Demoed some Martin Logans today . . .

SolidSqual

25th Anniversary CLX - at Audio Solutions here in Indy. IT was amazing. Talk about a wall of sheer unadulterated, humbling, dare I say perfect, tight, clean, pure, lovely, drunken-orgy, awe-inspiring, sell my wife, kick the dog sound!

That's my review. thank you.

Ricardo

Where's the bass coming from?

SolidSqual

The big panel with the 4 mylar ribbons. The bass was deep, tight and easily dipped into the 35-40Hz region.

Ricardo

And how low does it get?

Edit: Oh, and how much for your wife?

SolidSqual

Ricardo wrote: »

And how low does it get?

Not sure of the actual specs but I think around 35 - 40. Honestly, if you are listening to music, you don't need anymore. You should have heard the low end on these things. I twas natural as all hell. Anyone but a rap superstar would be exceedingly happy. It was something to behold. Screw what I said about buying a B&W speaker. I will never go back to boxed speakers.

Well, once we get hitched for real, you can have her after the honey moon is over. How about $25,000? That's about how much these cost at manufacturers prices.

hockeyboy

How much to pick up a pair? Of those speakers I mean.

Hawkeye

That IS my next speaker. Bass comes from the panel although it is not an in your face bass. In my opinion, the finest sound I've ever heard.

SolidSqual

Hawkeye wrote: »

That IS my next speaker. Bass comes from the panel although it is not an in your face bass. In my opinion, the finest sound I've ever heard.

+1, better than the Dane C4s.

Ricardo

I'd love to listen to them. IIRC the Carver AL-III's ribbons handle everything from 150Hz up, but never heard you could get sub 100Hz sound from ribbons. Interesting.

$25,000? In my next life

SolidSqual

To be honest, I thought it was cheap for the sound.

It was awesome to se the ribbons pulsing with the music. Completely crossoverless.

Hawkeye

Technically they are panels, not ribbons. There are several good threads on this speaker @ martin logan owners club. You can get a taste of what this speaker can do by listening to the Spire and Summit. Once I heard ESL's, I knew I'd never go back to a box speaker.

candyliquor35m

Glad you enjoyed them. Your description fits my sdas to a tee.

SolidSqual

I can't convey how excited I am about these speakers. Has anyone heard the summits?

Hawkeye

I've listened to the Vantage, which I own, Spire, Summit and the CLX. The Summit is currently out of production. A new version the Summit X is due out soon. The Spire has the same panel size as the Summit and some prefer the Spire over the old Summit. No telling how the new Summit X is going to compare, but the new crossover and panel upgrade should make it a killer.

I wasn't sure about the synergy in my rig so I went with the Vantage to get a feel for the ML sound. The Spire came out about a month after I bought mine and probably would have bought them instead.

It is pretty obvious your stoked about this line of speakers! I knew I was within 20 minutes after I had them home. The ESL hybrid sound is something that has to heard to believe. A couple guys I know say that the Summit gives about 90% of the CLX. So the cost becomes a big factor. I was kinda kidding that these are going to be next speaker. I'm actually going to get the Summit X and wait for a CLX to come up used.

Placement is VERY important with ML. Mine are 5 foot off the front wall. That was tough getting past the wife! Then a trap is needed/recommended directly behind each speaker. Makes a BIG difference.

sucks2beme

How much juice does it take to make them work well?
Are you going to need a couple of big Krells to make them
sing?

SolidSqual

Nope. The guy at the shop said some idiot was running them off a Denon receiver until he got more cash for amps. He laughed because it wasn't all that bad. They are 90dB efficient.

SCompRacer

Ricardo wrote: »

And how low does it get?

56–23,000 Hz ± 3dB.

SolidSqual

SCompRacer wrote: »

56–23,000 Hz ± 3dB.

I read that, but I bet that's a conservative estimate not taking considering room effect. The speakers I heard today were below 56.

sucks2beme

I've listened to the lower end models, but not the big guns. I almost
jumped on a pair of Mosaics. There's a bit of a transition from
the flat to the 8" woofer on those that isn't right. I'm sure
these don't have those kind of problems, other than the second
mortgage!
I like the electrostatic effect well enough to have dumped my Senns
for Stax. A local dealer has got a couple of Vantages in on consignment.
There have been a lot of M/L come up on the Dallas CL as of late.
The WAF would be a big tripping point.

SCompRacer

SolidSqual wrote: »

I read that, but I bet that's a conservative estimate not taking considering room effect. The speakers I heard today were below 56.

When the specs of the CLX were first released, there was some lively discussion at the ML forums about the speaker. Some didn’t and still don’t like the looks. Those that have heard it say you must dismiss the specs, and what a speaker looks like doesn’t seem to bother me as mine are not pretty. A ML owner that lives close to me said the CLX’s have amazing musicality with bass integration to die for. Bass integration is one thing that kept me from being a ML owner. Of course, others feel differently.

mantis

One of the very best ever theaters I ever Installed was a Full Martin Logan/ Proceed setup. It was absolutely Killer. There where a few things I would have done differenly but man can the Prodigy's sing... damn

Dan

iskandam

So how's the sound different from B&W 802 and the Emerald Physics? I never heard planar before but have been toying with the idea of upgrading to open baffle

TroyD

For me, panels are where it's at. Although, to be honest, I've never been a ML fan. Never felt the bass was integrated all that well.

Panels and SDA's are two entirely different animals. Again, CL35 doesn't know his a$$ from his elbow.

BDT

Hawkeye

TroyD wrote: »

For me, panels are where it's at. Although, to be honest, I've never been a ML fan. Never felt the bass was integrated all that well.

Panels and SDA's are two entirely different animals. Again, CL35 doesn't know his a$$ from his elbow.

BDT

I agree on the "hybrid hump" on earlier models. The current lineup seems to have smoothed it out quite a bit. They are finicky to obtain bass, but once they lock on the room the integration is seamless.

SolidSqual

I had no complaints at all with bass integration. In fact, it was some of the most seamless bass I have ever heard. It couldn't dig deeper than my Emmys, but it was arguably more consuming and directionless. Compared to the B&Ws I heard in the same room at Audio Solution on the same equipment, I'd say the CLX is the clear winner between the Emmys and B&W 802. That being said, the B&W has a great midrange and dynamics with the diamond tweeter, but in the end, the bass is to boxy after you compare it to the open bass of the Emmys or ML. The soundstaging of the ML blows the other two out of the water. And that's a massive feat because the other two are no slouches. The highs and mids of the ML are the best followed by the B&W, but I would not spend the extra money for the B&W knowing the Emmy sounds as good as it does. The B&W is just not enough of an improvement over the Emmy. Coupled with its low end performance, the Emmy is arguably a better speaker than the B&W overall.

SolidSqual

TroyD wrote: »

For me, panels are where it's at. Although, to be honest, I've never been a ML fan. Never felt the bass was integrated all that well.

Panels and SDA's are two entirely different animals. Again, CL35 doesn't know his a$$ from his elbow.

BDT

Hey Troy,

How's the maintenance on your 989s? The dealer at Audio Solutions sells Quads as well but felt even the 2905 couldn't hold a candle to the CLX. He said they both sound as good until pushed hard. In fact, he complained that they broke down easier when driven hard. HE said a number of customers needed their speakers repaired from being over driven shortly after purchase. He claimed the CLX's were nearly impossible to overdrive.

any thoughts?

TroyD

Well, the fact that Quad ESL's have never been known to play at traumatizing levels and they aren't the most dynamic speakers is a known quantity. Both of those, I can live with but I've never had a case where I thought they were shortcomings, either. As far as maintenance, I have had no issues with mine, either the 988's or the 63's. I run 25wpc tube monoblocks so overdriving them is not really an issue. The bass on my 988's hits right around 40hz and is perfectly seamless in it's presentation.....again, I've not heard the CLX so you very well could be right.....

BDT

SolidSqual

TroyD wrote: »

Well, the fact that Quad ESL's have never been known to play at traumatizing levels and they aren't the most dynamic speakers is a known quantity. Both of those, I can live with but I've never had a case where I thought they were shortcomings, either. As far as maintenance, I have had no issues with mine, either the 988's or the 63's. I run 25wpc tube monoblocks so overdriving them is not really an issue. The bass on my 988's hits right around 40hz and is perfectly seamless in it's presentation.....again, I've not heard the CLX so you very well could be right.....

BDT

Well more than anything the guys comments surprised me given the excellent comments you've had about these speakers among all the other accolades. He said the people who were breaking the speakers were guys who liked to drink and continued to raise the volume as they got more drunk with friends (as he described it.)

schwarcw

I'd put those Innersound panels that Scompracer has up against any Martin Logan panel. They are a great sounding speaker.

SolidSqual

schwarcw wrote: »

I'd put those Innersound panels that Scompracer has up against any Martin Logan panel. They are a great sounding speaker.

Oh man thanks for reminding me of these guys. I will check them out.

SCompRacer

Hey Carl, thanks, I would too! Some folks use and love Roger Sanders amps on their ML's, but think his flat panels with TL bass modules suck. I think differently, or I wouldn't still own them. I have heard much of the latest and greatest, including Quad's, at the local audio emporium, and feel Troy and I don't have to worry about holding candles to anything.;)