Which Mono block amps for ML Summit Speakers?

I would look at Blue Circle amps.
Gilbert the designer uses ML CLSiiz and Statement E2's as his reference speakers.
I think gilbert has owned about 15 pairs of Martin Logan's over the years.

Blue Circle amps are voiced to sound very good with ML speakers and have NO problems driving them. Do some reading about Blue Circle amps. I think they are just what you are looking for.

In you price range I would look at the BC202. It is a hybrid amp with 1 tube on each side on the input stage. Or if you want to go all solid state you could look at the BC26, but IMHO the 202 is much better.

www.bluecircle.com

Cheers,
Nick

BTW: You can get the amps in pretty much any color combo you want. Don't let some of the pics scare you off. That is just Gilbert's sense of humor. :)

I've owned both Maggie IIIa's using their passive xover and Martin Logan Monolith IIIx's. The latter used the Krell designed electronic xover, allowing one to drive the panels with a separate amplifier, not unlike the Summit's.

The ML panels are more efficient than the Maggies. An amp's current drive is generally not the big need for ML panels (which it is for the Maggies) but the ability to drive the load presented by the panel. For tube amps, this gets down to the capabilities of the transformer. If it can't handle the load and phase, you'll generally suffer from some roll-off of the higher treble range. Per ML, the impedance is .7 ohm @ 20khz but I've not seen the impedance curve over its operating range but my guess is that it's a lot friendlier than the Monolith's.

I'd also run this set up in balanced mode although this will eliminate some of the amps such as the older Deluxe VTL 225 and 300 which are single ended or after market modded. Regardless, the VTL's come with nice transformers which should be able to deal with the load. Same for the Manley's although new, they're more than you want to spend.

Personally, I would look at the following on the used market.

The ARC VT-200 will do a decent job and offer good reliability and a company which has been around for a long time, thereby ensuring good service. You can also go mono bloc with the VT130 or VT130SE. One thing to note is that ARC generally rates their power output at 16ohms where their amplifiers are most efficient. Unlike some SS amp designs, power does not double or increase as impedance goes down. Generally, you lose power depending on the design and transformer.

VTL MB250 or MB450 would be excellent choices as well and should be investigated. Their products are reliable and again, they're around to service their amp's should something go wrong.

VAC makes some very nice products but they're above your range. There are a pair of Standard 220's on Audiogon but I've not heard that model. I have a pair of VAC PA-160 II's and they drove the Monolith 'stat panels to high levels with ease. VAC makes excellent transformers.

My top choice would be Manley's Neo-Classic 250 but it's quite expensive and rarely shows up used.

Depending on the music you listen to and the size of your room, you only need about 120 watts/side of clean tube power to make those speakers sing. Good luck.

I am very happy with Meridian monoblocs on ML Aerius speakers.

Yo 'lectrostaticman! My last pair of Logans (Prodigys) sounded extremely good driven by a pair of JC-1's... if you really need monos for some reason.

Also, I heard a pair of Odyssey's at a friend's driven by a Pass 250.5 that was every bit as good as I've ever heard.

Please be sure and let us know all about the Summits if you ever spring for a pair.

I just checked the ML Summit specs. The built-in woofer amp is 200W. Recommended external amp (for the panel only remember!) is 100-300W. None of the prior ML speakers had on-board amps, and thus would have employed a completely different electronic interface between the power amp and crossover -- so I feel that amp/speaker experiences w/ previous ML models must be considered anecdotal when speculating what would work best with the Summit, which is decidedly not an evolution of their previous hybrid models.

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