Thinking of trying some Martin Logan or Magnepan, Thoughts?

[Ratamahatta 437]

Just like the title says either some gently used Martin Logan Vista or some new Magnepan 1.7 or .7. I know I will need a sub with either, my Sunfire fits the bill.  I should be able to get these at least 2 feet of the wall and at least 4 feet to and side wall.  One problem is that I only have 7.5 feet ceilings.  What is a good price for the Vistas? Original owner has them in original boxes and says they are like new and just over 3 years old. He is asking $1500. I would be powering these with a Bryston 4B ST.  Anyone have experience  with either or both?  

  After owning all kinds of box speakers I just want to try something different. I really liked my ALIII+, when we moved we needed the cash and I had to sell. This just an idea I am kicking around right now. Thanks 

[RodH 4,866]

E-stat's are journey well worth taking. You may love them, you may hate them but until you try them, you'll never know. Enjoy the ride!

[loner_t 2,568]

I listened to MG.7s with a Parasound P5/Amp combination. They sounded really good, even without a Sub. A Sunfire sub would fill the bottom end very nicely. 

[RodH 4,866]

I have heard the 1.7's with a 4BST. Pair of SVS subs covering 95Hz and down. Once the placements were sorted out - and that took a while -  breathtaking!

[Ratamahatta 437]

One thing I am wondering is how far out from the wall do you really have to get these to sound their best?  3-4-5 feet? I only have about 2-3 tops. 

[loner_t 2,568]

One thing I am wondering is how far out from the wall do you really have to get these to sound their best?  3-4-5 feet? I only have about 2-3 tops. 

 

The MG.7s were about 3 feet away from the wall. Sorry about the light in the photo. 

 

 

[RodH 4,866]

One thing I am wondering is how far out from the wall do you really have to get these to sound their best?  3-4-5 feet? I only have about 2-3 tops. 

 

As far as you realistically can! 

[aslan7 954]

 

They will dominate your room with your ceiling height.

 

From Steve Hoffman:

"In a nutshell, electrostatic speakers sound different from cone speakers, not necessarily better or worse. They are competitively priced. Despite their sleek appearance, they still dominate the room and require a large space to sound their best. I have a love-hate relationship with them. You must listen to them in person, however, and decide for yourself if you like their sound. No one else can make that decision for you."

 

I've also heard some faint buzz during listening sessions due to receptacle power requirement --although this could plague many systems. I for one will not tolerate any noise with music not playing or during playing of quieter selections.

 

I think you should give them a go for kicks. Then come back to ribbons ;-)))

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/electrostatic-speakers-are-they-worth-it.54724/

 

 

[Chops 693]

I've heard several Magnepan's over the years, and even owned a pair, the MGLR-1's. They need power, lots of it, then they want more power. They run a fairly flat 4 ohms, so pretty easy to drive, as long as the amp(s) has balls. They usually all sound great, and the true magic with Maggies is their midrange. There's just something "right" about what they do with midrange, female and male vocals. Just a natural, warm, inviting sound that leaves with wanting more, wanting to walk right in to the performance. They have decent bass capabilities, but will certainly benefit from a good subwoofer or two.

 

Martin Logan electrostatics are also a great choice. I've heard many of them over the years as well, and currently own a pair of wonderful SL3's from 1997. They do much of the good things that the Maggies do, but with the need of having them plugged into the mains to power the panels. They have a similar open, airiness about them like the Maggies, room filling and spacious, though can dig deeper than the Maggies thanks to the traditional dynamic bass drivers used. The Vista's that you're considering would definitely benefit from the addition of a subwoofer or two. With the SL3's that I have, they dig REALLY deep, as in the low to mid 20's, so with music at least, I really don't "need" a subwoofer per say. The Martin Logan's also benefit from a good quality, powerful amp. One thing different about the Martin Logan's however is that their impedance drops down to 1 to 1.5 ohms, but at 20 kHz, so unlikely to bother a quality amp.

 

I would say you can't go wrong with either speaker. They will both provide great sound and value. They will both also require very similar positioning in the room as they both like some breathing space around them. You're 7.5' tall ceiling will not be an issue, neither is having them near side walls as they emit little sound from the sides as the front and rear waves cancel each other out at the sides, though you still want to keep them about a minimum of 2' from the side walls. Speaking of which, 3' from the back wall should be fine. I don't have mine out much further than that and I get excellent results.

 

Just my 2 pennies worth.

[Chops 693]

They will dominate your room with your ceiling height. 

 

What was that about dominating your room?... I don't think the OP will have an issue with either speaker mentioned here dominating his room. Both are a fifth of the size of these Soundlab's. Now those dominate the room! 

 

 

[RodH 4,866]

[BarryG 2,853]

The only electrostats I have heard were the ones Jazzman brought to carverfest, they sounded extremely well! I have had a pair of magnepan iiia's with a very nice ribbon, to this day they may be my favorite speakers I have owned! Mids and highs were very good and natural! I supplemented the low end with a sunfire sub! I still wish I never traded Maggie's awAy!

 

BarryG

[loner_t 2,568]

One observation, the MG.7s have a very narrow sweet spot - horizontally and vertically. If you are the only listener in the room, then it may be acceptable. 

[Chops 693]

One observation, the MG.7s have a very narrow sweet spot - horizontally and vertically. If you are the only listener in the room, then it may be acceptable. 

 

Actually, due to Maggie's being perfectly flat, they all pretty much have a narrow sweet spot. 

 

That's one of the things Martin Logan attempted to resolve, giving the listener a broader sweet spot by making the stat panels with the 30 degree curve in them.  

[Chops 693]

 

Who stuck that Magnepan out in the middle of the room? Must be a dedicated mono system. LOL 

[RodH 4,866]

It was Dave.....

 

 

[Chops 693]

LOL!!!

[UncleMeat 1,173]

If you liked your AL-III's you will also like Magnepans. I have not heard 1.7's, but my MG-IIB's were really nice sounding. They didn't have the ribbon tweeters like the IIIA so the highs were slightly dull. The newer 1.7's should be better in that dept. What I really liked about them was the pinpoint location image they generated. I heard a similar sound with Charlie's self-built ESL's at Carverfest last year, in fact his were a bit better than I recall the Magnepans being.

 

Having said all of that I absolutely love my Carver ALS w/60" ribbons. They get the bass note that's lacking in the Magnepans. Magnepans have a very fast/realistic mid-bass note but don't carry it deep enough. Sunfire TSW should fix that.

 

 

[peck555 366]

I have some older Maggie 1.5's that I love, but my ALIII's do have a bit more bass

[Chops 693]

I have never heard a single Carver speaker in my entire life except for the original Sunfire True Subwoofer when it first came out. I also installed a bunch of those little subs back then as well, yet never owned one. What's wrong with me?! Haha

[jazzman53 1,276]

I have never heard a single Carver speaker in my entire life except for the original Sunfire True Subwoofer when it first came out. I also installed a bunch of those little subs back then as well, yet never owned one. What's wrong with me?! Haha

 

Obviously, you've never been to Carverfest!  They're always a few Amazings cranking there, hope you can make it this year... 

[Chops 693]

 

 

 

I have never heard a single Carver speaker in my entire life except for the original Sunfire True Subwoofer when it first came out. I also installed a bunch of those little subs back then as well, yet never owned one. What's wrong with me?! Haha

 

Obviously, you've never been to Carverfest!  They're always a few Amazings cranking there, hope you can make it this year... 

 

No, never have been, obviously. Ha!

 

I don't know if we'll be able to or not. We'll have to see what's going on around that time with work and all, and what vacation time we have.

[Ratamahatta 437]

Well for right now I am going to back out of this endeavor.  Just to much going on right now. I want to go hear some in the showroom again.  I might not do anything and save the money to move away from this wretched place.  Thanks for all those who participated in this thread. 

[Ar9Jim 6,512]

 

 

Well for right now I am going to back out of this endeavor.  Just to much going on right now. I want to go hear some in the showroom again.  I might not do anything and save the money to move away from this wretched place.  Thanks for all those who participated in this thread. 

Those "try it in your own home" offers than Magnepan has, tempted me at times... Wretched place? Loveland, Co..  When you live in northern IL, Loveland is called vacation.. Lol.. Trade ya houses..

[DaveStL 85]

 

 

Well for right now I am going to back out of this endeavor. Just to much going on right now. I want to go hear some in the showroom again. I might not do anything and save the money to move away from this wretched place. Thanks for all those who participated in this thread.

 

Good luck on your quest. Maggies are special. When listening at a dealer (you're lucky to have one), it's important to know how long they have been played. They are noticeably bass-shy out of the box--I listened to 1.7's at a dealer in NC, very new, and another pair that were well broken-in at a dealer in MA. New ones will be the 1.7i, supposed to be a noticeable improvement over the original 1.7. Note that 1.7's sound very coherent but cannot be biamped w/o significantly altering the crossovers.

 

One other thing w/ 1.7 and 1.7i. They are a little shorter than the 3-series, and beam a little vertically--you can hear this if you are sitting and then stand up. A shorter ceiling should help w/ this, because you get some reinforcement. I don't hear this w/ my III-A's--I think the ceiling is about 7'9".

 

I have biamped IIIA's w/ newer ribbons. Tremendous B4B there, if you can find some w/o delamination or are willing to do some work. 1.7's, with the newer adhesive and the foil, should not suffer delamination problems that cropped up on pre-2005 Magnepans.