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Best speakers to replace Martin Logan CLS

I am fortunate to have possessed a pair of ML CLS IIz for the last 10 years. They’re in an open living room (extends to kitchen and also the rest of the main floor of the house ~ 1400 sq ft). I love the sound and I listen to a lot of acoustic/jazz. I feel like the more power I feed them the better they sound. They’re being powered by 200W @ 8ohm Monolith amp. I’m also using 3 subs with it with crossover set at 80Hz. Although they sound great but I always worry the panels will go bad at any time due to their age. I do not plan to replace the panels if they go bad, but rather I’d like to replace them with a different pair of similar or better sounding speakers. From what I’ve read, these seem to be the speakers that I might like: Harbeth 40.1(2), Eminent Technology LFT-8b, used Soundlab Majestic 545, used and restored Quad ESL 57. I’ve ruled out Magnepans due to WAF. I almost bought a pair of Apogee Duette Sigs after hearing but backed out due to similar concerns with the CLS (panels will go bad at some point). I’ve also looked at some other speakers like Revel Studio2, Focal Sopra No2, Legacy Audio Focus/Signature, Spatial Audio, but I’m not sure since I’ve never heard them. Budget is up to $10k (prefer to buy used) but probably would like to stay under $5K. Please advise.
vuongp

Showing 2 responses by bubinga

bubinga
108 posts
 
Over 25 some years, I had four ML models, including the CLS2A and the Summits and went with the MBL116’s. They do what ML does well and take it up a big notch.   Much fuller immersion and dimensionality.

Ended up retiring / moving and wanted something physically smaller so I moved onto the Joseph Audio Pulsars and a REL T7i sub. Gets me close enough to the MBL but, IMHO, no speaker can energize a room like an MBL.

Pricey but if you can find a good deal on a used pair, well worth the effort.
bubinga
108 posts
 
vuongp,

RE Pulsars. Suffice to say, it, along with the REL sub, is my last set of speakers. Amazing large sound in a very small physical passage.

For background other components include: Pass Labs 250.5 amp, Conrad Johnson ET5 preamp, Luxman D-06u CDP, and Shunyata Research wire.

I do plan on upgrading to the new mid bass driver this summer.

Good luck with your journey.
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