Hey Toto, we're back in Kansas...

[eknuds01]

So I am at the airport waiting to fly back home and letting the whole weekend kind of sink in. WOW! The first thing that comes to mind is: What a GREAT group of people! And I am talking about the guys on this forum (and their significant others). I had a wonderful time making new friends and having great conversations about all kinds of things.

Lawrence is a cool, quaint little college town, with neat shops and some really good local restaurants. I would have liked to have had another day or two to really explore it.

The tour today was Awesome! The folks at ML are top-notch. It was nice to see their enthusiasm for their work and the knowledge and caring that they bring to it. Not only do they care about the products they put out and the end consumer, but they really know how to run a manufacturing business. I came away even more impressed with them than I expected.

I would like to describe to you all of the wonderful new products we learned about and auditioned, but then I would have to kill you (according to the confidentiality agreement we all signed). So I will just say: continue to expect some cool new products to come out of Lawrence over the next few years.

I have to say, the only dissapointment for me was the auditioning part. I enjoyed demoing the Summits in a really well-treated room, but ultimately I can do that at home. I really would have liked to hear a preliminary version of the CLX or maybe a pair of Statements. Is that asking so much?

Thanks to all of the ML folks who gave so willingly of their time and knowledge to share with us. And also thanks to all of our fellow forum members who took the time and effort to make this get-together happen. And finally, thanks to all the sponsors for sharing some cool schwag with us.

If you might be interested in doing this next year, let Tom know. He is considering doing it again if there is enough interest. I, for one, highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about it. We all really had a great time. Conversing on the forum is fun. But it is even more fun to meet everyone in person and have more in-depth conversations. Now I'm really looking forward to Jonathan's get-together in September. That's all for now.

Tom,

If this goes down next year, I'll be there.

Erik

 

[JonFo]

At KCI Hilton now, relaxing after a wonderful day touring the factory and spending more quality time with our excellent hosts and forum members.

The tour is quite the experience and highly recommended to anyone who can make a future event.

Event the wife had a ton of fun and asked questions during the tour. She even participated in the ‘profile’ the product planning team asked us to participate in today. This is where we select what kind of music listener we are, ’20th century audiophile’, ’21st century audiophile (me)’, ‘lifestyle oriented user’, and one other I don’t remember. Each one also had a multiple-choice questionnaire to answer to profile our styles. Although I think we had a slightly skewed representation of the audiophile community…

The manufacturing process for the ESL is awesome, and truly world-class. I have a new level of both understanding and respect for the design and process involved in making the great sound our ML ESL generate.
BTW- Replacement panels are very reasonably priced if you know what goes into actually building them…

Every single person we met at ML is engaged and loves what they do. I’m proud, and privileged, to be a loyal customer of such a great organization.

I’m also really happy I got to meet all the great fellow members of this forum that attended.

 

[sleepysurf]

Ditto what JonFo said. It was great fun meeting our MLOC colleagues, and together sharing this phenomenal audio weekend.

I was most impressed by the organization, quality committment, and attention to detail, shown by the entire ML team. IMHO, their corporate philosophy is heads above most others I've seen.

Although market pressure is driving them to utilize both outsourced and/or offshore manufacturing of many components and cabinets, all those parts come to Lawrence for final assembly, testing, QC, and distribution. I think they really have a handle on how to properly engineer a global/domestic product, while maintaining their high standards. ALL the design work is still done in Lawrence, and most of the cabinet veneers and custom-finish work likewise. We saw some INCREDIBLE custom finishes which knocked our socks off. Not sure if it's OK to describe quite yet, but stay tuned! :drool:

I have no doubt that ML will enjoy continued market growth and success, and we'll be enjoying both evolutionary, and REVOLUTIONARY, designs for many years to come!

 

[amey01]

ALL the design work is still done in Lawrence, and most of the cabinet veneers and custom-finish work likewise. We saw some INCREDIBLE custom finishes which knocked our socks off. Not sure if it's OK to describe quite yet, but stay tuned! :drool:

Were the custom finishes test product or firm orders from customers?

 

[theWB]

Were the custom finishes test product or firm orders from customers?

As a Biker this was my favorite Summit design.
Black Leather and Chrome!:drool: :drool:
For just $20,000 they could be yours!
I believe for this particular design they told us they sold 4 pairs.

 

[tonyc]

Just got home from Lawrence and I am so tired, but also so psyched. I got to meet some of the neatest folks on earth over the last three days and I am so glad I chose to attend the get together. Kudos to Tom, Tim, and Dave for pulling off a great meet. Acoustic Sounds rocks! ML seems stronger than ever and the team seems enthusiastic about the future. Saw the most beautiful pair of speakers on earth (see above and notice the drool as I leer at those beauty's). Yeah, I was disappointed I didn't get to hear prototype CLX's but I have a new found respect for the time and effort involved in manufacturing these amazing works of art that are our beloved speakers.

 

[TomDac]

Hey all,

Well, we made it back to Cali...

Today's tour of ML was incredible! Yeah, we didn't get to see or hear the CLX's but we kinda figured that going in. It was still SO fascinating to see panels being built and speakers being put together, tested and readied for shipment. The R&D room was fun too.. Sorry, but we couldn't take any photos!

Thank you to all the folks at MartinLogan for having us, giving us tons of cool vendor schwag and for being part of this event!!

Thanks to the members here on this site for attending. It was great meeting you all and sorry I didn't personally say goodbye to all of you.. We had to jet back to KC for a 4:15 flight and it was a little chaotic with everyone leaving.

What a great bunch of people we have here. I am VERY proud of this site and everyone who makes it what it is today.

Tim and Dave: Thank you so much for your efforts in making this event happen. Thanks also to the sponsors you got on board who provided schwag!

More stuff later.. I'm exhausted and just wanted to check in briefly before crashing!

Tom.

 

[Joey_V]

As a Biker this was my favorite Summit design.
Black Leather and Chrome!:drool: :drool:
For just $20,000 they could be yours!
I believe for this particular design they told us they sold 4 pairs.

Yup yup! That's me and my Chrome Leather Summits.... in my dreams!

Anyway, just got settled back at home, but too tired to post anything worth posting (other than this random comment, as usual ).... but will most certainly post something of substance tomorrow.

Just want to thank Tom for putting together a great great great Meet and I just want to thank Cherian for being my Meet buddy.... and I wanted to say that it was great making real friends out of forum friends... Dave, Tim, Tony, Ray, Rich, Alan, Craig, Jon! And seeing the Chicago Group out there was great... Wayne and Burke!

So anyway, the short of it is that a lot of MLO member missed out on a great time!

The long of it, no one on this forum who was at the Meet can ever convey to the guys who missed out exactly how cool it was.

Joey

 

[Joey_V]

I thought the entire experience was awesome! I seriously did not imagine it was going to be that well-executed and that well-organized. I remember when Cherian and I rolled into town, the first thoughts going through our minds were "What the heck are we going to be doing when there isn't an event planned? Like on Sunday morning and afternoon, before the dinner??"

The question should've been, "How are we going to do all this stuff when we only have Sunday morning and afternoon to do it??" This was certainly a testament to the fact that once we got there and we met the fellow forum members, we all basically clicked and became instant friends as we all had a certain "history" to draw on from being on the MLO forum site... so the sense of awkwardness was absent and so was the sense of having to start from scratch when talking to somebody. It was more like... "HEY DAVE!!!", "Ohhh TIM!!!", and a little bit of "HHhhey Rich!! You're the guy with the car on your avatar, right?!"

The entire experience was really great! I could not have asked for more... at the end of the day, I could finally answer my initial question, when I woke up at 3:45am on Saturday to start the trek to Kansas, "What am I doing and is this going to be worth it?"

The answer is a simple and resounding YES.

Ok, so onto the highlights from my perspective...

Saturday, I already posted earlier.

Sunday...
Alan was an awesome guy to hang out with that day. Not only was he full of funny stories and interesting tidbits, but he saved me and Cherian from a run-of-the-mill breakfast and started our day out right. Alan caught me and Cherian at the Holiday Inn breakfast buffet, right before we were seated, and had us come with him to eat breakfast in town. We walked around and realized that Lawrence, KS does not wake up until atleast 12noon in many places. We ate breakfast at Milton's and spent an hour perusing the sights, which involved hippie shops and closed toy stores! BTW, thanks to Alan for the goooood breakfast!!! Oh and Alan found a railroad CD for Dave, but Dave was nowhere to be found at the music shop.

Dave... what can I say? The guy was already up and about, making friends at the lobby when I got down there for breakfast! Dave helped me out by introducing me to vinyl and how to pick out a good used vinyl record. Dave and I ribbed each other, although I think he picked on me more than I did on him.. but it's awesome to know that I have more than a mentor, but a friend in him. It's great to know that Dave and I transcend audio and we're more than just audio buddies now. Hanging out with Dave was a treat!

Cherian... Sunday reinforced my belief that this guy plays hard, parties hard, and drinks hard. Cherian bought a round of drinks after the dinner and was the first to chug a beer early midafternoon... I mean, this guy would've been all over beer if the breakfast restaurant served it. Quote of the day from Cherian, "Hmmmm.... the first beer is always the best.. always the coldest.... always the tastiest."

Tom... seeing Tom get that plaque was great! This guy really deserved it! I just wish they gave him a pair of Summits or something for getting us all deeper into Martin Logan, because one thing is for sure, no salesman has given ML the sales that Tom has. If it wasn't for the MLO forum, I doubt I would've been psychotic enough to purchase my Summits. Hoorah for Tom!!! And I think Tom had a good hand in the powerpoint presentation when it mentioned me!

Rich... talked to Rich quite a bit in the evening, didn't see him in the day. I remember conversing with Rich regarding my second system and whether or not I stretched myself thin, he gave me sound advice and more than one thing to think about. In addition, I don't know why but Rich is one of the friendliest guys at the Meet. Whenever we saw each other, it was always multiple handshakes, a pat on the arm, smiles galore!! Loved seeing the guy!

Tim... this guy is someone you all HAVE to meet one way or another. I have not seen anyone as ferocious on the vinyl floor as this guy. It was just, let him loose and watch Tim gravitate and yank out as many vinyl records to the cashier!! This guy is probably the epitome of the core of our hobby, the music. His experience in music DWARFS mine by a mile (as do many others on the trip).... and it was great to rub elbows with him and hopefully piggy-back on some of his experience. Also, I got Tim real good this time around.. with his very own Britney CD! Oh.... I got his reaction on video and it was most certainly priceless! This is one guy I'm going to look forward to keeping in touch (and not for just the audio experience)!

Tony... didn't get to talk much to Tony this night, but I had a very good conversation with the man on Monday, which ended up with him giving me his contact info since we could not get to every topic in time before we had to leave. What a guy! His experience with audio, planars in particular, is top notch and he is one of the few who is able to eloquently describe why he liked or didn't like a particular product. Not only was I trying to suck the guy dry for his opinions on several products, but he was very helpful in giving me straight shooting advice on life in general.

Craig... we had lunch at the Thai restaurant and I learned that you can put cream with Ice Tea. Oh, btw, you hit a home run with Karin. Oh... and nice doggy bowl you guys got from that shop! I saw one with 2 doggy bowls in the back, but yours was already being packed up. Oh... and good luck with the Wadia and make sure to post pics and let us know how you like the 581!

Jon... the only guy with Monoliths... I remember Dave Allen asking who owns Monoliths and Jon's hand was so fast, I thought he popped his shoulder. I also noticed that you're married with an Audio Friendly! Liz was very much involved in everything audio, even moreso than I thought, she took part in the survey and helped you out with your Dream Speaker schematics! Didn't see you with your SPF1000 on Monday though... .

Ray... what can I say about this come-from-left-field guy?? I don't recall really seeing him on the forum, but this guy and I were heavily locked into conversations. The info this guy had that day with regards to vinyl is astounding. Aside from Tim and Dave, I think Ray is one of the foremost vinyl guys I've met so far. Ray was a great friend to converse with and each time I ran into him, we could just talk for hours. He's invited me over to his place in Florida and he promised to look at TTs for me on the 'gon! I hope he frequents MLO a bit more in the future.

Wayne... as always, a pleasure! I didn't get to talk to Wayne too much on Sunday because he wasn't with us on our treks to town. At the dinner, he was busy galavanting with the ML guys... didn't want to bother him!

Burke... ah... my partner in crime. Burke may appear mild mannered but this guy can hit you right where it hurts.... can't he, Tim?? All I remember was a PM from Burke that afternoon saying he's got a Britney Spears CD for me to give to Tim... he said, "... one good rib deserves another!" Burke and his antics.... that's enough for a Sunday highlight! I believe Tim gave him hell after dinner!

I hope I didn't forget anyone. I'll post some final comments later today or tomorrow.

 

[TomDac]

Were the custom finishes test product or firm orders from customers?

Hi Amey,

Those were test finishes... In the near future you will be able to go to the ML website and select the finish of your speakers... there is a plethora of colors, etc. Kind of like when you go to BMW's website and do the "build my car" function.

Kudos for ML for having the forsight to do this and even more kudos to Devin Zell at ML for doing the programming for this!! He's self taught, which is something I can relate to and admire!

The leather and chrome Summits were a little too over the top for my taste, but it's cool that ML is open to experiment like that and custom tailor their products.

 

[TomDac]

Tom... seeing Tom get that plaque was great! This guy really deserved it! I just wish they gave him a pair of Summits or something for getting us all deeper into Martin Logan, because one thing is for sure, no salesman has given ML the sales that Tom has. If it wasn't for the MLO forum, I doubt I would've been psychotic enough to purchase my Summits. Hoorah for Tom!!! And I think Tom had a good hand in the powerpoint presentation when it mentioned me!

Hey Joey,

Thank you so much for the kind words. I had NO involvement in that powerpoint presentation or the photo of your system in the R&D area.. That was too funny.

I was shocked and surprised to receive that plaque... Thanks to the folks at ML for that. I was very touched. If they had rolled out a pair of Summits, I would've probably started crying and that wouldn't have been very pretty! LOL!

Seriously, though.. I'm all about promoting what I feel is a great company who sell a great product and take care of their customers in outstanding fashion.

Before I purchased my Sequels in 1987, I had never heard of MartinLogan. I auditioned the Sequels and the dealer told me that they're a small company in Kansas and the CLS and Monolith were their only models and the Sequel was new.

In the back of my mind, I thought purchasing $2000 loudspeakers from a relatively new company was a little risky and there would be a chance that they might not be around very long and I'd have no way to get them serviced if anything ever went wrong. $2000 was alot of money for a US Navy schlub making $1200 a month.

When one of the panels started to fade about 6 months after I got them home, the dealer took good care of me. Shortly afterwards, the other panel started to fade and I called ML directly and Jim Power took EXCELLENT care of me.

I remember hanging up the phone and thinking, "WOW. This is how all American companies should take care of their customers".

When I met Jim Power this weekend, I wanted to give him a hug! Jim, you can thank me later for not doing that!

So here's a company who makes an exceptional product, has exceptional customer support.. How can you NOT love them?

People come over to my house and say, "WOW.. What are those? They look cool". Then I play something and their jaws drop to the floor. And mind you, my gear has never been super high end like alot of you other guys.

OK.. I'm rambling again...but bottom line is this: I'm a huge supporter of MartinLogan and if what I'm doing here with this site helps them stay successful, then THAT is my reward.

I can't even imagine getting rid of my Logans for anything other than newer, better Logans. Someday I will have CLX's and a Descent i sub to go with it!

Oh yeah, I just LOVE how the Descent i "goes to 11".. for anyone who's never seen the film "This Is Spinal Tap", you simply must go rent it immediately! It's an all time classic!

Anyway... I gotta lay off the coffee this morning... LOL..

 

[Joey_V]

You know what I like now that I've met a good portion of the members?

When I read their posts, I actually hear their voice/accent.

Tom and his deep voice... while Dave has his gregarious tone!

Ahh.. this is great. :music:

 

[DTB300]

You know what I like now that I've met a good portion of the members?

When I read their posts, I actually hear their voice/accent.

Well, since I could not make it this year, here is something to let you match up my voice to my posts

 

[amey01]

Hi Amey,

Those were test finishes... In the near future you will be able to go to the ML website and select the finish of your speakers... there is a plethora of colors, etc. Kind of like when you go to BMW's website and do the "build my car" function.

Kudos for ML for having the forsight to do this and even more kudos to Devin Zell at ML for doing the programming for this!! He's self taught, which is something I can relate to and admire!

The leather and chrome Summits were a little too over the top for my taste, but it's cool that ML is open to experiment like that and custom tailor their products.

My favourite finish is still the piano black Ascents! You didn't see piano black did you? You probably can't say! I wish I was there (5).

 

[sleepysurf]

If I'd know Tom was gonna take so many photos of the back of my bald pate, I'd have powdered it!

GREAT JOB on the pics... really captured the essence of the weekend. I only took a few pics, and will only post stuff that's not been previously shown.

Joey, when is the 72 hr documentary video going to be posted on YouTube?

 

[Joey_V]

Joey, when is the 72 hr documentary video going to be posted on YouTube?

Alan,

I'm working on it... working on it!

Hhehehhe....

Joey

 

[Craig]

You know what I like now that I've met a good portion of the members?

When I read their posts, I actually hear their voice/accent.

Tom and his deep voice... while Dave has his gregarious tone!

Ahh.. this is great. :music:

You didn't hear my real voice. I was suffering from laryingitis and couldn't even talk half the time. I had a lot of questions to ask and comments to make. That sucked and was a little frustating but it was still a great experience and Karin and I had a good time with everyone.

 

[Joey_V]

You didn't hear my real voice. I was suffering from laryingitis and couldn't even talk half the time. I had a lot of questions to ask and comments to make. That sucked and was a little frustating but it was still a great experience and Karin and I had a good time with everyone.

That's why you were a bit more quiet than I thought. It all makes sense now.

It's ok though... we had Alan.. I vote him the most talkative guy there!

Joey