Tekton Moabs will beat all those others for less money. Listened to some of those other ones and then heard Tektons. Ordered them and am currently building the rest of my system and room around them.
$10K Budget for Speakers: Martin Logan Masterpiece vs Tannoy
For much under $10K I can get a pair of Martin Logan Masterpiece’s Classic ESL 9 (the new ones retail for $6.5). Alternatively, I might go ahead and get a used pair of the top-of-the-line ESL 13 with all the bolts and whistles the modern electrostatic speakers offer: an unbelievable 3D-almost-surround-like staging and very detailed, life-like sound. Those Martin Logans speakers do have a huge speaker emission surface (the sound radiating "panel") emitting the sound bi-directionally and these speakers are almost the human hight tall.
The same $10K would also get me a top-of-the-line Tannoy Arden speakers (8K per pair). On the used market, if I am lucky, I could get a pair of Turnberries. Tannoy, while does have some unmatched style and a "company history-story" factor, apparently doesn’t even come close to be able to give the same sound experience Martin Logan speakers do. Tannoy speakers radiate sound from a single 10", 12" or at best 15" driver. The speaker themselves are significantly smaller than Martin Logan ones. They are barely hip height.
The esthetics and design is a huge factor for me, I do love Tannoy speakers. But, from a practical standpoint, and because the main reason I am getting the speakers is still the SOUND, and not the speakers design, I am heavily inclined to get a less-by-my-opinion-styled speakers made by Martin Logan. Because MLs, regardless of the price, offer a wider, cleaner, more life-like sound than Tannoy speakers do.
If the sound reproduction is the only concern, why would I choose a smaller, a single driver Tannoy over state-of-the art technology implemented in Martin Logan?
The same $10K would also get me a top-of-the-line Tannoy Arden speakers (8K per pair). On the used market, if I am lucky, I could get a pair of Turnberries. Tannoy, while does have some unmatched style and a "company history-story" factor, apparently doesn’t even come close to be able to give the same sound experience Martin Logan speakers do. Tannoy speakers radiate sound from a single 10", 12" or at best 15" driver. The speaker themselves are significantly smaller than Martin Logan ones. They are barely hip height.
The esthetics and design is a huge factor for me, I do love Tannoy speakers. But, from a practical standpoint, and because the main reason I am getting the speakers is still the SOUND, and not the speakers design, I am heavily inclined to get a less-by-my-opinion-styled speakers made by Martin Logan. Because MLs, regardless of the price, offer a wider, cleaner, more life-like sound than Tannoy speakers do.
If the sound reproduction is the only concern, why would I choose a smaller, a single driver Tannoy over state-of-the art technology implemented in Martin Logan?