Brand new Masterpiece ESL 9 level difference in left right channel

[StimpyWan]

...I found out today that this pair was in storage for about a year during covid lock downs. Sealed but in a seaside town and high humidity city. Maybe this ? Maybe just a QC issue ? Maybe more ? Unsure

Well, that's scary. Potentially exposed to sea air, for a year! Who knows what else might have been affected, and how long would it take for additional issues to show? At this point, I'd want new replacement speakers. If not, I'd ask for a full refund.

 

[Robert D]

One boards electrolytics may have failed and the other is on the verge of failure and the failed set could have been caused by a defective panel. Something is causing the electrolytics to fail but they appear to have leaked electrolyte that has now dried leaving a residue.

Didn't know a panel problem could cause a capacitor to do that. That sounds like a likely situation here.

 

[Robert D]

Well, that's scary. Potentially exposed to sea air, for a year! Who knows what else might have been affected, and how long would it take for additional issues to show? At this point, I'd want new replacement speakers. If not, I'd ask for a full refund.

I agree. Problem is, who was storing the speakers? Was it ML or a dealer?

 

[Ishaansuri]

I agree. Problem is, who was storing the speakers? Was it ML or a dealer?

Master Distributor stored them in their main warehouse. Speakers were stored in their factory sealed boxes but yes as you can all see ML needs to respond. They have sold speakers under a pretext they are unused. Fair. But I think they forgot to mention a lot and check a lot more.

I have sent many emails to them. Many disappointed emails. Waiting on their response.

 

[thepogue]

Update?

 

[Ishaansuri]

Update?

Hi
Same as of now. Waiting for new panels and bias boards .. waiting on timelines when those will come. No one knows why this problem has come up. The source will be identified or evaluated once the distributor sends the old panels and boards back to ML. Until then just getting new parts, In India ML can't do much better than this. But until I know what caused this and can isolate the source of the problem, I feel I will doubt the shelf life of these speakers.

 

[Robert D]

Hi
Same as of now. Waiting for new panels and bias boards .. waiting on timelines when those will come. No one knows why this problem has come up. The source will be identified or evaluated once the distributor sends the old panels and boards back to ML. Until then just getting new parts, In India ML can't do much better than this. But until I know what caused this and can isolate the source of the problem, I feel I will doubt the shelf life of these speakers.

Does your home have a well controlled climate? One that's not too hot and humid? I think that's important for the life of the speakers.

 

[Ishaansuri]

Does your home have a well controlled climate? One that's not too hot and humid? I think that's important for the life of the speakers.

Hi yes it does. My speakers live in a room that is well insulated. Our home is a steel building structure that has brick walls and a metal insulated roof system. The home and the rooms are also temperature neutral. Dust levels are at minimal as we have high seal windows and exterior doors and our house in on a large open land on the ground floor with no hot slab above.

Attaching a few images to show you the setup and how it looks today. My speakers stay covered 100% during idle time. I play them possibly 30-60 mins in the evening or on weekends. (Have 2 kids. Silence levels are difficult to achieve. Haha )

Also attaching images of the day the speakers were delivered, including packing and how they were setup.

 

[StimpyWan]

Hi
Same as of now. Waiting for new panels and bias boards .. waiting on timelines when those will come. No one knows why this problem has come up. The source will be identified or evaluated once the distributor sends the old panels and boards back to ML. Until then just getting new parts, In India ML can't do much better than this. But until I know what caused this and can isolate the source of the problem, I feel I will doubt the shelf life of these speakers.

I would definitely have your dealer inspect the crossovers too, while they're replacing the panels and bias boards. No harm in making sure everything is acceptable.

I also swapped out my dead bias board, on my EM-ESL's, this past weekend. That fixed my issue with the speaker, not powering up. The old board looked fine, with no cap issues. So, not sure why it died, but I guess it happens.

 

[Ishaansuri]

I would definitely have your dealer inspect the crossovers too, while they're replacing the panels and bias boards. No harm in making sure everything is acceptable.

I also swapped out my dead bias board, on my EM-ESL's, this past weekend. That fixed my issue with the speaker, not powering up. The old board looked fine, with no cap issues. So, not sure why it died, but I guess it happens.

Yes that's part of the plan. They will do a complete once over on all components.

 

[Robert D]

Well, sounds like your speakers will be given a complete detailed inspection, so they could be potentially better than a new pair out of the box. After all, your new out of the box pair had issues. I think I'd look at it like that.

It's very frustrating to purchase something brand new and it's faulty. I got ahold of a bad Marantz receiver right our of the box, and recently a Sony 80 inch plus size tv that would turn itself off after about 30 seconds. It wouldn't stay on long enough to enter my country of origin and other info!

 

[Ishaansuri]

Hi Robert yes I suppose that is definitely the good side of it and I appreciate that. You're right. I wouldn't trust a new out of box pair anymore at this juncture. Mine after being checked and serviced should hold more confidence. Let's see what ML are able to give as a prognosis on a technical standpoint on why the problem happened so it can be looked after in future! Cheers.

 

[saggman54]

We also noticed this strange salty residue on both bias board components which I'm unsure if it is moisture or intended as some coating. It is like a battery leak which may have dried up. But it's consistently there on both bias boards on the exact same component. Anyone seen this before ?

I just aquired some electromotion ESL's. woofers worked fine but nothing from the panels. so I took them apart and both my bias boards looked like they had been under water or in the ocean. but cabinets were fine and no signs of water damage or critter infestations.
First two pictures are of the one board, look horrible both sides. the second two pictures are of the other board, the top looks OK on that (the two black cap look suspect) but the other side looks horrible. everything else inside the cabinets looks brand new. crossovers look great no leaking caps. stuffing looks untouched. if it was rodent urine... I would expect to find some droppings (but there is none) going to try ordering one new board to verify that I can get both speakers to work. does any know how to test the transformer that is in there? what the DC resistance should be?
thanks in advance (if anyone sees this)

 

[Ishaansuri]

I just aquired some electromotion ESL's. woofers worked fine but nothing from the panels. so I took them apart and both my bias boards looked like they had been under water or in the ocean. but cabinets were fine and no signs of water damage or critter infestations.
First two pictures are of the one board, look horrible both sides. the second two pictures are of the other board, the top looks OK on that (the two black cap look suspect) but the other side looks horrible. everything else inside the cabinets looks brand new. crossovers look great no leaking caps. stuffing looks untouched. if it was rodent urine... I would expect to find some droppings (but there is none) going to try ordering one new board to verify that I can get both speakers to work. does any know how to test the transformer that is in there? what the DC resistance should be?
thanks in advance (if anyone sees this)

 

[Ishaansuri]

I just aquired some electromotion ESL's. woofers worked fine but nothing from the panels. so I took them apart and both my bias boards looked like they had been under water or in the ocean. but cabinets were fine and no signs of water damage or critter infestations.
First two pictures are of the one board, look horrible both sides. the second two pictures are of the other board, the top looks OK on that (the two black cap look suspect) but the other side looks horrible. everything else inside the cabinets looks brand new. crossovers look great no leaking caps. stuffing looks untouched. if it was rodent urine... I would expect to find some droppings (but there is none) going to try ordering one new board to verify that I can get both speakers to work. does any know how to test the transformer that is in there? what the DC resistance should be?
thanks in advance (if anyone sees

I just aquired some electromotion ESL's. woofers worked fine but nothing from the panels. so I took them apart and both my bias boards looked like they had been under water or in the ocean. but cabinets were fine and no signs of water damage or critter infestations.
First two pictures are of the one board, look horrible both sides. the second two pictures are of the other board, the top looks OK on that (the two black cap look suspect) but the other side looks horrible. everything else inside the cabinets looks brand new. crossovers look great no leaking caps. stuffing looks untouched. if it was rodent urine... I would expect to find some droppings (but there is none) going to try ordering one new board to verify that I can get both speakers to work. does any know how to test the transformer that is in there? what the DC resistance should be?
thanks in advance (if anyone sees this)

This seems to be moisture or other latent storage related damage on the boards. Mine didn't look so bad but this is a similar problem

 

[Brandon Hartwick]

I just aquired some electromotion ESL's. woofers worked fine but nothing from the panels. so I took them apart and both my bias boards looked like they had been under water or in the ocean. but cabinets were fine and no signs of water damage or critter infestations.
First two pictures are of the one board, look horrible both sides. the second two pictures are of the other board, the top looks OK on that (the two black cap look suspect) but the other side looks horrible. everything else inside the cabinets looks brand new. crossovers look great no leaking caps. stuffing looks untouched. if it was rodent urine... I would expect to find some droppings (but there is none) going to try ordering one new board to verify that I can get both speakers to work. does any know how to test the transformer that is in there? what the DC resistance should be?
thanks in advance (if anyone sees this)

Checking the bias voltage is different between most models I understand. If you contact Martin Logan support they should be able to give you the proper instructions. You need to put a 1 gigaohm resistor inline with your volt meter when testing so you don't blow up the meter.

 

[ejspain]

Well, that's scary. Potentially exposed to sea air, for a year! Who knows what else might have been affected, and how long would it take for additional issues to show? At this point, I'd want new replacement speakers. If not, I'd ask for a full refund.

WAY TOO MUCH going on when compared to the money spent on these speakers. Fortunately I've always had great experiences with ML support (via email) so yours is a surprise. I'd definitely put ALL THE PRESSURE on the dealership. At this price point, anything short of getting a new pair of speakers or a full refund in unacceptable. You didn't pay $10k for refurbished/repaired equipment so if ML or the dealership refuses to replace them, request a refund and start over. SUPER INCONVENIENCE...BUT...this is a serious matter with a serious investment.

 

[Robert D]

WAY TOO MUCH going on when compared to the money spent on these speakers. Fortunately I've always had great experiences with ML support (via email) so yours is a surprise. I'd definitely put ALL THE PRESSURE on the dealership. At this price point, anything short of getting a new pair of speakers or a full refund in unacceptable. You didn't pay $10k for refurbished/repaired equipment so if ML or the dealership refuses to replace them, request a refund and start over. SUPER INCONVENIENCE...BUT...this is a serious matter with a serious investment.

I bought a new Focus center channel from my dealer in town and the speaker terminals were both lose and wobbly. I took it in and the guys there tried to fix it and could not, the whole speaker would have to come apart. So ML approved a full replacement fast. The speaker wasnt in stock at ML and so they had to make some more. I kept using the "bad" one and they sent me a new one within about 10 days. I took mine in and swapped it at the dealer. I think ML will take care of you.

 

[Thenorwegian77]

Hi I still have problem with my ESL9 Classic. The sound is really distorted and low compared to the other. I bought them at a dealership in Oslo. Got them at less price as they had been used as demo. Problem occurs after just a short while of listening. When I opened the back cover, I saw that the sticker semed to be tampered with. One speaker had a black plate underneath the curcuit bord and the other had brown. I just found it a little odd. I don`t really know what I`m looking at, but were trying to find any trace of what the problem might be. Any suggestions?

 

[ejspain]

Hi I still have problem with my ESL9 Classic. The sound is really distorted and low compared to the other. I bought them at a dealership in Oslo. Got them at less price as they had been used as demo. Problem occurs after just a short while of listening. When I opened the back cover, I saw that the sticker semed to be tampered with. One speaker had a black plate underneath the curcuit bord and the other had brown. I just found it a little odd. I don`t really know what I`m looking at, but were trying to find any trace of what the problem might be. Any suggestions?

I'd take them back