ElectroMotion ESL Review

Ok..........after initially receiving a faulty speaker, I have received my new set since yesterday and have spent considerable hours with them.
I have them paired up with my Bryston 7BSST2 amps so they are well powered.

First I would like to say that they don"t need a lot of power because the load is easy on the amps but mine are overkill really anyways at 600 watts!. These are by far the best product ML has put out in a long time! What I mean is that for this price, the quality is amazing and the sound is up there with the big boys. They beat my ReQuests I had in my opinion. Very open sound and detailed! The bass is excellent for an 8 inch woofer and proper placement is much easier even though the Requests had huge panels! The XSTAT makes a big difference.
The separation of instruments and the clearness of the sound makes it easier on my ears than my Focals!

I played some Hi-Rez music 24/96 and the details were incredible. Clear and dynamic! I also used my BDP-1 and BDA-1 together with a USB Flashdrive loaded with Flac and it was superb!

I am not sure how they made 2000$ speakers sound this good but whatever they did all I can say is BUY THEM!!!!

Glad things worked out and that you are happy with the results. Never fun having a faulty product.

I look forward to hearing ML's new offering.

Sounds like, bang for buck, ML has hit a home run.

In retrospect, all the initial concerns of ML selling to a large corporation may have been unwarranted.

GG

Maybe. But at least it was not China!!!! New products are like new cars........sometimes the teething process takes a while to settle in.

All I can say Is excellent, great feedback

Could you tell us how big your room is and how loud do they play? I'm not a rock guy but just curious................Thanx Bill

Well........it's an open concept room I have treated with sound absorbers. It's about 20 x 18 and yes I played them loud no problem! Depends what you mean by loud but my amps are very powerful. Like I said, they are overkill really but the sound of them is to my ears the best I ever had and I have always been a Bryston fan! Great company!
If you need really loud, I would suggest a higher up model but sound wise, there would not be a day or night difference! It is all Martin Logan but at this price, I have a hard time understanding how they got them this good! Maybe the weak economy and low audio sales made them move in a different direction. Offering high end sound at low end prices may be the way more companies are headed.
Sure I miss the wood panels and finish of my ReQuests but the ElectroMotions ESL's don't need that for sound. Like always, ML's need good gear though even at this price or you will not get their full potential.

Thanx again

Thanks for the review. I'm expecting a pair of Electromotion ESL's in about a month, I can't wait to hear them. Then I get to compare them to my ML Source... then I decide which are the mains and which are the surrounds.

Can't help you there......never heard the Source

Questy said:

I am not sure how they made 2000$ speakers sound this good but whatever they did all I can say is BUY THEM!!!!

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I'm glad that I did. I love the detailed and imaging that they bring to the home theater. I often use them for 2 channel music and I take a mini break listening to a song or two during the working day. No regrets here!

After several years of living in my area and only 1 mile from best buy I never realized they had the High end room way in the back until 2 days ago. I sat and listened to ML Electromotions and they sounded great! nice stage.

I was just about to pull the trigger on these but bought a ML Stage center ch .Now I have almost 2k in my personal spending account I would like to own a pair but am in two minds

The ML vista can be had at a dealer for $2600 but they require lot of juice

The electromotion are very efficient and would work with my tube set hmmmm

My rooms roughly 22' 13

projectormovielover said:

I was just about to pull the trigger on these but bought a ML Stage center ch .Now I have almost 2k in my personal spending account I would like to own a pair but am in two minds

The ML vista can be had at a dealer for $2600 but they require lot of juice

The electromotion are very efficient and would work with my tube set hmmmm

My rooms roughly 22' 13

Click to expand...

I'm not so sure that the power requirements are all that different between the Vista and Electromotion ESLs to achieve the same listening levels. The Vistas can be powered by a 100 w receiver without noticable strain.

DrJRapp said:

I'm not so sure that the power requirements are all that different between the Vista and Electromotion ESLs to achieve the same listening levels. The Vistas can be powered by a 100 w receiver without noticable strain.

Click to expand...

Rapp

Exactly my story went to buy EM but found a dealer that made a offer I couldent refuse
With the Vistas, Happy ever after

Great review. I found the same situation with the new panels as featured on the Theos. These new models can run really well on only a few watts if money is a bit tight.

Questy said:

I am not sure how they made 2000$ speakers sound this good but whatever they did all I can say is BUY THEM!!!!

Click to expand...

At the time I thought they were $2k per speaker but then was relieved when the Magnolia A/V sales rep said "per pair". But even at that price I winced but I was so drawn to them that I decided to build my ideal HTS and have this as my 'ears'.

Worth EVERY PENNY!! I went all ML (EM:ESLs, C2; Dynamo 700) and hopefully soon EM-FX2 for surround and maybe another sub. The sound is crystal clear and focused and great to manipulate following the video guides on their website. And of course the design of the stators/grill is what I love as well.

Em

There is a guy on some other site (dont remember) that claims he is driving his Em's with some very expensive Mark Levinson amp about 3 times the price of the speakers.
I think thats a little unusal but I might like to hear that combo.

Rapp,

We have almost the same rooms 12.5X30 here............