ML owners, what equipment are you using?


Long time owner of Martin Logan electrostatic speakers including Sequel II's and Prodigy. I have used ARC & Threshold, and all Levison equipment. I am considering a new setup for a pair of Summits. I would like to hear from ML owners as too what equipment (mono-blocks/preamp/cd player/wire/ic)you are using and how satisfied you are.
electrostaticman
I own a pair of Aerius i's and am "all tube."

Rogue M-150 monoblocks (should work well with the Summits)
Manley Labs Shrimp pre-amp
Jolida JD 100A CDP
Cary PH302 phono stage
Oracle Delphi MK II TT w/SME 308 arm and AT OC9 MKII cartridge.

Most of my cables are Signal Cable IC's and DIY power cords.

How satisfied am I? Very!
I've had good results with Martin Logan with entry level Jeff Rowland amps and Discovery cables.

In different guises you seem to be asking the same question over and over.
do you sell Martin Logans?...you have asked the same question a number of times as OnHwy61 points out...were there no good suggestions from the earlier posts?
Ellery911, No I do not sell ML speakers. You are right I have posted questions related to Summit speakers (which I am considering purchasing) and have asked for help in selecting equipment for these speakers. I have received feed-back but felt I needed to post again when I learned of the impedence requirements for these speakers.

I have read the impedence requirements for these speakers are 4 ohms at 4kHz; to 2 ohms at 10kHz, and 0.5 ohms around 17kHz?

I am also confused about Tube amps and preamps impedence ratings, how do I know if a tube amp or preamp will work?

I also was interested in ML owners responses, related to the equipment used.

If I have offended anyone, I apologize.
Electrostaticman: You can't offend anyone by asking, and I think your question(s) are quite specific enough. And some of us may not have seen your previous post, so don't be embarassed.

You can check out my system for ideas. As for tube amps, I still think they're the best idea with stats, especially if you're not driving bass as with the Summits. I used to use a pair of Trioded ARC M300 Mk2's (140W/ch) with my CLS's and they were great! But I don't have room for them now. And even though they were circa 1989, they had 2 ohm speaker taps! Although I found the 4 ohms gave me the best response across the spectrum.

I have also found after much experimentation, that using the largest AWG power cable (9 or 10) makes a very audible difference with all ML stats -- though I can't figure out why, because they really don't draw much power
I am not offended and I certainly hope I haven't offended you, but you have been repetitive. Audiogon is a great place for information, but it can be very unsatisfying for some. The fact is Martin Logans work very well with a wide variety of equipment. If you ask what works best, you'll get answer about their synergy with Audio Research, Rowland, Levinson, McIntosh (both tube and SS) and a half dozen other brands. There is no one magical combo that is head and shoulders above everything else. At the level of performance the Summits offer it comes down to personal preference.

It might help the quality of the responses you'll get if you described what you hope to attain with the Summits that you didn't get with the Prodigy and why you were unsatisfied with your previous amps.
Just purchased the Blue circle 206 hybrid and tube preamp to use with the summits. Blue circle room at CES 2005 had the 204 amp and ML's (the Accents I think) and it was amazing. Recently demo'd the summits with the Parasound amps, but to my ears, the Blue Circle amps were much better in all respects.

S.
In repsonse to Onhwy61; I enjoyed the Prodigy speakers and Levinson Equipment. I loved the detail revealed with this equipment and dead silence. Although, at times I felt the system was a bit sharp and fatigueing. This may have been because I used all 'SS' equipment. I used a Mark Levinson 336 amp,390s cd player,380s preamp.

My goal is to maintain separation and detail with a large soundstage, improve warmth and musicality without giving up the detail. I would like to use monoblocks placed next to the speakers short speaker cable and long IC cables (60ft)to reach the equipment rack(run through the walls and attic spaces).

I would know about tube equipment and how to pick the right separtes to satisfy these electrosatics.

Thank you for all your help.