[Zoun99]

Being an audiophile, I bought a pair of Martin Logan Aerius speakers around 5 years ago.

In the mean time, being also interested in HT, I bought an AV system based on Boston Acoustics speakers.

I recently decided to merge the two systems, and the very first step has been to sell the BA speakers and buy a Martin Logan Cinema speaker.

I now face the rear speaker question, with one constraint and two possibilities.

Constraint: use ML speakers on all channels.

Possibilities: either buy rear speakers (like the little Script), or move the Aerius at the rear and buy new front speakers.

I'm considering the second possibilities, as I'm still listening to a lot of music and would like to improve over the Aerius. My choice would be to replace the Aerius by Martin Logan CLS speakers (CLS or CLS II or CLSIIz - full band electrostatic speaker).

My retailer did not recommend these speaker for AV applications. He said they're great for music but not for HT, without giving any serious reasons to that.


Did anybody here hear about (or listen to) an HT installation with these CLS used as front speakers?


Thanks from an HT fanatic from France!

And sorry for the long post.


Didier.

 

[j3f]

Didier,


I am using ML Requests as my mains, Logos in the center and Aerius as my rears and am very happy with this setup. I considered going with the CLS type speaker but felt the hybrids would be better for the HT setup. You could also consider the Monoliths which have bigger panels but are still hybrids. If you do decide to go with the CLS type speaker, you might consider a pair of good subs to use strictly as support for your mains and still use a separate sub for the LFE channel.


I tried using the bass management of my processor (EAD Signature) to route all the bass below 80hz to my LFE sub, but found that much less satisfying than letting the mains do there own thing. The Requests handle all but the lowest bass (below 30) very well.


Jeff

 

[Dennis Erskine]

Martin Logans, Maggies and other speakers of that genre are generally not well suited for multi-channel reproduction (be that music or cinema). I did NOT say they wouldn't work, or they sound horrible, I said they are not "generally well suited for multi-channel reproduction". [The same can hold true for speakers such as the Mirage and Snell models with rear firing tweeters which cannot be turned off.]


For this style of speaker to perform well according to their design philosophy, high reverberation times and relative reflectivity of room surfaces is required. This is exactly what you do not want in multi-channel systems. This type of environment can become fatiguing, directional cues lost and the reproduction "muddy".


I am not suggesting those with Statements, Monoliths, CLSs, etc. toss them out. I am suggesting you have some difficult challenges ahead of you.



------------------

D. Erskine

DEsign Cinema Privee
www.DEsignCinema.com

Imagine what you could do, if you could do all you imagine.

 

[Dennis Erskine]

Quote:

). I did NOT say they wouldn't work, or they sound horrible, I said they are not "generally well suited for multi-channel reproduction". (snip) I am not suggesting those with Statements, Monoliths, CLSs, etc. toss them out. I am suggesting you have some difficult challenges ahead of you.

------------------

D. Erskine

DEsign Cinema Privee
www.DEsignCinema.com

Imagine what you could do, if you could do all you imagine.

 

[JonFo]

Zoun99


Since you state that you are an audiophile, and that music reproduction is still a priority. Then I’d stay with the Martin Logan line, but would suggest you consider the ReQuest or Monoliths instead of the CLS. These will give you a much better HT experience, and will mate well with the Aerius in the rear and a Cinema center (although the Logos would be a better match for the larger mains).


I would agree with others that well selected (and placed) sub would not be a bad idea for use with M-L’s. I use dual Velodyne ULD-18’s in my setup. No regrets on the bass front


Having run M-L speakers in a Home theater setup for many years, I would never go back to dynamic speakers. First because what most people call ‘dynamic’ or ‘punch’ in regular speakers, I call distortion. Secondly, after hearing a well set up and adequately powered M-L system, one is just spoiled ;-)


Care does have to be exercised in their setup, and room conditions can’t be ignored.


For more details on why I like Martin Logan speakers see: http://www.mindspring.com/~jonfoulkes/avsystem.html





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Jonathan

 

[avdoc]

Having a magnepan system, I would agree with most of what everyone has said. It is much easier to place a direct-radiating surround system in a room and achieve good results. I have treated my room with absorptive panels at the points of first reflection (walls and ceiling) along with absorption behind the mains. I use a subwoofer to fill in the bottom. I had some problems with distortion during explosions until I purchased a very large solid state amp to power the mains ([email protected] ohms). I am now very pleased with the sound of my system. However, I do not play my system at Dolby reference levels. I rarely exceed 90 dB. If you want very high SPLs, I would not recommend the MLs. If you listen at lower volume or are not an action fan, I think you'll be very pleased as long as you treat your room correctly.

 

[Zoun99]

Ttriff,


You're right we had an horrible weather here in France, but the reason why I disapeared is much more simple: I was in vacation, away from my computer.


I went through all the post and my conclusion is the following. As my preference still goes to music, I will stick to M-Ls speakers for my system. However, I agree I should rather go for hybrid than CLS (thanks j3f and JonFo).


As I have a dedicated room which is under construction, I will try to understand how to treat the room walls with absorptive/reflective materials to get the most out of my system.


Didier.

 

[Zoun99]

For those who are interested (especially when coming from the audio world), check this URL:
http://www.cybertheater.com/HW_Revie...-Logan/ml.html

 

[Zoun99]

Chris,


Regarding vertical dispersion, your speakers should naturally behave as a line source (very much like what conventional THX speakers TRY to achieve with the d'Appolito configuration). This dispersion pattern ensure you have reflections from the floor or the ceiling kept to a minimum in the listening area.


Regarding horizontal dispersion, your speaker should have a well controlled dispersion angle of around 60° (at least this is what happens with the Martin Logans).

Again this helps in limiting reflections from the side walls while maintaining an amazing soundstage.


According to this, your planar speakers should suit well the requirements for movie soundtracks listening. At least, this is what I observe in a normally dampered dedicated room http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif .