Marten Coltrane Alto speakers


Has anyone had an opportunity to ever hear these speakers? I love their look and 6Moons had a wonderful review of them with the exception that it was mentioned that it takes up to a year to break them in.
bostonbean

Showing 2 responses by mikelavigne

Samuel33, speakers are mechanical devices.....they move. like any mechanical device breakin will be somewhat in stages.....these stages will vary according to the unique combination of parts and construction method.....and even environment, ancilary gear and intensity of use.

depending on the level of information of a particular system; these various stages will be audible. the earliest stages are most easily identified.

specifically with speakers like the Marten, which i've owned, and the very similar Kharma which i've also owned; there is an initial breakin time of about 400-500 hours where the changes are easily heard. personally; i would not want to pay any manufacturer to do this complete break-in.....i'd rather they insure the speaker works properly and allow me to spend the time myself....and 72 hours of manufacturer break-in time seems very considerate from my perspective.

speakers most capable of high resolution will need to be designed to sound correctly 'after' breakin. if a speaker needs to be 'dumbed down' so it is already mellow prior to breakin that speaker will end up a bit toothless after breakin. again; speakers are designed and voiced with parts that are broken in for a good reason.

in my experience; after that initial 400+ hour breakin, over the next 6 to 9 months the bass articulation will little by little improve, little bits of bass detail and grip pop out that wern't there before. a very slight edgyness on some music smooths out, and a bit more texture and tonal shading becomes evidant. overall, refinement is improved.....subtle but real.

this process happens specifically on speakers and cartridges; i've broken in a number of sets of speakers and maybe a dozen or more high end cartridges.....the same pattern repeats every time to one degree or another. as my system has become more highly resolving over time it is easier to notice.

sorry you have not experienced these wonderful things happening. you have every right to disagree if you like.
Samuel33, thank you for the respectful comments. i do audio for pleasure and have no interest in conflict. 'real life' has plenty enough of stress and conflict.

we don't need to agree.....just be open to what our ears tell us.

btw, i am no longer associated directly with Positive Feedback as a reviewer, in fact, i was barely ever a reviewer...and only wrote a couple of articles which might be said to be reviews. even when i was associated with PF i never 'spoke' for them. i don't consider myself an expert at anything audio; rather an observer of audio and enjoyer of music.