Posted by Gary Selken on August 04, 2005 at 18:39:55:
In Reply to: Martin Logans, hmmmmm. posted by jimbill on August 03, 2005 at 21:57:47:
I did try the Summits at home. Let me quote myself:
I was able to audition the new Martin Logan Summits this weekend at home after a favorable impression at my dealer’s showroom. These speakers have a great deal going for them, and would likely be the kind of loudspeaker to be selected as “product of the year”, etc. by one of the hi-fi rags.
They are surprisingly small for a full-range hybrid: the ES panel in narrow, slanted backwards (thus “only” 59” tall), almost transparent- more so than previous ML panels, and the powered woofers are in a very small enclosure.
They are extremely efficient and capable of high SPLs. I didn’t measure with test tones, but my preamplifier was regularly set about 10 dB lower than with my Maggies! I did casually measure in-room FR at my listening position, and the woofer made it down to the 20s with high frequencies measuring unusually flat beyond 10k. I don’t know what the upper limit is on SPL, but it is higher than I would ever care to listen.
The two 10” woofers integrated seamlessly with the panels, giving a sense of almost panel-like bass detail.
When the speakers sense a music signal and power up, a blue line on the top of each woofer (behind the panels, but quite visible) lights up from bottom to top ala Star Wars light saber. Cool!
The Sound: Soundstage rivals that of mini-monitors, deep and wider than the speakers’ position, with a rock-solid center fill and very good image specificity.
Problems: Most annoying was that no matter what I did to my listening room, speaker position, cable choice, or amplifier selection, these speakers were GLARINGLY BRIGHT, with a frequency/dispersion characteristic that contributed to new detail and presence on some recordings, but listener fatigue and ear bleed on many, if not most. My room has wood floors and sliding-glass windows and does not take kindly to this perhaps brutally honest balance; however, I have had many fine loudspeakers in my listening room before without this level of upper midrange aural pain. I have heard this “voicing” in other ML loudspeakers when auditioned in store, but after a good in-store audition, I had hoped to have a good home audition- not so.
That would be enough of a problem for me to give a thumbs down, but the backwards lean of the panels also lowered the soundstage. I sit in a wheelchair with my ears about 50” above the ground, much higher than most, but I have always found that leaning dipoles backwards, while improving listening height for standing listeners, seems to lower the perceived image because of the strong rear-wave contribution.
Everyone should check out these innovative loudspeakers if they have the opportunity. My listening room may be particularly live, or my ears unusually sensitive to the frequencies which bothered me. Regardless, in a well-dampened room, particularly for A/V use, where efficiency, high SPLs, and generous sweet spot are valuable, these speakers may be a real winner. They sure are cute, too (and cool.)
And to the Maggie owners- Man, is it ever sweet to return to possibly the most musical loudspeaker made today! I may wander, but it seems I may also always return.
…… Gary