Martin Logan Aeons and Depth

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for. The dealer usually just smiles and says this will be an awsome system. With a room at 13(w)x20(l) with 8' ceilings, are these parts appropriate? Auditioning in my room (presently unfinished) will certainly prove to be a colosal inconvenience, although it is probably the best approach. When ever I can gleen information from other people's real life experiences, I my comfort level in my ultimate decision increases.

I don't want to throw a monkey wrench into your plans, but as a former Martin Logan owner, I want to make sure you take some things into consideration.

1. The sweet spot of ML is extremely small and if you stand up even in the "sweet spot" things quickly go awry. If you normally have more than one person watching/listening to your HT, then make sure you audition it outside the sweetspot and find it acceptable or the tradeoff versus cones worthwhile.

2. The models of ML you choose really should be dependent on the size of the listening room. They all basically use the same parts, but are designed to fill different size rooms. Your dealer should recommend the appropriate models for your room. Don't try to guess and make sure you have liberal placement options once in your room since they are a little finicky with setup.

3. If you like the cool look of the Logans and the wall of sound they present, I would also recommend looking at the Magnepan HT setup and pairing it with the Vandersteen sub. Using the 1.6 as fronts and wall mounted surrounds, you will likely save money even versus the discounted ML prices you received. Arguably, I think you would be doing slightly better soundwise, especially for two channel.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to totally turn you off of Martin Logans. You can definitely get a very pleasing HT experience with a ML setup. However, I just found the risk profile for a ML setup to be a little higher and should be thoroughly considered to ensure maximum results.

I guess I thought Scenarios because I also considered 4 Aeons for a matched room full of sound. Maybe I should look into the Scripts?? A pair of Scenarios (demo from dealer) will cost me $1,279 plus tax. Aeons are $1,900. Not sure about the Scripts, although I've seen them available at auctions for less than $1k/pair. What is the opinion of new v. used? Warranty not transferrable? Potential for panel replacement at some point?

Paul

I did an in-home audition of the ML Aeons (they were having a great close out sale), and found that they were not rich sounding enough for music, but iincredibly crystal clear. But if theater is your main foucus and you have the SWEET ML sub and Sunfire amp to match the Aeons you should be very happy! Hopfully you saw the review of the Aeons and the Depth sub in Perfect Vision Mag. I ended up with a Thiel system that took care of both music and theater, I could not be happier.

Good luck

Realize that you're going to spend a couple of weeks fiddling around with locations once you get them. MLs are obnoxiously sensitive to placement, in my opinion. Don't forget that at least the mains really, really, really prefer to be quite a ways from the rear wall - mine are 52", and that's about all I can manage in my small room. And don't skimp on power amp current - ML's aren't inefficient, but they do prefer a lot of juice to really shine. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoy mine, and I have no plans to replace them - but MLs do have some fairly significant characteristics that you should be aware of.

I have found very small differences in speaker cabling, and I'd especially advise being careful not to overspend on the surrounds and center cabling - I just can't tell the difference.

Any particular reason you're going with Scenarios for surrounds instead of Scripts? I have them too, but mostly because I got a terrific (!) deal on barely-used Scenarios.

I sat and auditioned B&W speakers for hours. B&W and Martin Logan are the two main speaker lines sold where I bought my speakers. When I went to buy a set of B&W's a different salesperson offered a side by side listen. The Logans blew the B&W's away. It was like a huge wall of sound , much larger than the B&W's. They sounded great loud, real loud.
Try a side by side, bring your own music, hook them both up to the same system. Put as much $$ into your front speakers as you can. I don't think you need bigger or better wires with the Logans. Start with less expensive wires so you can get the speakers you want, you can bi-wire later. Good Luck!

I surely appreciate the reply. I have checked out martinloganowners.com. Sites such as AudioGon and martinloganowners.com are priceless resources.

Wrong reasons being that I find them striking, exclusive, etc, and maybe because I know I can buy a new pair of Aeons for just under $2k. Then I start thinking about used SL3s, Aerius, but with no warranty. Cost starts to climb. Wiring (evidently biwiring) is not going to come cheap, and it looks like since these machines like juice, speaker wires could easily cost 2x as much as I would spend on B&W. Encroachment into my room to satisfy ML's sound imaging is a bit of a distraction since it would interfer with Wife's plans for a fireplace (or vise versa). Then there is value - could I be happy as a clam with a B&W set or one of those Aperion Audio setups?

Many thanks for the help. Please keep it coming.

Paul

That is a nice room dimension for a HT (or stereo) setup. I am a Martin Logan fan so right off the bat I like your choice. Why do you say "but maybe for the wrong reasons" when refering to your Aeon preference? There is more help for you at http://www.martinloganowners.com/ Good luck.