TomDac's review of the MartinLogan CLX

[Rich]

Great writeup, Tom. I can't wait for the rest of it. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to do this for all of us.

The difference between the Summits and CLX is HUGE. Larger soundstage, more bass, more detail.

Undoubtedly. But how huge is the difference? That is the $10,000 question (literally).

I am also intrigued by your assessment that there is more bass with the CLX than the Summits. Are you sure about that? I would have to hear them side-by-side in the same room to believe that. I could believe cleaner, more accurate-sounding bass, but "more" bass than the Summits, with their two 10" woofers and 400 watts of amplification? That would be quite a feat indeed for an electrostatic panel.

Some of these effects you describe (larger soundstage, more bass, more detail) can be an artifact of being well-set up in a great room. As I remember, the Summits sounded exceptionally well in that same room at the get-together last year. I would have to audition the two speakers in the same room to decide if there really was a $10,000 quality difference between the two. Another question of course is how much closer will the upgrades of the Summit X bring it to the performance of the CLX?

Isn't it fun to watch the evolution of such a dynamic and innovative company as Martin Logan?

 

[TomDac]

Great writeup, Tom. I can't wait for the rest of it. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to do this for all of us.

Undoubtedly. But how huge is the difference? That is the $10,000 question (literally).

I am also intrigued by your assessment that there is more bass with the CLX than the Summits. Are you sure about that? I would have to hear them side-by-side in the same room to believe that. I could believe cleaner, more accurate-sounding bass, but "more" bass than the Summits, with their two 10" woofers and 400 watts of amplification? That would be quite a feat indeed for an electrostatic panel.

Some of these effects you describe (larger soundstage, more bass, more detail) can be an artifact of being well-set up in a great room. As I remember, the Summits sounded exceptionally well in that same room at the get-together last year. I would have to audition the two speakers in the same room to decide if there really was a $10,000 quality difference between the two. Another question of course is how much closer will the upgrades of the Summit X bring it to the performance of the CLX?

Isn't it fun to watch the evolution of such a dynamic and innovative company as Martin Logan?

Definitely sure about the bass being way more.. and it's smoother too... I'm not sure how else to describe it... smooth is the only thing that makes sense to me after hearing it. That entire surface of the bass panel is moving and there are TWO diaphragms!! The bass is astonishing.

Whether or not it's $10K better is not for me to say. It all depends on what you're looking for.

I balked at the price of the Summits... too rich for my blood, so of course the CLX price is way out of my league.

I got home from Lawrence and thankfully my system is still taken apart as we're waiting for new carpet, which gets installed today... When the Summit X comes out, I may be shopping for some used Summits...


and yes, it is REALLY fun not only seeing ML evolve, but being a part of it!

 

[Satch]

TomDac,

I got home and logged on around 5:30 (Sat.) and you were in full swing. As I was getting caught up on the thread you were answering questions, listening to more CD's and posting photos.

Thank you for taking us along for the ride!!!
Satch

 

[benleeys]

Tom,
You certainly did a great job with the listening report. My thanks for an enjoyable read.

You mentioned that the room is well treated. One thing I realised from treating my current listening room is that the noise floor is much lowered and one is able to hear much more of the recording environment. Also, the bass becomes much tighter and one is able to hear notes more distinctly in the lower registers.

At that price, without doubt, the CLX is expected, and should, sound better than the Summit in most, if not all, aspects. As to how much the gap, it would be difficult to gage unless a pair of Summits is there in the same room for comparison. It's a pity that you were not afforded that opportunity.

I really don't mean to dampen the enthusiasm that is greeting your report, but I'm sure those of us with well treated listening rooms will bear me out. I for one will be looking forward to hearing these speakers very soon. Hopefully, I may even be able to persuade my dealer friend for a pair in my room for comparison.

 

[miljac]

Tom,

great job! Thanks a lot for a good and detailed report!
What I find most interesting is that you came to pretty similar observations that I had in Munich using a completely different music material.

These speakers truly have set new standards and although I could not test whether they rock your report confirms (what I already suspected) that they really can - and how!

So some of us on this forum already had our second initiation into the ML world with the CLX - something that can't be that easily forgotten

Let's see the others' impressions once the CLX hits the stores!

Oh, BTW, I can very well imagine a smaller CLX popping up in future .... may be somewhat more affordable ...

Regards

Ned

 

[User211]

The Europeans will eat them up ! They love the detail and do not care about the bass. As Tom said the bass is actually a true 56 hz. That being said Id bet the cls are not that solid at their respective area. I bet they are down 6 db or so ! That is why a sub at 50 hz is perfect !

No they won't they cost twice as much here! That's TWICE in real terms. Let me make that plain: $45000 for the Anniversary (£22,500). That's why Tom is more than a little incorrect when he said they cost a bit more here.

Anyway, thanks Tom. Run this site for a few more years and I am sure they will give you a pair... er... well... maybe!

 

[DrJRapp]

Tom

Thanks from us all for your insight and contributions. Even though it was "fun", I know it isn't easy to drag your a-- onto a plane and back again just to listen to a different pair of speakers.

I'm also happy to hear that they DO sound so good...I'm still of the opinion that they are ugly. Of course that comes from the perspective of a svelt sexy Summit owner. I'm sure if I owned Quests or CLS I'd feel differently.

 

[gregadd]

Sad car dealers

$20K? I guess I will not own a Porsche or BMW in this life time. I'll be looking for a home my janis /ML/CLS this fall. when will they launch.:music:

 

[gregadd]

$45k?

big difference between $45k and $20K. that might be a little rich for me blood.

 

[gregadd]

not really a "CLS" like I was expecting. More like a mini "statement". it still has me rearranging my financial priorities.

 

[TomDac]

Here the link to the Q&A with David Allen:

http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6776

 

[preston]

Great thread!

Hi Tom:

Just discovered this great site and really enjoyed reading your play by play visit to the ML headquarters. Keep up the great work.

 

[Wildblue]

Tom, thanks for the review. I was fortunate to be in Seattle this past week, and heard the CLX demo. Amazing, and I've found my next (and last) speaker upgrade. I'm very interested that ML used a Parasound A21 for your demo, especially because this is what I use driving an all-Parasound home theater setup. The A21 "only" puts out 250 wpc--I would have assumed that the big CLX would have needed more, but the ML guys at the Seattle demo did indicate that this should be sufficient. They were recommending either tube amps and/or a tube pre/pro with the CLX, to warm up the sound, but indicated that 250 wpc, even solid state, should be fine.

So Tom, I'd like to hear more about how you think the A21 paired with the CLX. Obviously it never got to the point where it was clipping for you, but did the sound ever appear thin, like you felt some more power would have really filled out the sound?

(for everyone, ML was also describing the CLX as being a fairly efficient speaker. I think they said 97 db/W)

 

[TomDac]

Tom, thanks for the review. I was fortunate to be in Seattle this past week, and heard the CLX demo. Amazing, and I've found my next (and last) speaker upgrade. I'm very interested that ML used a Parasound A21 for your demo, especially because this is what I use driving an all-Parasound home theater setup. The A21 "only" puts out 250 wpc--I would have assumed that the big CLX would have needed more, but the ML guys at the Seattle demo did indicate that this should be sufficient. They were recommending either tube amps and/or a tube pre/pro with the CLX, to warm up the sound, but indicated that 250 wpc, even solid state, should be fine.

So Tom, I'd like to hear more about how you think the A21 paired with the CLX. Obviously it never got to the point where it was clipping for you, but did the sound ever appear thin, like you felt some more power would have really filled out the sound?

(for everyone, ML was also describing the CLX as being a fairly efficient speaker. I think they said 97 db/W)

The A21 sounded fine.. I like Halo gear and think they mate very good with Logans. I actually almost pulled the trigger on some JC1s before I got my Pass...

anyway, I would've been interesting to hear the CLX's with a super high end amp half way thru the day in the same room with the same music. That would've been the only way to tell if the A21 wasn't doing a good job, but to my ears, it was pure bliss!

 

[Wildblue]

Thanks, that's what I like to hear!

 

[SteveH]

Tom - being very recently 'back' to the site, I had completely missed your review of the CLX: really excellent coverage and great photo's.

I will definitely have to see these for real and hear them for myself. In Kuwait that's impossible - so it will have to wait for a trip to London which I hope to make later this year....the trouble is I'm very attached to my Prodigy's and more than any other piece of equipment I've owned, I'm very reluctant to change these.

Regarding the bass - I read on the ML site that they cutsomise the Descent i cross over for the CLX's....quote "an optional internal module will be available with low pass filtering custom tailored....to the CLX..."

Did the ML team mention this? What would your view be of adding Descent i's to the CLX, nothwithstanding that you seem quite impressed with the bass capability of the CLX as is?

Thanks again for a useful and very informative write up.

 

[Wildblue]

I'm sure that Tom will talk about his experience, but the ML reps did talk about this in Seattle as well. They say that if you look on the back of a Descent sub, you'll see a "CLX" setting, and that you like, you can get a new processing board to put into the Descent, to mate seamlessly with the CLX.

Sounds cool to me, but if I get so lucky as to buy a set of CLX's, I don't see me replacing my subs as well. I'll probably just stick with my dual SVS PC-Ultras.

 

[TomDac]

Regarding the bass - I read on the ML site that they cutsomise the Descent i cross over for the CLX's....quote "an optional internal module will be available with low pass filtering custom tailored....to the CLX..."

I didn't know this and ML didn't talk about it.

very interesting.

 

[edwinr]

An awesome review. After hearing the CLXs myself recently, I can vouch for the amazing bass response. If I could afford a pair, I certainly wouldn't worry about a sub.