System #31 (Quest Z, Theatre, Aerius i)

EricE · Jan 26, 2005

System #31 (Ascent i, Theatre, Aerius i)

Member Name: Eric E
Location: Toronto, Ontario Canada

Speakers:
Martin Logan Ascent i (front L/R)
Martin Logan Theatre (center channel)
Martin Logan Aerius i (surround L/R)
Mirage M90 (surround back L/R)
Paradigm Reference Servo 15 (subwoofer)

2channel audio:
BAT VK-3i pre-amp
Classe CA300 (300x2 power amp)
Sony 9000ES CD/SACD player
Chang 6400iso power conditioner

HT equipment:
Sharp XVZ9000 DLP projector
Yamaha RX-V2400 receiver (pre outs only)
2 x HK Citation 5.1 (100x4 power amp)
Panasonic XP-30 DVD player (DCDi equipped)
ScientificAtlanta 8300 HDTV/PVR
Chang 3200 power conditioner
Sharp 14” LCD monitor
Parts Express bass shakers under each seat

Canare L-4E6S Star Quad Balanced XLR (front channels)
Canare 4S11 spkr (front channels)
Tara Labs Prime 1000 (rear channels)
Canare video cables
Canare audio cables for HT

EricE · Jan 27, 2005

Rear view shot. Sorry with the bad pics....

pat17 · Jan 27, 2005

Nice, clean and sober setting, Eric!

The ML aesthetics are very well served by this simple and beautiful decoration...

Juste one question - for the listeners at the back of the room, how do they perceive the Aerius i ? It seems that they are positionned in a somewhat higher location than the speakers?

And another question in the end... You are mentionning the HK Citations and HT amplifiers. Is it an old model?

EricE · Jan 28, 2005

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the kind words.

The rear Aerius i's have quite a lot of rear sound radation and reflect off of the side and rear walls. The back seats actually get a lot of rear surround sound from the two surround back speakers beside the LCD monitor.

The HK Citations were an amazing used find. One of them is dual bridged with power going to one of the rear logans and power going to the center channel. The other amp powers the other rear logan and then the remaining channel powering the bass shakers in the seats. 100x4 or 200x2 or 200x1+100x2 power outputs are available from the HK amp. Very heavy units and almost overkill for surround channel duties.

Statman · Jan 28, 2005

Eric,

Nice setup there! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person using Sonex in my room.

EricE · Feb 1, 2005

The front wall is also covered in sonex but covered in black fabric. Sort of the live end/dead end setup but diffusion in the rear. The side walls are 2"thick and the front 1"thick.

I'm thinking of front and rear corner tubes to lessen some thickness in the midbass.

HiDefBob · Feb 2, 2005

Eric,

Nice looking system! I bet it sounds as good as it looks! I wish I had a room to set up a dedicated theatre like yours.

I will post my system in a few weeks when I have more time ... I am retiring in 7 weeks!

Bob

LaserMark4 · Mar 10, 2005

Sweet system and design!!!! Very Nice!!

EricE · Mar 10, 2005

LaserMark4 said:
Sweet system and design!!!! Very Nice!!

Thank You.

It has been a dream of mine (and the wife too) to finally go through with the project. I'm glad that she supports me and actually loves watching movies and shows down there. 24 is on quite a bit now.

EricE · Mar 16, 2005

Well... Sold the Quest Z's and placed an order for new Ascent i's

Can't sleep now but they should be here by Friday !

lexor · Mar 16, 2005

system

where is your equipment cabinet located? Very nice system hope you enjoy the ascent's.

EricE · Mar 16, 2005

The 2ch equipment is up front under the theatre center channel. Ideal for short cable runs.

The rest of the HT equipment is at the back spread around the bookshelves. Close to the projector but 1 long run of LR signals to the front and 1 long run of speaker cable to the Theatre.

jonnyb · Mar 23, 2005

i know i am stating the obvious,but dont be dissapointed with the sound of your new Ascent i when you first hook them up. I have Ascent i + descent + all new electronics. I am not sure how many hours it took my system to break in, but after 3 months it really started to sing and proberly got better still after that. regards jonnyb.http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=2548#

EricE · Mar 23, 2005

Just got them last night and had them on for 10h straight

I wasn't expecting much straight out of the box but the first few seconds of the first song that I put on and WOW

Depth, detail, soundstaging, all the audiophile traits were there magnified to the n'th degree. I could actually tell the difference between CD's and SACD's now! The whole front wall and even to the sides had amazing placement of instruments and sounds in 3D space. Sounds were not hanging on the front plane of the electrostats but as a whole envelope of sound around you. My wife even mentioned that she was hearing sounds to the extreme left wall and even up towards the ceiling

Bass was very tight and controlled but not to the same level of room shaking bass as from the 12" drivers in the Quest Z. I know that it will take a while for the Ascent i's bass drivers to break in but I'll be all smiles till then.

BTW. This is with one of my HK amps in place of the Classe because it is in service.... Should get the Classe back soon I hope.

SteveInNC · Mar 24, 2005

I had a similar reaction the first time that I heard Ascents about 1.5 years ago. I've heard speakers before that that made me go "Wow!", but the Ascents were the first that gave me actual goosebumps. Mind you, this was in a local high-end store and they had the room set up well, with better electronics than I'm likely to get, but still...

It reminded me of a time about 25 years ago when I auditioned some KEF monitors at a local place. A buddy of mine (a former high-end audio sales guy) and I were listening to a Dixie Dregs album. At some point in the middle of the cut, the ambience just dramatically opened up. If you've ever heard someone describe sound as having washed into the room, that's what it sounded like. (I wish I could remember which album/track it was...).

EricE · Mar 24, 2005

I must have about 25+ hours of use now on the new Ascents and the bass is changing dramatically. Much more fuller and shall we say rounded. My wife is amazed too at the changes. She was disappointed too with the bass response compared to the Quest Z's but I told her give it time....

mondoribo · Apr 5, 2005

Dimensions

Eric,
What are the dimensions of your room (approximately)? What ceiling height do you need for this setup? You might have inspired me to take my Sawzall out of the box and start in on the basement.
Thanks,
Jon

EricE · Apr 5, 2005

Hi Jon,

The room is approx. 14'-6"W x 25'L x 8"H. Standard 2x4 construction with drywall and insulation all around. Doors are solid core with foam gaskets around the openings. Ceiling height was the max I could get with the drywall directly screwed to the floor joists.

I wish the room could have been wider to accomodate CLS IIz's but there was a post and beam on one side that I just didn't want to spend the $$$$ on moving. I did move the water heater to a different location.

Steve-N · Apr 8, 2005

Nise setup Eric. you are one lucky man to have all that gear AND and understanding wife....

Take Care fellow GTA'er

EricE · Apr 14, 2005

New pics with the Ascent i's and revised speaker placement. I relocated the Servo 15 sub to the front left corner and pushed out the Ascent's futher into the room.

System #31 (Quest Z, Theatre, Aerius i)

Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:

EricE

Guest

Attachments

EricE

Guest

Attachments

pat17

Well-known member

EricE

Guest

Statman

Well-known member

EricE

Guest

HiDefBob

Guest

LaserMark4

Well-known member

EricE

Guest

EricE

Guest

Attachments

lexor

Well-known member

EricE

Guest

Attachments

jonnyb

Guest

EricE

Guest

SteveInNC

Well-known member

EricE

Guest

mondoribo

Well-known member

EricE

Guest

Steve-N

Guest

EricE

Guest

Attachments

Similar threads

Latest posts

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!