Duntech Black Knights to Martin Logan Summit X

Greetings cousin (lol) I have never heard the duntechs ,I'm drooling over a set of Sovereigns right now.My history is I chose the original paradigm studio monitors over the carver amazings after a lot of listening.I heard the ML Prodigy and still love that speaker.Side bar can anyone say the summit is better than the prodigy?I have a used set of Legacy Focus which I still love.I spent about 3or4 hours with Roger Sanders at his shop Conifer,Co last year and hey those speakers are the best and a great deal for what you get an amp and a crossover.I did not have the cash so I got a used set of Sound lab m1 12ys old. I love them . You have to listen to Sanders systems if you like Electrostats you will not be disappointed trust me. I love my sound labs but if a used set of sanders would have been available I would have them instead. By the way I did pick of sanders' els amp for my soundlabs.

Thanks for your comments Beachbound. I am a bit familiar with the designs of Revel so can relate to your upgrade.

Diana Krall in my room? Yes please!

I have owned Summit X's for over two years...they replaced my Revel Ultima Studio 2's...which replaced my B&W 802d's. I listen to mainly early 70's rock and current jazz. Those who tell you these are not good rock n roll speakers have never listened to them!! They put ALL performers in your room like no other speaker I have owned!! I even have a pair of the new Aerial 7t...not even close!! The bass is deep and VERY prominent giving a foundation far more powerfull than most dynamic driver speakers...but it's the midrange that puts most other speakers to shame!! Want Diana in your room? She's there!! Want to hear all that was meant to be heard on Billion Dollar Babies or Led 11...it can be scary how real these speakers sound!! Once again, advice from those who don't own these speakers means nothing!! PS, they usually sound FAR better in your home than in your dealers overly treated room!!

First of all, the genre of music I mostly listen to, as my moniker suggests, is Jazz but occasionally I listen to some classic rock. I want to ensure the next speakers master well the imaging, clarity , dynamics yet still are neutral enough. Not just because I have had electrostats but I did listen to a Summit X in a show room and liked the sound, I prefer the Vandersteen 7 but that is now out of my budget. Looking to spend up to 8k for a worthy successor of the Black Knights in the used market.

Have you heard the Summit X? I have had the first generation Summit's for almost four years. Had Vienna Acoustic and Audio Physic before that. I knew I wanted the Summits the first time i heard them. I have heard systems with top of line Wilson's, B&W, Vandersteen Model 7 and they sound great but I am never disappointed when I get home and listen to my system, it won't make my pants legs flap but the sound and stage is oh so pure. If you are into heavy metal, hard rock etc you should look else where. As you know it comes down to price and personal preference.

Jazzonthehudson, with all due respect to you and your speakers, the Black Knights did not have a good reputation among John Dunlavy's designs. In spite of their competitive pricing (compared to other Duntechs) they were not in production long and John did not introduce a comparable model in his DAL line up when he started that, as he did with other Duntech models.

The Black Knight had a heavy bass emphasis (to my ears and in reports from others) so if you enjoy them I would have doubts that any electrostatic or panel speaker will please you. So much depends on room, budget, associated equipment, and personal taste (for type of music and playback levels and characteristics) but I would suspect you may be better served to look at other dynamic (cone) driver models. Note that I'm not familiar with the Summit X although I am with some other ML, plus Quad, Magnepan, and Acoustat models.

Anyway, good luck.

I have not had that many speakers, just had some electrostats (Acoustats 11 and ML ESL) before and liked their holographic sound stage abut never had a chance to compare them side by side with the Duntechs. Since I like rock, the Quads are probably not best suited, hence the quest for something more modern to replace these black monoliths.

I've owned Monoliths and much later Prodigy, also heard Summit on several occasions. Familiar with Duntech's Sovereign and Crown Prince of old. From memory, you'll easily do better on resolution and holographic side with MLs, but they'll be no where near as dynamic, esp.macros. So I'm afraid, first, there'll be these obvious trade offs, then there'll be many more, they're just very different beasts imo.

At your level you probably already know the all over the map advise you'll be getting.

I have a pair of Avalon Eidolons which are well known for their sound stage. I've been using solid state electronics to drive their somewhat difficult load. I recently found a pair of 200 watt tube mono blocks with two ohm taps. Getting back to tubes an their second order harmonics has been a spectacular improvement in musicality and sound staging.

I'm not a fan of panel speakers but I was recently impressed by an all Sanders system.