Happy to see that there is renewed interaction going on on this forum. I have to admit I haven't been that active myself but I do check the forum on a daily base and I have got very good advice over the years. MY love for ML started with the orignal CLS's, at that time demo'ed with some VTL Ichiban's. Must have been 1986 or so.
Is the Martin Logan brand declining?
- Thread starter Rich
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I haven't tinkered with it in a couple of years, the rubber seals on the fuel tank went so it could not suck up gas, then the pull rope broke.
Glorious plans for it, but it sits in wait.
Also sitting in wait for a resistor upgrade to get working again are my two SE-100 Golden Tube Audio amps.
I'm at that point in life where everything I own is all worn out and I either don't have the time or want to go down that rabbit hole of spending money all over again.
Exercise is great but there is no social element doing it by myself. I've got another expensive hobby now, cigars and it gets me out to the cigar lounge. Everything in moderation though.
George, I've had that 'hobby' for well over forty years now, though I have cut back quite a bit. I'm up in Scranton 2-3 time a month, we have a great cigar bar called 'The Big House' , great cigars , cocktails and lovely ladies to serve both.
http://bighousetobacco.com
if you're ever in the area give me a shout !
repman
Well-known member
Hey Guys , I still peek in from time to time. Good conversation going on.
Mobs
Well-known member
I do as well.
Especially when I was able to score a pair of Walnut Expression 13A's today.
My local retailer "lost" their lease and had a 2 day blowout sale.
I got them to upgrade my Montis as they were an absolute steal at 60% off retail. I still can't believe they fell into my lap.
Especially when I was able to score a pair of Walnut Expression 13A's today.
My local retailer "lost" their lease and had a 2 day blowout sale.
I got them to upgrade my Montis as they were an absolute steal at 60% off retail. I still can't believe they fell into my lap.
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Wow! Great deal! Looks like Sound Advice is out-of-business for the 2nd time! Too bad.
Mobs,
So you've upgraded from Montis to 13A's? That's just the upgrade I've been thinking about.
I'd be really curious to see how the new ones sound compared to the Montis.
Are the 13A's noticeably larger in the room than the Montis?
Thx.
Mobs
Well-known member
I got the 13A's unboxed and set up last night.
From a profile view, they are much larger than the Montis. For example, I was able to put my 2 Montis into one single 13A box. Then all of the packing materials into the other 13A box. So the 13A's are about double the depth of the Montis.
I should add that I do have my original Montis boxes, but they are in the attic and I really had no time for that adventure as getting the 13A's connected was my first priority.
So I covered the Montis and put them both into one 13A box. lol.From the front, the 13A's are only slightly wider and a bit taller.
In my set up, with the space I kept my Montis from my back wall, the back of the 13A's are now close to the back wall, but the panel is still about where I used to keep Montis.
With the woofer enclosure being so deep now, it is probably a good thing as it keeps users from putting the speaker panels too close to the back wall. I'm sure you keep your Montis front panel a few feet from the back wall. That empty space would simply be occupied by the 13A's woofer enclosure.
They were daunting out of the box, but when placed, not a HUGE difference. But a noticeable difference none the less. Even the Mrs. thinks they look better than the Montis after they were placed. She was nervous when I took them out of the box.
Your mileage may vary on this, depending on your set up.
I hope my description made sense. I will try to get a pic for you tonight if you need.
Mobs, from your description you should still bring your speakers out another couple of feet if you can.
Joey_V
Well-known member
Was this Sound Advice? Any other tips? Looking for impression in walnut. Are they selling their demos or are these new? Do you have a contact for me to look into purchasing one?
Thanks
Mobs
Well-known member
Agreed, based on the manual, they would like at least 10" from the back wall to the back of the woofer enclosure. I am about 6" shy of that and cannot bring them out much further in my current set up.
I find it interesting that in the Montis manual, they measure the back wall from the front of the panel and want 2' separation. I assume that is because of the back woofer.
The Mrs. and I are planning on buying a new home (man cave coming soon) and I have this in consideration for such. But, there was no way I was going to let the opportunity of purchasing these at that price slip through my hands.
I don't want to take this conversation sideways, but...
I currently use an Anthem AVM60 as my processor. It of course uses ARC, so my question is...
Should I ARC at the processor only or "Double ARC" (which sounds totally unnecessary), meaning calibrate at the speaker first, then at the processor? The latter seems totally redundant.
I need to run ARC at the processor anyway no matter what because of the other speakers/subs in my set up.
The speakers need to be broken in as they sound a bit tight. It reminds me of the first time I powered up the Montis.
Mobs
Well-known member
It was Sound Advice. Their contact info is below. Yesterday was the last day and there was mostly floor demos left.
The speakers I purchased still had the boxes, all accessories and were in pristine condition. I believe they were just ordered and had been on the show room floor for only a few weeks.
They had another pair in Cherry that were a bit banged up.
You can give them a call and see if there is anything they can do, but I believe it is all done now.
Fort Lauderdale Showroom
4008 N. Federal Hwy
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
954-563-8344
Matt was the person that helped me.
Congrats on the purchase, Mobs. Sounds like you fell into a heck of a deal. Now you can sell your Montis and you will have upgraded to a much better speaker for a reasonable net outlay. Always nice when things work out like that.
Mobs,
If you can get me a pic, that would be great. Much appreciated.
It will take a while for the speakers to break-in of course. In my experience, speakers never end up sounding like they do on the first day.
Should be an awesome upgrade though. Bigger panel, lower x-over freq, room correction, deeper bass.
I want them now!!
Mobs
Well-known member
Mobs,
If you can get me a pic, that would be great. Much appreciated.
It will take a while for the speakers to break-in of course. In my experience, speakers never end up sounding like they do on the first day.
Should be an awesome upgrade though. Bigger panel, lower x-over freq, room correction, deeper bass.
I want them now!!
Here you go!View attachment 19584
ctbarker32
Member
I haven't logged on in a while but this discussion is very appropriate. I still use my ML Vantage with motif center channel and grotto sub for Home Theater TV watching and reference 2 channel listening. I have been considering an upgrade to the latest ESL (probably the 11's) but have hesitated. One is the need to trade in my Vantage's because I just don't have the space to store more discarded hifi equipment. Second, I have real reservations about the current ESL line's very large backside enlargement. I have a somewhat tight space wise setup that will make it challenging to clear the space behind my speakers to accommodate this extended "bottom". I understand the what ML was trying to accomplish but it really broke rank with previous designs that had a relatively small footprint. I predict that the next design cycle will try to fix this design issue more along the lines of previous models. Also, at about $10k for the ESL 11's it is a pretty pricey proposition. It's not out of line but there are so many great sounding speakers today. I think that Golden Ear's line is really competitive and less costly. Some may disagree?
If I were ML and really wanted to inject energy and move product, I would go direct to existing owners and make some offers you can't refuse and make it easy to trade in existing speakers. I'm not a fan of the Dealer model and would like to realize savings by a direct approach that could also save costs on ML's side.
I'm afraid if ML doesn't adapt to the new landscape they could disappear at some point? I don't want the quality to suffer, but there is too much competition and very few of us left that even have high end speakers on our radar.
If I were ML and really wanted to inject energy and move product, I would go direct to existing owners and make some offers you can't refuse and make it easy to trade in existing speakers. I'm not a fan of the Dealer model and would like to realize savings by a direct approach that could also save costs on ML's side.
I'm afraid if ML doesn't adapt to the new landscape they could disappear at some point? I don't want the quality to suffer, but there is too much competition and very few of us left that even have high end speakers on our radar.
Bernard
Well-known member
I wonder what possessed ML to make the backsides so large; I think they are impractical. I think that a wider speaker would have been more acceptable, and would have given more volume to the woofer cabinet, if that was the issue. This is one they did not think through clearly, IMO.
Bernard, a thought .........perhaps M/L wanted to somewhat force the issue of getting the speaker more into ones listening room. From what I've seen here on this forum alone way too many folks do not even remotely have their speakers optimized.
FWIW I couldn't use their current lineup because of how deep the bass cabinet is. I realize that may very well mean that I don't have room to optimize the positioning of my existing speakers although they sound great to me.
The new ML's are also cumbersome in both size and weight and I need to move my speakers for the holidays, so there is no way I could go to a larger speaker because it would be impractical for me to move them around.
For all practical purposes I currently own my first and last pair of ML speakers.
I will go to a smaller solution if I'm ever in the market again.
The new ML's are also cumbersome in both size and weight and I need to move my speakers for the holidays, so there is no way I could go to a larger speaker because it would be impractical for me to move them around.
For all practical purposes I currently own my first and last pair of ML speakers.
I will go to a smaller solution if I'm ever in the market again.
sleepysurf
Well-known member
I disagree. The new Masterpiece series woofer cabinets (utilizing a "cardioid" design, I believe), plus ARC room EQ, provide much better integration with the panels. If somebody wants "wide" they have the CLX and Neolith to choose from! Regardless of woofer cabinet size, the ESL panels ideally should be at least 3-4 ft from front wall. For those who need to occasionally move them, use carpet/floor sliders. Easy peasy!
