What is the sonic difference between the Summit and the Summit X?

So, in search for the next pair of speakers - I'm really looking into stepping up from my prior set up.

As some of you know, I had Summits in the past. Now I know there is the Summit X but I'm not very familiar with them. I know they have this bass controlled dispersion system but not sure how that plays into the sound... I know about the raking system being significantly better - I think this was inspired by us and our fiddling with the spikes that we had made by one of our other members.

What else does it do? Is the panel improved?

Lots of info regarding this issue on this website. You know the drill. Same panel to the best of my knowledge.

Difference between the original and the "X". Some say marginal, others say worthwhile. Generally speaking, a purportedly better blend between the panel and the powered woofs.

Thought you were going to buy some Wilson speakers.

Oh yes, it has this pretty ambient light that shines down from the bottom.

Gordon Gray said:

Lots of info regarding this issue on this website. You know the drill. Same panel to the best of my knowledge.

Difference between the original and the "X". Some say marginal, others say worthwhile. Generally speaking, a purportedly better blend between the panel and the powered woofs.

Thought you were going to buy some Wilson speakers.

Oh yes, it has this pretty ambient light that shines down from the bottom.

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Yeah, heard the Montis for the first time today and it brought lots of memories back from my time with my Summits. There is something about the way the new generation of panels present vocals... not that my audio memory is perfect but I think that perhaps the vocals sounded better than my old Summits. But hard to say because this was a full tube system and I know that they are very revealing of electronics.

Regarding Wilsons, I have listened to the Sophia 3, Sasha 1, and Alexias. I was also looking into the BW 802 Diamonds as another option. I am also really looking forward to the Sasha 2 release next month.

There are positives and negatives to each speaker - some things I liked about the other speakers that I did not find with my Summits (and vice versa). What I am searching for is the vocals of the Summits but with more impact and musicality. Maybe it was my room, maybe it was my upstream equipment - but the more I listen, the more I learned that I was missing some aspect of musicality. It was clear and coherent, the imaging was good.

Not really sure what I'm trying to get at - it's very hard for me to explain. But I'm hoping that there is something in the Summit X that bridges that gap for me. Otherwise, I have to keep my search elsewhere.

I have begun perusing this site for answers to my question also.

Hi Joey,

Welcome back!

Have you ruled out the CLX?

Bernard said:

Hi Joey,

Welcome back!

Have you ruled out the CLX?

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Thanks Bernard!

My room is only 18x15 (x 8 ft ceilings up front and it angles to 9 ft in the back... so it's not a simple rectangle), I don't think I can fit a CLX in. That said, it is a dedicated audio room with no windows and everything is symmetric along the walls. There is no opening or half walls anywhere. No hallways or asymmetric ceilings. My goal was to make this room as good a listening room as possible.

Though I have some flaws - it is on the 2nd floor (thus I lost my cemented floor foundation) and the room is not completely soundproofed from the rest of the house - I forgot to bring it up during construction phase.... 'doh!! Also - I could've probably used another 20 amp wall receptacle to the left of my seated position in case I wanted to place all my electronics there. Double 'doh!!!!

I did not go all out with this listening room - that will be for my next house. I was able to get them to place a dedicated 20 amp wall socket though.... looking forward to developing the system.

I've been exploring so many conventional speaker designs - that I stopped listening to Martin Logans (or auditioning them). Then I listened to the Montis today and I was like.... "hmmm... maybe I'm a stat guy afterall".

I dunno... nothing's perfect. If there was a speaker in between the CLX and the legacy Summits - I'd be all for it. I always thought the Summit X was barely an upgrade - then I started reading up on it and many people are raving about them so I decided to come back to the source (MLO) and see what people had to say. I've combed the old threads, but figured maybe there were some new things people had to say about the comparison.

Joey_V said:

What I am searching for is the vocals of the Summits but with more impact and musicality.

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I don't even know what this means, but maybe you could just duct tape it up with a little EQ.

Your old Summits are just fine, Joey. Welcome back... :ROFL:

Joey, ML should be coming out with new high end models soon so wait to hear those before you make any decisions. But as always new models may come with higher prices. I strongly suggest you consider an in-home audition of the Sanders Sound Model 10 speakers. They are some phenomenal stats.

Rich said:

Joey, ML should be coming out with new high end models soon so wait to hear those before you make any decisions. But as always new models may come with higher prices. I strongly suggest you consider an in-home audition of the Sanders Sound Model 10 speakers. They are some phenomenal stats.

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Rich, do tell.

Joey, FWIW, my buddy has CLXs in a 16 x 22 room with ARC and Pass gear. Sounds wonderful.

Joey,

I should have said this in my first post but welcome back.

Lots of neat stuff out there since you stopped posting awhile ago.

The Wilson Sasha 2 could be very exciting as well as the new Alexis not to mention the pending(?) update to the Summit X. Like you, I have always wished that the revision / update would have a larger panel and some additional flexibility to address room nodes and panel / woof integration. Had that been available, I probably would have jumped on it also. As things turned out, I've done a stint with the MBL 116's over the last three years or so and will be installing the YG Acoustics Kipod II signatures / active version. They will arrive today.

You may want to have a listen to YG to see if it suits your particular sonic tastes. They have various models at different price points. Rockport and Magico have also just introduced new, more "affordable" models within their overall product line. And, as Rich suggested, there's the Sanders stat.

As you know, too many choices. As a start, you may want to consider attending some audio shows so you can hear some of this stuff.

Best,

Gordon

asindc said:

Rich, do tell.

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Anthony, I would simply refer you to this recent quote in another thread by Peter Soderberg of ML:

Peter Soderberg said:

yes, the next wave is focused on the high end over the next year or so I hope all will be happy over the next several months.

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Rich said:

Joey, ML should be coming out with new high end models soon

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Did I hear you say Statement II's …………….. ………

hey 'Kid' , where 'ya been hiding ?

Gordon Gray said:

Joey,

I should have said this in my first post but welcome back.

Lots of neat stuff out there since you stopped posting awhile ago.

The Wilson Sasha 2 could be very exciting as well as the new Alexis not to mention the pending(?) update to the Summit X. Like you, I have always wished that the revision / update would have a larger panel and some additional flexibility to address room nodes and panel / woof integration. Had that been available, I probably would have jumped on it also. As things turned out, I've done a stint with the MBL 116's over the last three years or so and will be installing the YG Acoustics Kipod II signatures / active version. They will arrive today.

You may want to have a listen to YG to see if it suits your particular sonic tastes. They have various models at different price points. Rockport and Magico have also just introduced new, more "affordable" models within their overall product line. And, as Rich suggested, there's the Sanders stat.

As you know, too many choices. As a start, you may want to consider attending some audio shows so you can hear some of this stuff.

Best,

Gordon

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G - thanks for the welcome back bud. Always good to be back.

Audio shows... yeah.... I got it. Funny thing is since the economic downturn, hifi audio shops are few and far between. Sigh...

asindc said:

Rich, do tell.

Joey, FWIW, my buddy has CLXs in a 16 x 22 room with ARC and Pass gear. Sounds wonderful.

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Yeah, but 16x22 is a heck of a lot bigger than 18x15... I should've had the builder expand it a foot or 2 either side. Dang it.

Rich said:

Joey, ML should be coming out with new high end models soon so wait to hear those before you make any decisions. But as always new models may come with higher prices. I strongly suggest you consider an in-home audition of the Sanders Sound Model 10 speakers. They are some phenomenal stats.

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Rich!! Always glad to see you posting bud.

Yeah... I am looking forward to anything new that is ML. I've been reading recent threads and it seems to me that all is still well with ML and Shoreview.

TomDac said:

Your old Summits are just fine, Joey. Welcome back... :ROFL:

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I'm glad they're fine, El Prez! I've been following you too... how's the Lexus??

twich54 said:

Did I hear you say Statement II's …………….. ………

hey 'Kid' , where 'ya been hiding ?

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Hahaha! POPS! I've been around - life happens and things happen so quickly. Can you believe it's been 7 years since we got together at Kansas!? Wow.... we are in the midst of building a semi-custom home. We were about to build a big custom home but I decided to take it easy and instead of jumping into a big big house, maybe start with a smaller house and seeing how things develop from there. Initially, I was supposed to have a media/audio room in the first floor on top of a concrete foundation. I was actually going to have some big shot audio room guy come in (like Rives) and help with the design and implementation.... but alas, I chickened out and decided on a smaller house.

Now my audio room is on the 2nd floor and while I was able to get the minimum dimensions for my type of listening, I wasn't able to go all out. Atleast there are no weird openings or asymmetry to this room. There are no stairs behind it or an open loft area next to it... it's a true sealed room, 18x15 with a slanted sealing to prevent certain sound waves. Not perfect, but probably leaps beyond my old room when I was in med school.

That's ok, such is life. Atleast, I'm actually finally getting my room.

Oh yeah!

By the way, I'm in Dallas now.

I have had both Summit and X in the same system and room on a long term basis. They're fairly close overall, but the X is better. The bass is cleaner and high frequencies are significantly less rolled off on the X.

Joey_V said:

Hahaha! POPS! Can you believe it's been 7 years since we got together at Kansas!?

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Joey, that was a great time for sure !

Hocky said:

I have had both Summit and X in the same system and room on a long term basis. high frequencies are significantly less rolled off on the X.

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now that one puzzles me……….if the stat panel is the same and everything is crossed over long before the high freq how can that be ??

twich54 said:

Joey, that was a great time for sure !



now that one puzzles me……….if the stat panel is the same and everything is crossed over long before the high freq how can that be ??

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The crossover is not the same - they could be doing any number of things to voice the frequency response in there. The difference is measurable, not just theoretical.

Hocky said:

The crossover is not the same

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that I know, regardless I would surprised that the upper freq are 'that much' better

The difference is measurable, not just theoretical.

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not to these 'old ears' ……..LOL !

twich54 said:

Joey, that was a great time for sure !



now that one puzzles me……….if the stat panel is the same and everything is crossed over long before the high freq how can that be ??

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Dave - I thought the X had new panels and this was a reason for a change in sound...?

twich54 said:

now that one puzzles me……….if the stat panel is the same and everything is crossed over long before the high freq how can that be ??

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You should request the circuit diagram for both speakers. Sometimes there will be a notch or roll-off taken out of the high frequencies.

Hi there Joey.

The "X" has a very different crossover, as others have said and you have no doubt found buried in the bowels of the website.

Enjoy hunting for your next system!