Martin Logan Summit. Prodigy/Odyssey replacement. EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK!

[Wayne]

Dragonfly,
I agree with you on the rounded aspect, you and I think it would be better. Let me ask you this, would the appearance of the Summit stop you from buying it?

 

[Reverb2009]

“Would the appearance of the Summit stop you from buying it?”

That would be a good polling question.

 

[Dragonfly]

Absolutely Wayne I totally Agree with you.
Peter Hogan thank you for posting the article.
Zip3ko7 you raised a good point, a poll on the issue would be appropriate. The answer to your question is YES, one should not underestimate the importance of a good design either you like it or not its like a piece of furniture that seats in you lounge,cinema or media room which ever way you want to call it. ML'S have character they are not like other speakers you hide away behind wall panels or cupbaords.
Dragonfly,
Surbiton, United Kingdom.

 

[Reverb2009]

I started a polling question asking “Would the appearance of the Summit stop you from buying it?”

Please go to the polling page or click the link below if you have an opinion. Thanks


http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=334

 

[roberto]

Hello Roberto

Did you get you see how the speakers are powered? IEC removable power cord, or Martin Logan’s external low voltage transformer?

With the woofer being internally amplified I could see Martin Logan using an IEC to power the Amp and the Clarity’s low voltage set up to power the panels. Also does the Summit use a single or dual driver setup?


Thank you for your comments Roberto, I am another person you can add to the list of people that did not like the new look at first but it is growing on me. The more reviews we get about the Summit from CES ’05 the more I can’t wait to see and hear them in person.

Hola Zip3kx07. The amplifiers of the woofers are built-in, so you can't see them. ML was using a pair of Parasound Monoblocks to power the Summit, also a bi-wired connection was used. Yes, they have IEC removable power cord. The same A.C. cable that powers the digital woofer's amplifier powers the panels. Each Summit has two ten inch woofers, one firing to front and the other is firing to the floor. At the begining, I didn't like it at all, because it is a new radical lool from ML. But as soon as you started to see it, you start to like it more each time. All I can say is: the best speaker from ML that I have ever listened. Still have their sound in my brain. The space between instruments, the fingering of the guitar player, the piano notes, the voices, the strings, the percussion instruments, the size of the instruments between them, a joy to listen...all were life alike. All I know, I want a pair for sure!
Happy listening,
Roberto.

 

[Reverb2009]

Hola Zip3kx07. The amplifiers of the woofers are built-in, so you can't see them. ML was using a pair of Parasound Monoblocks to power the Summit, also a bi-wired connection was used. Yes, they have IEC removable power cord. The same A.C. cable that powers the digital woofer's amplifier powers the panels. Each Summit has two ten inch woofers, one firing to front and the other is firing to the floor. At the begining, I didn't like it at all, because it is a new radical lool from ML. But as soon as you started to see it, you start to like it more each time. All I can say is: the best speaker from ML that I have ever listened. Still have their sound in my brain. The space between instruments, the fingering of the guitar player, the piano notes, the voices, the strings, the percussion instruments, the size of the instruments between them, a joy to listen...all were life alike. All I know, I want a pair for sure!
Happy listening,
Roberto.

Roberto

All I know is the more you talk about them the more I forget about how they look and the more I want to buy a pair. I wonder why they chose to have the 2nd woofer firing at the floor? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to do an amplified Force Forward setup from the prodigy?

Thanks for the comments Roberto I was wondering ware they put the 2nd woofer that was listed in the press release when they mounted the binding post’s at the center of the back cabinet (scene in the side profile picture of the Summit).

Anyone want to donate some money to my ML Summit fund? All contributions excepted.

 

[roberto]

sme thing happens to me...

Roberto

All I know is the more you talk about them the more I forget about how they look and the more I want to buy a pair. I wonder why they chose to have the 2nd woofer firing at the floor? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to do an amplified Force Forward setup from the prodigy?

Thanks for the comments Roberto I was wondering ware they put the 2nd woofer that was listed in the press release when they mounted the binding post’s at the center of the back cabinet (scene in the side profile picture of the Summit).

Anyone want to donate some money to my ML Summit fund? All contributions excepted.

Hola. I asure you that I have the same feeling that you have...I just want a pair too...regarding the woofer firing to the floor, this set up has being used since long time ago...I recall as an example the Signature 1, from Unity Audio. Firing to the floor, first you have the benefit to have always a hard structure, no matter if you have rugs, flat concrete or what ever you have, giving this 360º of bass energy to the room. The woofer that is firing to the front is for detail and scenario. Believe me when I say good bass...you can "tune" your room very easy because you have an octave equalizer at 25 Hz and 50Hz + - 8 dB (I as I recall) for the standing waves of your room, you can adjust the level to match the best flat response...and this is O.K. for any room. What really got me was when I heard a big drum...I heard the bang at the drum in the stage and suddenly the low frequency came...as you know, the low frequency notes are slowers than the mids and highs. The bang (drum hit) at the panels were real fast!!! and then low frequency...I was very lucky to have that demo at the show and I still have it into my brain...sorry, my English is not too good.
Happy listening, my friend, regards from Costa Rica,
Roberto.

 

[Dan Prorok]

would the appearance of the Summit stop you from buying it?

Isn't appearance one of the primary reasons people buy Bose systems? About a year ago I got sucked into the Bose people's schtick and at the end of the presentation, the big "surprise" was that "all that noise...er, sound...was coming from these tiny speakers."

 

[Reverb2009]

People buy Bose because they don’t know any better, they buy into the hype about Bose being first class, and that’s good enough most. I have friends that have a Bose setup they purchased because; of all the ads and hype about they’re being nothing finer than sitting down with Bose and a good glass of wine. I was talking about my Martin Logan setup one night and they said “well we have Bose, that’s as good as it gets isn’t it?”

 

[happybuyer]

So THAT'S why people buy Bose speakers. I always wondered, because it certainly isn't for the sound.

 

[happybuyer]

My reaction to these went the opposite direction from most people on this thread. At first, I really liked the look--clean, stark, contemporary, light, airy. Then they started to look cheap. Now they look downright ugly. That matches my reaction to a lot of modern architecture--the snazzier it looks at first, the crappier and more dated it looks later. The most-radical architecture tends to look absurd within a few years.

But the real question is, how do they sound, particularly compared to the Prodigies. This is of crucial importance to me, because I just bought a pair of Prodigies, but the dealer is a really good guy, and I'm sure he would let me cancel that order and instead get the Summits.

 

[longhorn]

If the subs are powered,it should be easier to find an amp to power the stats right? What? Roughly 2-4 ohms on the stat.

It will be interesting to see how you can bi-wire a single Stat panel?

 

[Reverb2009]

"It will be interesting to see how you can bi-wire a single Stat panel?"


The Summit has 2 sets of binding posts, one set for the stat and the second for the bass amps. You can single wire with jumpers, internal Bi-wire, or Shotgun Bi-wire. With the dual woofers being interlay powered it should be about the same as bi-amping a set of Logan’s without four channels.

 

[longhorn]

Zip,you are confusing me,why would I send a high powered signal to the subs? You would think that the expensive crossover they are using in this speaker would take care of that,thus leaving the amp to power the stat only. So again,why feed a high power signal to "powered" amps?

 

[Reverb2009]

Zip,you are confusing me,why would I send a high powered signal to the subs? You would think that the expensive crossover they are using in this speaker would take care of that,thus leaving the amp to power the stat only. So again,why feed a high power signal to "powered" amps?

Convenience?

I think your confusing yourself.

I had a set of Polk audio RT2000i towers a few years ago; they were internally powered with a 50W RMS 100W Peak amp that was powering two 8” front firing subwoofers. On the back it had two sets of binding posts top set was for the 1” tweeter and 6 ½” woofer and the bottom was for the subwoofers. I would say these speakers were more of a quantity not quality speakers. But take out the jumpers and you could Bi-wire them.

I could be wrong, it could be a single wire speaker?

 

[JonFo]

Stage news?

First, I'm miffed that I actually made the effort to visit the ML suite at CES, and even though I told them I had a full complement of their products (you know, little things, like Monolith III's) and that I was interested in the Stage, nothing but a bit of chitchat, no demos of the Summit, no sneak peak at the Stage. No questions about 'what are you looking for?'

Not exactly fan friendly if you ask me. Wonder what Roberto and others had to say to get the demos?

Anyway, probably could care less about the Summit, as I will be just updating my Monolith and Sequel panels. Then, when the Stage comes out, we'll see if it really is a step up from the Logos. If it is, then I buy one.

One thing I do not like about the Summit is how low the panels are set. In my HT, with a raised dais, the second row really benefits from the fact that the four corners have 6' tall speakers that cover the primary listening heights at both levels.
I think that while angling the panels helps cover vertically, they also now engage ceiling reflections. That’s a downside IMHO.

 

[roberto]

I got a very friendly demo...

First, I'm miffed that I actually made the effort to visit the ML suite at CES, and even though I told them I had a full complement of their products (you know, little things, like Monolith III's) and that I was interested in the Stage, nothing but a bit of chitchat, no demos of the Summit, no sneak peak at the Stage. No questions about 'what are you looking for?'

Not exactly fan friendly if you ask me. Wonder what Roberto and others had to say to get the demos?

Anyway, probably could care less about the Summit, as I will be just updating my Monolith and Sequel panels. Then, when the Stage comes out, we'll see if it really is a step up from the Logos. If it is, then I buy one.

One thing I do not like about the Summit is how low the panels are set. In my HT, with a raised dais, the second row really benefits from the fact that the four corners have 6' tall speakers that cover the primary listening heights at both levels.
I think that while angling the panels helps cover vertically, they also now engage ceiling reflections. That’s a downside IMHO.

Hola Jonfo. I had a previous appointment with the guys at ML. So, as soon as I got there, they were expecting me. There were two rooms, one at the left, where you could see all the ML new ATF line, and the first thing that they said to me was..."hello Roberto, what would you like to drink? Coffee, sodas? then I asked for a diet coke, and that's what I got. Then I asked for the new speakers... they said (Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Wenzel) that the room was in a demo, so I had to wait a little bit, because they wanted me to listen to the new electrostatic speaker. We waited a few minutes (my partner and I) and then Mr. Armstrong said...the room is now ours...please come to the other room...first thing I noticed was that the door was locked and only with the key will open...as soon as I was in the room I found a blue curtain that was closed and Mr. Armstrong started to talk about the new speaker...he gave a very good explanation of the new technical approach to make the new Summit...and then he started to open the curtains...and there they were...he played some music, then a demo drum, and then some percussion instruments, vocals, piano, guitar, clarinet, wind instruments, strings, most common musical instruments, and I was so exited that Mr. Armstrong said to me: Roberto, please be quiet!!! let me finish this!...there were so many questions and all at the same time. All I can say is that I got all the time needed to find out how great the new Summits are...and as I said before, still have their sound in my brain...
Happy listening,
Roberto.

 

[Nick]

Hello Guys,

Some things occurred to me about the Summit today which I am wondering about.

1) I read in Roberto's post that the active part of summit uses a digital amp. I wonder who makes it? And why did they go digital?

2) We spend a lot of time and money trying to isolate our amps and other equipment from vibration. However now we can't do that seeing as the amp is attached directly speaker. In fact now it's going to be full of vibrations, much much more than an amp would ever get sitting on a shelf. Assuming that the Summit crosses over at 250 hz its going to cover a lot of the audible band in music, were a lot of important information lies.

What are your thoughts on this? I know in the end it's how it sounds that counts. But am I off my rocker, or are these some concerns we should be worried about?

Happy Listening,
Nick

 

[Jeff Zaret]

Nick,
Interesting thought. My first thought would be heat related, some type of damping system for the ciruit card and the cost would probably lend itself to a small SS amp.

Here is something to think about. I know a lot of us either have some tube equipment or wish they could afford it. I currently do not. As far as my memory serves me, most if not almost all modern recording studios do not use tubes. They are transistorized/computerized to say the least. Makes one think why they cannot produce sound with the harmonics similar to tubes. This has been the argument between tube ans transitors since the inception of many transistor preamps and amps. I would think with technology someone would be able to provide a produce that "inverts" odd to even harmonics.

Jeff

 

[risabet]

If the amp is "digital" it won't generate much heat at all. Digital amps aren't really digital, they're just called that because the output devices are either on or off, unlike class's A and A/B. What they are is extremely efficient generating very little heat because the OD's are basically off half the time.

The more I see the summit, the less I like it, a lot less!