Valve amplification for Vista

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and to the world of martin logans.

I auditioned the Vista vs the Vantage on Jazz CDs on Ayre V-5xe (60 Watts). The difference between the 2 speakers didnt seem significantly different. I also audtioned the 2 speakers powered by Prima Luna Dialogues 1 and Primare I30 (100W). At low level listening the sound was inferior to that of the Ayres.

I am keen on Audio Research VS55i and I like the smoothness of the sound but I am unable to audition the ML Vista amplified by ARC VS55i. Does anyone have any experience in this setup (Vista powered by ARC VS55) and how does it compare with the Ayres? I listen to mainly Jazz and rock and I do like punchy basses in my music.

Many thanks for the advice.

FG.

Vantage is a better value . . . .

. . . . especially if you're thinking of using a tube amp. Why? Because the Vantage has its own amp for the bass. Bass is not (generally speaking) a tube amp's forte. But with a Vantage, the tube amp only needs to drive the electrostatic panel itself, and stats with tubes is magic IMO.

A Vista will cost less, but then you'll need a pretty good SS amp to drive the whole thing, and you'll lose the magic of tubes -- unless you biamp with a SS for the woofers, and a tube amp for the panel. But then, what have you saved?

One of the most popular tube amps right now for Summit and Vantage is the new McIntosh MC275 Mk-V (or the previous Mk-IV.) I use a Mk-IV for my CLS's and it's great.