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Are Martin Logans considered polite?

I've been going through this saga with some Magnepan 3.6Rs. I originally thought they were bright in my room, so decided to keep the Martin Logan Odysseys I bought at the same time and put the 3.6Rs up for sale. Since I've been trying to sell them, I've kept the Magnepans hooked up to demo them and tried some different speaker cable. With a different speaker cable and better termination, they sounded pretty damn nice, enough so that my wife even provided unsolicited feedback on a few occasions on how nice they sounded. So, I've been listening to them for the last few weeks. I've never heard piano sound as realistic in my room ever.

I literally just sold the speakers and they went out the door an hour ago (for those of you who have read my other posts, I ended up selling them at a steep discount to nice couple who can take the time and effort to get them repaired and still come out ahead). I hooked up my Martin Logans again. Now they sound a bit rolled off and muffled to me. After having lived years with a system that was on the bright side (with my PSBs), I naturally found the sound the Odysseys are producing attractive. Poor recordings are not so irritating, but this seems to come at a cost.

So, in the end, my question is are MLs generally considered rolled off/polite/laid back in comparison to other brands? Is it also a function of the narrow dispersion as well? This is a new room for me so have not yet started with room treatments and a lot of glass on one side, hard wood floors so i would expect this room to be brighter than many.
donato
ptmconsulting
1,000 posts
 
Not polite at all. Very analytical and precise. Even if others think the top end is rolled off a "polite" speaker will sound warm and inviting, not razor sharp and unforgiving like the ML's. ML's can sometimes make vinyl sound like digital - that says it all.

Enjoy,
Bob
dorylux
1 posts
 

Hi all ML owners,

I have had been using my Sequel II - Martin Logan’s fantastic ESLs since Aug. 1990 !!!

I had my first issue with one panel only after 3 months of use, (Balance issue)

I noticed that the sound "moved" to the left area of the speaker yet in almost full db., I have contacted ML and got a brand new pair of panels shipped by airplane to Israel free of charge, after installing the new pair the speakers worked 29 years without any degradation signs until recent year after moving to my new home by the sea-shore for 7 year... that the sound got weaker and weaker from the static section yet evenly heard.
I have read some reports in other forums and do my own several tests btw, after air-conditioning the room the sound level from the stat. gets much better and I enjoy the sound after all.

I wish that Martin Logan’s service department will sell me new panels in resonable price, afterall the shipping to israel is humangous..(LOL)
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Martin Logan's can sound recessed in the upper mids/highs, especially in the highs decay, with tube amps, because ML esl's dive down to .9ohm impedance in that area and tubes don't like those sort of impedance loads.
Roger Mojeski's tube amp could do ok as they have 2ohm speaker taps, but then wattage may be limited to low to normal listening levels, e.g. no parties.

Cheers George
steve59's avatar
steve59
1,802 posts
 
Martin Logan are painful to listen to. Tweeter had several returns of a large full range modek the saleslady was offering me at 60% off and I couldn't do it. even in the damped listening room they were putting out way too much hi fq information. they assault you with szound
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
My problem with MLs is not at the top, it is at the bottom. ESL panels get very directional over 10 kHz. Unless you are right in front of them they are going to sound rolled off. They are quite capable of getting over 20 kHz. To fix this problem ML curves its panels and crosses to a sub. The inventor of the curved panel Roger Sanders will explain why this is a bad idea  http://sanderssoundsystems.com/ . Acoustat used angled flat panels which in the larger versions like the 3 s and 4 s did a credible job. Soundlabs carries that approach farther by using more angles in more partitions creating a speaker that will cover 45 degrees which is enough. Too much dispersion is just as bad as too little. What ESLs do not do is make the high end obvious. As good as Manepan's tweeter is, and I think it is the best magnetic tweeter available, it stands apart from the rest of the speaker. But you can be anywhere in the room and you will hear it.  
I find the speaker sounds its best if the high end is rolled of just a bit. 3 dB down at 20 kHz with an elbow at 3 kHz. 
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