Black Friday was spent listening to the new Renaissance ESL 11a .. and a few others as well.
Not having heard the newer ESL line I had to wait until a dealer had one in.. As luck be have it I had to go cross state to Kalamazoo for the Bird day .. What I was blessed with was a ML dealer who had the 11a in stock.. (Id like to give a shout out but not sure its forum rules)
Now here is where it gets good.. Why I was actually going there was my friend had been listening to a set up, Not ML for the last few weeks and I was going to be the final ears to give him the thumbs up.. I had no Idea they had the ML in stock.. Black Friday bonus
They were in a smallish area but well placed and well fed.. They were being powered by a Prima Luna tube amp and a fairly decent DAC ARCAM IIRC and a CD player of decent quality . I don't recall they name.. I consider my ears well trained to the ML house sound so I wasn't so concerned with all that
They had done the DSP room set up already and according to the DSP they were optimal for the room.. Me being a bully First thing I did was back the chair up 3 feet.. I DONT like equilateral triangles.. I am still in the old Jim Power belief that 1 1/2 back from the width works best with minimal toe in.. Flashlight tells that to be true.. Now cell phone light works well..
We loaded up Diana Krall which I was just listening to on my Odyssey's at home so I had a good sense of placement and voicing..
Stage was nice and voicing had great ghost like floating image.. Bass was tight and detailed.. The DSP was good at helping room nodes that I know would rear up as one wall was close to the side and usually cause issues with the ESL panel image.. Looks wise they have a LARGE rear end protruding out the back.. I like big rear ends so it did not bother me .. I feel the 11 inch wide panel was great at detail and had just the right amount of ability to place things were they should be .. Now I have always been a proponent(Having owned a few wide esl) of wider is better but having narrower 12 inch panels now my self I do believe Micro perf narrower panels can do it as well when room matched.. I think wider is better in bigger rooms.. These babies were just a joy to listen to.. Very comparable from my Oddysey in details and sound.. Having twin 275 watt powered 8 inch subs I wasn't expecting shaking room bass but rather tight detailed... I am not saying anything negative about the bass but rather I think they were great ! I believe amplifier pairing with non powered woofers is KEY.. These being powered by tubes for the panels is a bonus as one amp only is needed.. I still could not talk my friend into 10K speakers. or the divorce would be worth the cost !:devil:
I dont think I could find a better speaker to my ears for 10K .. These are a great bargain and size wise very room friendly for those who have a spouse factor.. What you are rewarded with is a sexy speaker that's not HUGE and can fill the room with enjoyable music .. They were finished in a oiled dull walnut which I really liked .. I prefer the natural wood look to a sprayed finish
In My own sized room I WOULD buy these If I was looking for new speakers.. I believe the larger 13 and 15 would retain the good traits and push them even farther to a larger room.. That being said with the newer micro perf ability to play bigger that they are ,Bigger would not mean better in a smaller room.. Anyone looking at these really IMHO think of their room before going bigger.. Bass reinforcement from well placed speakers is better than forced bass from a larger woofer to me.. Tightness and detail were great and I LOVE the DSP as it does take set up to new levels.. Kudos to ML for moving forward with technology to help room setup and placement ..
My buddy did end up buying his speakers of choice which were decent for the price,and what he was wanting.. Good listening with minimal room set up and easy to drive with a integrated 50 watt amp as well as a decent WAF. However he left knowing the the haunting ESL magic.. and desire to have that ear candy .. He said he cant wait to come listen at the Fat guy day at my place.
He ended up with the Klipsch RF 7ll .. And a Arcam A19 and a Arcam DAC I forced him to buy .. Remember I am a bully
In the end they were really detailed night and day sound difference from any ESL but he is a sit and listen not a discerning ear or had the pocket book for the ancillary goods to make the Logan;s sing.. These had realy pinpoint detail and not that old Klipsch , keep the speaker cable a foot short of the speakers binding post for best sound..:ROFL:
Not having heard the newer ESL line I had to wait until a dealer had one in.. As luck be have it I had to go cross state to Kalamazoo for the Bird day .. What I was blessed with was a ML dealer who had the 11a in stock.. (Id like to give a shout out but not sure its forum rules)
Now here is where it gets good.. Why I was actually going there was my friend had been listening to a set up, Not ML for the last few weeks and I was going to be the final ears to give him the thumbs up.. I had no Idea they had the ML in stock.. Black Friday bonus
They were in a smallish area but well placed and well fed.. They were being powered by a Prima Luna tube amp and a fairly decent DAC ARCAM IIRC and a CD player of decent quality . I don't recall they name.. I consider my ears well trained to the ML house sound so I wasn't so concerned with all that
They had done the DSP room set up already and according to the DSP they were optimal for the room.. Me being a bully First thing I did was back the chair up 3 feet.. I DONT like equilateral triangles.. I am still in the old Jim Power belief that 1 1/2 back from the width works best with minimal toe in.. Flashlight tells that to be true.. Now cell phone light works well..
We loaded up Diana Krall which I was just listening to on my Odyssey's at home so I had a good sense of placement and voicing..
Stage was nice and voicing had great ghost like floating image.. Bass was tight and detailed.. The DSP was good at helping room nodes that I know would rear up as one wall was close to the side and usually cause issues with the ESL panel image.. Looks wise they have a LARGE rear end protruding out the back.. I like big rear ends so it did not bother me .. I feel the 11 inch wide panel was great at detail and had just the right amount of ability to place things were they should be .. Now I have always been a proponent(Having owned a few wide esl) of wider is better but having narrower 12 inch panels now my self I do believe Micro perf narrower panels can do it as well when room matched.. I think wider is better in bigger rooms.. These babies were just a joy to listen to.. Very comparable from my Oddysey in details and sound.. Having twin 275 watt powered 8 inch subs I wasn't expecting shaking room bass but rather tight detailed... I am not saying anything negative about the bass but rather I think they were great ! I believe amplifier pairing with non powered woofers is KEY.. These being powered by tubes for the panels is a bonus as one amp only is needed.. I still could not talk my friend into 10K speakers. or the divorce would be worth the cost !:devil:
I dont think I could find a better speaker to my ears for 10K .. These are a great bargain and size wise very room friendly for those who have a spouse factor.. What you are rewarded with is a sexy speaker that's not HUGE and can fill the room with enjoyable music .. They were finished in a oiled dull walnut which I really liked .. I prefer the natural wood look to a sprayed finish
In My own sized room I WOULD buy these If I was looking for new speakers.. I believe the larger 13 and 15 would retain the good traits and push them even farther to a larger room.. That being said with the newer micro perf ability to play bigger that they are ,Bigger would not mean better in a smaller room.. Anyone looking at these really IMHO think of their room before going bigger.. Bass reinforcement from well placed speakers is better than forced bass from a larger woofer to me.. Tightness and detail were great and I LOVE the DSP as it does take set up to new levels.. Kudos to ML for moving forward with technology to help room setup and placement ..
My buddy did end up buying his speakers of choice which were decent for the price,and what he was wanting.. Good listening with minimal room set up and easy to drive with a integrated 50 watt amp as well as a decent WAF. However he left knowing the the haunting ESL magic.. and desire to have that ear candy .. He said he cant wait to come listen at the Fat guy day at my place.
He ended up with the Klipsch RF 7ll .. And a Arcam A19 and a Arcam DAC I forced him to buy .. Remember I am a bully
In the end they were really detailed night and day sound difference from any ESL but he is a sit and listen not a discerning ear or had the pocket book for the ancillary goods to make the Logan;s sing.. These had realy pinpoint detail and not that old Klipsch , keep the speaker cable a foot short of the speakers binding post for best sound..:ROFL:
