How do the Martin Logan Ascents compare to the

Having both speakers in my home, in my system there is no comparison. The newer panels have better definition and extension of the highs. In my opinion the older panels are the ones that have a coloration that could be called "plastic". I'm comparing it to the Odyssey which sounds different than the Ascent. In my system I've yet to hear a "plastic" sound, and I'm using a Levinson amp? The only speaker I can remember that sounded plastic that I owned was the Acoustat 2+2, which I really loved overall! If you can find a good used pair of SL3's grab them!

i like all the logans butt cannot get past the lean sound on ss. tubes really do warm them up.

The “force forward” technology is available in the more expensive Odyssey and Prodigy models, not in the Ascent.

I too like the SL3 better than the Ascent. I feel the new ML models carry a kind of plastic tone that is unnatural, especially apparent with piano and mass strings. I heard that colorations in three different showrooms but they all used either Mark Levinsion or Krell so it could be caused by system mismatch.

I personally like the Requests and SL3s. The new Martin Logan line has the "force forward" technology. It makes room placement easier by cancelling the ill effects of 1/4 wavelength peaks and nodes. It's a bit more dynamic than early bass designs. You can read more about it on their website. When they did this they reduced the panel size for the replacement model speaker. While the bass technology may be a significant benefit for some, I prefer the larger panels. This is really a matter of personal preference, as there are certainly merits to the new bass system.