well, now I know what to replace my Ascends with

[Eddie]

...that is, if I ever win the lottery! :D

http://www.martinlogan.com/aeon_i_speaker.html

Just did a little poking around at Tweeter yesterday, ran into these. WHOA! Sounded like I was being immersed in the music from all directions. The little 8" built in subs did a beautiful job too. This would be $3400 very well spent indeed!

The kicker was that they had these 4 ohm MLs running off of a cheap old Yammie RX-777 and cheap $250 Denon CDP!

In the other room, they had some Focal floorstanders about the same price, running off (get this) a megabuck Krell SACD player that was as huge as your typical analog receiver, and a megabuck Krell sources.

And guess which setup sounded head and shoulders far better? Yup, the MLs with its cheap components.

Later this week I'll head for the local Magnepan dealer, just to compare notes.

Kind of fun listening to stuff that I'll never afford...

**** David F., any possibility of Ascend getting into electrostats anytime soon? ;)

[curtis]

Were you able to play around and make sure the equipment was setup properly? I have walked into places before where tone controls were tweaked amd not figuring it out until I went back a some time later and stuff not sounding the same.

When you hit the lottery.....remember who your friends are. :D

[Mag_Neato]

My dad owns some older Maggies....don't know the model. They are roughly 2" thick x 24" wide x 72" tall, and bolt to bases. He runs them bi-amped using an external crossover and they sound "BIG" and open.

I have not listened to Martin-Logans so I cannot compare. I believe the Magnepans are ribbon planar speakers that run off conventional amplifiers, while the Martin Logans need to be plugged in to an outlet along with an amplifier driving them.

Dave F.: Any plans for a hybrid ribbon tweeter/cone woofer speaker, such as AV123's new Strata line?

[Eddie]

Were you able to play around and make sure the equipment was setup properly? I have walked into places before where tone controls were tweaked amd not figuring it out until I went back a some time later and stuff not sounding the same.


I don't think there WERE any tone controls...the Krell amp was a little class-D thing, just a sleek little silver box.

[Eddie]

...they reminded me a lot of the Ascend 170s, just better mid-bass and a tad bit harsher topmost treble, but similar or better stunning detail/clarity.

Equally un-sexy looking, though! :D

[Eddie]

My dad owns some older Maggies....don't know the model. They are roughly 2" thick x 24" wide x 72" tall, and bolt to bases. He runs them bi-amped using an external crossover and they sound "BIG" and open.

I have not listened to Martin-Logans so I cannot compare. I believe the Magnepans are ribbon planar speakers that run off conventional amplifiers, while the Martin Logans need to be plugged in to an outlet along with an amplifier driving them.

Yeah, the MLs are independently powered (for the built-in subs) and appear to be just a curved, thick-mesh material.

I'm curious, what does your Dad use for a sub?

What also amazes me about these MLs is that they seem to be driveable by anything, whereas the Maggies are notoriously difficult to drive and require very good strong amps.

Speaking of hybrid ribbon/cone speakers, I'd love to hear these myself, which just recently came out:

http://www.us.alegriaaudio.com/Emma.htm

[Mag_Neato]

My dad uses an M&K V-75(?) 12", 75watt sealed sub. He really needs more sub though. The last time I heard it(he lives near Dallas, TX) the poor sub sounded overdriven and did not blend well.

He uses an Audio Research tube amp for the mids/highs, and a Leach solid state amp(no longer made) for the bass with the Mag's. These amps are both rack mount style, with handles on the fronts, and weigh a friggin ton!

The first time I heard the Mag's, he put on an LP on a Linn Sondek turntable, which had a special platter matt and spindle clamp device. The opening track had farm animals, namely a cow, mooing. Sounded like the bovine was right in front of us! Can't remember what album it was.

[curtis]

Dave F.: Any plans for a hybrid ribbon tweeter/cone woofer speaker, such as AV123's new Strata line?
Do you even know what they sound like yet? :D

[Mag_Neato]

With finishes like that, you don't buy'em for their sound ! :D