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From Marten Coltrane to Avalon Isis, Hansen King??

Hello all,

I am currently using a Marten Coltrane speaker in my fairly large living room and I do like the sound a lot. It is well known though that the bottom end isn't the Coltrane's strongest point especially in a big room.

I am curious if for instance the Avalon Isis and/or Hansen Emperor/King would be an improvement over my current speakers with respect to bass and overall sound?

Appreciate feedback from users that heard the Marten, Avalon and Hansen speakers.

Thanks a lot
maxx1973
maxx1973 OP
34 posts
 
Albert,

Thanks for your extensive reply. Off course I am very interested in the the sound other then only bass performance. I did read some other comments as well with the Marten being more smooth at the highs compared to the Hansen speakers.

I do like the clarity of the Marten I've got and assume the the ceramic drivers of the Marten, Kharma and Avalon sound roughly the same. The large improvement in bass in the Isis does is very welcome.

Do you believe the Hansen and Isis will have a larger soundstage then the Marten? I do like the sound of my Marten at low volumes very very much but don't find the soundstage to be very large at higher volumes (might be the size of my room??).
albertporter's avatar
albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Do you believe the Hansen and Isis will have a larger soundstage then the Marten?

Difficult to say, soundstage is a product of room, speaker placement and even the electronics. I'm one of those that's much more sensitive to tonal balance than imaging or sound stage, but if I had to rate these I would put ISIS on top for sound stage, pretty much matched by Hansen and then followed by Kharma and then Marten.

This last statement is sloppy logic :^), based on listening in various rooms at different times. Perhaps another member will have direct A+B with these, although I think that's a pretty tall order considering price and exclusivity of these lines.
rtn1
535 posts
 
Maxx1973, What amplifier are you using with the Marten? That seems to be an inefficient speaker (300w recommended, 89db, 2.7ohm min). Could that be contributing to the lack of bass?
mtdking
157 posts
 
The Avalon would be a improvement over what you have. The crossovers in the Avalons is what makes them so great. I went from Kharma Midi to Avalon Diamonds and it wasn't even close. The bass is also much cleaner with better definition. Avalon really make the best speakers in the world. Just look at how many pairs were used at CES this year.
maxx1973 OP
34 posts
 
Mtdking,

Thanks for your info. Of of curiosity, why are you currently selling your Avalon Diamonds again? Which speaker are you going to replace it with?
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