New to the club and looking for advice

[Jeff Zaret]

marknewbie,
I would think that although fm radio is somewhat of a constant that it frequency range is limited. I have been told to play a cd in repeat endlessly but I really wonder about that one too. Presonally I would just listen as much I could with my music and just enjoy the hell out of great speakers.

Just my opinion and your mileage may vary

Jeff

 

[SteveInNC]

I put mine on a jazz music channel off of DirecTV, and ran them all day while I was at work and until I got home at night. This tends to vary the character of the music throughout the day, since some of it is acoustic, some is electronic, and some with and without vocals. I would think that anything that was full range music would be fine, but especially things with some percussion and high and low freqs. The actual Ascent manual says:

"Our custom made, butyl surround woofers require 30 hours of break-in at 90db (moderate listening levels) before any critical listening. The break-in requirements of the crossover components (and, to a lessor degree, the stator) are equivalent."

 

[DavidG]

I put mine on a jazz music channel off of DirecTV, and ran them all day while I was at work and until I got home at night. This tends to vary the character of the music throughout the day, since some of it is acoustic, some is electronic, and some with and without vocals. I would think that anything that was full range music would be fine, but especially things with some percussion and high and low freqs. The actual Ascent manual says:

"Our custom made, butyl surround woofers require 30 hours of break-in at 90db (moderate listening levels) before any critical listening. The break-in requirements of the crossover components (and, to a lessor degree, the stator) are equivalent."

I just bought mine, wired them in to my amp, and listened. The sound was great from day 1, and improved progressively over the first 6 weeks or so. A few times I left them playing a classical station all day, and that was it.

What I found was that I didn't need the full break-in to get great sound, it was always great but improved a bit as the speakers bedded in.

Cheers,

David

 

[sakhavi]

Theoretically, I think pink (full-spectrum) noise would be best; I didn't have a pink noise source so I used noise from my tuner and turned it up (not incredibly high up, but up) while I was away for a weekend. I'm sure the neighborhood dogs were annoyed, but then, they annoy me too, so we're even.

 

[Kaliar]

Hi all,

I'm with Jeff on this one: "I would just listen as much I could with my music and just enjoy the hell out of great speakers."

Take care,

 

[MarkNewbie]

They Are Here And Hooked Up!!!



They are playing as I type this. Oh my goodness, what an improvement over Polk Audio SDA-1s!!! They have been playing for 5 hours straight! Not only do these babies sound great, they are sexy as all get out!

Removing them from their "coffins" was not so bad thanks to the instructions from SteveinNC, thanks Steve. Just so every one knows. They are powered by a Pass Labs X-350, Mcintosh C2200 tube pre amp, Shanling CDT-200 SACD, MIT speaker cables, & Tranparent Audio interconnects. Arcici isolation rack should arrive in a week or so.

Celine is playing now but the Dire Straits are next up then perhaps some Norah Jones...

 

[Jeff Zaret]

MarkNewbie,
I bet you go to work tomorrow really tired because you stayed up late listening to some really great speakers.

Congratulations and remember they will only get better!

Jeff

 

[DTB300]

Celine is playing now but the Dire Straits are next up then perhaps some Norah Jones...

Good luck on getting some sleep as you will just want to sit and listen to music and not go to bed Hopefully your system is far away from the bedrooms!!

Congrats on the new speakers and welcome to the family

Dan

 

[TomDac]

So cool!! I remember how I felt when I first got my sequels back in the day!! AWESOME!

enjoy and welcome aboard!

Tom.

 

[MarkNewbie]

I think I slept some last night...

I have lunch with a client and that is it. I work out of the house so I will be listening all day and this evening. I felt like I was a kid waking up Christmas morning this morning! Almost giddy!

Jeff - I went your route last night. I put a SACD on repeat and let it play all night. Switched it out this morning so that something different would be on. Appreciate the suggestion. I am sure that it is better than an FM signal.

Did I make coffee yet????

 

[Robin]

MarkNewbie,

Enjoy those Ascent i's... All good things come to those that have waited, and waited, and waited.... It sounds like you are well on your way to braking them in. The fun never ends with great products from Martin Logan. You will have to tell us your views of the Ascent i's sound, once you've fully broken them in.

-Robin

 

[MarkNewbie]

Robin,

Here I am, almost a week into listening to these babies! How did I ever wait so long to experience this? I vote that we make you the Club Social Director. Thanks for making me feel so welcome here!

Mark

 

[Robin]

Mark,

Thank you for the kind words... It's great to have read, all of your wonderful posts, since coming on board. We have a lot in common here, at the ML Club. It is a good place to give and receive ideas. I am glad, I was able to make you feel welcome. Others, like Jeff, Joe, Dan, Roberto, Erinie, Sugarmedia, gramtz, you and many, many others, have made me feel very welcome, when I first started posting, way-back in May.

It is also, good to know, we appreciate one another too.

Thanks

-Robin

 

[MarkNewbie]

Am in heaven

Folks, and there are a lot of fine ones out there, thanks for all of your advice and kind words. I have to mention Steve (for his help in guiding me through the box opening process and being a kindred soul), Robin (For making me and anyone else on here feel so darned welcome), & Jeff (Because I really enjoy your wit, advice and comments) as some of the standouts in making me feel so welcome here. There are others and you know who you are so forgive me for not naming everyone. Enough of the MUSH!

My Ascent i's are really cranking now! I went out and bought a sound meter so I could figure what levels I listen to em at and I am most comfortable in that 70-80db range. I have pushed em over 100db and that is just a bit too loud for these ole ears. I seem to be smiling at home a whole lot more now!

 

[Jeff Zaret]

Mark Newbie,

Thanks for the kinds words. I see you have picked on the fact that I am a bit warped.

You do realize they will only get better. So you may want to have some asprin around when your face starts to hurt from massive amounts of smilage.

Jeff

 

[Transparent]

Mr. MarkNewbie,

Glad that you are enjoying your new Ascent i's.

Can you please comment on the Shanling CDT200A SACD. How is it compared to
other US or UK made CD players. Did you buy it from internet? I like the look of it but
not sure about the sound or built quality.

Regards, Transpa.

 

[Neshamah]

Welcome to the Club, MarkNewbie !!! I'm a newbie too, technically speaking.

I just wanted to mention some cables I've found to be outstanding for my purposes. I'm talking about the so-called "Anti-Cables," by Paul Speltz. I have used just about every kind of mid-priced cable known to man -- but after one listening to the "Anti-Cables," I was hooked. But, I don't want to sound like a salesman; I'm just sharing an opinion. You can look at the info here: http://www.anticables.com/

Good luck !!!

Neshamah

I just wanted to take this opportunity to "eat CROW." The anti-cables sounded great for about 2 weeks (maybe a little longer); and they were a great improvement over what I had been using (some kind of Monster cables ).

But, now I have had my eyes (and ears) opened, as a friend loaned me a pair of SonicLink Black Rhodiums. It took just 3 days for me to have one of those "gollee gee" experiences. I could hear nuances in the music that weren't there while listening to the anti-cables.

Now, I'm not saying that the Black Rhodiums are the end-all of all cables. I'm just letting everyone know that I am much more satisfied, and much more open to experiementation than before. Don't be afraid to experiment with new cables and cable designs -- the new sound may bring life to your MLs like never before.

Way to go SonicLink !!!

Neshamah (Steve)

 

[MarkNewbie]

Shanling experience

Mr. MarkNewbie,

Glad that you are enjoying your new Ascent i's.

Can you please comment on the Shanling CDT200A SACD. How is it compared to
other US or UK made CD players. Did you buy it from internet? I like the look of it but
not sure about the sound or built quality.

Regards, Transpa.

I did not do, what I would consider numerious comparisons to other SACD players. Also, keep in mind that when I was doing my comparisons, I was listening to a pair of Polk Audio SDA-1s. These speakers are not as revealing as the MLs. A friend brought over his Sony SCD-1 and it was excellent sounding and very (in my mind) expensive. In the $7000.00 area new which should be around half that used. My goal was to stay at $2K or less US. The Sony was very detailed and musical. Keep in mind I was comparing it to my existing 17 year old Denon DCD-800. So there was a difference between SACD vs CD as well. The Sony blew away my Denon but the price scared me. Next up was the Krell KAV 250 which was taken in used by a local dealer. I thought it was a definite improvement over the Denon and I was comparing CD to CD this time. The only downfall was I thought it had a "tinny" sound to it in the high range. Next was the Krell KPS 20 which was another used unit. Big improvement over the Denon and the KAV 250. I thought the Krell sounded better than the Sony when playing a normal CD but I really wanted to get into SACD so the KPS went back. Then I came across the Shanling. It was warm and rich sounding. I listened to it for a couple of weeks and then took it back to the dealer. A week later I called and told him I would take it and was told that someone bought it the day I dropped it off. His price on it was $1800.00 used. A couple of weeks went by and I came across one on eBay that I ended up getting for under $1300.00 and it was new. A dealer had two on there and the other one went for $1600.00. I got it hooked up and everything worked great until it started to develop a problem. It starts up when you close the acrylic lid and it was not starting and I would have to give it a spin by hand and shut the lid to get it to start. I called the dealer and they figured out my problem. I had it sitting directly on top of my Carver Reciever which was putting out too much heat. That was close to a year ago and since moving it (the Carver is no longer part of my system either) I have yet to experience the problem again. I did a direct comparison to my friends Sony SCD-1. I thought the Shanling held it's own but the Sony did sound better. Then I dropped a couple of WE 396a tubes in and WHOA, everything changed! Even my friend agreed that the Shanling was sounding better than his Sony. Amazing when you consider that there is a few thousand dollar difference here. As far as build quality, I would compare it to Krell. It is built like a tank and even the remote is heavier than any other remote I have ever had. My dealer doesn't like the rings that surround the four tubes since they are also acrylic. He says they break easy but I have not had any problems and tend to be very careful with my equipment anyway. I do have to admit that when you see it lit up at night, it is really cool looking. It does bring out the "whoa" in people when they see it. I have had more than one guest look at it and ask me what it was. This pertains to my non-audiophile friends. I love the look on people's faces when they see it lit up for the first time. One of the things that really impressed me was the standard power cord that comes with it. It is not the standard cheapie that comes with most high end equipment! You will not need to make an upgrade there! If you do decide to go the Shanling route, make sure that you drop in a couple of WE 396A's as the difference they made is keeping me from looking at any other SACD players. Just yesterday, I learned that there is another tube that some feel is even better than the Western Electrics and that is the Bendix 6385 Red Banks. They are harder to find but I plan on giving them a test just to see. Of course that is provided I can get my hands on a couple. Hope this helps.

 

[abhijit]

Hello,

I just got off of the phone from ordering a new set of ML Ascent i's and then I joined this site. Did I need to wait for them to arrive first? <snicker> I am not going to be able to sleep for the next ten days!

On to my question. I am looking for good speaker cables for under $1000.00 and would not object to buying used. And are there any pitfalls in buying used I should be aware of?

I will be mostly listening to Jazz, some classical, and soft rock. I have a Pass Labs X-350 amp, Mac C2200 pre-amp, shanling T200 slightly modified, and transparent audio XLRs and interconnects. I have thought about going with transparent cables or MITs. If anyone has experience with these, I would be most interested in your opinions.

Da Really New Guy!

Why dont you try Transparent "Ultra" cable. I am currently using MIT T2 and planning to upgrade

 

[DTB300]

But, now I have had my eyes (and ears) opened, as a friend loaned me a pair of SonicLink Black Rhodiums. It took just 3 days for me to have one of those "gollee gee" experiences. I could hear nuances in the music that weren't there while listening to the B]anti-cables[/B].

You as others have found out the same thing about Anti-Cables, nice at first and a simple concept, but there are better cables out there. All a matter of taste budget and price.

Dan