Ethos vs Theos, Summit vs Montis?

[PeterK]

Ethos vs Theos, Summit vs Montis?
Each of the pairs of speakers share the same size panels and differ in the woofer section. Not sure if there are other differences. So with that, would it make more sense to go with the lower priced model of the pair and use a high quality subwoofer to get equal sound quality? Probably doesn't work as the crossover internal to the speaker is set so high. Just a weird question. Hope to hear them in a week or so.

 

[jmschnur]

I auditioned the the ethos and the montis. I thought the Montis was a bit better all around.

I used jazz, opera, classical quartets. Montis was better in mid bass (Passos and Carter sacd ) but both were very nice for.. female vocals. I think the larger panel size has some positive effects on general ambience.

A good fast sub woofer is expensive. So the Montis is cost effective if you will not have to buy sub. With a sub low bass would probably not be an issue. However integration of subs with electrostats is not straight forward.

Both were much better than the Vantage which I have now.

The summit would have lower bass than the Montis but at the very low end I think my two good good subs (jl 112, Descentt I) will take up the slack.

After considerable thought and testing I purchased the Montis and am now breaking them in.

 

[macallan]

Both were much better than the Vantage which I have now.

In what way? I have heard that the Ethos has tighter bass than the vantage. Was that the primary difference?

 

[jmschnur]

Much tighter bass and the xover region was much better integrated. One of my test songs is Danny Boy from the stereophile disk. I listen for the soloist as he steps and sings in the male chorus. The best magnaplanars get this right. The Vantage did not. The Montis sounds great with this piece and the Ethos was much better than the Vantage.

In summary the mid bass is better in both the Ethos and the Montis. That coupled with difference between ported bass enclosure and not on the Ethos and Montis leads to "faster" bass.

I think one of the weak points in the Martin Logan speakers has been the integration between the panels and the woofer. Both the Ethos and the Montis are much much better in this area. However there are some problems at the low end for the Ethos (box sound and an occasional thumb). I did not hear any problems with the Montis with any of the music I played

Of course the larger panel and 10" woofer make the Montis a very clear winner. But with a good sub in a home theater system the Ethos would shine. Living with the Montis now, I would say it has a larger dynamic range. That is listening to classical guitar, the attacks seem faster and louder than with my Vantage. The same was also true for piano.

My Bryston 4 sst' s damping factor may have helped the Montis show off these characteristics

 

[PeterK]

Thank you for that post jmschnur.
Would think the models with identical panels would sound virtually identical except for lower bass. That was the reason for the initial post.

 

[jmschnur]

After some breaking I can tell you that the Montis really has made a difference in our home. My wife who is not a hi fi nut in any way now comes in to listen. She just thanked me for showing her what good music sounds like ( last little willies album )

 

[TomDac]

Summit panel/woofer integration is very good too. Just sayin' :music:

 

[jmschnur]

Summits could not fit in our room and we have two good subs. Also we were not sure with the same panel in the Montis and the good subs that there was a real advantage. This was the raisin d'être for Peter's post . We did not listen to Summits.