Busting Martin Logan Myths
- Thread starter Gregadd
- Start date
The latest generation of M/L speakers have the same basic sonic signature that the +20 year old stuff has. I mean this in a good way, the openness, the clarity, the speed and so forth. Do they Rock? Yes and no, I listen to Progressive Rock and they do that very well. I think they do a pretty good job on classic rock too, but think of all the "Myths", this one has a tiny bit of truth to it.
Somehow I did not know the membrane was glued to the stator, nor did I know it was in tension. Never really thought about it I guess.
I've never used the mirror method, gotta try that some day.
A couple of things....first the dispersion comments. Yes the curved panels probably have widened the sweet spot but I find the bigger problem is vertical beaming. If you are seated things are great but you stand up and it's like you've put a pillow case over your head. Regarding the life expectancy of their panels, I replaced the panels on my Aerius i's when they were 12 years old. When I spoke with someone at the factory to order the panels, he said that 12 years is about what you could expect to get out of them. Lastly, I have my Aerius i's now in my HT, LF and RF along with the ML Cinema center and I wouldn't change a thing.
I still don't know how they keep the membrane form collapsing onto the stator
Greg,
Did you see Chief "Doc" Reiner E. Römer applying some extra vertical tension to the membrane top and bottom? It is critical to avoid the membrane form collapsing onto the stator.
Thanks for pointing such an interesting movie about ML panel refurbishing.
Reromanus is a well know company in Germany devoted to electrostatic services - they are manufacturers and sellers of DIY parts, but also refurbish every type of ESL speaker. Their materials are high quality, (equivalent or many times the same as the original manufacturer ones) and they are of great help to europeans, that otherwise would face enormous shipping costs to send electrostatic panels to the USA for servicing.
It is one of the reasons I love electrostatics - if needed can service them myself. I did it to some old ESL Quad panels long ago and they are still playing fine.
HI es,
I replaced my CLS IIA panels at about 18 years. They were not bad but I was starting to loose a little sensitivity in the right channel. Otherwise they sounded great. I kept the old ones just in case.
Sparky
What I thought was most interesting (and I have a hard time believing it) is that most Martin Logan owners use receivers. Really?? Is that a marketing ploy that helps or hurts them? Is ML trying to cater to the receiver crowd?
And by the way, I bought a pair of the original Aerius brand new many years ago and I had to change out both panels and one of the woofers.
And by the way, I bought a pair of the original Aerius brand new many years ago and I had to change out both panels and one of the woofers.
No receivers here. I drove them with an AR LS3 pre and a McCormack a DNA-0.5 power amp....the results were impressive especially if system cost was taken into consideration.
I just found the same video doing a search, and was about to post it but see it is already posted.
If M/L's are so different, then why use the mirror method to find a first reflection point?
I never knew about the second reflection point in this way until this video, it makes it so simple.
With a conventional dynamic bass driver on the hybrids I have to assume the first and second reflections are from those drivers.
Therefore the wall mounted absorbers must address those mid and lower frequencies and NOT typical high band energy.
Correct?
Just built some diffuser/absorbers to cover first and second reflection points.
Makes a difference.
I really thought some of my small lingering issues were what was behind the speakers - NOT SO.
Try treating the reflection points before going hog wild on the front wall.
Makes a difference.
I really thought some of my small lingering issues were what was behind the speakers - NOT SO.
Try treating the reflection points before going hog wild on the front wall.
For Martin-Logan electrostatic speakers I advocate leaving the front wall moderately reflective (or at least no absorption or diffusion to start with) at least until all other acoustic issues have been solved first.
After all other acoustic issues have been solved, then it is a matter of personal preference whether to absorb the rear wave, to diffuse the rear wave or to manage and utilize the rear wave for sonic spaciousness (as I practice).
After all other acoustic issues have been solved, then it is a matter of personal preference whether to absorb the rear wave, to diffuse the rear wave or to manage and utilize the rear wave for sonic spaciousness (as I practice).
Thank you for the input Ron.
I may have to make my front wall a little less absorbing because a front wall window treatment got a bit more involved yesterday.
It is a fine line to be sure.
Ron, I will add that a great deal depends on the distance the stat panel is out from the wall. Personally I consider 4' a min and 6-8' ideal.
note pic of CLX's set up to perfection ..........
Nice setup Twitch.
I keep telling people in other forums to clean up their front stage and get anything but low stuff on amp stands out of there but there is great resistance.
Then again, those same people listen to boxes and have Polk subwoofers, LOL.
Nothing wrong with Polk subs if that is all one can afford, but two of them?
EDIT:
In the photo, is that center cylinder reflective or absorbtive?
I keep telling people in other forums to clean up their front stage and get anything but low stuff on amp stands out of there but there is great resistance.
Then again, those same people listen to boxes and have Polk subwoofers, LOL.
Nothing wrong with Polk subs if that is all one can afford, but two of them?
EDIT:
In the photo, is that center cylinder reflective or absorbtive?
I agree with this distance range!
That is a beautiful room and system! Is that your set-up?
What are the components to the outside of the Spectral amps?
