Amp for Martin logan CLS Originals


Hi,

I have been considering a couple of amps to pair with Martin logan CLS originals.

Any thoughts on the Mcintosh 2205(or other 200+ watt Mcintosh Solid states), Mark Levinson 23, Harmon Kardon 7.1 ?

Advice would be greatly appreciated.
dfelkai
Rrog: You are correct about the CLS-zero (if you want to call it that ;--) which panel was only divided vertically, and the (two) bass sections were in the middle (halfway between the top and bottom of the speaker.) The stand recommendation came after the 'zero', and applied to all subsequent models (starting with the CLS-I)that had the full-height bass sections on the left and right side of the panel, and a full-height high/mid-frequency section.

Indeed, it was quite common for people to 'tilt' their original CLS's back a bit. However, in that case it was in order to get the bottom high-frequency section better pointed at the listener, and with carpeted floors, to keep its HF output from getting soaked up by carpeting! If you recall, the original Statement (the Fabio model ;--) had the same panel layout as the first CLS, however it came with factory stands. When I enquired why the Statement had stands and the CLS didn't, I was told the Statement's greater overall height meant if it was tilted, the HF radiation from the top of the panel would be lost to the listener -- so it was decided to get it off the floor a bit and not tilt it.

But your points are well taken; frankly these days when someone says "CLS", I assume (perhaps wrongly) they mean the CLS-I which had horizontal AND vertical spars like subsequent models; I suppose because it's so rare to find an original CLS-zero, and rarer still to find one with a panel in good condition -- no sags or ripples in the mylar, and a viable conductive coating. Nevertheless, I probably should have asked Dfelkai which one he actually has!

I do know one person who recently had to replace his CLS-zero's panels (no longer available,) with modern panels, and said the improvement was astounding -- although that was likely because the original panels were so far gone at that point ;--))
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I have owned 12 pairs of Logans and three pairs of various CLS
and always felt they sounded much better with tubes. Various trials with Levinson, Perreaux and others always sounded dry in my opinion.

I had great luck with various ARC amps in the day including Classic 120's etc.
Its always a pleasure sharing thoughts with another CLS fan. The CLS is an amazing speaker that takes the right person to make it sing. Once you have experienced a properly set up CLS nothing else will do.
Once you have experienced a properly set up CLS nothing else will do.
Amen
If you are brave you could try the NYAL OTL3 that is for sale now.
I bought Stax F83's years ago (in the eighties) and tried many many amps before settling on this one. Head and shoulders above everything else I tried, including Counterpoint, Audio Research, and several solid state amps.
The tubes for these are no longer available, but the seller is including a new spare set, and they seem to last forever. Of course, the Stax's have an even higher impedance that the Logans, so it may not be quite such a dramatic difference.