Martin Logans anyone?

[galaxyoilcan 88]

Is anyone here using their sweet Carver gear to drive Martin Logan speakers? All the speakers I own are 80's vintage or earlier and I've been thinking about auditioning some modern speakers that sound good but don't cost more than my car.

Any suggestions on candidates I should  consider? 

[SteveFord 1,119]

Get thee to a Magnepan dealer.

[TNRabbit 371]

To me, electrostats in general don't have the "impact" of other speakers. Plus, they are prohibitively expensive. I think you can get as good imaging (their strong suite) with a lot less money.

 

I have yet to find anything in the budget of my AL-IIIs that come close to the imaging & realism.

 

I've heard some fantastic ML systems, but the cost is just so out there. Now, if I won last nights $640 million Powerball lottery, I would be calling Bob right now to order a pair of his new ALS speakers...damn the cost!

[PDR 1,194]

A good open baffle design can send you to nirvana.

In the last few yrs there has been some outstanding designs.

 

DIY means for the price of good bookshelves you can build world beaters.

Any good with a saw?........ 

[peck555 366]

Get thee to a Magnepan dealer.

YUUUUPPPP!!!

[galaxyoilcan 88]

Thanks for the interesting responses.

 

As for DIY, I can have a box built to spec at any cabinet shop and wield a soldering iron well enough to fabricate crossovers. Do you have any designs in mind PDR?

 

I just happen to have a pair old Maggys in the garage (2.5 in white). I got 'em off ebay a few years ago from a guy up in North Hollywood for $125 with the full disclosure that they needed at least one ribbon replaced (perhaps both by now).

 

I called Magnepan and got a quote for a new ribbon ($100 with trade in). They may have gone up by now. Everything I read about these speakers tells me I need a sub to fill out the bottom end for them. I have a powered Cerwin Vega 12" that might do if I get them working again. 

 

I have never worked on these kind of speakers so I'm not sure how involved the ribbon swap is (time to find a Maggy forum). I hear pulling the covers off will probably ruin them so I may also need new socks for them too. Any thoughts, opinions, advice or warnings about working on these speakers?

 

I don't think my budget could handle any of Bob's speakers and excuse me if I look skeptically at the opinion of those die hard Carver electronics fans who just happen to also be in love with Carver speakers. I love the Carver stuff too, but is he so blessed as to have engineered the best electronics and the best speakers too? So I probably won't wind up with Carver speakers unless someone has a pair they really want to get rid of and are willing to let them go cheap (then I'm all over them).

 

Any comments about Martin Logans or any other speakers? Waht about Klipsch Corner Horns?

 

[RichP714 3,163]

+1 for Klipsch Cornwalls! Extremely dynamic, pinpoint imaging

 

Jazzman53 has a DIY thread for some electrostatics.

[SteveFord 1,119]

We can help you with the old Maggies over here:

 

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=177.0

 

Ribbon replacement should consist of removing the 10,000 staples that hold on the sock, popping off the wiring connectors and unscrewing the assembly.

It would help if we knew what your budget and room size is.

2.5s would need a sub, my 3.7s don't really require one.

I should mention that the newer Magnepans are going to be a significant upgrade over the 2.5s.

 

[PDR 1,194]

Well.....In the last 5 yrs I built a few different speakers, all from kits by a couple of designers on Audio Circle.

You can see them here. If you have access to a mill shop I wouldnt hesitate recommending  Super V ($2500) these include everything you need but the cabinets. I own the V-1, a discontinued model a step down. Keep in mind that these are open baffle and have a powered servo sub lower half. For the price I think you cant do much better.

Heres a thread of a guy that just built a pair, what he replaced with them, and what he thinks.

I cant see replacing mine with anything else.

 

Good luck on your search. 

[slbenz 110]

I have owned Klipsch Heresy IIs, Martin Logan Scenarios and currently Magnepan IIIa speakers.  All of which will need a sub to fill out the lowest octave.  The Klipsch will only need a few watts to be very loud while both the Martin Logan and Magnepan will need more.  Actually, the Magnepan will need the most power of the three I listed.  With the wrong electronics, all three speakers can easily sound harsh.  I like the open sound of the Martin Logan and Magnepan over the Klipsch.  Because the ML has a conventional cone woofer, it will produce bass similar to a conventional box speaker.  The Magnepan even though doesn't have the same type of bass production of a conventional box speaker, the quality of the bass produced is perfect save for hard rock or rap music.  I decided to stick with the Magnepans over the Martin Logans because I wanted the open sound without the beaming effect that the ML have.  The ML have a very small sweet spot.  This is even true with their larger Prodigys.  But the ML mids are superb as are the Magnepans. But the Magnepans have a more forgiving sweet spot vs. the ML.  

 

Another choice to consider are speakers from Eminent Technology.  I used to own Eminent Technology LFT-IVs which would be a direct competitor to both ML and Magnepan since it uses a mylar sheet but in a push-pull design that give you the speed of an electrostat with a similar sound presentation to Maggies.  Probably their most popular speaker is their LFT-8b which directly competes with the Magnepan 1.6 and 1.7.  The ET speaker also uses a cone woofer similar in design as the ML but the ET uses even more power than a Maggie to be loud!!  I probably would have kept those ETs if I had the Carver M-1.0ts that I currently own.  Those darn ET speakers were rated between 80-83dB/watt.  Those ETs are bullet-proof and don't require the maintenance needs like the ML or Magnepans do over time.  Just so you know, you need to vacuum the electrostat panels of MLs periodically or the accumulated dust can create an arching sound.  Lastly, MLs need to be near an AC outlet in order to keep the electrostat charged.  Keep this in mind for speaker placement.  

 

Regarding Magnepan ribbon replacement.  The Maggie true-ribbons are soldered in two places.  One wire at top and one wire at the bottom of the ribbon.  When I did my IIIa rebuild, that is what I found.  The most difficult aspect of the rebuild was removing all the staples from the bottom of the speaker.  Rebuilding my IIIas midrange panels several years ago cost me $50 for the kit from Magnepan.  By the way, Magnepan used Monster Cable wiring on my speakers back in the 80's when my speakers were built.    

[SteveFord 1,119]

I didn't know about the soldering bit for the earlier ribbons.

My 3.6s had male spades on the end of the ribbon and they're the only ones that I've had to replace. 

It was $200 (I think) for a ribbon swap and you don't have to pull the socks for the later ones which is a good thing.

[jazzman53 1,276]

+1 for Klipsch Cornwalls! Extremely dynamic, pinpoint imaging

 

Jazzman53 has a DIY thread for some electrostatics.

 

My ESL thread noted above is out-dated now, but my DIY ESL website (link below) is continually updated and provides very detailed build instructions, links to materials sources, schematics, drawings, etc...    

 

There are a lot of great speakers to be had.  To me, the best sound-per-dollar commercial speakers are the Maggies, and the best sound-per-dollar DIY speakers are hybrid ESL's.  

 

The cost to build a pair of ESL's comparable to mine, including the digital crossover, is about $1,100.  The woodwork in my speakers was a bear but I also have two simpler and less expensive designs drawn up (which I will post CAD models on my website soon)-- one uses a 13.5" x 40" stat panel and a 10" woofer in a compact transmission line and the other uses a 12" x 48" stat panel in an open frame with a Dayton 12" woofer in a 2ft3 sealed-box.         

 

 http://jazzman-esl-page.blogspot.com/

 

 

[Audioquest 8]

 

 

Is anyone here using their sweet Carver gear to drive Martin Logan speakers? All the speakers I own are 80's vintage or earlier and I've been thinking about auditioning some modern speakers that sound good but don't cost more than my car.

Any suggestions on candidates I should  consider? 

 

A few years ago I had a pair or Aerius i driven with a Carver A760X and a tube preamp. Sounded pretty darn good, but if you go for ML's, get a higher up ladder pair than the Aerius. The new Maggies are nice

[jazzman53 1,276]

To me, electrostats in general don't have the "impact" of other speakers. Plus, they are prohibitively expensive. I think you can get as good imaging (their strong suite) with a lot less money.

 

I have yet to find anything in the budget of my AL-IIIs that come close to the imaging & realism.

 

I've heard some fantastic ML systems, but the cost is just so out there. Now, if I won last nights $640 million Powerball lottery, I would be calling Bob right now to order a pair of his new ALS speakers...damn the cost!

 

Mmmmmmmmm.... generally, all that's true, but most commercial ESL's are pretty much pussies anyhow.

Bob's ALS's blew me away at the AXPONA show... can't afford 'em of course but they got me daydreaming about a cheap line source ESL with real SLAM-- one with a curved panel for wider sweet spot, the second with a flat panel for max dynamics and imaging:

 

 

 

 

[oldtexasdog 2,456]

A lot of good advice here and DIY ideas

I realy like my B&W 802's but if I had no cats or children I would realy consider a pair of Vanderstiens Sig's. Simply beautifull imagining but kind of ugly looking. I do already have a pair of powerd subs so deep bass is not a issue for me.

[jazzman53 1,276]

 

 

Is anyone here using their sweet Carver gear to drive Martin Logan speakers? 

 

I can't speak for the "M" series Carver amps but the TFM's can drive my big electrostats without breaking a sweat so I'm sure they would have no problem with the ML's.    

[galaxyoilcan 88]

What a crew! You guys blow me away with know how and information so deep I can't see the bottom.!