Considering ML Odyssey

My friend is offering me in trade a pair of Odysseys he has from some equipment I have and I am curious of some opinions on these speakers. I've owned in the past Sequel II's (they were 'ok') SL3s (liked them a lot more) Requests (hated them) and now, possibly these.

He would be getting probably my pair of DefTech BP2000TLs, a Jolida 302BRC tube integrated amp and cash ($700).

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

Regards,

Dave

I have odysseys and love them. You can probably get them for around 3k on audiogon so you will have to do the math

Ditto what Timm said. I really enjoy my Odyssey's as well. No plans to upgrade them. They sound fantastic!!

Hello,
Tough call. An important consideration is the condition of the Panels. There is a listing for the Def Tech's you have for 1100 Dollars. One for a NIB Jolida 302BRC for 1100 Dollars.

What is hard to gauge is what a used Jolida 302BRC is worth. Considering a used 302RC is listed for 950, the amount your friend is asking is awfully close to 3000 Dollars.

Is the pair he is offering you the ones listed for 2500 Dollars on Audiogon?
If so, I would not go for it as 700 Dollars and your Amp and Speakers is a bit on the high end for Odyssey's. Especially if the Odyssey's you are being offered lack Boxes. Not having Boxes practically makes it impossible to sell it anywhere but locally. A major hinderance.
Cheers,
JJ

My friends are indeed the ones for $2500 on the 'gon. He only decreased it to that level to to expedite the sale. They do not have the original boxes (but then neither do my DefTechs which are 150 lbs a piece). The Jolida is worth a solid $800, not really more as the one on Gon for $950 is a new dealer demo. So, all in all, the deal is fair from a monetary standpoint. I'm just wondering from a sonic standpoint....

Jungle Jack said:

Hello,
Tough call. An important consideration is the condition of the Panels. There is a listing for the Def Tech's you have for 1100 Dollars. One for a NIB Jolida 302BRC for 1100 Dollars.

What is hard to gauge is what a used Jolida 302BRC is worth. Considering a used 302RC is listed for 950, the amount your friend is asking is awfully close to 3000 Dollars.

Is the pair he is offering you the ones listed for 2500 Dollars on Audiogon?
If so, I would not go for it as 700 Dollars and your Amp and Speakers is a bit on the high end for Odyssey's. Especially if the Odyssey's you are being offered lack Boxes. Not having Boxes practically makes it impossible to sell it anywhere but locally. A major hinderance.
Cheers,
JJ

Click to expand...

Dave stop by and give my Prodigy's a listen. A very similar sound, just more of it. Then again, I can make you a KILLER deal on my CLS. :devil:

Wardsweb said:

Dave stop by and give my Prodigy's a listen. A very similar sound, just more of it. Then again, I can make you a KILLER deal on my CLS. :devil:

Click to expand...

Hey Luther!
I might take you up on checking out the Prodigys. I can only assume you are quite high on them. The CLS I think would be too wide to fit in my application but I still think they are one of the best looking speakers ever.

texas42 said:

I'm just wondering from a sonic standpoint....

Click to expand...

Only you can make that call. Audition your friend's system and see if you like the sound. The Odyssey is a great speaker, but then so are some of the other ML's you mentioned. If you like the sound of your def techs, and you weren't that impressed with your previous ML's, then it may be that electrostatic speakers aren't your cup of tea.

Personally, having owned the BP 2002's, I thought that the Ascents that I replaced them with were light years better sonically. And the Odyssey is a better speaker than the ascent.

texas42 said:

I've owned in the past Sequel II's (they were 'ok') SL3s (liked them a lot more) Requests (hated them) and now, possibly these.

Click to expand...

I'd like to know what differences there you heard between the Sequel IIs (I have a pair) and the SL3s. I also had Requests and didn't care for them.

texas42 said:

My friend is offering me in trade a pair of Odysseys he has from some equipment I have and I am curious of some opinions on these speakers. I've owned in the past Sequel II's (they were 'ok') SL3s (liked them a lot more) Requests (hated them) and now, possibly these.

He would be getting probably my pair of DefTech BP2000TLs, a Jolida 302BRC tube integrated amp and cash ($700).

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

Regards,

Dave

Click to expand...

See if he'll let you try them for a week in your System at least that way you'll know if they are keepers or not. Personally it's the one ML speaker I'd love to try.

You hated reQuests? Never heard that one before. What did you hate about them?

What you were driving them with? What will you be driving the Odysseys with?

TomDac said:

You hated reQuests? Never heard that one before. What did you hate about them?

What you were driving them with? What will you be driving the Odysseys with?

Click to expand...

Well, I certainly don't want to start a thread bashing the Requests so will qualify my remarks that the pair I had was preowned by a gentleman that I had never met thus I don't know what they might have been through. During the audition he took the liberty of turning them up so loud I couldn't really distinguish their characteristics. I took them home to discover one of the bass drivers was non-functioning (it was a short audition, I was trying to quickly ensure they worked as he was a long drive from my house). A replacement woofer was ordered from ML. I thought the speakers looked awesome so I was geeked they would be an improvement over the SL3s I had owned a year or two before (I have owned quite a lot of high end speakers). The Requests I had beamed on axis and drove me from the room within 30 minutes. They had very restricted dynamics and the soundstage was very limited width-wise (part of the 'beaming' I referred to). Maybe the stators were wore out or maybe I just had the bad apple in the bunch, I'm not sure. I can tell you I found them very fatiguing and was happy to divest myself of them. The person that got them seemed to enjoy them so maybe it was just me. We all hear things differently but since most MLs have the same house sound I found it curious the ReQuests were so different than the others I have heard.

TomDac said:

What you were driving them with? What will you be driving the Odysseys with?

Click to expand...

For the Odysseys, I'll either be using a pair of Denon POA-S10 mono blocks (150wpc into 8, 300 into 4) or a Carver TFM-4.0t (375wpc into 8).

take Luther up on his offer... that will tell you a lot... I would think the deftech's are a completely different beast. Your room will be more important as well with the Odysseys and any ML -- in my humble opinion.... the odysseys will give more bass and a better soundstage than the other MLs you have owned. Depending on room - will determine if you want to run a sub - or not. I have a descent with mine - but, found that when I added my cary pre - the sub really wasn't all that necessary.... So, the use of a sub - again - in my opinion - with the Odysseys is a marginal need - but could be one - nonetheless....

If you have the chance to listen to the Prodigy, do so it is the big brother of the Odyssey.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the reQuests.. I loved mine..

I think the Denon monoblocks would be a good choice.. not sure about the Carver, though. I had a Carver TFM-35x driving my pair of reQuests and when I switched to the Pass X250, it was a WORLD of difference. Like night and day.

Keep us posted! :music:

I've heard them, they are awesome.

Hello,
I would try to get him to split the difference in terms of the cash offer. The Odyssey is a fantastic Speaker and provided you have suitable Amplification, will be a major upgrade over your Def, Techs.
Cheers,
JJ

It's a moot point as he sold them to another fellow before I could get them. But, on a positive note, I was able to pick up Luther's CLS for my dedicated two channel room and they are great! :music: Now I'm going to have a shoot out between my DefTech BP2000TLs and my Von Schwiekert VR4s in my home theater room and see which one survives.

It seemed a shame for them to be sitting unused in my house. I'm glad they worked out so well for you and it could not have been an easier acquisition. Local pickup is always perfered on large speakers. I do still have the original shipping boxes here, when you want to get them. Enjoy