Looking forward to L800 but have concerns, what are your thoughts?

Listen to album, Explorations in Space and Time.

Part 3.

How do they sound?

Cross posting. Verdict

I believe I have mine dialed in to resolve the balanced differential amplifier issue. I have my McIntosh C47 preamp bi-amp feeding both an MC450 bass and an MA5200 treble. The integrated was taken from my master bedroom which I’ve setup with HT-PassThrough on BAL1. BAL Output 1 and Trigger 1 goes to the MC452 and BAL Output 2 and Trigger 2 goes to the MA5200. Even though the input is Balanced the topology of the MA5200 is not fully balanced through to the output stage so the signal going to the mid/high has the full signal for improved SDA. I also compared the sonic qualities with my Rotel RA-1570 which also exhibited improved SDA imaging. The fully balanced output of the McIntosh MC452 and Marantz PM-10 did not provide the same effect as I heard in Polk’s demos (It was there but very subtle). I used John Rutters Requiem Pie Jesu from 1993 by Turtle Creek Chorale. The soundstage opens up when the whole choir comes in and you feel surrounded as the hall comes alive.

As far as the non SDA aspect. The L800 are more similar to the LSiM707 than they are to my Martin Logan Motion 40 and Totem Hawks. The latter is always surprising, how they get the balance between the metal dome tweeter and doped paper cone woofer and how artfully they are melded together to create such sweet warm sounding combo which disappear. The hawks excel at providing great detail but will not rock very hard. They are best played at low to moderate volume but what you get is smooth silky midrange, capable bass without the need for a sub and a treble which is present but not as annoying (fatiguing) as what’s in my KEF L100. The Martin Logan’s are for my ears more dry, cold and in need of a sub. They can be played at high volumes but become harsh the folded motion tweeter can really move air but for me are bright and fatiguing. I currently have them in boxes but when I had them setup, they were in my 16x15 office setup using the Ken Ishiwata placement method and worked well.

So how does the L800 compare, the plastic drivers are basically the middle ground between metal and paper, between cold and warm. Playing Melody Gardot Currency of Man album from cover to cover you get a very delicate presentation. Switch it up to more modern pop recordings Halsey, Taylor Swift, The Chainsmokers and you get a very energetic and full soundstage across a very wide band which you can push assuming you have good clean power. For my taste no subs are needed. I like the presence of deep bass but don’t need it ball shakingly overwhelming. Moving to classical, I played three version’s of Beethoven’s 9th symphony and pretty amazed at each recording and what instruments they pickup and reproduced playing through the L800s. The recordings still got too crowded/compressed when there’s alot going on, its as close to a concert but not quite like being there. I am going to see the NJSO perform at NJPAC this Saturday for Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Figaro so I‘ll have fresh material to compare, experientially.

As as said earlier, wow! So I recently went to see NJSO and no comparison but home reproduction has usually been a compromise.

The real wow was from playing the LP of The Flaming Lips Oczy Mlody - One Night While Hunting for Faeries.

Hi @Clipdat no. The model I have is a PM-5400. Are there better? Probably but I'm not really into power cables, power plants etc. I don't hear much of a difference between the wall and with a power conditioner. I bought different power cables but did not notice any beneficial gain.

I hear more differences in amps, speakers, sources, DACs than in cables and power but that's just me. I did some testing between AQ Mackenzie XLR vs Monoprice Premium XLR and maybe my system is not high end enough for me tell the difference.

Hi @ptrooper

for interconnect I am using AQ Mackenzie XLR
for speaker I am using BlueJeansCables Canare 4S ultrasonically welded onto spades
for power I am using the OE cables

The biggest change for me on the L800 was the move from McIntosh MC452 and Marantz PM-10 to McIntosh MA5200 for the treble section (SDA). This was truly a game changer, the MC452 still services the bass and had a warmer sound but the single ended direct coupled output of the MA5200 really brought SDA to life.

The best way to illustrate this is to show via an image. The two balanced amps were feeding the SDA channel with only half of the signal while the single ended MA5200 was in your head and really brought out the soundstage they were intended to. If anything maybe a bit more than I expected since sometimes it seems the sound is coming from behind me, eg The Flaming Lips Oczy Mlody. But for other like Karen Elson Double Roses or The Kills Ash & Ice albums the sound stage was more expanded beyond the borders of the speakers.



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