OK! Esoteric K1 is the winner. ==• now we need to move to the speaker!!!!!}{[]>

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.
Joey,

For what it's worth the seller is a sponsor of the area audio group here http://www.meetup.com/Suncoast-Audiophile-Society/. Besides going through Tampa you can spend a day listening to a number of systems from here on the ML site.

True, haven't seen Alan in a long while. Would be nice to spend time with you fellas.

Joey... just my opinion ... I think this looks promising??? I saw the $$ 24.9 .... they estimate 1200 shipping... I think that seems really high for shipping??? Maybe I am wrong... but, I think that is too much for shipping... Is this guy a retailer - just selling used gear? I like buying from retailers if possible... I am assuming you have asked about dings/nicks... shape... etc... only 2 years old? Could you deal with maybe the full price - they pay shipping & insurance? If he is in fact a real retailer - if you still do not like the price - I am not sure where you are at with cables etc... but maybe there is something you could do there to get to your happy place.... to me - on a purchase this large ... a 1 grand diff in the end is worth buying from a retailer vs just some guy off the street.... So - take that into consideration .. any 90 day guarantee or anything. and remember... this ISN"T AN INVESTMENT!!! This is for your enjoyment.. at the end of the day... if you want to resell -- what is the difference really?

Tim!

I still think 24900+1200 is a little high. I am in the process of haggling. Don't want to pay more than 21000 for a 2y pair of Strads. If this is not the one, I can wait I guess, I've waited this long anyway...

Timm,

Based on personal recent experiences, it sounds about right.

GG

PS: Joey, if you go for this, make sure the seller is the shipper and use your Pay Pal account if possible. No insurance on this type of freight. Seller assumes all liability if a claim is necessary.

Also, get dimensions and weight. Call YRC for a quote to verify ship costs.

Gordon -

Enlighten me.... if he says that the shipment is insured, should I still be worried?

Also, I was thinking just doing a bank transfer - should I do paypal and pay the 3% penalty? More protected via paypal? What if I pay via credit card?

So rent a pickup or uhaul......road trip! That way you don't have to worry about shipping damage, claims, etc.

There we go again - I am going to bang my head against the wall... I should've bought the one that was 3 hours away from me in Texas. &@*%!!! And it was only 20K!!!! I hate myself for not jumping on that. Part of me was stuck wanting to give the 800 diamonds a chance and I waffled. I was in talks with the seller and I asked him if I could have a couple of days to think about it, by the time I got back to him it was sold locally. *sigh*...
 
Hi Joey,

Stop beating yourself up. Like most events in life, things will happen when they are meant to.

My suggestions are meant to protect you, to the maximum extent possible, against any damage that may occur during the shipping process.

Regarding insurance against damage, my recent freight shipping experiences indicates that insurance is not available. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Good luck my friend.

Gordon
 
Thanks Gordon, my friend

Hi Joey,

Stop beating yourself up. Like most events in life, things will happen when they are meant to.

My suggestions are meant to protect you, to the maximum extent possible, against any damage that may occur during the shipping process.

Regarding insurance against damage, my recent freight shipping experiences indicates that insurance is not available. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Good luck my friend.

Gordon
 
JV,

If you are up to consider one more option, which would require different amps, send me a PM.

Can audition in your area and in the same price area.

My "final" speaker.

Gordon
 
Got your PM GG... won't be able to audition that speaker until I head back to Chicago this April for my baby's 1st birthday.

It's not an impossibility, since my parents own a Ford Expedition and they drive to Dallas every 4 months or so.
 
Still trying to negotiate with "higherfi" of audiogon for the Strads, not sure if it's going anywhere though. I offered 21K shipped, no response yet. He's not going to get bites at 26200$, not with the recent sales of strads as an indicator.

But man, listened to the 802 Diamonds again yesterday. Wow... what a great speaker. One day, I'll own both speaker types. One from Italy and one from Britain. As good as the Strads are, I can live with these Diamonds all day every day.
 
Last edited:
Joey,

I think he just raised the asking price by 2 to 3K.

Guess you got your answer. Bummer.

GG
 
Joey,

I think he just raised the asking price by 2 to 3K.

Guess you got your answer. Bummer.

GG

Gordon

Nah, that's for brand new. He and I are talking about brand new for 29. He won't divulge much or the source.

I have a depo on a pair of diamonds as we speak. Put down 3600 to hold the pair because of a sale. Not sure which way I want to go as both are good. Leaning strads but still have a soft spot for the diamonds.
 
Last edited:
:eek:
Gordon

Nah, that's for brand new. He and I are talking about brand new for 29. He won't divulge much or the source.

I have a depo on a pair of diamonds as we speak. Put down 3600 to hold the pair because of a sale. Not sure which way I want to go as both are good. Leaning strads but still have a soft spot for the diamonds.

Good luck on your journey Joey!

It appears you have it well thought out:eek:
 
Bob. I am looking at your rig. You replaced your prodigys! With Wilson's. talk about em. Joey was looking at Wilson's At one point too. :).
 
Bob. I am looking at your rig. You replaced your prodigys! With Wilson's. talk about em. Joey was looking at Wilson's At one point too. :).

Hi Timm,

Hopefully I'm butting in on Joey's thread.

As luck would have it I stopped into my audio dealers shop one Saturday as I have known him since I bought my first Sequels and subsequent ML's from him. I had always liked the Sasha's when I was down there and he happened to have the Maxx's for sale on consignment from a gentleman he had sold them too and was downsizing due to retirement and buying a condo( wish I had the money to buy the whole Wilson surround system with the original Levinson gear).

I just enjoy the ease and flow of the music from these speakers and anyone that says they don't do a beautiful midrange does not have the right equipment feeding them in my opinion:eek:
The stage is large and deep and the music top to bottom for me and other audio nuts that have been here is very even. Never was a big fan of box speaker tweeters until I heard these.
When my wife went back with me that evening she looked at me and said it's a no brainer if I don't buy these as she just loved what they did as well. The Prodigy's are still here in the nook of my audio room as I don't need to sell them.

Hope this answers some questions and I am always willing to talk audio. There is a misprint on the arm of the TT as it is the JMW Memorial arm.

Best Regards,
Bob
 
Hi Timm,

I just enjoy the ease and flow of the music from these speakers and anyone that says they don't do a beautiful midrange does not have the right equipment feeding them in my opinion:eek:
The stage is large and deep and the music top to bottom for me and other audio nuts that have been here is very even. Never was a big fan of box speaker tweeters until I heard these.
Best Regards,
Bob

Haha.. re: the mids.... well, maybe you are referring to something I wrote about the XLFs awhile back...? Yeah, I just found everything was pure with these- however, the lower mids just seemed to be lacking in the demo I heard .... It was completely un-engaging.... The presentation seemed sterile to me....dynamic as hell - but just didn't do it for me... Now, I say this not wanting to offend anyone - but, just giving you what I heard... and others with me agreed... listened 3X to them - heard them off of D'agostino gear as well as Mac 1.2KW monos.. Room was very nice size so they could breathe.. I'm glad my tastes or lack of hearing does not make me need them!! :) Seems there are folks that either find the Wilson's un-engaging ... or those that just love them to death..... I am glad you are in the latter camp as your wife approves!!! haha... my wife would have looked at the price and said 'Are You Kidding Me???' So, now I am trying to settle for magnepan 20.7s...which I am sure a Wilson lover might find offensive! No worries.....
 
Nothing wrong with Maggie's, especially the 20.7s! Nice! In my opinion, when it comes to any great speaker, whether Wilsons, Rockports, Sonus Fabers, Maggies etc, ancillary gear, room acoustics and setup make or break them. I've heard Wilsons sound thin, CLXs sound thin other brands sound so bad I had to leave the room, YG Acustics come to mind, yet I've heard these brands sound spectacular in the right setup. Never quit experimenting with setup, positioning, gear, isolation and acoustic treatments. I learned this by listening to the incredible evolution of sound quality in a friend's system and by trial and error myself. Like Bob said, if Wilsons sound lacking in life or midrange, there was something amiss in the setup.
 
Hi Timm,

Hopefully I'm butting in on Joey's thread.

As luck would have it I stopped into my audio dealers shop one Saturday as I have known him since I bought my first Sequels and subsequent ML's from him. I had always liked the Sasha's when I was down there and he happened to have the Maxx's for sale on consignment from a gentleman he had sold them too and was downsizing due to retirement and buying a condo( wish I had the money to buy the whole Wilson surround system with the original Levinson gear).

I just enjoy the ease and flow of the music from these speakers and anyone that says they don't do a beautiful midrange does not have the right equipment feeding them in my opinion:eek:
The stage is large and deep and the music top to bottom for me and other audio nuts that have been here is very even. Never was a big fan of box speaker tweeters until I heard these.
When my wife went back with me that evening she looked at me and said it's a no brainer if I don't buy these as she just loved what they did as well. The Prodigy's are still here in the nook of my audio room as I don't need to sell them.

Hope this answers some questions and I am always willing to talk audio. There is a misprint on the arm of the TT as it is the JMW Memorial arm.

Best Regards,
Bob

Bob,

You're definitely not butting into my thread... this thread has been derailed so many times, it's great!!

I see you have the MAXX1... I don't think I've ever heard those, but me and several guys on this forum have heard the MAXX2 and I thought it sounded impressive. I am sure yours are very lovely and give great sound.

As for me, I finally got a good chunk of my gear to the dealer, plopped them with the 802 Diamonds and I swear I could just have bought the 802 Diamonds as they were. Very good sound top to bottom, well worth the entry fee I thought. A little tube in the Diamonds go a long way. Very realistic vocalization and sound. ONly problem I have is I just can't hear the Strads on my gear so there goes that leap of faith again.

Ah well... still looking for the right deal, so I don't think there's anything wrong with auditioning the final two competitors while waiting for the right Strad deal to fall onto my lap.
 
Steve. You are so right. I agree 100%. When you get to that quality speaker I don't think there is 'bad' - and I didn't mean to possibly leave that impression. I have listened to a nice subset of speakers over the last 6 months and I usually try to say what I thought I heard - qualify it with description of placement and associated electronics. Since it is so difficult to hear kit these days ... I always like to hear what others think and then see if I hear or heard any of that. If someone can qualify the sound against a 'like speaker' it helps too. My comments on the montis and summit x were 'dismissed' because of room setup a while back. Well- duh ... Guess who described the room setup - because I knew it was an issue. So based on all that, all I can do is say what I hear based on setup and gear and it isn't the gospel that's for sure. Just a listening experience and my impressions of it based on all the variables.

Joey. That deal will come. I would think the 802s would sound nice with your gear. I just think the Strads would sound better. :)
 
I have heard Wilsons in multiple rooms so far, with different gear and not heard them sounding remotely close to any speaker I rate. And that goes for bass, vocals, especially piano, and complex, orchestral music. On the other hand, I have heard Veritys in 3 rooms and heard them very good in two, and quite good in one. Never liked the big focals. Or Magicos. Never liked B&W except with a Datasat 13.4 system. Analysis Audio have always sounded brilliant or good. Logans 80% of the time have had a magic, though I could hear some things I did not like based on the room or the gear.

So, I clearly see a pattern. I think while room and gear make a difference, most people who have bought these type of speakers, and whom we visit, would have these things sorted out to some extent. I would be surprised if someone had an Analysis Amphitryon in a 10*8 room, for example. And then why would we go to visit him? I did do that with Soundlabs once, so I made it a point to check the speaker again in a different set up, to see what the consistent attributes were. So if you consistently see a pattern, I think you can draw a conclusion to what you do not like. At the end I suspect all of us would have a choice of 3 - 5 dream speakers that we would have a hard time deciding between had we the means and opportunity to buy them all. And we would not know which of them was the best suited unless we lived with them for a while. And each one could suit a different mood. However, I think it is much easier to drop the rest of the speakers altogether from the consideration set.
 
Last edited:
Well Bonzo, your post certainly points out that everyone hears differently, that's for sure. To lump Magicos, Focals, B&Ws and Wilsons, all some of the most highly reviewed and loved speakers out there, as speakers you don't like, well to each his own.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top