Martin Logan - wow


I heard my first electrostatic speakers yesterday, ML Ascent at a very helpful dealer. These are clearly my cup of tea -- I liked better than the B&W N802s I listened to at the same time. Vocals are amazingly present. So of course I have some questions:

1. The bass wasn't great. Better than a monitor (I listened to B&W N805) but not much punch, and more important, sounded a little sloppy. Are there adjustments that one makes to the crossover, some little magic knob, that might improve this?

2. Are most users combining with a sub for stereo use (I'm not doing HT)?

3. We listened in a small room (about 8x8) at the store. My room is about 25 x 14 x 8', with speakers along the 14' wall. What model of Martin Logan would do the best job in this room? Bigger, smaller? I mostly listen at low-ish volumes, but would like to crank it ocassionally?

4. My amp is a Classe CA-200 (the newer style, same as current CA-201). Will this amp do justice to the speakers?

5. Other speakers I should listen to? I hear "maggies" and "innersound" -- are there others to consider?

Thank you!
ehart

Showing 1 response by tdacquisto

Please let's not forget that there is a break-in period for MLs and most planar type systems. They will sound better and better once they're properly broken in. I've also heard MLs at a dealers that sounded harsh. Unlike alot of us fanatics, some of these dealers don't always know how to set up everything perfectly and may not be matching the best equipment with the loudspeakers.

With any dipolar loudspeaker, room placement is SUPER critical. Moving the speaker a few inches can make a HUGE difference.

I am a ML owner. Love Maggies too. Haven't heard Innersound or Soundlabs, but I'm sure they're fine products too.

Welcome to the world of ESLs!!

TomDac