I auditioned some ML 60 XTi (note: XTi not XT) speakers extensively over the summer. I decided against them because in my room the ceilings are so low that the speakers could not be tamed on the high end.
But here are some of my general reflections about ML’s, in my room played on tube gear:
• ML’s come into a fuller “bloom” (balanced tonality) when they move above 74 db, on average, to about 80 db.
• What changes, also, at louder levels is that the soundstage deepens and becomes more precise; voices previously too far in the back of the mix move forward and are fuller
• when I contrasted with the Fritz bookshelf speaker (the Carbon 7, different tweeter than ML), I gained a new appreciation of the ML’s detail; in comparison, the Fritz sound more veiled over, even *vague*. I came to understand that some of the brightness of the ML’s would be worth it in an appropriate room because of the detail they provide. It's those AMT tweeters.
• the bass on the ML’s is VERY full and thick and detailed; in a word, excellent. Better than the Focal 936 towers.
• Midrange sounds decent, with a bit of a hard edge at times in my room. But the speakers never get "cluttered" in the more complicated rock passages as do my Klipsch RP 160-M (much less expensive speaker, stand mount). ML handles complexity very well.
• Treble is super well-defined, articulate, and clear. Perhaps just a bit forward, but not because it’s distorting; rather, it's just seems "ahead" of the midrange. I suspect this is a product of my room.
• Soundstage is wide, well defined; orchestral pieces sound like they have many individual instruments. This is a *tower* speaker, in the true sense.
• On an emotional level, they’re definitely grabbing me — I lost track of how long I was listening and actually kept wanting to try other songs.
But here are some of my general reflections about ML’s, in my room played on tube gear:
• ML’s come into a fuller “bloom” (balanced tonality) when they move above 74 db, on average, to about 80 db.
• What changes, also, at louder levels is that the soundstage deepens and becomes more precise; voices previously too far in the back of the mix move forward and are fuller
• when I contrasted with the Fritz bookshelf speaker (the Carbon 7, different tweeter than ML), I gained a new appreciation of the ML’s detail; in comparison, the Fritz sound more veiled over, even *vague*. I came to understand that some of the brightness of the ML’s would be worth it in an appropriate room because of the detail they provide. It's those AMT tweeters.
• the bass on the ML’s is VERY full and thick and detailed; in a word, excellent. Better than the Focal 936 towers.
• Midrange sounds decent, with a bit of a hard edge at times in my room. But the speakers never get "cluttered" in the more complicated rock passages as do my Klipsch RP 160-M (much less expensive speaker, stand mount). ML handles complexity very well.
• Treble is super well-defined, articulate, and clear. Perhaps just a bit forward, but not because it’s distorting; rather, it's just seems "ahead" of the midrange. I suspect this is a product of my room.
• Soundstage is wide, well defined; orchestral pieces sound like they have many individual instruments. This is a *tower* speaker, in the true sense.
• On an emotional level, they’re definitely grabbing me — I lost track of how long I was listening and actually kept wanting to try other songs.