Maggies & Logans: Why so many for sale?

I just sold my Martin Logan Sequel II's, so my ad was one of the ones you saw lately. My initial awe only lasted 15 years.

They are really good speakers. I only upgraded after I found something that really knocked my socks off, which was the Revel Ultima Studio. I really liked the Sequel II..
I upgraded to add to the power handling, as it would not play REALLY loud, especially in our new house's living room, which is half again the size of our old living room. Also, while the imaging was incredible, the sweet spot was very narrow, and now that I am married, I need to share the sweet spot.

As far as the Maggies are concerned, I was never a real fan of them, as I felt the bass was lacking, but then again, I have not seriously listened to them for a decade, so my opinion on them is biased from their old speaker line from long ago.

As a current Maggie owner, I can only presume that many of the idiosyncracies become unacceptable over time...or maybe they weren't aware of them at the time of purchase.

Don't know about M/L as I've never owned them, only auditioned, but factors like:

- very sensitive to proper room placement
- very sensitive to room interaction
- need to be farther away from back & side walls
- requires a larger room
- dialing in toe-in
- revealing of upstream weaknesses
- current hungry
- low WAF
- require stalwart amplification to yield bass
- require higher SPLs to bloom

All of these may contribute to a decision to part with big panels. However, I have heard too many stories of ex-Maggie owners kicking themselves until they jump into the water again. The gentleman I purchased my 3.5's from did exactly that.

tim

I was a Maggie 3.3 owner for a few years and then due to many issues noted by Timwat I sold these. Actually it had more to do with me not finding an amp that had enough power that I could afford AND also retain the magic of the 100w class of tube amps I had owned.

Yes they do require a bigger room as they do their magic when spaced 10' or more apart. And yes they indeed reveal problems upstream that so many other speakers mask better. And yes they have a terrible WAF. But as wonderful as the Talon Khorus that I replaced the 3.3s with, far more extension on the bottom and even more resolution throughout much of the range with the Talons, I missed the Maggie magic so much. Ultimately 6 months later, I was on the search again. Selling the 3.3s was the single biggest mistake I ever made in selling/buying audio in 20+ years.

Finally I found a pair of 3.5s and I am once again a happy listener. The Talons went into the HT system. The Talons were a huge improvement over the Theil 3.6s and 2.3s in that system. And the Thiels are excellent speakers as well. But the Thiels do not come close to the Talons in the more lifelike and dynamic presentation. And neither of these bring on the incredible ambience, presence and bloom of the Maggies. There's always a tradeoff. If I had to do the music and HT in one system, the Talons would be the better choice due to the dynamics alone.

One thing that is absolute nonsense is that Maggies do not integrate well with subwoofers. I use a Velodyne ULD18, crossed over at 50hz. This is really what the Dr ordered for the low end punch lacking with the Maggies. I hope to soon tweak the input of the amp (Counterpoint NPS400) to high pass this at 40-50hz to give the amp even more head room with the Maggies.

And yes, when I told my wife I was buying these again, all she could say was, "those again?", in a not so positive manner. So clearly for many they are not beautiful sculptures of art like so many other speakers are out there.

In regards to maggies- I don't see many current production speakers for sale. 1.6's here and there but they go quick, 3.6's are a rare and draw a premium on the used market. Mostly older models, and if these folks are capable of going to newer models I am sure that's what they do. Once you've gone planer its hard to go back ;)

Also people who own Maggies and move to a smaller home have a tendency to sell if the room is too small, they know what it takes to make them sing.

I bought Andra eggleston, the left channel ML quest,
failed, I told the guy who repair them to sell them,
thinking that I will never miss them, guest what?
2 weeks later I told the guy, I am not selling them,
anymore, I think after I rewired them with siltech,
they sound unbelievable,In a week I will get them back,
My wife is ok with it,I told her, the speaker sounds
like 20k,She said ok. I agree the waf dept is very
weak.The maggies they will sound good if you can find
the right power and placement, the Thiel try them with
oddyssey extreme, they are match made in heaven. Honestly
I like the combination between my Andra and x250 pass lab.

I have owned 8 pairs or Martin logans and the descent sub also 2 pair of maggies .They are great speakers but since I have discovered Sensitive speakers and SET amps I can not listen to them any more They just dont touch my soul .Technically there a great performer.

- very sensitive to proper room placement
- very sensitive to room interaction
- need to be farther away from back & side walls
- requires a larger room
- dialing in toe-in
- revealing of upstream weaknesses
- current hungry
- low WAF
- require stalwart amplification to yield bass
- require higher SPLs to bloom

I had Maggies ,but could not use them in a smaller room. I found NEARs which gave me the same sort of sound ,but in a box.

Innersound I have been told are the speakers to go for and I am beginning to believe it.WIll have to go hear some when I get the chance.Price is a concern though.

Logans I found did not cross over well with the Bass Drivers ,but this was maybe 10yrs ago.I did like the transparancy though.

I am happy with what I have now and got them for a steal of a price.The NEAR samll 2-ways outperformed the Maggie 1.4's I had .I did do a side-by-side and it was no contest.

My final decision was based on a number of factors.One of the biggest was room size.The other was I wanted a speaker that went as close to full-range I could get that was as transparent as the Maggies.The NEARs did it for me.They have a small footprint and are not eye sores also.

They will reveal upstream electronics synergy.They are not really hard to get synergy between electronics as far as amps. Maggies have a special load to consider when mating with an amp!

The NEARs I have are heavily modded.Newer drivers.Outboard XO's to be updated and rewired with wire that I like. They are the only ones of their kind at the moment,

Happy Hunting

All I can say is I agree pretty much with the previous statements. I own both Maggies and ML.

I sold my Martin Logan Sequels last week after 17 years of enjoyment. I bought them for $2K in 1986 and sold them for $900. Pretty good value if you ask me.

The reason I sold them is because I finally wanted a bigger pair. The newer models are easier to drive and built better.

Other reasons people sell them may include the following:

"They are big."
"The wife doesn't like them."
"Music isn't important now that I've got kids."

Regards,

TomDac
Martin Logan Club Webmaster
http://www.martinloganowners.com