Martin Logan speaker models comparison


Quite a few years ago I owned a pair of ML CLS2 speakers which I absolutely loved. I sold them and bought the Odysseys which I also liked but missed the sound of the full range panel CLS’s. After about 10 years with the Odysseys I decided to try box speakers and ended up with the Von Schweikert VR4’s which I still consider to be the most overall technically competent full range speakers I’ve ever owned. However, for my listening tastes, I still consider the CLS to be more musical and better suited to the music that I mostly listen to. That being said, I just bought another pair of CLS2’s from a friend who had purchased them used from another party. They sound quite good to me (pretty much how I remembered them) but I’m assuming that the panels are original and not performing as well as they could. I’m waiting for an answer from ML to give me a price for replacement panels but I’ve read that they’ve become quite expensive. I suppose I’d be willing to invest a bit more to have them right but it may make sense to try and find a set that has already been upgraded. Just to explain how I got to this point, I’ve been using electrostats, mostly ML hybrids, for over 40 years with various decent amplification sources (most recently, Mark Levinson pre and power). I’m now using the Cary LSI80 integrated which mates well with the CLS and have the ML Depthi subwoofer for deep bass. The bottom line is that I’m in no way disappointed with my decision to return to these speakers but if anyone knows of a newer used pair of panels or a pair of CLS ll’s with upgraded panels for sale I’d appreciate very much hearing about them. 
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Not sure but I think you can do a cleaning process where you lightly dust the exterior and then blow the panels with an air hose (lightly). I could be wrong but that is what I remember.  
I assume you meant a Cary SLI-80? That might not be the perfect match, you should try some other amps, just as a sanity check and/or try some nice EL-34 tubes to bring out the sweet spot of the electrostatics. 
The previous owner actually washed the panels so they’re at least clean and I’ve always vacuumed ESL panels on a somewhat regular basis. As far as the Cary SLI-80/CLS match goes, I’m quite happy with it. Granted, the Mark Levinson 27 was capable of providing greater volume but I’m not into loud music so I’m fine with it. I also have some spare EL-34 tubes so I might try what you suggest even though I don’t discern any sweet spot issue that isn’t inherent in the speaker design itself.