Depth i vs Descent

F=ma said:

Can I ask how large your listening area is? I've got about 2300 cubic feet to fill...and I've no desire to get two subs.

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My listening area right now is about 800-1000 sq feet and I agree that an additional sub is not required. I also used to be in a dedicated finished basement media room that was just over 1000 sq feet and the Descent was still more than enough. In that room, I still had the knob set at 5, but had the LFE gain on my receiver turned up a little more.

I dont see the additional power in the Descent i as a huge upgrade. I don't think I am coming close to using what the standard Descent is capable of and I would be that this is true for most standard Descent owners.

It seems like putting training wheels on a bicycle for a 16 year old. Yea, they might come in handy, but really they are just overkill.

Mark Linkous said:

Hello,
All I can say is I went from a Paradigm Servo 15 to a single Depth and the results have been shocking. When I first looked at the Subwoofer, it was so small I thought I made a huge mistake. However, it is absolutely shocking how clean and powerful the Depth truly is.
Here is a Review from Stereophile of the Depth:http://www.stereophile.com/subwoofers/804ml/
Here is a test performed by a British Website: http://www.avtalk.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15239

If your room is large, the Descent well might be the better call, but the Depth truly is a special Subwoofer.
Cheers,
ML

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Mark,

I don't mean to sound like I am putting down the depth. It is a wonderful sub and at a great price point compared to what is on the market. But if we take all factors away and just compare the two subs, there is a significant difference.

First, I think the difference between the standard depth/descent and the (i) models is negligible. You could argue that the i models have a better appearance, but lets leave that out for now.

I was just like you after doing my research. I went in to my local Tweeter to purchase 2 standard depth because I had read about them and had heard them several times at my local Tweeter store. When I walked in and told them what I wanted, Paul asked me if I would like to hear a Descent hooked up before I made my decision. So, they hooked one up for me in the same room they had the dual depths set up and we proceeded with an a/b comparison. Now, it was not scientific, but it did the job. A half hour later, I had to have the Descent. That was the first time I had ever heard one in person. And it was clearly superior to the depth model.

This experience is why I chime in on these depth vs descent discussions because I dont think most people on here have been able to do that kind of side by side comparison. That experience made a huge impression on me.

A couple of years ago, I had a friend come over who is an audio lover like us and he owns all bose stuff. He loves bose. He came over and after a few minutes of listening politely said "these sound as good as my bose speakers" as if his bose speakers were the reference in which to compare all speakers. I nearly vomited in my mouth!lol What I realized though, was that because there was a separation of time in listening situations, he probably truly thought he was hearing pretty much the same thing he hears at home with his bose system. I think we can assume that had we been able to flip back and forth between the bose and ml's he would have heard an obvious difference.

I think the difference between the depth and descent are similar. Having said that, I love the depth and descent individually for what they are.


Dominick

Thanks Dominick, Mark, and everyone who shared their experiences with these options.

Dominick you're correct in your belief that not all of us have the option to listen to both these speakers side by side. I have a reasonably local ML dealer, but even though I have the ability to buy new, I just can't justify taking a 40%-50% depreciation loss just to have that "new speaker smell". I'd also feel bad going in and asking them to demo the two for me with no intent to purchase from them. I feel bad enough that I had them demo a pair of Vistas for me (with the intent to purchase new) before I accidentally found a pair of good used Vantages for just a little over half the price of the new Vistas.

It's the same reason I've never owned a brand new car, I guess.

The choice is so difficult because used Depths (v.1) seem to be somewhat difficult to locate at present...used Depth I's are selling for effectively the same price as used Descent (v.1)...and either option would be a phenomenal improvement over what I have now for a sub...which is nothing.

Thanks again everyone.

Good luck, I don't mean to make the Descent sound flawless. It is large and is essentially a piece of furniture. You have to display it because trying to hide it would most likely be an obvious failure.

Best wishes - You can't go wrong either way!

Dominick

Hello,
Dominick, with the Depth and Grotto, the changes are negligible. I even called Martin Logan about mating my non "i" Depth with a Depth i and they said there would be no issues.

However with the Descent, we are talking about going from one 400 watt amplifier to a triamp 750 watt configuration. Practically doubling the amplifier power is no small change. The Grotto and Depth received 50 watts more power in their single amplifiers.

While the peak ratings are higher for all "i" Models, I mostly pay attention to RMS ratings. And not for a second am I not saying that the Descent is not more powerful. Just that if well setup, the Depth really can get the job done.
Cheers,
ML