Considering ML Odyssey

[Mark]

my replies are in red

The only flaw that was disclosed to me by the seller in Seguin, was some minor damage to one of the lower front grills, which he took pictures of and emailed to me. The next day the seller updated his agon listing, to include the pictures he had emailed me.

Something just doesn't smell right ??

*** flaws include 13 indentions in 1 panel, 11 in the other including a 1/4 inch hole. misc scratches, clips, dings all over speakers, 1/2 inch hole and 2" snag in front woofer grill. missing all spikes, 1 square inch chip on bottom. spill along one side of speaker (not onto panel) ML logo rubbed off on front of one panel. 2 different power cords. no boxes, one blue ML led dimmer than the other, 30% reduction in output in one speaker.

Here is the entire description the current owner has in his Austin CL for sale listing:

" I've had them for 2 days, not my cup of tea. Contact me for more details. "

The picture posted in the Austin CL for sale listing is below.

For someone who doesn't like Martin Logan speakers, then why does he own what appears to be a ML Theater and ML subwoofer ?

*** not my system, just a decent pic representing the speakers and the same color wood trim, if you want pics i have tons now.

 

[RedRaider]

Thank you for posting all the flaws in the Odyssey's you purchased.

I can tell you that I am not interested in this pair of Odyssey's and would not have bought them in the condition you are describing. In fact, I would have been a bit ticked off after making a three hour drive to make that discovery.

I am still curious to know if you auditioned them in Seguin before you handed over the cash and loaded them up for the trip back to Austin?

 

[RedRaider]

Something that has always confounded me, is why people don't take better care of their expensive gear?

I've owned a pair of ML Aeon's since 2003 and only have two 1/4" scratches on the bottom rear of my speakers, from a rushed moving when Hurricane Ike was bearing down on us a couple of years ago.

Heck, my all my gear looks like it just got unpacked from the box.

 

[robertawillisjr]

If the panels are well charged depending on the model, they may produce good sound for an appreciable time. My Quests have gone about 20 minutes without any noticable sonic depreciation. Others have noticed more. I think it depends upon the length of time the capacitors can hold charge.

 

[Darude]

The only flaw that was disclosed to me by the seller in Seguin, was some minor damage to one of the lower front grills, which he took pictures of and emailed to me. The next day the seller updated his agon listing, to include the pictures he had emailed me.

Something just doesn't smell right ??

Here is the entire description the current owner has in his Austin CL for sale listing:

" I've had them for 2 days, not my cup of tea. Contact me for more details. "

The picture posted in the Austin CL for sale listing is below.

For someone who doesn't like Martin Logan speakers, then why does he own what appears to be a ML Theater and ML subwoofer ?

I don't believe this is a picture of the ML Odyssey's he is selling, rather something he downloaded off the internet....

Hi! Just to let you know. This is an old image from a user in Sweden! I don't think he has sold them oversea.

/Darude

 

[repman]

That's just not possible. If you unplug them from the wall, the woofers will continue to play forever, but the panels can't continue to play for more than a few minutes.

Nothing you say rings true. First they weren't your cup of tea, then they were horribly damaged and you got taken by the seller. Now you say you spent a thousand dollars in repairs (but you don't say on what). Then we find out you already have them listed for sale somewhere for more than you paid for them! (which you conveniently fail to mention in this thread.) All in the span of a few days.

Sounds like a bunch of BS to me.

Rich , on my sequel II I can unplug them and the panels will continue to play for 2-3 hours. They start to get lower and lower until there is no sound . I am assuming the caps hold enough juice to keep them going that long.

 

[Rich]

Well, obviously I was wrong on that point. My apologies to all. Thanks to Robert and Repman for providing your insight. I did a test with my Ascents and after about ten minutes, the sound level had only dropped about 15%. I am amazed the caps can hold that much power for that long after being unplugged.

 

[spectral]

Getting back to the sound... lots of Odyssey owners in this forum, including yous truly, have taken these speakers to the max with a lot of good hardware. They are so good that they have been able to easily reproduce the glory and impact of the 700lb Japanese o-Daiko drums with this Sheffield Labs CD, without a sub, but you need a lot of juice - fun disc (get it used and save a bunch).

 

[Mark]

anyone know the voltage that should be going to the odyssey panel? i measured at the HV out on the front circuit board and just before the panel and it reads 940 VDC. martin logan says it should be between 1700-1900 VDC. anyone ever take a reading, if so what was it?

 

[robertawillisjr]

Someone may have posted a schematic in the tweaks section. If not, ML will probably send you one.

 

[Jungle Jack]

Hello,
Those Speakers should not be sold until there is resolution as to why they are not functioning properly. Let alone listing them for 3000 Dollars and declaring that 1 Speaker is performing with a 30% reduction in output.

I understand wanting to get your money back after being taken advantage of. But to list them in a manner that would give the indication that it is more than likely the Panel when there is a major issue is shady.

"Not my cup of Tea" when there is a real functional shortcoming that you are both withholding and cognizant of is utterly wrong.
Cheers,
JJ

 

[Mark]

Hello,
Those Speakers should not be sold until there is resolution as to why they are not functioning properly. Let alone listing them for 3000 Dollars and declaring that 1 Speaker is performing with a 30% reduction in output.

I understand wanting to get your money back after being taken advantage of. But to list them in a manner that would give the indication that it is more than likely the Panel when there is a major issue is shady.

"Not my cup of Tea" when there is a real functional shortcoming that you are both withholding and cognizant of is utterly wrong.
Cheers,
JJ

relax jack... how do you think i feel? I thought i was making a solid purchase from a fellow audiophile. Now i have a little money pit on my hands, and on top of that get rocks thrown at me when i chime in asking questions.

I'll explain the "not my cup of tea" quote one last time. I bought them, took them home and listened to them in my atmosphere and didn't like what i heard. the seller claims it was room acoustics, positioning, yadda yadda. since I'm not going to change my house, i'll sell the speakers.

after further inspection my hunch is the speakers were defective. I've been on the horn with martin logan on a daily basis and they are involved 100%. I'm not going to "dump" these speakers on anyone unless they know what they are getting. as i stated in a previous post, they are for sale "as-is" for $2k and let a fellow DIY'er take over the project, OR $3k properly functioning with new panels. I'm going over every part of speakers with a fine tooth comb. Once i find out the issue i'll post it and when fixed i may end up keeping them if they suit my ears.

the designer of the odyssey will be back on monday, i'll get to speak with him directly. there's not much involved with these speakers altho it may look pretty complex to some. I see posts about people sweating a woofer replacement and are afraid to touch their speaker.

there are 3 circuit boards inside an odyssey contrary to another post found on this fourm that says there are 2. all the crossover components are in tact and thought the audio transformer was an issue due to production date in line with a bad batch of xformers. turns out i have the latest ones installed. all signs are pointing at the panels currently. even tho they are 9 years old, they have lost their conductivity. one panel has two "hot spots" and the other has one. this is not to be confused with sweet spots. i know some folks that have original cls panels and they are going on strong. others are having issues with 5 year old panels. i took a jumper and touched the mylar on one of the "hot" spots and ran it up a few feet to a dead spot. when i touched the dead spot with the jumper it was instant sound.

i'll post more on monday, and i will no longer entertain any harsh or rude remarks. it is what it is and this is a learning experience. i'm writing my findings hoping this will shed some light for a fellow martin logan owner that may have the same problems down the road.

 

[Jungle Jack]

relax jack... how do you think i feel? I thought i was making a solid purchase from a fellow audiophile. Now i have a little money pit on my hands, and on top of that get rocks thrown at me when i chime in asking questions.

I'll explain the "not my cup of tea" quote one last time. I bought them, took them home and listened to them in my atmosphere and didn't like what i heard. the seller claims it was room acoustics, positioning, yadda yadda. since I'm not going to change my house, i'll sell the speakers.

after further inspection my hunch is the speakers were defective. I've been on the horn with martin logan on a daily basis and they are involved 100%. I'm not going to "dump" these speakers on anyone unless they know what they are getting. as i stated in a previous post, they are for sale "as-is" for $2k and let a fellow DIY'er take over the project, OR $3k properly functioning with new panels. I'm going over every part of speakers with a fine tooth comb. Once i find out the issue i'll post it and when fixed i may end up keeping them if they suit my ears.

the designer of the odyssey will be back on monday, i'll get to speak with him directly. there's not much involved with these speakers altho it may look pretty complex to some. I see posts about people sweating a woofer replacement and are afraid to touch their speaker.

there are 3 circuit boards inside an odyssey contrary to another post found on this fourm that says there are 2. all the crossover components are in tact and thought the audio transformer was an issue due to production date in line with a bad batch of xformers. turns out i have the latest ones installed. all signs are pointing at the panels currently. even tho they are 9 years old, they have lost their conductivity. one panel has two "hot spots" and the other has one. this is not to be confused with sweet spots. i know some folks that have original cls panels and they are going on strong. others are having issues with 5 year old panels. i took a jumper and touched the mylar on one of the "hot" spots and ran it up a few feet to a dead spot. when i touched the dead spot with the jumper it was instant sound.

i'll post more on monday, and i will no longer entertain any harsh or rude remarks. it is what it is and this is a learning experience. i'm writing my findings hoping this will shed some light for a fellow martin logan owner that may have the same problems down the road.

Hello,
I am truly relaxed. It is just making a Listing saying that the Speakers are not "your Cup of Tea" when they are defective is not the way to go about it.

As I said, I am sure you must be frustrated and want your money back. And you truly are a victim here. It is just to sell them off to someone else as they stand is as wrong as what the guy who sold them to you was. I would definitely contact Audiogon about your Transaction and give him bad marks.
Cheers,
JJ

 

[Jimna]

Hello Jungle Jack, I enjoy your posts which are always well thought out and well informed. I also like to read a long time poster here named Bernard's post as well. He is irritated to the ends of the earth by long quotes in threads because they make for long pages of redundant info with small tid-bits of new info to actually read. I actually dont mind personally but see his POV, and would love to preserve Bernard's sanity.

I figured I would let you know since your a frequent poster and also since Bernard's therapist call to say his prescription dosage has been upped again just because of MLOC. :ROFL:

 

[Jungle Jack]

Jimna,
While I certainly do not intend to make anyone up their dosages, unless for recreational use, the Post I quoted I felt needed to be highlighted as I truly believe the actions that are being taken are truly wrong.

To relist the same Speakers that are known to have a major defect on another Listing Website with a vague description that one of the Speakers outputs 30% less than usual and that they are not his "Cup of Tea" for more than even the Audiogon listing is beyond the grey area.

Again, I truly felt sympathy for the Poster and Owner of those Speakers for being sold a defective pair of a truly wonderful Speaker. However, to try to resell them without disclosing that there is a major issue makes it hard to continue to feel that way. Sorry if this upsets Bernard or anyone else that the Quote made for a long Post.
Cheers,
JJ

 

[Mark]

Update for those who care: The panels were the culprit. further investigation revealed severe age/wear. the copper strip had lifted from the mylar on about 80% of each panel. the power supplies were tested OK at ML. crossovers checked and have the latest audio transformers. installed high voltage boards, new panels, new mahogany trim, new rubber feet, front and rear woofer covers, plugged them in and fired them up. $3,208 out of pocket later, i now have basically brand new speakers. this is what they should of sounded like from day one. :music:

 

[Audioseduction]

Mark, I'm glad you had them repaired by ML. I use to own a pair of Odysseys and thought they performed VERY well! ENJOY! :music:

 

[Rich]

$3,208 out of pocket later, i now have basically brand new speakers. this is what they should of sounded like from day one. :music:

Since used Odysseys on the 'gon (without new panels) sell for close to $3,000, I wouldn't say you got too bad a deal. But your experience does hammer home the point that it is a good idea to inspect and audition used speakers before you shell over the cash to buy them, if possible. JJ noted in the fourth post on this thread that the condition of the panels would be a key consideration as to the value of these speakers. He was quite prescient with that advice. Glad you now have a set of speakers you are happy with.

 

[MOON]

Hi Mark,

Happy to hear you got things sorted out. I am sure you will enjoy those Odyssey's as much as I do my own pair. It's too bad though that you had to go through all that.

Cheers, Greg