Vantage Wrinkles

MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum

Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Victor

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2009
Messages
248
Reaction score
1
Location
Edinburgh, UK
Guys....I need your help.....

The other day I noticed that the bottom-most section of the panel on both Vantages (3.7 yrs old and not driven to extremes) showed vertical wrinkles in the middle of that portion. :eek:
Sonically I'm not getting any real problems with it at the moment but it's always hard to tell as even the most trivial things can affect an MLs performance.

I'd heard of wrinkling on larger bass panels on full range Logans but was surprised to discover it on the newer generation.
Is this a common problem with any other Vantage/Summit users out there ?

I believe there is a trick with a heat-gun or hairdryer which can re-tension the mylar?
Anyone with personal experience of mylar warping please feel free to relate their wisdom !
Many thanks in anticipation.............................Victor
 
Last edited:
It seems to me that of late there have been more complaints than usual about ML's, or am I imagining things? I'm beginning to wonder if QC has gone down.
 
Careful there, Bernard. You may risk being branded a heretic.

Seriously, though. It does seem to me that there are more complaints with the wrinkling on the newer gen models than the older ones. I recently noticed some wrinkles in the mylar of my Summits, although I haven't worried because it doesn't seem to have affected sound quality. I have never had this problem with my Ascents, which are a good six years older than my Summits and kept in the same environments.
 
It seems to me that of late there have been more complaints than usual about ML's, or am I imagining things? I'm beginning to wonder if QC has gone down.

I would agree with this comment. I purchased my summitts a few years ago and straight out of the box one speaker had crinkles in the panel in the bottom right corner. This produced audible distortion at certain frequencies. I had this replaced only to have problems with the metal frames themselves a year later.

Replacing the frames (not the panel) fixed this. I never move the speakers by holding the panel so this was not the cause.
 
I was thinking it might be worth doing a frequency sweep for anyone worried about crinkly panels. Just download some free signal generator s/w and do a slow sweep from about 250Hz to 16K odd over a few minutes, if your ears can stand it... be careful with volume levels.

If you can't hear any oddities, don't worry about it.

Niether of my two Ascent panels got wrinkly, but the first of my Aerius panels did in the corner.
 
I was thinking it might be worth doing a frequency sweep for anyone worried about crinkly panels. Just download some free signal generator s/w and do a slow sweep from about 250Hz to 16K odd over a few minutes, if your ears can stand it... be careful with volume levels.

If you can't hear any oddities, don't worry about it.

Niether of my two Ascent panels got wrinkly, but the first of my Aerius panels did in the corner.

Hi Justin,
Interesting suggestion. What should we be looking for? A frequency that causes a mechanical buzz ? Is there a very specific frequency common to these mylar distortions.
Were you able to hear the effects on your Aerius when listening to music?

Victor.
 
Victor - I've just been messing with signal generators, sound pressure meters and microphones recently. I just thought if that doesn't cause an audible problem all must be pretty OK. I have never tried it on a set of ML panels.

My Aerius panels wrinkled in the bottom of the panels at both corners. They seemed fine, but then lost output later and got replaced as a result.

Really, I think all ML owners should get pretty good at taking in-room frequency response measurements. Then you can see what is really happening over time. It doesn't matter if you're mic isn't calibrated too much - what you really interested in is relative changes over a period of time.

Just food for thought, really.

BTW: if you do the frequency sweep, I guess just listen out for any irregularities - anything that drifts from the steady rise in tone probably is a problem. Note the frequency, then get medieval at and around that frequency with fixed frequency tones to really get to grips with it and highlight the problem.

Then try a fix of your choice and repeat, hopefully solving the problem without recourse to new panels.

BTW: in case you don't know, I'm now using Apogees. But I did a 20 year ML sentence and have served my time:)

Very simple tone generator here - no need to worry about mics - you don't need one. Free for 30 days.
 
Last edited:
Hi Justin,
20 years!....That's almost as long as ML have been in business! Your situation must be analogous to the diehards who, when they reach 65, decide to get rid of the turntable, sell all their vinyl, and commit to digital for the remainder.:D With them having "championed the cause" for so long I haven't got the heart to dissuade them and end up wishing them well !:D

Many thanks for the useful link. I will look into this (...whenever my wife is out - test tones and pink noise tend to drive her nuts :D :D)

All the best..........................................Victor.
 
User211 said:
BTW: in case you don't know, I'm now using Apogees. But I did a 20 year ML sentence and have served my time:)
Justin, that sentence was for what crime in porticular? :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top