2. speakers
  3. 153584-88010

Best speakers to replace Martin Logan CLS

I am fortunate to have possessed a pair of ML CLS IIz for the last 10 years. They’re in an open living room (extends to kitchen and also the rest of the main floor of the house ~ 1400 sq ft). I love the sound and I listen to a lot of acoustic/jazz. I feel like the more power I feed them the better they sound. They’re being powered by 200W @ 8ohm Monolith amp. I’m also using 3 subs with it with crossover set at 80Hz. Although they sound great but I always worry the panels will go bad at any time due to their age. I do not plan to replace the panels if they go bad, but rather I’d like to replace them with a different pair of similar or better sounding speakers. From what I’ve read, these seem to be the speakers that I might like: Harbeth 40.1(2), Eminent Technology LFT-8b, used Soundlab Majestic 545, used and restored Quad ESL 57. I’ve ruled out Magnepans due to WAF. I almost bought a pair of Apogee Duette Sigs after hearing but backed out due to similar concerns with the CLS (panels will go bad at some point). I’ve also looked at some other speakers like Revel Studio2, Focal Sopra No2, Legacy Audio Focus/Signature, Spatial Audio, but I’m not sure since I’ve never heard them. Budget is up to $10k (prefer to buy used) but probably would like to stay under $5K. Please advise.
128x128vuongp
bubinga
93 posts
 
Over 25 some years, I had four ML models, including the CLS2A and the Summits and went with the MBL116’s. They do what ML does well and take it up a big notch.   Much fuller immersion and dimensionality.

Ended up retiring / moving and wanted something physically smaller so I moved onto the Joseph Audio Pulsars and a REL T7i sub. Gets me close enough to the MBL but, IMHO, no speaker can energize a room like an MBL.

Pricey but if you can find a good deal on a used pair, well worth the effort.
soix
8,984 posts
 
There’s a pair of Joseph Audio Pearls at US Audio Mart listed at $13k but likely negotiable as they’ve been listed for a while. Also a pair of Usher BE 20 — older model but in new condition — priced at $7500 (original list $20k). Both outstanding (and good looking) speakers not likely to disappoint. Nola KO would also be worth a look as they are a dipole design that might appeal to you as a ML owner.
vuongp's avatar
vuongp OP
18 posts
 
@soix the JA Pearls are nice and would be my dream speakers (based on reviews), but they're out of my budget. The Ushers are interesting and look nice (and huge), but it's impossible to audition them. Might have to research the Nola's.
vuongp's avatar
vuongp OP
18 posts
 
@bubinga I've heard a lot of good things about the Pulsars. How happy are you with them? Do you feel the itch to upgrade to something else? 
vuongp's avatar
vuongp OP
18 posts
 
@needfreestuff I owned the Raidho XT1 at some point, the highs are really nice (airy?), but they seem to lack bass, which i can supplement with subs. I didn't like the stands they came with. However, I regretted selling them.
More to discover