A small upgrade in speakers... The CLXArt a true masterpiece!

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day to all, music lovers, enthusiasts and fanatics, the time has come to proclaim my insanity...

Through a few decades of learning about the highend, having purchased various systems thought to have been top notch, only to realize not so as I lived with these systems and maintenance issues started... Along the way upgrading to various iterations of amplification and speaker systems, trying to achieve the perfect match and perfect blend, I was perplexed for a while, until I heard the CLX's.

Having previously owned the CLS, which in fact was quite weak in the lower bass, it did provide much satisfaction of musicality similarly so compared to the Quads. Those days have passed, and after my recent stint with the Ethos, I knew I was onto something as this time the listening experience was very different.

Since the last three years, I have seriously audition both at home demo's as well as private auditions and short listed my favourites in terms of preference:

1. ML CLX's (my ultimate in terms of musical truth)
2. Maggie MG3.7i (superb value for money)
3. AA Omega's (a difficult beast to drive properly, reminds me of the older Apogee's)
4. Avant Garde Duo XD (a superb horn system, effortless dynamics and thunderous bottom end, the most expensive of the lot).

So with that experience over a span of three years and from the time I heard item number 1 well placed in a private system, this certainly grabbed my attention like no other!

It took an awful lot of hard work and sweat, very long hours on my shifts as overlooking operations, and an awful lot of thought into it to grapple with priorities...

My CLX's will arrive on Sunday next week, as I still need to recover from a slight haze, since I closed an unbelievable trade-in deal on my Ethos. Also the person who's in line next for the Ethos will be extremely happy to acquire a pair of ML hybrids in pristine condition.

I would have loved to have this gem of an electrostat in that special Maple color, however the price difference was a fortune plus a 4 month wait on delivery direct from Canada. So I settled for the Black Ash color, and they actually do look quite stunning!

With that I will end my quest for system perfection as I feel this is good enough for me. Several people have advised to upgrade from the current preamp I'm using, which is the CJ pv15 and aim towards a GAT or ET7. I did plan to do so but when this deal came across I just couldn't resist, and so all the funds went towards the CLX's eventually.

I also learned that had I waited for next year, prices go up significantly, and this would have been quite difficult to manage, especially with other priorities taking place... The wifey still thinks that this is an insane level of expenditure just to achieve a particular kind of sound but when she saw the pair at my good mates place and heard it herself, at once she knew straight away where my hard earned savings were heading.

All in all, I dedicate this post to my good mate Kostas P, if not for him I would have never experienced the CLX's in a proper set up in Melbourne. Thanks for that mate!

A special note to all ML owners and especially CLX owners, I truly understand why you love these stats! Respect!

Da big dog is in da house! Woof, woof!
Once I receive them, I will post some proper pics and a full write up of the combination driven with CJ amplification, I think it will be nothing short of marvelous!
Cheers and best regards to all, RJ

 

[Gregadd]

As a huge ML CLS fan allow me to congratulate you on Your purchase Of the MLCLX Art. It is visually stunning. I hope it it is sonically worthy of it's outward appearance. "Beauty is only skin deep," don't you know. I have never heard them except over the Internet.

It is my experience that certain faults have been attributed to the CLS that are in fact the shortcomings of the room, the recording, and\ or associated components. The CLS is an incredibly resolving tool. As you probably know it reveal faults masked by or made irrelannt by other systems and recording. No doubt it demand will best associated equipment. Not to mention a significant break-in period.
I am sure you will keep your mind and ears open.
I am preety certain ther is another thread on this forum that chronicles the CLXArt. I'll find it for you ifyou have not seen it.
Enjoy the music.https://www.whatsbestforum.com/show...Logan-CLX-ART-–-is-definitely-a-work-of-“ART”

 

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day mate, indeed the CLS is a true classic! Not only just an electrostat but also a full range stat in every sense of the word!

I really enjoyed my short time with the CLS IIz driving it with a CJ premier 11A, was an absolute pleasure. However, since this system was based in the tropics it had to undergo several repair sessions that eventuated in the person repairing it becoming the next owner!

Not only did he understand the ins & outs of stats and being the fix it guru of Quads, he was very deserving to have them, so we parted with the CLS IIz's and in came along the Apogee Diva's that ultimately stayed with us for as long as good old pops was able to maintain them...

The CLX's are obviously a newer design, far more efficient and I feel it will be a wonderful match with CJ amplification, once again!
Cheers mate, RJ

 

[Gregadd]

Yes the CLS panel was sensitive to humidity.

I also ran my CLS with premier 11a and an MV-50. Conrad Johnson has come a long way since then. I had a chance to get the premier 8 but circumstances canceled things out. I have not heard their latest stuff but they have received high praise. At this level I am a Spectral fan. It is easy for me to spend your money. I have heard Spectral with the Martin Logan Statement e2.

P.S. The Apogee Diva was quite a speaker. Finding an amp that could properly drive a 1ohm load required quite an effort.

 

[LL21]

Wow...big move, Big Dog RJ! Congrats!!! Look forward to reading your comments when you've got them set up and running! Enjoy!

 

[the sound of Tao]

+1 on the big congrats RJ,
That’s quite a move up to a real destination speaker. So good that you have been able to do this, a huge investment but these are some of our life goals and working hard for something and being patient and making your way towards your big end goals and then finally getting to your summit... err clx is just such a great move. Really looking forward to you writing about these. So happy for you, magic stuff!

 

[microstrip]

Great move - congratulations. The CLX are great speakers, I am sure they will sound great with cj!

 

[ack]

Wow, congratulations! What are you going to do about true bass? I assume these are used?

 

[Gregadd]

"true bass?" et tu ack? "oh sharper than a serpents tooth."

 

[ack]

Come on, I've heard the CLX a number of times, that's no real bass; it's extreme seamless, but it totally lacks body.

 

[Gregadd]

Come on, I've heard the CLX a number of times, that's no real bass; it's extreme seamless, but it totally lacks body.

Panels and their bass or lack thereof is a complicated subject. I recall a certain reviewer used the Magnepan for bass in his hybrid speaker system. If you are talking about extension the CLX only goes to around 60hz. In the olden days a subwoofer was below 30hz. The question is how does CLS handle the bass it does reproduce. In my mind {ear} it was just so much cleaner than anything a cone could do. This is why it was so difficult to match a sub to the CLS. Many claim subs only "muddy up" the CLS bass. It is why Soundlab,for the most part,does not even try. It may appear thin when matched to cone woofers but not to the real thing.
I recall when my dealer showed me a picture of the original Sequel that crossed over at 250hz. It just did not work for me. I listened when they came in.

 

[bonzo75]

Woof woof, big dog! Great to see you get to your dream speaker

You should visit Awsmone too, he has CLX with 6 or 7 subs

 

[Ron Resnick]

Congratulations, RJ! I am very happy for you!

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes, thanks for the messages Maties, greatly appreciated!

The CLX's will arrive on Sun, I'm taking two days off just to install these things and get them going. The dealer sent me some pics before packing, they look absolutely stunning!

I've listened to these CLX Art's at both the dealers and extensively at Kostas place, by far and wide the best set up I've heard to date on the CLX's are at Kostas.

Many years ago I did hear these in Spore during my travels but they were driven with big Mac amplifiers. Sincerely speaking, I don't think Mac amps do justice to such magical stats. Don't get me wrong, Mac amps do drive them pretty well but that's about it, they don't bring out the musicality in what ML stats are capable of, and especially the CLX's.

Having stated "musicality" , yes I can certainly understand why many would think that these do require more bass or at least a few subs to provide added weight. BUT for me, and coming from someone who is pleased with music in its purest form, without the enhancements, prefers the full range stats just the way they are! To me it's all about the musicality and with CJ amplification, that will be in its highest level possible.

I have had the previous CLS, Quads, Maggie's, then again ML hybrids and now the CLX Art, that level of bass is more than adequate for me, and in fact it is pure, I seriously don't want to ruin it.

Yes, I understand Awsmone is using multiple subs (5 if I'm correct) that should provide more than adequate bass required at any listening level. That's fine if people do like to add a couple of subs, no worries.

As for me, the bass is plenty and I have enjoyed every minute of my time listening to Kostas system, I know for sure that I will enjoy this level of refinement with CJ amplification to be nothing short of magical!

Thanks once again for your messages, I will report back with a good write up and try my best to explain my thoughts and findings. This will definitely be my last and final pair of stats. My daughter is going to be one lucky girl...
Cheers to all, and kind regards
RJ

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Hello to all,
This has truly been one of the most important aspects of my audio journey, I simply cannot find all the words to describe how this experience has been but all I can say is that this is nothing short of marvelous, spectacular, outstanding, and just magical!

Hats off to ML and their design team, they have put so much effort and research into a full range stat of this nature, that its performance is beyond anything I've heard and owned to date, and driven with CJ amplification, oh my goodness gracious!

The CLX's arrived today in the evening, it took 3 of us to unload, unpack and carry into the house. Dam are they heavy! The top panel side is manageable but the end of the base, is actually heavier on one side and my arm was nearly giving way at one point... (it's certainly a good thing I still pump some iron!)
The packing is outstanding and the workmanship is absolutely top notch! Not only are they stunning but also the way they've been assembled and constructed is nothing short of SOTA! What a huge difference from other stats I've owned, nothing comes close. This is real top level stuff, similar to other designs utilizing heavy bracing techniques, there's nothing short of mediocre or average build quality whatsoever. Everything from top to bottom including the input terminals tightening collars are superb!

I have positioned the CLX's at the exact same spot where I had the Maggie's previously and managed to get around 4&1/2 ft from front wall and around 2ft from the sides. Distance between each panel is about 6ft, and listening position is 8.5ft, closer to 9ft. This is the only aspect where I would have preferred the listening position to be further away but boy do these massive things just disappear into thin air! It simply leaves the entire soundstage and performers in full affect right there! You just want to get up and shake hands with each one of them, it is actually quite spooky!

I'll try to make this short as possible since I think I can go on for eternity...
1. Bass: I wanted to start with bass because I think this is actually one of its strongest points. It is tight, with superb control, start stop acceleration is nothing short of marvelous and most of all it is lightening fast! It is so fast that it comes and goes before you even think about the bass, superb, superb superb!

2. Mid-range: the depth and slam in the mid-range is like no other! It can play very loud and at the same time go so soft like a butterfly flapping its wings and suddenly rise again like a thunderstorm lightening bolt! The integration and openness of the mid-range is superb, nothing short of magical!

3. The highs: the top end is well extended such that it will reproduce whatever is on the recording, nothing else! It is so smooth and extended, it's highly accurate and provides every single minute microscopic detail of the recording. Therefore, if the recording has it then the top end extension delivers!

In summary:
The lifelike performance the CLX's deliver have to be obtained with the right amplification. And as we all are on the same level here when it comes to high-end, these things are just phenomenal with CJ amplifiers, the LP125m's are simply cruising... KT120's on the monoblocks chirping out 125w of pure awesomeness! oh boy oh boy oh boy...

My room is not large and does not do full justice to these huge stats. However, they are so well designed, with the right placement and a few adjustments, plus some critical tweaking, they can disappear even in small rooms. They are not overpowering in any way whatsoever, they don't boom, there's no overhang of bass or smudgging of the imaging at all. What you have here is a full range stat that delivers anything and everything on the recording as faithful as possible.

It is nothing short of "a true work of art!"

Bravo and we'll done to ML, they have hit a home run with this one and shattered all barriers of stat design, refined it to its finest and produced a true electrostat transducer like no other.
Cheers to all and thanks a million for all your support and great advice. It certainly was a pleasure!
Cheers to the CLX Art!
RJ

 

[Big Dog RJ]

just two pics for now... until more at the new place

 

[ack]

Enjoy them!

PS: The smileys have disappeared from the website, like most other site images

 

[Ron Resnick]

FANTASTIC, RJ! Congratulations!

I am so happy for you!

 

[MRJAZZ]

They look great in your room......Enjoy in good health.....

Cheers.......

 

[LL21]

The look on your face says it all! Great photo for a great system! Enjoy! By any chance, do we spy the silhouette of your [most understanding] wife perhaps taking the shot of you in the reflection?