CLX Art To The Wall

[Hear Here]

I have a pair of Martin Logan original Summits, with the panels each about 67 inches from the front wall and 49 inches from the respective side walls, spaced about 116 inches apart (from center of panel to center of panel). That has proven to be, by far, the best location I've yet tried.

Funny thing, though: when I raised the rears of the woofer boxes so the panels were nearly vertical (approx. 87 degrees from level), they REALLY came alive.

I guess it just goes to show you need to keep tweaking until your ears tell you you've arrived at the sweet spot!

It's odd that Martin Logan still builds most of their speaker with so much backwards tilt. The present top range includes the 11A, 13A and 15A, but only the 15A has a vertical panel. Granted it's taller than the others, but I have 13As and there's no doubt they sound appreciably better when tilted to almost vertical. Pointing a flashlight at the panel from the listening position, the reflection is at the bottom of the panel with standard tilt. Reduce the tilt to 2 degrees and it's obvious the panel is doing a better job of feeding your ears.

 

[Robert D]

It's odd that Martin Logan still builds most of their speaker with so much backwards tilt. The present top range includes the 11A, 13A and 15A, but only the 15A has a vertical panel. Granted it's taller than the others, but I have 13As and there's no doubt they sound appreciably better when tilted to almost vertical. Pointing a flashlight at the panel from the listening position, the reflection is at the bottom of the panel with standard tilt. Reduce the tilt to 2 degrees and it's obvious the panel is doing a better job of feeding your ears.

I agree that its strange. My Prodigy panels look to be perfect vertical. So somewhere along the line they decided a backward tilt sounded better.

 

[OldMacGuy]

My previous MartinLogan ESLs (a pair of ReQuests I purchased back in the '90s) were, if memory serves, vertical. They sounded fantastic, albeit only from about 300 Hz up. (The low, mid- and upper bass were merely tolerable at best, due to that 12-inch acoustic suspension woofer, until I finally found an amp that gripped them tightly enough to diminish the "wooliness.")

When I replaced the ReQuests with the Summits, I was originally quite disappointed in the imaging and soundstaging, and even more so in the mids and highs. It seemed the Summits, while appreciably cleaner in the bass, just didn't "sing" like my ReQuests. The Summits never really came alive until I tilted them forward a few degrees to bring the panels closer to vertical. That sounded far better -- to me, anyway.

 

[Dgeez]

The degree of tilt depends on how FAR you sit from the speaker. These are direct radiation speakers to the seating position. Think of a rifle bullet going straight to the listener position instead of a shotgun pattern spreading out over many lateral and verticle degrees. (probably why some folks don't like stats)

 

[Hear Here]

The degree of tilt depends on how FAR you sit from the speaker. These are direct radiation speakers to the seating position. Think of a rifle bullet going straight to the listener position instead of a shotgun pattern spreading out over many lateral and verticle degrees. (probably why some folks don't like stats)

You'd have to be about 6 ft from the 13A or 11A for them to be correctly tilted. The 15A is vertical - the 11a and 13A should be near vertical unless you want nearfield monitoring - in which case you don't want Martin Logans! If they were built vertical and you wanted to sit very close (or on a bar stool), they could of course be tilted backwards.

 

[Paul172]

I had read somewhere and I’m not sure how accurate it is but I read that one of the reasons for the tilt was to meet european safety standards so they don’t fall forward. I don’t live in Europe and I don’t know if that is true. I have also read that the tilt gives the speaker a larger soundstage again I think that is also based on opinion.

 

[sleepysurf]

I believe the reason for the tilt is two-fold. The tilt allows slightly shorter panels (exception being the Renaissance), thus more manageable shipping size/cost. However, that required some tilt to expand the vertical soundstage (when standing). It's a compromise, which 99% of purchasers don't care about , but which us "1% audiophiles" can simply "tweak" for more upright positioning.

I'm using my (previously purchased) Summit X adjustable legs to achieve a 3 degree tilt with my Expressions. IMHO, ML should still offer those as an after-market upgrade for a reasonable price.

 

[OldMacGuy]

Where I currently sit to listen to the Summits, my ears are 135 inches from the panels and 42 inches above the floor. Not really nearfield monitoring, in my book.

 

[Stefan_DR3]

I'll have to try reducing the tilt next time I put my Theos in the HT. I'm thinking it might help with the reflection from the projector.

 

[kkruse]

I agree that its strange. My Prodigy panels look to be perfect vertical. So somewhere along the line they decided a backward tilt sounded better.

The reason as I have been told from a MartinLogan representative is that the tilting was done on the smaller models so stand-up visitors to hear the full frequency range. A little bit strange if true.

 

[Robert D]

The reason as I have been told from a MartinLogan representative is that the tilting was done on the smaller models so stand-up visitors to hear the full frequency range. A little bit strange if true.

That makes sense.

 

[Gordon Gray]

I have a pair of Martin Logan original Summits, with the panels each about 67 inches from the front wall and 49 inches from the respective side walls, spaced about 116 inches apart (from center of panel to center of panel). That has proven to be, by far, the best location I've yet tried.

Funny thing, though: when I raised the rears of the woofer boxes so the panels were nearly vertical (approx. 87 degrees from level), they REALLY came alive.

I guess it just goes to show you need to keep tweaking until your ears tell you you've arrived at the sweet spot!

Vertical panel alignment should always improve the sound as long as you don't listen standing up.