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Quad 2912 vs Martin Logan ESL 11a

I am seriously considering electrostatic speakers although living in a part of the world where dealership for both brands do not have all models on hand for audition. While the 2912's were unavailable, a Quad 2812 was available a month ago for audition. It was in an all Quad setup, with a solid state and a 40  watts tube amp for comparison. In a 4 x 4m room, the music was very engaging playing Miles, Coltrane, and Heifetz. Transparency and speed were plenty evident, and  there was a warmth and solidity ( coherence ?) that was a pleasant surprise.  

Last weekend,  audition of  the Martin Logan's esl X was arranged . This is a few step down from the 11a's. Although it was in a totally different system, the ML seemed to be of a different sound signature. Brighter, more air? Ultimately I was not  impressed with the X's, the woofer seemed not to integrate well with the panels. And the salesperson admitted as mush. He said an audition could be arranged in a week or two for the 11a. 

While I wait for a proper audition of the ML 11a,  I would appreciate any comment specific to these two speaker models. Not all electrostatic speakers are created equal, as I have found out.   If the choice came down to the two, what are the issues that needs to be considered?
ledoux1238
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
ML’s for me, I have the latest panel Monolith’s, and a friend has the Summits, they just do everything well, even hard rock.
They have a bigger sweet spot thanks to the curved panel.
More air around them the better, for sound staging, nothing in between them for as far back as you can get, this increases depth perception.

This setup is critical.:
From the central seated position in a darkened room, shine a torch from the top of your head at the panel, the reflection back should be half way up the esl panel and 1/3rd from the inner edge, for both speakers. Then prepare to be amazed, imaging even outside the speakers like you never thought possible.

Cheers George
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,196 posts
 
Soundlabs are currently the best ESLs made and they will ship anywhere. Far superior to any ML or Quad and they will play loud and are extremely reliable. You do not have to audition them. Just read all the reviews.

pvmike
40 posts
 
Toe in is critical arc will help a lot too. I still need to do room correction even without room correction my system sounds awesome
ledoux1238 OP
276 posts
 
@ mijostyn, I had done some research on Sound Lab.  Given my situation with lower power tube amps, unavailibily of  dealer support, and frankly, pricing that is out of my range, there is close to zero possibility of my owning a pair of Sound Lab speakers. I must confess a sense of envy when a recommendation for a pair of speaker would include, '.. You do not have to audition them..". They must be amazing! Alas, not for me.

Hi George, Thanks for the straight up recommendation. Monolith is one of the very early ML to come out. And  it seems that are many loyal fans of the speakers with active crossover and the possibility of bi-amping. 

One of my concerns is the maintenance of the Mylar panels. But it seems that committed users treat it precisely as a maintenance issue to be dealt with rather than a nuisance.


ggeers222
37 posts
 
Been devoted to the sound of planar speaker designs beginning in the 70's, and have lived with various models from Magnepan, Acoustat and Martin Logan over the past 40 years.

I've owned the 11A for two years at this point, and have been quite happy with them. An amplifier that can reveal their best potential is key. The huge sound stage, well-integrated bass response, open and clear mids, detailed but smooth top end, that these have always been capable of are presented to great effect with the Carver Crimson 275 (which provides plenty of power given the speakers utilize their own woofer amplifiers).

Using the same all-tube front end, had also tried a couple of well-reviewed class-D designs plus a Rogue Stereo 100; each sounded quite nice, but it did not take long at all to appreciate the Carver's elevated performance once installed in my setup.
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