Anyone had panels go bad?

[Jazzman53]

Hi all,

I'm wanting to ascertain whether Martin Logan ESL panels going bad (losing volume over time) is a significant problem or just an atypical random occurrence. Any owners here care to weigh in on that?

Charlie

 

[Bso]

Hi all,

I'm wanting to ascertain whether Martin Logan ESL panels going bad (losing volume over time) is a significant problem or just an atypical random occurrence. Any owners here care to weigh in on that?

Charlie

It is a recurring problem.

 

[Jazzman53]

It is a recurring problem.

I figured it was a recurring problem (I replaced the diaphragm in a ML Theater panel once) -- I just wondered how many owners are affected and what is being done about it.

 

[Another Johnson]

I know several who own units from the ML Masterpiece series. I was an owner myself at one time. I have never seen this problem.

I did have a bad light once. ML helped me troubleshoot the problem and provided parts and instructions so that I was able to fix it without sending it back. I was pleased with their commitment… but this was before the sale and move to Canada. Two I know who are still running the last version of the CLX (Arts?) are still in love with them, and they’ve owned them since their introduction.

I suppose panel life is affected by the installation environment. Smoke, high humidity, and dusty or otherwise polluted air, cooking fumes, etc are all accelerants of failure.

Drivers can fail in any speaker. I haven’t seen evidence to suggest that the ML Masterpiece series speakers are more prone to failure than other brands in their price range.

 

[Jazzman53]

It is a recurring problem.

I came to the same conclusion after reading related posts on the ML Owners Forum. I'm not a ML owner myself, but I have experience building ESLs and I empathize with anyone facing a costly panel failure.

Typically, lost volume is caused by deterioration of the diaphragm coating (coating loses its conductance).

Re-coating a diaphragm would be easy if it were accessible but some or all ML panels are bonded with adhesives, and on any fully bonded panel, prying the stators apart to gain access destroys the diaphragm.

So; owners with bad panels either replace the panels ($$ ouch) or buy new speakers ($$$ double-ouch).

I had a recent brainstorm that might possibly enable disassembling an ML panel without damaging the diaphragm. If this were possible; almost anyone who is handy could re-coat the diaphragms and restore their panels for about $100.

I posted a step-by-step procedure for this on the ML Owners Forum, and sooner or later someone will try it out. When that happens, and if it works, I will post the procedure here.

Regards,
Charlie