Hello from New Member

[coolcobramatt]

welcome friend :music:

 

[sebrof2000]

Another "Welcome Aboard" from me as well.

The Maggies are great speakers in their own right, but I'm sure as you get the system dialed in and things settle down for some critical listening you'll grow to appreciate the Martin Logan sound.

Please do take the time to enter your system in the Member Systems section once you have the time and think about coming to our National Get Together up in Lawrance if you're so inclined. The more the merrier!

p.s. - we all love pictures on this site, can't wait to see your set up.

I'm almost finished dialing in my room. I'll bore everyone with a lengthy dissertation, most likely over the weekend.

Thanks for the welcome - Mike

 

[sebrof2000]

welcome friend :music:

Thanks, friend.

Mike

 

[twich54]

Hey - I figured those questions would come. I didn't want to spill all the beans in one post and then have nothing else to say...

2 Channel only
Jolida JD100 CDP
Krell 400xi integrated

As far as the comparison to the Maggies, all things considered I'm glad I made the move. BUT - I do now realize just how good the Maggies are for the price.
Mike

Mike, Welcome as well, and as a former 'Maggie' guy myself (twenty years, ending with my 3.6's) I know exatly what you mean, the 1.6 are a 'cult' speaker and with the excepton of bass do everything well.

As everyone has stated give yourself some time to adjust to the Logans, not that you'll ever forget your Maggies, they will just become 'fond memories' !!

 

[sebrof2000]

Another "Welcome Aboard" from me as well.

The Maggies are great speakers in their own right, but I'm sure as you get the system dialed in and things settle down for some critical listening you'll grow to appreciate the Martin Logan sound.

Please do take the time to enter your system in the Member Systems section once you have the time and think about coming to our National Get Together up in Lawrance if you're so inclined. The more the merrier!

p.s. - we all love pictures on this site, can't wait to see your set up.

I posted my system, so it should be through the moderator soon.
I also said I'd post a chronology of the last few days and what it took to get the Ascents sounding their best. Well, here it is and I do apologize for the length of the post, but somebody somewhere just might find it interesting:
Found a pair of used Martin Logan Ascent i hybrid speakers on Audiogon. The seller had the MLs in his smallish living room driven by a Levinson 390S CDP (no need for a preamp) and 333 Class A amp. Sound was very smooth, although his set-up was not ideal (couch in the middle of the room, speakers behind the couch).
When I got them home, I plopped them into the same spots as the Magnepan 1.6s that they were to replace, more or less. The room was in the diagonal configuration because of the bass-boom problem I was having with the Maggies (Rack in a corner, listener in opposite corner, and the speakers in the other 2 corners out a few feet). When in the traditional set-up, the bass was a little boomy. In the diagonal, the bass boom went away (likely due to the 3’ or so behind the listening position) but some detail and imaging was lost. With the MLs in the diagonal, I didn’t realize the benefits of lowered bass boom, but I did lose detail and imaging. This was a lose-lose. Also, the mids were harsh, but I later realized that this was lower midrange being muddied by bass boom.
So, I reconfigured to the traditional set-up. Now the detail was back – Acoustic guitar sounded very, very nice, and imaging was getting close. But, the bass boom and associated lower midrange mud was still a problem. I had the Logans 3 1/2 ‘ from the front wall, about 6’ apart. I tried moving them farther into the room , toeing them in and out, tilting them up and down – All to little effect. I switched the bass attenuator switch from flat to -3db, which lessened the midrange mud but introduced another issue – Not enough low end. At this point I was worried that I made a mistake in buying the Ascents.
Then, I moved one of my DIY bass traps directly behind each speaker. (You may call them rolled chicken wire stuffed with cotton and wrapped with fabric, but you’d be wrong. They’re finely calibrated traps with a double secret and highly proprietary resonant frequency. See my system for pics). After I moved the traps behind the speakers, I listened for several minutes. Now we’re getting somewhere. Detail seemed to remain in tact. Imaging seemed a little skewed for the worse, but bass boom was greatly improved. I moved the traps about 1 ½’ from the back of the woofer cabinet, and it now seems that I’ve got them tuned in pretty well. I listened to The Black Crows “Hard to Handle” and “She Talks to Angels” very loud (@ 86 on the Krell dial, probably in the mid 90 decibel range) and they sounded very, very good. Switched to Nora Jones’ 1st album @ 20 – 30 on the Krell dial, and the sound was what I believe was the best I’ve ever heard in that room. At 20 on the dial, there was no distortion and the music flowed from the speakers. Surprisingly, the music filled the room nicely, which is where the 90db efficiency of the Logans comes in. Crank it up a bit, say to 30 or 40, and the music was still smooth, but unnecessarily louder. Contrast this to the Maggie 1.6s, and 36 was the normal listening setting, equivalent to approximately 25 with the Logans. So here’s another piece to the puzzle – I was turning the Logans up to 36 – 40 and expecting the same levels as with the Maggies. It was louder, but the room also came into play more. I was working this issue as if the Logans had more room interaction issues, but in fact if I turned the Maggies up to 55 or so I’d have the same interaction issues. The smoke is beginning to clear, and it’s all starting to fall into place.
I’ll still play around with the bass trap positioning (do they really need to be behind the speakers where they interact with the back wave from the dipoles), and I’ve got a pair of RCA 5751 tubes for the 12AX7s in the Jolida CDP that I’ll try. Currently running Groove Tube 12AX7s. I’ll also continue to play with speaker positioning (Cardas, toe in, etc.). But, a big sigh of relief last night as I finally came to the realization that the Martin Logan Ascents will be a step-up improvement over the Magnepan 1.6s that they replaced.

Take care,
Mike

 

[coolcobramatt]

I want your 400xi :bowdown:

 

[Brad225]

Mike, Welcome to the gang. Nice setup. Glad to hear your are making progress with the Accents.

MLs, as you are finding out are quite sensitive about their positioning. The changes you are making in your room will only improve the sound. Keep playing with different things and be patient. I assure you with time and more tweaking the sound will amaze you.

I keep playing with my system set up, as most here do, and just when I think it could not get any better sounding it can and does.

Many here with more experience then me, will let you know their thoughts on set up. For me, the most important thing for good image and depth is to be sure the Accents are parallel with each other side to side and front to back tilt is the same. MLs dispersion pattern for me is quite sensitive and having them set up the same is necessary. The toe in as you have found is also something to adjust each time you make another tweak in them. All of the angles the speakers radiate from have a major affect on the sound.

Have fun and keep us posted on your progress with more pics.

 

[slowGEEZR]

VIRTUAL?! That is the REAL DEAL BABY!!

I can vouch for that! - Steve (now living in San Antonio, Texas!)

 

[slowGEEZR]

I want your 400xi :bowdown:

Check out a Jolida 1000RX integrated. I have it and a 400xi and prefer the sound of the Jolida powering my Aerius Logans. It's a little cheaper, too! The Krell is very nice though, so I'm keeping mine for the bedroom system, or to alternate it with the Jolida from time to time. - Steve