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 steuspeed

Martin Logans are sexy but have a narrow dispersion. Sound Labs are not as pretty, but will out perform the ML's. If you want bass, the bigger the better. I have not heard the Innersounds.

If space is an issue and you want some bottom end, consider some Gallo Reference speakers. The sweet spot is much larger given the 320 degree dispersion mylar tweeter. Bass comes from two Dynaudio 6.5" drivers weight damped to match the natural roll off of the tweeter. There is no crossover, and integration is quite good. Space Invader looks you either love or hate.