Martin Logans


Do ML's mate well with tube gear? Specifically Rogue Cronus Magnum with KT90's? Or would it be more beneficial to bi amp, i.e. a bryston 3B or 4B for the woofers and tubes on the electrostats??? I have the chance to get a pair of Martin Logan Aerius i's for a great deal but have already purchased the Rogue but still have the Bryston, so my choices are such. Please help???!!!
jimbojrjb
I ran ML Ascent i with a 100watt Jolida integrated in a 12' x 13' room and it was a good combo for almost all music and volume. But the SS on the bass and Rouge on the panels would probably be even better.
ML's are very revealing when you get higher in the model range. Never preferred tube gear when I had a set because most tubes have a low s/n ratio, lower powered, and most are single ended.

I would sell the rouge and get a higher current 100+ s/n ratio 200w balanced min SS amp. As stated a few posts before ML love power and current so more is better.

-Joshua
Hi everyone
I consider Martin Logan Aerius i and my current speaker are Cain&Cain Abby. Any opinion about Aerius vs Abby ?

Peter
I have owned both the Aerius-i and Abby and they are very different speakers. The Aerius-i required a lot of power and had a difficult impedance curve. I drove them with a Bryston 3B or Audio Research VT60. The VT60 sounded much better in my opinion, and would drive them very nicely, but you could probably fry an egg on the output transformers due to the power demands of the Aerius-i. The Abby on the other hand are very efficient and easy to drive with almost anything, but they are much more critical of amp selection.  Also the Abby doesn't have much bass and that is why they were intended to be used with a Sub (Bailey).  I believe you would find the change from Abby to Aerius-i very pleasing if you have the amplification to drive them. One thing I would caution, however, is the sensitive and delicate nature of the electrostatic panels on the Aerius-i.  With my pair, I had 1 panel sounding weaker than the other. Due to the age of the panels, ML suggested replacing them with new ones. They are only sold in pairs and they are very expensive $$$. I replaced the panels and played them happily for a year or two. When I sold them, the guy listened to them at my house and they were working 100% but when he transported them home and connected them, he said one speaker was weaker than the other. I would just caution about the delicate nature of these electrostats of this vintage. The new ones may be more robust. Incidentally in my opinion, I liked the Aerius-i better than the Magnepan MG1.6's I had, but that is just personal preference.
HiThanks for your opinion, i´m also a little bit worried about panels and i think i also need more power because i currently use Firstwatt F6 (clone) amp.I´m quite happy with Abby but never owned electrostatic speakers, only MG1.6 panels.