ElectroMotion ESL vs. Aeon I

[Diamond Dave]

I have the opportunity to purchase either a pair of ElectroMotion ESL or Aeon I from local sellers for roughly the same price.
These would be for a 2-channel system only and I have several high quality power amps and also have an REL Stadium III subwoofer in my system.
I would appreciate opinions on which speaker to purchase.
Thanks

 

[Robert D]

I think for me the choice would depend on if the Aeon's had the panels replaced at one time or another. If they are the originals, then they are probably about shot. I had to replace my Prodigy panels and those were made in 2000. I did that about 2 years ago, but it should have been done earlier.

 

[Diamond Dave]

Thank you Robert. What is the age difference between these two speakers? Per the ML site, the Aeon i were launched in 2003 but not sure on the ElectroMotion ESL age?

 

[Russr]

If it were me, I'd find out how much replacement panels are for the Aeons, and offer the seller his asking price less that amount. If that does not fly, go with the ESLs.

Matter of interest, what amps do you have?

 

[Robert D]

Thank you Robert. What is the age difference between these two speakers? Per the ML site, the Aeon i were launched in 2003 but not sure on the ElectroMotion ESL age?

Yeah, I looked at that too. The ESL is still being made, so its not in the product museum yet. I dont know how long they have been making those. Youll need to ask the owners how old they are. To be sure, you can look at the serial numbers on the speakers and the decoder on here should tell you their age. The speaker cabinet and the panel itself will have separate #s. At least thats how my Prodigies are. The numbers on mine both showed that the panels were original, built in 2000 along with the cabinet.

The number decoder is a sticky on here.

 

[Diamond Dave]

Good advice, thank you. I'm a first time ML buyer as I've owned Magnepans in the past. I currently own both an Aragon 8008BB and NAD M22 V2 amp.

 

[Russr]

Good advice, thank you. I'm a first time ML buyer as I've owned Magnepans in the past. I currently own both an Aragon 8008BB and NAD M22 V2 amp.

Aragon should be great. Dunno anything about the NAD... how much does it weigh?!

 

[Diamond Dave]

The NAD M22 is a Class D amp and very light compared to the 75lb Aragon! I've used the NAD to drive both Thiel and Magnepan speakers and it sounded great on both. Running the NAD is like leaving an LED light bulb on vs. the Aragon is like running a 2nd refrigerator in the house energy wise!

 

[Russr]

If the NAD is Class D bridged, probably not a great fit... apparently contra-indicated by several amp manufacturers (driving ESLs, that is, where at high frequencies impedance drops below 1 Ohm...

 

[Robert D]

I use an Aragon 8008 on my Prodigy speakers and it sounds great. The Prodigy speakers are a lot bigger too and harder to drive. You should be fine.

 

[18000rpm]

The ESL was launched in 2011 (see Martin Logan ElectroMotion XStat Electrostatic Loudspeaker First Look).

They have nearly the same specs according to ML website, but the ESL has 2dB higher sensitivity so should be slightly easier to drive. The Aeon i (which I have a pair as my surrounds) has a larger panel.

But by far the most important thing is the condition of the panels. You need to listen to both and assess which has better panels. Listen to the highs frequencies, and also check that the panel and woofer volumes are balanced. When panels start to go out they lose high frequencies and the woofer starts to overwhelm the sound. A new pair of Aeon i panels is $1K, probably similar for the ESL. So as you can see a pair of old-ish ML speakers with bad panels are worth very little.

 

[Robert D]

My Prodigy panels were about $3000, but well worth it. It's going to depend on how much you pay for the speakers to begin with. Only the panels were worn out on my speakers, the remainder is solid.

 

[Diamond Dave]

The ESL was launched in 2011 (see Martin Logan ElectroMotion XStat Electrostatic Loudspeaker First Look).

They have nearly the same specs according to ML website, but the ESL has 2dB higher sensitivity so should be slightly easier to drive. The Aeon i (which I have a pair as my surrounds) has a larger panel.

But by far the most important thing is the condition of the panels. You need to listen to both and assess which has better panels. Listen to the highs frequencies, and also check that the panel and woofer volumes are balanced. When panels start to go out they lose high frequencies and the woofer starts to overwhelm the sound. A new pair of Aeon i panels is $1K, probably similar for the ESL. So as you can see a pair of old-ish ML speakers with bad panels are worth very little.

Thank you for the advice. I'll proceed accordingly.

 

[Diamond Dave]

My Prodigy panels were about $3000, but well worth it. It's going to depend on how much you pay for the speakers to begin with. Only the panels were worn out on my speakers, the remainder is solid.

Thanks Robert. Did you replace the panels yourself?

 

[Diamond Dave]

Here's the reply I received from the ML service department:

The panels are definitely much older on the Aeon I than the EM ESL.
A new set of Aeon I stats cost $995.00 for a new pair.
A new pair of EM ESL panels would be $1,250.00
There is a bigger difference in the cost of the HV power supplies.
The Aeon I's are $379.21 where as the EM ESL are $95.00
The EM ESL is easier to work on.
There really is no substitute for your own ear on this type of decision.

 

[Russr]

At risk of jumping in on Robert's behalf...
Replacing the panels is definitely do-able by anyone who can (carefully) swing a mallet and drive a (manual) screwdriver. If I recall correclty, replacement panels come with a 1-or-2 pager set of instructions. No real biggie...

 

[Diamond Dave]

At risk of jumping in on Robert's behalf...
Replacing the panels is definitely do-able by anyone who can (carefully) swing a mallet and drive a (manual) screwdriver. If I recall correclty, replacement panels come with a 1-or-2 pager set of instructions. No real biggie...

Thank you.

 

[Robert D]

Thanks Robert. Did you replace the panels yourself?

Yeah, it's not too hard. It took ML about 3 or 4 months to make them and then ship them to me. The process went smooth. There's only 1 guy working on replacement panels, so that's why it takes so long. The wait was worth it.

The only problem I had was getting the screw holes in the new panel frame to line up with the speaker cabinet holes. I ended up having to drill some new holes, but it wasn't horrible to do. The Aerius might be attached differently. On the Prodigy, there are like 10 screws, forget the # of them, on each side of the panel that attach the plastic frame to the wooden cabinet.

 

[Robert D]

Here's the reply I received from the ML service department:

The panels are definitely much older on the Aeon I than the EM ESL.
A new set of Aeon I stats cost $995.00 for a new pair.
A new pair of EM ESL panels would be $1,250.00
There is a bigger difference in the cost of the HV power supplies.
The Aeon I's are $379.21 where as the EM ESL are $95.00
The EM ESL is easier to work on.
There really is no substitute for your own ear on this type of decision.

It's possible that the Aeons have newer replacement panels, but probably not. I'd think the seller would highlight that. Going with the newer ESL is safer, but if the Aeons have replacement panels then they are probably not as old as the ESL'S. I'd also want to know when the ESL was made. Since 2011 is a huge range of time.
Hopefully you can get serial numbers from the cabinet and panels on each set. They could simply send you pictures of each. That's whst id do if I were selling mine.

 

[Robert D]

One new thing I learned, the Aerius speaker has a tweeter on it. Where is it located, behind the panel? I didn't know any ML main speakers had/have tweeters. That could be a plus.