ML Prodigy

[Mordante]

I have been thinking about upgrading my speakers. My speakers are not bad but I think I can do better. So I started to look on the net to see what is available for about €2000-€3000. So I came across a pair of second hand ML Prodigy. I have heard the ML summit once in a shop and the vantage at a show. Both times I was impressed by the sound. How ever if I remember correctly both times Jadis tube gear was used, I don't have a single tube in my set. I have never heard the Prodigy My set consists of:
CEC TL51x CD transport
Wadia 12 DAC
VPI Scout turntable
Lyra Dorian cart
Symphonic Line La Musica integrated amp
Impluse Aria SE speaker
NBS active IV speaker cable
Cardas Hexlink interconnects
NBS Dragon/Fly power cable for transport
NBS Omega III power cable for DAC

I have a broad taste in music. I like: Slayer, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Opeth, Anathema, My Dying Bride, UB40, Heather Nova, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, also a lot of 80’s pop like Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Joy Division/New Order etc. What I don’t like is music like Diana Krall and the rest of those phony jazz singers. Also I don’t like tingel tangel music. With that I mean music that is often played at audio shows. Very safe very audiophile and very boring music. Not sure if my musical taste should matter in my choice of speakers but al least it will give you some back ground info on me.

My living annex listening room is about four meters wide and about 6.5 meters deep. Currently my speakers are about 2.5meter apart and I sit about 3 meters from my speakers.

The ML Prodigy were build in 2002 according to the seller. I don’t think 8 years or almost 9 years is old for speakers. But are there weak spots that I should know of. Would they need service after 9 years. Will the speakers sound good in my 24 square meter living room and with my choice of music?

Any tips or idea’s are welcome.

 

[slowGEEZR]

The Prodigies are great speakers, IMHO. The subs are not self-amplified, so plenty of power is recommended. I believe your integrated has 130 wpc, so that should be sufficient, but not necessarily optimal for loud listening. Perhaps some Prodigy owners will chime in.
As far as Diana Krall, I too, do not like some of her music, but put on her rendition of Tom Waits' Temptation and you might find that she does some songs very well.

 

[eknuds01]

The Prodigy displays a different 'house' sound vs the Vantage and Summit. If you haven't listened to the SL3, Aerius, Aeon, Odyssey, etc be forewarned - the speakers from that generation have different characteristics vs the more modern line (Summit, Vantage, Vista, etc).

The Prodigy is also a very large speaker. With a large enough room and the right electronics, these speakers are truly awesome.

I don't think the panel age is an issue but it depends on the number of hours on the speakers and also their environment. Did the previous owner smoke? Any pets? How about the humidity? Did the owner ever clean the panels?

You may be able to get new panels for the speakers and this instantly adds 10 or 15 years to the life easily. In my experience, most martinlogan owners take very good care of their gear so you are probably OK. However, it never hurts to ask about how the speakers were treated or where they were placed (always in sunlight?).

I think the ability to play back hard rock music is entirely subjective. Either the speakers produce the dynamics you want, or they don't. This may also depend on the room - how live or dead is it? Can the room be treated to improve performance?

 

[Beakman]

What, no "My Bloody Valentine"?

 

[GaryG]

I have a broad taste in music. I like: Slayer, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Opeth, Anathema, My Dying Bride, UB40, Heather Nova, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, also a lot of 80’s pop like Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Joy Division/New Order etc. What I don’t like is music like Diana Krall and the rest of those phony jazz singers. Also I don’t like tingel tangel music. With that I mean music that is often played at audio shows. Very safe very audiophile and very boring music. Not sure if my musical taste should matter in my choice of speakers but al least it will give you some back ground info on me.

My living annex listening room is about four meters wide and about 6.5 meters deep. Currently my speakers are about 2.5meter apart and I sit about 3 meters from my speakers.

The ML Prodigy were build in 2002 according to the seller. I don’t think 8 years or almost 9 years is old for speakers. But are there weak spots that I should know of. Would they need service after 9 years. Will the speakers sound good in my 24 square meter living room and with my choice of music?

Any tips or idea’s are welcome.

Thank you for providing us with your musical taste, equipment list and esp. your room size. These all matter. Much of what I am about to say is IMHO some are just the facts. I will leave it to you to sort out which is which.

I own a pair of ML Prodigy's that I bought new in June of 2002. Until July of this year they served as my main speakers. Now I have CLX's for mains with the Prodigy's serving as rear channel's.

First let's discuss room size. My room is large, 17' by 40' and Prodigy's love a large room. The manual recommends that you have the front of the panels about 1.2 meters off the front wall and the inside edge of each panel about 1 meter off each wall. That means you will have about 2 meters behind you and 2 meters between the inside edge of your panels. I would say your room will hold the Prodigy's but you have very little room to spare. Also, since your room is on the smallish size for Prodigy's, acoustic treatment rises in importance. I suggest you look at the acoustic treatment section on this site. If your room is too hard you probably won't like the results.

I have a smoke free environment and clean my panels regularly and they still sound great. I would say they pretty much hold their own and blend well with my new CLX's. Most repairs are not that expensive. I recently replaced one of my woofers and I had my High-Pass in for repair once. Panel replacements, however, are expensive, but I have played my panels loud and I have played my panels long and they still sound great.

Moving on to amplification. Don't worry about not having any tubes. Many maybe most ML owners use solid state amps. Check out the systems section on this site. I started out with proceed amps that were 125 watts per channel the sound was great. However, when I would put on the Metallica Black album at high volume the amp would shut down from overheating before the album was finished. I moved up to a Proceed amp with 250 watts per channel and I could play the entire black album but if I put on Metallica S&M (a double album), It would shut down from overheating before both CD's were finished. I put small fans over the heatsinks and they could play all day. I mention this because the music you list as your style is often played loud and long. I am not familiar with your amp. My guess is that they might be a little low on power needs for your style.

Which brings me to your musical taste. Forgive me if I suggest the scope of your choice of music seems a little narrow. Sorry I can't help but get out of the PC mode. THE MUSIC YOU LIST DOES NOT SHOW A BROAD TASTE IN MUSICAL LISTENING. I feel better having said that. I listen to Metallica, NIN, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave... but also in Jazz: Roy Brown, Christian McBride, Youn Sun Nah... In baroque, classical, Romantic: Bach, Mozart, Chopin... In country... and I'm still looking to broaden my musical horizon by searching for something new. Your musical choices are fine I just would not have called them broad. Having said that the Prodigy's will play your music fine. When I play your style of music on the Prodigy's I cannot help myself, the volume goes way up and my smile grows. But that's me. You will have to decide for yourself. BTW my Prodigy's are not for sale.

Regards,
Gary

 

[timm]

As mentioned- some people here actually prefer the old design and others the new. Hearing the summit is no indication as to whether you will like the prodigy. With that said - I love the prodigy. Be forewarned - it will really show what type of recording you are listening to. It also does not have the punch the summit has (IMHO) but I actually prefer it because I think it sounds more natural. To each his own.

 

[Mordante]

Thank you for all your replies. I especially GarryG and his comments about placement. I don't have that much space to place my speakers. Also the fact that the Prodigy doesn't have an active woofer makes me think this speaker will not be for me.

I guess Martin Logans are not for me.

 

[Peter_Klim]

Thank you for all your replies. I especially GarryG and his comments about placement. I don't have that much space to place my speakers. Also the fact that the Prodigy doesn't have an active woofer makes me think this speaker will not be for me.

I guess Martin Logans are not for me.

No, they are for you.

It's the rooooom that isn't for the Martin Logans

I actually have a smaller room than yours (10.5 X 15.5 feet) using ReQuests and it wokrs out pretty well since the one speaker is next to an opening in the side wall (an opening that's almost 1/2 the length of the wall) that goes to another room. I had them in a larger room (13 X 20 ft that also had a large opening in the side wall near the speaker) but because of the acoustics, they sounded better in the smaller room. They'll sound even much better once I purchased acoustic panels (there is absolutely no treatment in the room right now).

Maybe some heavy room treatment will help?