Two questions about the latest Martin Logan's


I bought a pair of Sequel 2 speakers in the early 1990s, and I loved every second with them. Recently, I saw a pair of Vista speakers, and I was shocked by their size. They are considerably smaller (57 x 10.7 x 16.8) than my beloved Sequels (72 x 14 x 13). I know that sound is most important, but does anyone care to comment on the size difference? Also, any recommendations for tube amps (Cary or BAT ideally) to drive the Vistas?

Previous components:
Martin Logan Sequel II speakers
Sonic Frontiers Line 1 preamplifier
Sonic Frontiers Power 1 amplifier
sequel22
TAS did a review on the 'source' speaker. This is the 2k retail; model.---Pretty impressive,they say.--Can't find my copy but I think 'they' were in the latest issue.
I am interested in the new Logon line also. I own the ReQuests and truly enjoy them despite their limitations. I still look forward to sitting down and listening even with nine years of ownership.

I would love to hear the Summits to compare and contrast, especially the bass and bass integration. They have the Vantage in Alaska and although it wasn't a extended listening opportunity I wasn't that impressed and I think they are asking around five grand for them.

As for tubes, they will help Logans. Isn't the Sonic Frontiers doing it for you? They reduce the leaness and flesh out the sound on my ReQuests. I use CJ premier 12's on mine and love them, but if you are a fan of BAT or Cary, I am fairly certain they will satisfy. A friend has Cary V12 monoblocks and they are beautiful looking and sound splendid.

Have Fun!
I haven't heard the Vista, so I cannot comment on them, but, I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Sanders, the head honcho of ML at the time, and he had some very interesting things to say about the size/design of his speakers. At the time, he was demonstrating the Prodigy at a local Washington, D.C. store. I asked him if the smaller size of the stat panel on the speaker provided any sonic advantage over the larger panels employed on the Quest/ReQuest. He frankly answered "no" and that the Prodigy would have been even better with a bigger panel, but for marketing reasons they went with a smaller panel. He said that improvements in panel technology allowed them to go with a smaller panel and still improve the sound, but the smaller size was a marketing compromise.

I also asked Mr. Sanders about why the panel actually extended below the top of the box containing the woofer. He admitted that that could result in undesirable early reflections from the back of the panel and a cavity resonance, but, that said they found the bad effects turned out to be minimal, and that this design also allowed them to reduce the size of the speaker.

Great answers by a manufacturer instead of BS.