Need Advice for the Odyssey's Please. :)

[Audioseduction]

For those who have experience with the Odyssey's, I need some advice please! I soon will have the Odyssey's for my dedicated 2CH setup. I like to know if it would be beneficial for me to still use the "Paradigm Reference Servo-15 v.2" sub for like 40Hz and below. Thanks!

 

[twich54]

George, I don't own the Odyssey's, but I can't see why it would't hurt, besides nobody elses room is going to have the same bass characteristics as your room anyways. Give it a shot !!

 

[theWB]

George, I don't own the Odyssey's, but I can't see why it would't hurt, besides nobody elses room is going to have the same bass characteristics as your room anyways. Give it a shot !!

George,
I'm in agreement with Dave, everyones room and tastes are different.
I own Odyssey's and almost always use the Descent when 2 channel listening.
As long as you already have the sub, give it a try

 

[Pcar928fan]

^^^^^

I have Prodigy with even better bass response and still prefer them as a 2.1 set up w/ my Descent...YMMV

 

[eknuds01]

Odysseys and a Paradigm sub...there's a 'problem' I'd love to have :music:

 

[Craig]

The Odysseys are currently in a close battle with the Prodigys for title of the best value in a used Electrostat Hybrid. They're both physically large but have the uncanny ability to dissapear into a room.

Here's something to think about that you haven't thought about yet. How about biamping with tubes on the panels and your muscle amp on the Woofers? Ok we'll at least wait until they get settled in.

 

[Callisto]

I would have kept the subwoofer. A very good subwoofer is far better than the woofer in the speaker. With a very good subwoofer you get a better blending of the panels and the bass. I still think that the Akilles heal is the bass woofer concerning ML speakers.

 

[Callisto]

The Odysseys are currently in a close battle with the Prodigys for title of the best value in a used Electrostat Hybrid. They're both physically large but have the uncanny ability to dissapear into a room.

Here's something to think about that you haven't thought about yet. How about biamping with tubes on the panels and your muscle amp on the Woofers? Ok we'll at least wait until they get settled in.

The impedance of the panels are worse than the subs, so you should actually have more power to the panels since these will draw more current then the subs.

 

[LaserMark4]

Odyssey Migration Itch

I've also agree that Odyssey seems to be a great sweet spot all around in the ML lineup. I've been contemplating an upgrade myself. Only problem is my HT room is only 13 X 18 with an 8' high ceiling at the present.

Do you all think I would be overpowering and/or overkilling the room with these?

 

[eknuds01]

I've also agree that Odyssey seems to be a great sweet spot all around in the ML lineup. I've been contemplating an upgrade myself. Only problem is my HT room is only 13 X 18 with an 8' high ceiling at the present.

Do you all think I would be overpowering and/or overkilling the room with these?

No. I want to say I first heard the Odysseys in a room roughly that size. Yes, they are larger than the Aeon/Aerius but boy-oh-boy are they awesome sounding!

 

[Pcar928fan]

No. I want to say I first heard the Odysseys in a room roughly that size. Yes, they are larger than the Aeon/Aerius but boy-oh-boy are they awesome sounding!

Me too...it was the dealer here in town! Room could not have been much bigger than that.

 

[theWB]

No. I want to say I first heard the Odysseys in a room roughly that size. Yes, they are larger than the Aeon/Aerius but boy-oh-boy are they awesome sounding!

Agreed, Your room size is fine. Go ahead Upgrade you know you want to.:devil:

 

[LaserMark4]

Agreed, Your room size is fine. Go ahead Upgrade you know you want to.:devil:

Yup....got infected with the Joeyitus virus a few months back.

 

[Craig]

The impedance of the panels are worse than the subs, so you should actually have more power to the panels since these will draw more current then the subs.

I agree in the theory. However, there are many tube amps that output plenty of current. High current from tube amps is one of the reasons why they work so well with ESL panels. Wattage ratings don't compare between tube amps and SS amps. For example:

I've biamped Odysseys with tubes on the panels and SS on the woofers with excellent results. The tube amp for the panels was a Cary Audio Rocket 88 and the SS for the woofers was a Krell 300iL. There are better components than these but it was what I had available at the time. The Krell was great for the bass while the tubes sang beautifully on the panels.

My observation was that the Odysseys sounded better with this combination than with either of these amps used alone.

 

[Callisto]

I agree in the theory. However, there are many tube amps that output plenty of current. High current from tube amps is one of the reasons why they work so well with ESL panels. Wattage ratings don't compare between tube amps and SS amps.

It doesn't matter if it is tube or SS, wattage is still the same.
You can think of your amplifier as a voltage amplifier. Your amplifier need to be able to put out more and more current to be able to keep the voltage constant (at some level depending on power output) when the impedance is lowered. Tube amplifiers usually have big problems with putting out high currents (without distorsion) that's why SS is far better when it comes to low impedance speakers.
I recomend amplifiers that can handle impedances down to 1-2 ohm like Krell. Martin Logans sounds so lovely with these kind of amplifiers since the speakers really need lots of power to be able to get the right attack/snap of the sound. Otherwise they can sound a little "shy".

 

[Brad225]

So ....George how do the Odysseys sound.

 

[Craig]

Yeah George...how are they working out so far? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Craig]

It doesn't matter if it is tube or SS, wattage is still the same.

Although Krell amps a very good SS amps and I'm a fan of Krell gear. Wattage is not a very useful spec when comparing SS to Tube power. I.E. a 30, 40 or 50 watt amp is typically much more capable of driving ESLs than a 30,40 or 50 watt SS amp. Also, distortion is not necessarily a bad thing. Distortion comes in many forms (some good, some bad) and are often added to electronic musical intruments.

My point is that wattage ratings don't tell everything about an amplifiers power rating. For example a Krell amp rated at 300 watts at 8 ohms will double to 600 watts at 4 ohms, 1200 at 2 ohms. It puts out plenty of current and can handle heavy loads. Many other SS amps don't "double down". Although they can still sound wonderful.


You'd be amazed at the sound you'll hear from a 16 watt Art Audio Carissa amplifier powering a pair of Aeons.