Depth

gregure

Well, gents, I finally sacked up and did it. I bought a Martin Logan Depth for my system. I've gotten a good year out of my SVS PB 10, but it just isn't all I'm looking for, and, having just moved, it really is just too damn big in my new living room. The Depth has a lower profile, and a better sound, and will kick the **** out of any other subwoofer I've heard, except Martin Logan's Descent subwoofer, which is bigger than what I want, and almost too much. I've spent a lot of time with lots of different subs, and I just don't think anyone makes better subs than ML. Especially in a system that doubles as a music system, these subs are the most accurate, tight, musical subs that I've heard, and I can't wait until I get to go pick it up and install it (Tuesday). I'm a little afraid of what it will do to the foundations of my house, but I'm willing to risk it. All I know is, when the Depth is fired up at the Magnolia store I bought it at, you can feel it throughout the entire store, despite the fact that it is in a closed off sound room and the store is rather large.

danger boy

that's very cool to hear you find a sub that meets your expectations.. it's great when it intergrates with the rest of your system so well. good for you.. enjoy.

as for comparing your Depth sub to an SVS.. your SVS was the entry level sub they make.. so it's really not a fair compairson. I'm sure if you moved up the SVS ladder, and compaired yours to an equal one that SVS makes.. it might be a closer race.

anyway... sounds like you're very happy with your new sub.. post pics if possible.. i have never heard of your ML subwoofer. and I'd be interested in seeing it. sounds like not only the sound was what impressed you.. but also it's smaller size.

Schris22

ML subs are fantastic. I've only heard them at tweeter but I loved them. Small and stylish as well.

Oh well

Enjoy!

Chris

gregure

danger boy wrote:

as for comparing your Depth sub to an SVS.. your SVS was the entry level sub they make.. so it's really not a fair compairson. I'm sure if you moved up the SVS ladder, and compaired yours to an equal one that SVS makes.. it might be a closer race.

anyway... sounds like you're very happy with your new sub.. post pics if possible.. i have never heard of your ML subwoofer. and I'd be interested in seeing it. sounds like not only the sound was what impressed you.. but also it's smaller size.

Well, I wasn't really trying to compare the Depth to the entire SVS line, as I've only had experience with the PB 10. However, I've no doubt that the Depth will give even the Ultra 12 a run for it's money, if not the Ultra 12 /2. Again, like you said, I was going for something a bit lower profile, and they only get bigger from SVS. Perhaps the ML give up a little in extension compared to the bigger SVS models, but, like I said, I haven't heard a sub that provides the impact, accuracy, and tightness of bass that Martin Logans offer, and this is compared to REL, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber, Definitive Technology, B&W, Earthquake, SVS, Polk, Velodyne, and a few others. Like you said, I found something that works well for me. I was more than happy to jump on the SVS bandwagon, until I decided I could afford a Martin Logan. For me, musicality is a huge priority, and this one fits the bill in spades.

Alas, I don't have a digital camera, but you can check out the website here.

When they say Servo-controlled, accurate bass, they mean it. The three 8" drivers are positioned like a triangle, so the backward bass waves are canceled out to make the cabinet inert, and eliminates boomy cabinet resonance. Literally, you can place a quarter on its side on top of the cabinet, and while the whole house is shaking, the quarter stands still. It's pretty cool.

Dennis Gardner

Hope it sounds as good in your house as it does in the store. I rarely buy subs based on how much they shake the whole store, as I like to know how they sound in my room. I've had a number of subs that shook my house but sounded like **** on music in my room. Just my .02..........

gregure

Dennis Gardner wrote:

Hope it sounds as good in your house as it does in the store. I rarely buy subs based on how much they shake the whole store, as I like to know how they sound in my room. I've had a number of subs that shook my house but sounded like **** on music in my room. Just my .02..........

Well, I have a friend who has a Grotto and uses it exlusively in his 2 channel setup, and it sounds awesome. The PB 10 sounds good in my room, so I've no doubt that a far superior sub will work out too. Plus, between the B&K and the Martin Logan, there are various ways to tweak the setup to get a good result.

I guess it all really boils down to personal taste. I've come to prefer the sound of a sealed box sub over a ported one. Similarly, I would never own speakers with metal dome tweeters, as I vastly prefer silk or ring tweets.

Loud & Clear

Agree on sealed boxes and no metal tweets in a music only system. Feel differently about the home theater system.

gregure

Well, with a budget and room for only one system, I like to favor the musical qualities. The B&K is great for both movies and music, though.

gregure

Well, fellas, I got the Depth in tonight, and had a lot of fun. I can finally relate to these guys who get their monster SVS subs after much anticipation, only I've still got some floor space in that corner of the room!

Seriously, though, this is one mighty sub! I already knew what to expect from Martin Logan subs, but I still marvel at how accurate and musical they are. But the sheer depth (pardon the pun) to which this rings is amazing. I placed the sub where I had the SVS, about 1/3 down the wall adjacent to the TV/speakers, right next to the couch that runs along that wall. At first, I had a little trouble getting the response I was looking for, but some careful tweaking of the distance from the wall, and some settings in the B&K started me on the right path. After switching the phase to 90 degrees, which seemed to be best from the listening position, I adjusted the 25 Hz level control to +6 dB. This is a setting that allows for a +/- 12 dB gain in the 20-30 Hz output, which Logan recommends as a tool to help with room reaction. This really brought the sub to life. The gain is adjusted just shy of 1/2 way, which is a very high output for this sub, but my roommate and I both like a lot of bass.

The first thing I really noticed, however, was how refined and classy looking this sub is. The triangular lines of the body were sexy and perfectly cut. There was not a hint of a blemish on the smooth, black wood, and the rubber lining around the drivers was cut perfectly smooth, the screws blending in perfectly without drawing attention to themselves. One thing I always kind of disliked about my PB 10 were the few blemishes it came with: The rubber lining surrounding the driver was folded over by the surrounding screws in a couple places-and there were a few discolorations on the driver's rubber surround. A look inside the port with a flashlight revealed an ugly interior of what looks like particle board, with visible lines of glue along the inner seam. I know these are little things, and are less about peformance than aesthetics, and that for $430 the SVS performs admirably and better than anything in its price class. Still, though, for a company that refers to itself as "the bass authority," it's a bit surprising to see how klunky this thing really is, and it's nice to have a sub that I can really be proud of, one that really shows off how well it's built, even upon close inspection. The drivers themselves are perfect, not a hint of deformation. The whole sub just speaks of class.

Of course, performance is what really counts, so I threw on a few movie bits to test the muscle of this baby, and it passed with flying colors.


Opening sequence to Fellowship of the Ring had a nice windows-rattling kind of oomph to the first battle sequence, and Sauron's sepulchral shock wave blasted through the room with enough force to make my heart skip a beat.

Oliphaunt charge from Return of the King also had a theater-level impact, but did not overbear you with muddy bass; each footstep was discernable yet the rumble was enough to make picture frames fall over.

Where the Streets Have No Name from U2's Slane Castle concert DVD has a tremendous opening, where the organ goes lower than any other concert DVD I can think of. The truly subterraneous feeling was there, yet it a way the SVS PB 10 could not match-a truly tangible, sustained wave that felt like it could lift you up and out of the room.

For music, I opened up with Jeff Buckley's album Grace. The drums have a very punchy, visceral impact on this album, and the bass guitar often provides a gentle carpet underneath the rest of the music, that fills the room with a gentle rumble beneath the rest of the music, such as on Lilac Wine. I was really impressed with the sub's speed, tightness and ability to blend well with the rest of my setup.

I also played some classical, busting out Karajan's early 80's recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra, simply for the sheer fun of filling up the house with earth-shattering bass drum rolls and organ chords, all superbly handled by the Depth.

Lastly, as it was getting late and I no longer wanted to chance bothering the neighbors, I threw on some Nickel Creek. This music has a lovely, rich quality thanks in large part to the excellent recording. Mostly acoustic guitar, violin, cello, string bass and banjo. Not only did this album showcase my setup well as a whole, but the gentle strums from the string bass, or flowing, rhythmic backing by the cello/bass added just the right amount of soothing vibrations, while proving extremely accurate and musical.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that I got a lot of enjoyment out of my SVS, and it really gave me a lot of great rumble for movies, but my tastes run to the favor of music, and the sealed box design of the Depth, plus the amazing build quality and servo-controlled performance really fits my musical taste, while providing ample shaking for theater use.

Ron Temple

Great review...glad you like/love it.

RT

Maestro

Gregure,

Rent a DVD of The Haunting if you don't already have it and test your new toy. Also, try a CD recording of Gustav Holst: The Planets - The Fifth Movement (Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age) and hear the subtle low pipe organ bass tones underneath the contrabasses. Since you like von Karajan, there is a version available on Deutsche Grammophon.

I'm excited for you! Congrats!!

mantis

As you found out, there are subs out there that Impress with number and subs that impress with listening.

In my opnion Martin Logan subs are some of the most musical subs I have ever had the pleasure of setting up. I would use one in my system allday.

Good luck with it,

Dan

gregure

Thanks guys, I'm really excited to continue to test this sub out. I actually have two recordings of The Planets, Maestro. The J.E. Gardiner recording on DG w/ the Philharmonia-a truly great recording, and the 1961 recording w/ Karajan and the Vienna Phil on Decca. This, in my opinion, is far better that the digital version, and the organ has tremendous impact in Saturn for such an old recording.

polkatese

Great review, Gregure! and congrats on the new toy, looks like you really diggin' it.