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Need Advice from Experts-Speaker Choice , Martin Logan, Aperion Audio, XTZ, SVS.

5K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  Ziad Talkhan 
#1 ·
Hi Guys,

I am planning to upgrade my current speakers, I was wondering if anyone with experience with below speakers could point me towards which is better for the money.

They should be used for movies only. I am looking for the best dynamics with no harsh sound and the ability to pinpoint accuracy in a surround sound, to sum it up… I am looking for the best environment for watching movies.

I have my eyes on below sets for the front speakers but I am open for any suggestion as well, the problem I do not have any option to make audition for speakers in my area so I am ordering it online based on reviews and reputation only, wrong move I know.

Speakers currently I am looking at:



  1. Martin Logan 35XT + Martin Logan 50XT center.
  2. Aperion Audio Verus Grand bookshelf + Aperion Verus Grand Center.
  3. Aperion Audio Verus Grand Tower + Aperion Verus grand Center. (international shipping will be costly)
  4. XTZ Cinema M6 + XTZ Cinema Center.
  5. SVS Prime Tower + SVS Prime Center.
  6. SVS Ultra Bookshelf + SVS Ultra Center.
  7. Wharfedale Jade 3 + Wharfedale Jade C1 or C2
Either way, bass will be routed to Subwoofer and speakers will probably crossed over at 80Hz.

Current setup,

AV receiver: Marantz SR6006
Blu-ray: OPPO bdp-103D
Subwoofer: SVS PB2000

Room Size is 3.8M X 3.6M

Thanks guys, much appreciated
 
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#4 ·
I haven't heard the ML 35xt but I have heard the motion 15's 10's 20's and I have 40s now. They are all great speakers, defiantly worth a demo!
 
#7 ·
You gave us a rundown of your current equipment. You also mentioned wanting to upgrade from current speakers without telling us what speakers you're wanting to upgrade from?
 
#12 ·
Currently I have Tannoy Sensys dc bookshelf as fronts accompanied with small satellite speakers for Center channel and Rears as well. Satellite speaker for Center channel is really a nightmare. small soundstage when running pure direct so I run audyssey to compensate a little.




Hello!

What's your budget? Of the speakers you listed, I've only heard the primes and ultras. Of the two, I'd recommend the ultras as they're smoother sounding than the primes. I ask budget because perhaps you might want to consider Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2. I've yet to hear these myself but from everything I've read, the tweeter is nothing short of amazing and smooth.

*Edit: if you do order svs again, don't forget to ask for a returning customer discount code which is for 5% off order.



That is really good advice, I was inclined to the Ultra Bookshelfs along with the Ultra center over the Prime towers. Regarding Sierra 2, I did not hear any speakers from Ascend before but from the specs its should be good and it might need external power amp to drive those.




The SVS Ultras are pretty incredible for the money. Can't go wrong with the Martin Logans either, though they didn't have as much bass as I would like. They're more on the bright side, but they aren't harsh by any means. Another option to consider is the B&W CM1 S2. Holy crap those tweeters are amazing.



I did audition the CM1 before in a stereo setup (Rotel AMP and Player) and it was extremely balanced and clear, I really liked the CM1 but it was more on the bright side for me and the dealbreaker for me was its selling price 2000$ USD without stand. (only 1 store have it and was asking that ridiculously price).


Where are you located?

US?

If yes then also consider the Martin Logan LX16 $798/pair but $480/pair now at Crutchfield.

They are not harsh or "too bright," have a TREMENDOUS sound stage, 80 degree sound dispersion in all planes, (unlike the more expensive XTs), pick up every little detail in sound, (ie. a double bass being plucked, valves closing on a saxaphone given a high detail acoustic recording), are quite small.

Obviously they need a sub to sound their best crossed over at 80hz but that's true of pretty much any speaker, especially for HT.


I am from Egypt and live there too., so i will be ordering online and i have to be careful with the weight because of the international shipping costs if i go with a towers packages.


i was planning to upgrade the 3 front speakers first and i was thinking about those or ML motion 15 for the rears if i go to Martin Logan route.


i am not looking for bass in speakers since i'll be using bass management. that's why i do not know the point of having large towers instead of bookshelf in a pure HT since you will be using bass management eventually.
 
#9 ·
Hello!

What's your budget? Of the speakers you listed, I've only heard the primes and ultras. Of the two, I'd recommend the ultras as they're smoother sounding than the primes. I ask budget because perhaps you might want to consider Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2. I've yet to hear these myself but from everything I've read, the tweeter is nothing short of amazing and smooth.

*Edit: if you do order svs again, don't forget to ask for a returning customer discount code which is for 5% off order.
 
#10 ·
The SVS Ultras are pretty incredible for the money. Can't go wrong with the Martin Logans either, though they didn't have as much bass as I would like. They're more on the bright side, but they aren't harsh by any means. Another option to consider is the B&W CM1 S2. Holy crap those tweeters are amazing.
 
#11 ·
Where are you located?

US?

If yes then also consider the Martin Logan LX16 $798/pair but $480/pair now at Crutchfield.

They are not harsh or "too bright," have a TREMENDOUS sound stage, 80 degree sound dispersion in all planes, (unlike the more expensive XTs), pick up every little detail in sound, (ie. a double bass being plucked, valves closing on a saxaphone given a high detail acoustic recording), are quite small.

Obviously they need a sub to sound their best crossed over at 80hz but that's true of pretty much any speaker, especially for HT.
 
#15 ·
+1 to the Ascend Sierra 2.

I don't own them, but having heard them in a friend's house several times now over 2 good handfull of movies, along with hours of music and games, I'm extremely impressed in what they can do over every kind of content. They may be a bit lean on the bass (which becomes completely irrelevant with the dual Hsu VTF15 the friend has), but everything else is just superb on them.
Mids are so detailed, smooth, non-fatiguing, and engaging. The RAAL tweeters are seriously spacious in sound but does not compromise on dynamics, but has the energy to really excite without being harsh to the ear when called for.

Really suggest you put them on your list.


As for the other speakers, I do have a mixture of SVS Prime and Ultra speakers. For what it is in my bedroom theater setup, they do the job extremely well. The Prime speakers do have a rather edgy tweeter though, where it can sound a little harsh on certain content but at the same time is very energetic for other stuff. The Ultra's tweeter is where the sweetspot as far as metal dome tweeters go, smooth yet not veiled, with enough excitement when the source calls for it. Since SVS offers free in-home trial, there's really no reason not to order the Ultra (and if you want, the Primes) speakers for a good 1 month in-home test.

On a side note of the XTZ cinema speakers, I found them... okay. They're big sounding yes, very broad, "cinema" like. But that's about it, there's nothing special about the XTZ speakers other than what they're made for: big cinema sound.

No experience with any of the other speakers on your list, so won't talk about them.
 
#17 ·
That review is from 2004, and those speakers are discontinued. My guess is that it's probably not easy to find the center channel.
 
#19 ·
those Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 along with the Horizon looks are interesting, the RAAL tweeter and Bamboo Cabinet looks promising. is the RAAL ribbon tweeter would be same as the one found on ML 35XT?


i have 1 subwoofer located on the location number 1 on the attached diagram, planning on getting another PB-2000 after awhile and place it in location number 5. but speakers have first priority now.
The room is relatively small, so i was not interesting on get towers unless its really add value in movie experience.(was thinking about Aperion Verus Grand Towers)
 

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#20 ·
those Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 along with the Horizon looks are interesting, the RAAL tweeter and Bamboo Cabinet looks promising. is the RAAL ribbon tweeter would be same as the one found on ML 35XT?
I don't think any Martin Logan's use RAAL tweeters. But I could be wrong.
 
#23 ·
I plan on getting the MartinLogan XT35s for my three front speakers which would replace my Def Tech StudioMonitor 55s. I've heard great things about the tweeter and its range of dispersion. This helps since my fronts have to be mounted and tilted upward from the ground (beneath my front projection screen) to the seating position/couch.
 
#24 ·
Very detailed sound; excellent for HT and for music really makes acoustic/classical/jazz come alive. You can hear stings hitting the fret board on a double bass, valves on the saxaphone gently closing and no smearing on orchestral music.

Very detailed yet not fatiguing in the least to my ears.

In my comparison of my LX16s vs the Q Acoustics C20s, which are very good, on some music it seemed like the musicians were using higher quality acoustic guitars, drum kits and microphones with the Martin Logan Folded Motion Tweeter vs. the domes on the Q Acoustics.

I think you'll be pleased.
 
#30 ·
I have searched for a while on the Ascend Sierra 2 and it looks fantastic, but most of the reading was in the Ascend Forum, I have read a lot on forum and almost all people were already happy with the Sierra 1, and even happier after the upgrade to Sierra 2.


Also I read that someone was concerned about its vertical dispersion, do Martin Logans 35XT or the Ascend either (Sierra or the Horizon) have issues with that matter or dynamics?


it is really interesting both the Ascend Sierra 2 and Horizon all with RAAL tweeter but need to search more on them since I didn't know about them before. also would like to know more on Horizon performance.
 
#32 ·
The Martin Logan non XT models (like my LX16s) have 80 degree horizontal x 80 degree vertical dispersion.

The "better" XT models, (larger tweeter) strangely, have 80 degree horizontal x 30 degree vertical dispersion.

For that reason alone I'd stay away from the XT models to be honest.
 
#31 ·
#34 ·
The RAAL tweeter is well known for it's excellent horizontal dispersion. To see how the Sierra 2 performs off axis (horizontal and vertical), look here: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM2/srm2meas.html

Thanks Cel, I never thought I would look at speakers Graph before as I generally don't have such knowledge... however I think I managed to understand this :) ... It certainly have excellent horizontal dispersion (almost identical) but as for vertical it shows some deviation specially at 15 degree off. (don't know if I got it right though), however i think with proper placement (stand or on cabinet) it might work. My current TV cabinet is 23.6 inch tall. so if we just add the 11 inch of the speaker it would eventually about the same ear level when sitting on the couch.


however I don't know the normal vertical dispersion of other speakers with other different tweeters, I only got interested in this as I read couple of guys comment on this dispersion issue specially with ribbon tweeters.


The Martin Logan non XT models (like my LX16s) have 80 degree horizontal x 80 degree vertical dispersion.

The "better" XT models, (larger tweeter) strangely, have 80 degree horizontal x 30 degree vertical dispersion.

For that reason alone I'd stay away from the XT models to be honest.

yes I think this might be a concern.


How much do looks matter to you?

I am not keen on the looks as far as its ok., to be honest I didn't find the Ascend Horizon beautiful but what we can say,its just cant win a beauty contest. its fine by me btw don't get me wrong, I liked the dark espresso out of them.
 
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