Quad 989 vs Martin Logan CLS IIz?

I own the 989's and have owned the 63's and the 57's. The 57's definitely have the best midrange I have ever heard as far as realism but where was the bass without a sub. The 63's greatly improved on the bass with an increase in volume level but again where was the bass? and the loss in midrange detail was noticeable. The 989's have quite a realistic level of bass, a soundstage wider than the placement of the speakers, much better imaging than my 63's ever had and an improved midrange although not to the level of the 57's. All told the results have been very gratifying.

Never owned the 989 but I did for a short period have USA 63's. The CLS 2Z blows them away and doesn't have to be vacuumed and is infinitely more reliable. The CLS does need a sub.

I also had to respond to audiokinesis. I put a sound meter on the CLS2Z and I have to wonder what distance he referes too. I can get 95db out of them at 40 feet. I use a Radio shack sound meter. What is he using?

Hello Dannylw,

My source is a phone call to the Martin Logan factory. I had a customer inquiring if he could get 100+ dB peaks with the InnerSound amp driving his CLS's, so I called the factory. They told me the CLS's wouldn't do much over 93 dB no matter how much power you put into them. I assume that's for a single speaker.

I did not attempt to verify the figure for myself.

Based on your experiences and measurements, I now have to wonder if what the Martin people told me is accurate. I suppose I should have given the source of my information in my post, but it never occurred to me that it might be inaccurate.

Thanks for posting your findings!

Just thought I would chip in. I have just received my IIz's and I'm not sure how loud they will go I'll meter them once they are broken in... One thing I will say is that they do seem to plateau at a certain volume! (but seriously who listens at that (93db) for extended periods of time!

Miles

ps. I have never had the pleasure of listening to the Quads... If they sound better than the CLS's all I can say is congrats you have a very fine speaker indeed! Enjoy!