The point of diminishing returns has moved

Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

I'm visiting a friend who teaches voice at university and whose CD collection may exceed 20,000 now. He has acquired some new gear.

We listened to these last night: Martin Logan B100 Motion XT bookshelf speakers. I tried liking the Martin Logan hybrids years ago, but none of them worked for me. These DO work, and how.

Lovely presentation, Row A rather than the usual Row M for 'stats. Fast and very dynamic. Good bass weight to orchestral crescendos. Decent bottom end extension, at least to the upper 40's or so. Terrific imaging and that mid/high sense of "air" that only 'stats can provide. When pushed, they did get a touch hard sounding on crescendos, as with the Maazel/Vienna/Kathleen Battle Mahler 4th played too loud, but that disappeared when we reduced the volume to hover around the 85 dB mark. They give a great sense of the "wholeness" of music; never a hint of the drivers working at cross purposes.

Source gear was an Oppo BDP-105 and Hegel integrated amp.

After a couple hours listening, I assumed they retailed somewhere above the $2k mark. Not so; they go for $800 a pair, and deep discounts are available. I am officially blown away. Bravo, Martin Logan.

I am also reminded, as I am every time I visit, how good CD reproduction can be when everything is right.

WW

P.S.
In his main system, which used to be built around Vandy Quatro's driven by c-j Premier 12 monoblocks, he now has Maggie .7's driven by a Marantz disc player and integrated amp, also sounding quite wonderful. We are debating whether a sub would help that system; no resolution yet.

"Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

Topic - The point of diminishing returns has moved - Bill Way 15:03:37 02/24/24 (13)

RE: The point of diminishing returns has moved - fantja 23:57:35 03/31/24 (0)

RE: The point of diminishing returns has moved - audioasylumman 05:48:57 03/31/24 (0)

RE: The point of diminishing returns has moved - Inmate51 10:43:36 02/26/24 (0)

+8dB treble elevation for XT B100 speakers - Jon L 11:32:33 02/25/24 (4)

42 minutes and 58 freaking seconds?!? - mhardy6647 11:59:49 02/25/24 (3)

The plots are on erinsaudiocorner - Daverz 22:38:28 03/01/24 (0)

+1 - tlea 07:55:38 02/26/24 (0)

I agree - Jon L 13:15:04 02/25/24 (0)

That price point has serious competition - E-Stat 07:44:47 02/25/24 (0)

RE: The point of diminishing returns has moved - Bill Way 07:06:13 02/25/24 (1)

Only one Manhattan? - Ozzie 08:08:14 02/25/24 (0)

Huh? - Doublej 18:04:49 02/24/24 (1)

RE: Huh? - The Dill 05:08:33 02/25/24 (0)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.