Two questions about the latest Martin Logan's

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.

Thanks everyone! I figured the size differance was driven more by market than technology. The trend for many OEMs is smaller speakers that integrate better with home decor. This is fine as long as sound or build quality isn't affected.

I think my shock at the smaller size of the Vista speakers derives from my experience as an engineer: There appears to be less for the money. I don't think this is actually the case. Martin Logan has always manufactured excellant, high-quality products.