My Martin Logan Vantage speaker adventure... continues!

Joey_V
Joey_V Posts: 8,586
edited February 2006 in Speakers
As some of you know, I've been seduced by the electrostatic side.... *breathing like Vader*.... and I know you guys helped me before with my speaker poll and my veneer poll.. well, I just wanted to keep you guys informed as to what's going on now. No comments are necessary, just FYI.

Just sit back and relax, this is a story about Joey's Vantages and how he went through all the trouble to change the veneer. :p

Story:
After having the Dark Cherry ML for a little while, I decided to change the veneer. I wanted to go with something a little lighter as I felt the Dark Cherry (as nice as it was) was a little too dark especially with the black stat airframe panel.

Here's a pic of my Dark Cherry Vantage:
DSC00292.jpg

I inquired about their maple or natural cherry upgrades ($300 additional)... here are the samples that ML corporate sent me (these are Summit cabinets though, so they are not the Vantage cabinets):

Maple (regular):
mapleML.jpg
Natural Cherry:
NCherryML2.jpg

I thought they looked good, but I figured.... why not go the extra mile? Why not ask for something TRULY custom - something they dont offer on their website?

I asked for piano black finish - they quoted me $1000. I dropped my jaw.

I asked for birds eye maple - they quoted me $500. I thought to myself - that's only $200 additional over the regular maple... why not? I put the order in and requested EXTRA gloss. ML corporate said ok.

That was 3 weeks ago.

Recently, they sent me pics of the cabinets towards the end of their production - a few more gloss coats left to do they said.

One of a kind, Joey's BEM ML Vantage:
BEMML.jpg
BEM2ML.jpg
BEM3ML.jpg

ML said they look better than in pictures - pics dont do them justice. They told me that these were their first BEM Vantage and their first extra glossy BEM Summit/Vantage speaker.

Cool!

Anyway, I received word from ML that they are done and have been sent to my dealer... the dealer called me today and told me that they have arrived. I'll pick them up in a few weeks, after med school exams die down.

Cant wait! Soon, I'll pair them with the Rotel RB1090.... this will be great!!!

Just wanted to share my little story of the week. :D:D

I'll post pics of the new Vantages when I pic them up. :cool:

Signed,
Joey - forever a Polkie at heart.
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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Comments

  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited February 2006
    hah pretty. joey has to be different. I thought the original finish was already pretty. First time i saw Bird's eye maple was on the reference onix speakers. It looks nice. Just make sure to hang on to your speakers a little more =)

    Chris
    Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR502-S
    DVD Player: Pioneer DV-578A-S
    Left and Right: R50
    Center: CS1
    Rear Center: R15
    Surrounds: R30
    Subwoofer: 10'' Dayton 100 Watt
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited February 2006
    They look great! Keep us posted for when you pick them up and test them out.
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,586
    edited February 2006
    Schris22 wrote:
    Just make sure to hang on to your speakers a little more =)

    Chris

    Chris,

    I'll try my best... no more upgrades on the speaker end until I can afford the ML Summits - and with those things being priced at $10K, it'll have to be post-graduation.

    Until then, the Vantage will reign supreme in my room. Cant wait to move into a studio next year and let the Vantages breathe a little better!

    Thanks for the compliments guys (Mike and Chris)! :D
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,586
    edited February 2006
    I hate you Zero... I'm no longer answering your phone calls. ;)

    Oh... and $2 for your Totems... with shipping included. Ok ok.. that was mean, $3.50 then - final offer. :p
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    edited February 2006
    Cabinets look good Joey :) Have you re-arranged your components so that amp can breath?
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,586
    edited February 2006
    Halo wrote:
    Cabinets look good Joey :) Have you re-arranged your components so that amp can breath?

    Working on that.... when I get the RB1090, I will definitely need some breathing room between the components!

    :)
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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