floor stander vs. bookshelf have a lot to do with the midrange. I like the LSi 15 better than the LSi 9.

What was used for amplification? I'm assuming a B&K receiver?

I had a similar experience last year. Listened to some MLs on Krell at the shop here in town and then came home like a dog with his tail between his legs and cranked up the LSi 15s on the same demo cds I had brought over to the place. Well, I may have been beat, but I still smiled because it sounded good to me.

Cool that you got to compare them side by side like that. Looks like some places have them set up properly for demos just like the one you had and not in separate rooms.

Paul

mantis

The Lsi series speakers sound awesome on B&K gear. I love the way they go together.

I feel B&K with Martin Logan don't go together so well . Krell is needed here. Most Tweeters don't carry Krell some of our stores do. Listen again on Krell if that store has it. The Martins come alive with the extra current.

Dan

newsman

I was selecting my new speakers between ML Aeon i , LSi15 and Sounus Faber Grand Piano Home. In the end I picked LSi. Even though ML could dissapear, quality of sound would quickly degrage once you start moving out of the sweet spot. Indeed they could reproduce sound with great soundstage and make it look like they are not even on - however they where missing out on microdetail to my ears - they just couldn't reproduce the little things like smacking of the lips, or breathing of a singer with as much "feeling" as dynamic speaker would. So off they go.

It was down to LSi15 and Sonus Faber - and in the end I went with Polks. Notice that at that point price was no object - but I was glad that I liked speakers costing less than half than competition they where pitted against.

Also I have to agree that I think LSi15 are better than LSi9. Freeing dual 5" drivers to reproduce midrange only, does wonders on LSi15 in my opinion.

Joey_V

Truly, I am impressed by the LSi15.

Toxis

Maybe I missed it but what was used as electronics?

Joey_V

They used a BK Reference Amplifier... I forget the number. All I know is that it is a 2 channel amp - not their 7 channel one.

No sub was used either, I had the salesman turn the ML Descent off.

Descent was good, comparable to my SVS PC+ at 4x the price.

newsman

I bet they used B&K Ref 200.2 - I use 200.5 for my complete LSi setup. Incidently 200.5 has the same dynamic headroom as 200.2.

B&K amps

For some reason some spec numbers from the B&K product manuals do not agree with the product spec on the product pages.

stereo55

HHHmmm , my brother's been looking to buy the Clarity for awhile now (matched up with a pair of ATI amps) . I'll pass this info on to him and see what he says .

Joey_V

Hey,

I just found out today that the Clarity are on sale at Tweeter. If he's been looking at them for a while now, he better get his butt moving on this deal.

Clarity
Regular Price = 2699$/pair
Sale Price = 1499$/pair

At 2699$, I can easily recommend the LSi over the ML Clarity. However, at 1499$, I'm not sure if I can... at this price point - he has to really decide which type of sound he prefers.

stereo55

Originally posted by Joey_V
Hey,

I just found out today that the Clarity are on sale at Tweeter. If he's been looking at them for a while now, he better get his butt moving on this deal.

Clarity
Regular Price = 2699$/pair
Sale Price = 1499$/pair

At 2699$, I can easily recommend the LSi over the ML Clarity. However, at 1499$, I'm not sure if I can... at this price point - he has to really decide which type of sound he prefers.

Yeh we say that price too , BUT we called four local tweeter stores about this and they say its NOT for a pair , but for a single speaker at 1447.50 . They say the price went UP from $2699 to $2895 .

I still say that the online price of $1447.50 is for a pair , as we all know *cough*cough* that .... (Tweeter rep quote) "Tweeter only sells their speakers in pairs" .

My bro and I begged to differ on the online price when talking to any of the Tweeter reps , but seems as the reps had no REAL clue or a 100% correct answer on this . Seems its the same Tweeter crap marketing that was the SAME problem with the Polk T90e's pricing online back around Thanksgiving holiday .
Most peeps here know how that turned out :rolleyes: .


(edited for type "o"s ....geez I suck at typing )

Toxis

Well I just emailed them asking if they'll sell at that price per pair and they show free shipping. We shall see how they respond.

mantis

Personally I don't care for the Claritys. I find them to be one of the worse sounding Martin logan speakers. I have heard them on B&K, Integra , Rotel and Krell. I don't like the way they sound. I like Martin Logans are the Accents are one of my favorite spekaers. Hell I like the way the Scripts sound over the Claritys. Something is missing when listening to the Claritys.

Dan

phuz

Originally posted by Joey_V
Hey,

I just found out today that the Clarity are on sale at Tweeter. If he's been looking at them for a while now, he better get his butt moving on this deal.

Clarity
Regular Price = 2699$/pair
Sale Price = 1499$/pair

At 2699$, I can easily recommend the LSi over the ML Clarity. However, at 1499$, I'm not sure if I can... at this price point - he has to really decide which type of sound he prefers.

I did not need to hear that.

The Clarity is the ONLY speaker that I've heard that I thought about replacing my LSi15s with.

At that price... I can get them... and a sub. Looks like another demo needs to be scheduled...

I SOOOO did not need to hear that.... damn.

shack

Originally posted by phuz
I did not need to hear that.

The Clarity is the ONLY speaker that I've heard that I thought about replacing my LSi15s with.

At that price... I can get them... and a sub. Looks like another demo needs to be scheduled...

I SOOOO did not need to hear that.... damn.

phuz - I think you will be ok here...as stereo55 stated:

Yeh we say that price too , BUT we called four local tweeter stores about this and they say its NOT for a pair , but for a single speaker at 1447.50 . They say the price went UP from $2699 to $2895.

I stopped by Tweeter today and the price for the Clairity was indeed $2,895 for the pair (they said there was no sale). In this Tweeter they had the Clairitys, Mosaics and the LSi15s hooked up with a 2 channel B&K rig. Like Joey_V stated the Polks were nearly as good as the Clairtys IMO (and for what is now $1,400 less). They did not have the Aerius so I could not compare the 2 MLS vs the Polks. They did have a pair of Mosaics marked down from $1,995 to $1,400. A nice speaker but for close to the same price I think would go with the LSi15s.

Joey_V

Shack,

You heard the Mosaics? How are they? Some say they have a larger sweetspot than its bigger brothers and dont need high-end electronics and amps to power them... receivers do fine - or so they say at the ML forums. What did you think of them?

How was the imaging and the soundstage (depth and width)?

stereo55

The Mosaics have a very small electrostatic driver compliment :

High Frequency Driver: 1.5" x 2.25" (3.8 x 5.7cm)
ATF Midrange Driver: 1.5" x 6" (3.8 x 15.2cm)

not to sure how large the image field would be compared to other ML , but going to find out this weekend down in SanDiego at Stereo Design . Stereo Design has 10K square ft of space with NINE listening rooms . Should be FUN FUN FUN !!!

Report back later this week ...

PolkFreak

I saw a pair of Martin Logan speakers at Audio King (at the time).
I don't remember the model, but the bass could only hit down to 70 Hz. Only 70 Hz! These were floorstanding speakers that cost $1,500 for each speaker. They were ES design, but had a woofer
at the base for BASS that didn't exsist. Polks little R15 speakers go 10 Hz lower than those floorstanders. I would never buy a floorstander with bass that weak. With bass that weak I don't consider a floorstanding speaker like that to be very realistic.
I was wondering why nobody mentioned the fact that the LSi speakers bass blew the Martin Logans out of the water. Even the ML's with more bass than usual. Then again I was assuming the Martin Logans that were tested by you people were kind of like the crap ones that I heard.

shack

Originally posted by Joey_V
Shack,

You heard the Mosaics? How are they? Some say they have a larger sweetspot than its bigger brothers and dont need high-end electronics and amps to power them... receivers do fine - or so they say at the ML forums. What did you think of them?

How was the imaging and the soundstage (depth and width)?

They were being driven by a B&K Reference 125.2 and a Reference 50 pre so there was plenty of power. Not an optimal setup for sure....the typical 5 or 6 speakers lined up in a row. They sounded pretty good for the few minutes I listened to them. I spent more time with the LSi15s and Claritys. Same lack of bass that has been mentioned with others but very nice midrange. A very pleasing sound that is typical ML. Imaging was very good but soundstage was hard to tell because of the placement...they were very close to the sidewalls. I probably would pass at $2,000 but at $1,400 (plus a sub) they could make a nice 2 channel pair.

bookshelf^love

How about the Motion 15's against the LSi9's for music?/ HT

mesquitehead

I have a 4 month old pair of ML Source speakers for sale ($800) in the classifieds. Also consider they are rated at 5 ohms so having the right power and amp makes a big difference. Packing and shipping by a pro shipping company will run abour $250.

Monster Jam

This thread is literally older than my LSi set.

hochpt21

Monster Jam wrote: »

This thread is literally older than my LSi set.

Since this thread was started I have graduated college, gotten married, started a career, bought a house, had two kids, receded my hairline, got and lost a beer belly, and really gotten into home audio.

Man, that's a lot of work. I think I need to sit back for awhile :cheesygrin: