MARTIN LOGAN SPEAKERS

sirianni

sirianni

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Are there any members running Martin Logan Electrostatic Speakers, I am toying with the idea of buying a pair of the Expression ESL 13A, I will have to travel to Cleveland, OH to listen to them, no dealers in Western NY carry this model. Any information will be helpful.
Thanks
Gary
 
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With planar speakers (Magnepans or ESL's) the sound is so different from any box they must be heard before buying. You will either love them or hate them. It only takes about two minutes of any selection you're familiar with to determine whether or not you like them.

I've been using ESL's or Magnepans exclusively since 1976. They sound closer to each other than any box speaker.

Although I currently don't have ML's I've had them in the past. However, I have two pair of Acoustats (ESL).
 
ML's are not typical planar speakers as they are mostly powered, and have DSPs built into them. They spec at 24-23K +/-3 (doubtful your hearing will be able to fully appreciate that). According to the ML site, they only have a 30 degree horizontal dispersion which seems odd as they don't qualify this figure at all. 30 degrees of what, and at what frequency? The EL transducer is 13x44 inches which seems like it would be big enough to produce a reasonable amount of clean mid bass before crossing over to the class D amps. Oh, and one more thing, bring a dolly. According to the spec sheet they are 103 lbs each.
 
I have still my Martin Logan sl3 ,one of the best they ever made,bought them new in 1998.
Only thing is they need a lot of space to shine,if your living space is big enough go for it,cheers
 
infullview said:
According to the ML site, they only have a 30 degree horizontal dispersion which seems odd as they don't qualify this figure at all. 30 degrees of what, and at what frequency?
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Lateral dispersion for the electrostatic panel's range (>300 hz). Vertical dispersion is limited by panel height.

I've been an electrostatic enthusiast since I heard Dayton-Wright XG-8s in 1976. Having said that, I'm not a fan of hybrids using monopole woofers that operate up to the lower midrange. I'm sensitive to coherency in terms of uniform directivity and prefer full range models. Note that the majority of instruments would span both drivers having different radiation characteristics. While the smaller Acoustat 1+1s used in my HT are supplemented by subwoofers, they operate only in the bottom two octaves which are inherently non-directional.

For $15k, I would choose a full range Sound Lab model, new or used hands down. Or a Magnepan 20.7.
 
I’ve owned ML Arieus for over 20 years now. Had the woofers replaced once, (my bad) and one panel died a few years back. Well maybe five years. It’s the only affordable speaker the wife ever liked!

They do need to be at least 2ft. off the back wall. More is better. Careful placement and toe in make a dramatic difference in soundstaging and bass response.

You will need a decent amp! Wimpy home theater receivers need not apply! The woofers are passive on mine. With the new self powered woofers you may get away with a lesser amp.

I never hear a problem between the woofer and the panel. I’m actually a fan of the hybrid design.

if your not familiar with electrostatic sound you really should listen to them before dropping the cash. As was mentioned, you’ll either LOVE em, (like I do) or you’ll hate em!

Good Luck, Mark
 
E-Stat said:
Lateral dispersion for the electrostatic panel's range (>300 hz). Vertical dispersion is limited by panel height.
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30 degrees doesn't sound very good for Vertical. Is this due to the EStat being only 13 inches wide?
E-Stat said:
I'm not a fan of hybrids using monopole woofers that operate up to the lower midrange.
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I would agree with you. Unfortunately, big rooms with high ceilings are not usually a thing here in New England so I have conventional speakers. Doesn't stop me from wanting....
 
I have the Martin-Logan reQuest hybrids. The 12" woofer runs to 250hz, the panel takes over from there. They are bi-wired from my Sunfire II 2 channel amplifier (approx. 485 WRMS into 6 ohms) in my digital/AV system. They are in a room that measures 32 feet X 28 feet, along the long wall. They are fairly far apart and have an aggressive toe-in angle. Most people in the seating area can enjoy at least a large portion of the proverbial "sweet" spot.

They are augmented by some fairly high placed surrounds that are on the side walls at an elevated height, no center channel, but there is an AR/Sunfire 300wrms 12" downward facing subwoofer behind the right channel.

They will play The Brian Seltzer Orchestra at life size volume levels with no sign of stress or strain. Visitors have said different expletives after a playing session. There is no other pair of speakers that can perform to this level in my house. I paid $4500 for them in 1999.
 
infullview said:
30 degrees doesn't sound very good for Vertical.
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Read again the text of mine you quoted again. 30 degrees is its lateral dispersion, aka horizontal.

As with all stats, vertical dispersion is determined by panel height. In this case the ESL 13A's panel is 44" tall.
 
E-Stat said:
Read again the text of mine you quoted again. 30 degrees is its lateral dispersion, aka horizontal.

As with all stats, vertical dispersion is determined by panel height. In this case the ESL 13A's panel is 44" tall.
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You are right. I did mean horizontal, and again I posit that seems narrow and they don't specify any frequency range/graphs for being off axis.
 
twiiii said:
Martin Logans have a very erratic high end so I have always passed.
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Can you explain what you mean by erratic? I spent about an hour listening to several sets of MLs and don't recall anything strange about the high end. I thought they sounded clean and linear.
 
Excellent choice to go with the Mac mono-blocks.

If your listening room supports DQ-10s, the Expressions will fit in there too.

3' from the back wall, toe them in a little bit, and enjoy.

I've spent hours listening to the older models. I worked at ML back in the 90's. The Expression model is similar enough to the SL3, I know I'd like them a lot.

There's nothing erratic about the high end, the speakers just reveal flaws with equipment or recordings.
 
My M-L SL3s are the first speakers I owned that truly "disappeared" when listening. But as already mentioned, they are somewhat difficult to place and have a narrow "sweet spot". At the price range you're considering, I would at least give the Magnepan 20.7s a serious listen first. They have a dealer in Buffalo (I'm actually surprised you couldn't find M-Ls in Buffalo), and Magnepans are known as one of the few bargains in high-end audio.

ETA: Best Buy carries those Martin-Logans, presumably in their Magnolia subsidiary. although after a second look I see they're available for shipping only.
 
Crutchfield sells 3 different Martin Logan electrostatic models; the ESL 9, ESL X, and the ESL. While they aren't the model the OP is interested in buying, Crutchfield does offer a 60 day return policy. That would give one ample time in deciding if an OB panel speaker works for them or not?

Crutchfield
 
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swechsler said:
My M-L SL3s are the first speakers I owned that truly "disappeared" when listening. But as already mentioned, they are somewhat difficult to place and have a narrow "sweet spot". At the price range you're considering, I would at least give the Magnepan 20.7s a serious listen first. They have a dealer in Buffalo (I'm actually surprised you couldn't find M-Ls in Buffalo), and Magnepans are known as one of the few bargains in high-end audio.

ETA: Best Buy carries those Martin-Logans, presumably in their Magnolia subsidiary. although after a second look I see they're available for shipping only.
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IMHO, Martin-Logan are less difficult to place than Accoustats. I have no personal experience with Magnepans, although someone in my college dorm had a pair. That placement was really bad.

I had furniture castors under my Accoustats, along with elevator / tilt adjusters. This helped in placement The sweet spot from the Accoustats was seemingly more sweet compared to SL3s, but it was extremely focused. Two people couldn't share it at the same time. M-Ls are more 'user friendly'.

All that said, DQ-10s are going to stand up really well compared to the performance of any of the planar speakers, especially if they are mirror imaged. I'd love to have two pair of mirrored DQ-10s. Build frames to support the second pair, stacked, with the woofers on top. Fresh crossovers, and drivers.
 
I had ML Vistas a few years ago and they were excellent. They had extreme clarity, excellent tone and did the deep, wide enveloping soundstage trick. Driven by an EL 34 tube amp of around 45 wpc the dynamics were adequate for my needs living in Chicago apartments.

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sirianni said:
Are there any members running Martin Logan Electrostatic Speakers, I am toying with the idea of buying a pair of the Expression ESL 13A, I will have to travel to Cleveland, OH to listen to them, no dealers in Western NY carry this model. Any information will be helpful.
Thanks
Gary
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I have a pair of ML Montis and a pair of Spires. I previously had a pair of Prodigys.
What do you want to know?
 
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