Klipsch Guy from Brooklyn goes to Martin Logan, was it worth it?

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Hello everyone, My name is Sean and I am an addict.
A sound addict like most of you here.

Thanks for letting me join a great community

My home theater life since I was in my late teen and twenties have consisted mainly of Klipsch speakers. From their "award winning" Pro-media 5.1 system to some very nice bookshelfs, the RB-3's back then they were about $350 per pair and sounded great which I thought with my young ears at the time. Then I got a pair of RB-61'a as bookshelfs again and those were a wonderful upgrade, about $450 per pair. Lots of controlled bass and the highs weren't too fatiguing.

Now present times I have pair of Klipsch F-30 Towers and they are really good (for the money), originally $1100 for the pair but I got these right before being discontinued about a year ago, paid about $425 total for both. Dual 8" woofers with the Klipsch proprietary horn. They do sound really solid especially for the price I paid for them, but now I'm starting my journey for a new HIgher EnD system, which will finally end my marriage with the Klipsch brand and boy does it feel great. My point is as follows...

I really needed a great center channel, since I had a crap Klipsch center for years, the RC-1 if you recall, 75w RMS, just pathetic. So I went searching for the best center that $550 can buy NEW or Slightly USED. After lots of reading, up late at night, I narrowed down my choices to the KEF Q200c, the Martin Logan ElectroMotion C2, Martin Logan Motion 30, the B&W HTM-61, the Klipsch RC-64 II, and finally the Wharfedale Diamond 10. I had only auditioned the Martin Logan 30, the KEF, and the RC-64 II at the electronics store. Never heard the others but nominated them because of their credibility and many reviews.

Since I really appreciated the warmth, precision, and bass from the Motion 30, I said to myself if I cant get one brand new for $500, then I'll consider the EM-C2 used if one were to come along, and wow timing is everything folks. The lowest price I found for the Motion was about $570 and I really wanted to keep my budget on track. Then one foggy Christmas eve, eBay came to the rescue. Someone was selling a slightly used EM-C2 for $400, I knocked him down to $380, it was delivered within days from Nevada. After hooking it up to some AudioQuest Type 4 Wire, and finding a great CD, I couldn't wait to find out what I had purchased, and it sounded beautiful right off the bat. I have my Denon set to the Audyssey listening mode, which usually trims the bass down on all the speakers and really lets the highs shine, your sub does all the heavy work. In this mode, the speaker sounded so realistic I was instantly happy with my new product. Now changing the Mode to Graphic Equalizer, then you see the bass shine through, and it's deep and quick, thanks to the front ported slots, which push air out 2-3 feet into the center of the room. All and all, to make a long story short I will be upgrading my entire system to ML, slow and steady. Thanks for listening.

My System as of now:

2013 Denon X4000
2012 Oppo BDP-103
1999 Sony MiniDisc Recorder JB903 (One of the best ever made, superb DAC)
2013 Sony PS4
2012 Samsung UNF6400 series, 40" (upgrading soon)
2013 Klipsch F-30 Floorstanding
2001 Klipsch S-3 surrounds
2010 Klipsch KW-350 Sub
2013 ElectroMotion C2 Center
2011 Monster HTS4100 Power Center
Audioquest bulk speakerwire for the 2 surrounds
Audioquest Type4 for the 3 fronts


-Sean
 
Being a big Klipsch fan myself, I can testify to the difference in tonal quality between Martin Logan and Klipsch. If I was going to upgrade your Klipsch system, I would recommend the Heritage line. But if you are going to go all Martin Logan, a good upgrade would be the ElectroMotion ESLs. It might take you a little longer to save for, but the end result would be a massive upgrade in sound quality over what you already have. For surrounds you could look at a pair of Motion 15s or even the FX2.
 
Big Klipsch fan here too. And am using RB2's and a Klipsch center in our other home. Always wanted K-horns!! And their earbuds are fantastic

I agree with edwinr about the difference in tonal quality between the brands. How does the C2 match with Klipsch floorstanders???

Welcome to the group.
 
Being a big Klipsch fan myself, I can testify to the difference in tonal quality between Martin Logan and Klipsch. If I was going to upgrade your Klipsch system, I would recommend the Heritage line. But if you are going to go all Martin Logan, a good upgrade would be the ElectroMotion ESLs. It might take you a little longer to save for, but the end result would be a massive upgrade in sound quality over what you already have. For surrounds you could look at a pair of Motion 15s or even the FX2.

The ESL's are Nice man, Something to look into. and I agree with you on the 15's. Looking into a 2 ch. amp in a year or so.

Happy Holidays...

-Sean
 
Big Klipsch fan here too. And am using RB2's and a Klipsch center in our other home. Always wanted K-horns!! And their earbuds are fantastic

I agree with edwinr about the difference in tonal quality between the brands. How does the C2 match with Klipsch floorstanders???

Welcome to the group.

The C2 matches great, thanks to audyssey.

Happy Holidays..
 
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