Martin Logan Summit. Prodigy/Odyssey replacement. EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK!

Hi all,

Devin Zell at MartinLogan sent me an email today with a picture of the new Summit. This is a replacement to the Prodigy/Odyssey. That's all I know. Here's the picture.

All I can say is WOW!

Tom.

From Devin:
Specs have yet to be finalized. Retail price and ship date have yet been finalized, but we're aiming for under $10,000 US retail (for base/standard finishes) and a street date sometime this spring.

As I mentioned in my previous email an all black finish will be available. Additionally, a wide selection of optional wood/metal finishes will be offered.

The Summit is slightly smaller than the Ascent, and has a bass enclosure nearly 1/4 the size of the Prodigy (with accurate bass extension down to 25Hz---as shown at CES).

Summit’s™ Key Features Include:

• XStat™ Electrostatic Transducer featuring:

<DIR><DIR>—Ultra-Rigid AirFrame™ Technology


—Advanced Vacuum Bonding

—MicroPerf Stators

—ClearSpar™ technology

—CLS™ (Curvilinear Line Source)


</DIR></DIR>

• High-Resolution PoweredForce™ Woofers
• 25 & 50 Hz Level Controls
• Proprietary Vojtko™ Crossover Filtering

I'm trying to get more info regarding this. Stay tuned.

All I can say is I hope they do not abandon the more traditional look...a bit too radical for me.

wow, the panel looks great. the cabinet is hideous. way too square and sticks out too much. sorry, not my cup of tea.

Wtf!

I'm sorry that's way too radical for me! To me it looks like it will be available at IKEA! This speaker is supposed to blend in a room how? Too much of a brushed steel look for my decor That finish on the panel won't be good for owners using them for HT in my opinion the panel will reflect too much light from a projector? Great for 2 channel I would think?

Please tell me they are available in a different color/finish?

Ditto

Hopefully they sound a lot better than they look don't care for the House of Denmark cabinet. Paint it black.

Those of you that were looking for speakers closer to the Clarity, CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

It looks like an engineer designed it, all function no form. It will look grate in my theater room with the light’s off.

From Devin:

Further information will be forthcoming...

FYI - There will be an all black option available.

I think the stat panel looks pretty cool. Any idea how tall the speaker is and how wide the panel is? I agree about the brushed metal on the front, too shiny. I am sure it will be available in matte black.

I like the larger panel and less floor space, but I hope the make it look better. It looks like to much like the stealth for me.

A little bit of tweaking and it could look okay. If they change the panel trim to black (or at least give an option) and if the wood comes in black ash/oak or mahogany (or other darker colors) it would be better. In fact I think they need to round the sub box over a little more.

That speaker looks like it would fit into a clean/contemory atmosphere perfectly, but some of us have more 'traditional/soft and warm/every other type..' of homes in which it would not blend well...

I know it is how it sounds that matters, but you think Martin Logan would try to make it as WAF friendly as possible. You want to a speaker to be more neutral looking. They should of taken the design inspiration from the Mosaic/Clarity IMHO.

END OF RANT.

Cheers,
Nick

Now before everyone flies off the wire about the look, be advised, that they will be available in a couple of standard finishes, as well as a number of really beautiful custom finishes (I saw the samples). Also, the stat panel will be available in BLACK to better integrate with some rooms or HT environments.
In my earlier posts, I didn't want to give away too much but since ML furnished the pic... the cats out of the suitcase now !
Also, the bass module has an integrated amp, with two adjustment modes at 25hz and 50hz to provide boost or cut at those frequencies and help with integration in a variety of rooms.
As I said, the preliminary listening session was VERY promising... I'm looking forward to hearing them in some more controlled situations with my own music and some more familiar electronics.

More info from Devin:

Specs have yet to be finalized. Retail price and ship date have yet been finalized, but we're aiming for under $10,000 US retail (for base/standard finishes) and a street date sometime this spring.

As I mentioned in my previous email an all black finish will be available. Additionally, a wide selection of optional wood/metal finishes will be offered.

The Summit is slightly smaller than the Ascent, and has a bass enclosure nearly 1/4 the size of the Prodigy (with accurate bass extension down to 25Hz---as shown at CES).

Summit’s™ Key Features Include:

• XStat™ Electrostatic Transducer featuring:

<DIR><DIR>—Ultra-Rigid AirFrame™ Technology

—Advanced Vacuum Bonding

—MicroPerf Stators

—ClearSpar™ technology

—CLS™ (Curvilinear Line Source)

</DIR></DIR>

• High-Resolution PoweredForce™ Woofers
• 25 & 50 Hz Level Controls
• Proprietary Vojtko™ Crossover Filtering

Devin

I don't suppose you have any details / photos of the new centre - I am currently waiting to upgrade my Cinema - but want to see / hear what the replacement for the Theatre I is?

How wide is the ESL panel? The Prodigy was 16”, the Summit’s panel looks like it’s the same size as the Odyssey/Ascent 13” panel. Is the Summit ForceForward with Dual 10” woofers?




I wanted to say a big thanks you to Devin Zell at Martin Logan for sending the pictures and info on the Summit to TomDac. While we may be bashing the speaker a little, I didn’t want him to think that we did not appreciate him for taking the extra time for updating us. So again Devin a Big Thank You (now I can sleep at night), and if I ever get to met you I owe you a beer.
Thanks. Joe

marck said:

I don't suppose you have any details / photos of the new centre - I am currently waiting to upgrade my Cinema - but want to see / hear what the replacement for the Theatre I is?

Click to expand...

When I hear from ML, I will post it IMMEDIATELY. So far, no news on a new center.

Tom.

More news:

Read 2nd paragraph:

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/news/010905ces/

At first glance- yuck!

But then I looked at it again, and I see myself getting more and more use to it.

What I like about it is that the woofer enclosure is made of wood, instead of the typical ML black matte finish - this is the 1st time seeing wood on ML's woofer enclosure section of their ESL's!

I think overall ML's style is going in the right direction by changing with the times. But that is just my opinion.

It would look good along side of this:

Thanks for the pictures,I believe ML is going the right way style wise. Lets be frank,some of the best looking ML products were the Aerius generation of speakers. Something lovely and special even today looking at an Aerius. Contrast that with the design of Prodigy and Odyssey,just a personal opine but I could see why sales were not setting the world on fire.

Regarding the new Summit,the industrial design will fit into many decors just as the Clarity did. Yes,if you are going to spend 10k on a speaker I better have some wood other than token trim panels. Order the Summit with a black stat and mahagony wood box,and you can still have the ML of old.

Unlike the majority of posts so far, I absolutely love the new look!

I think the ESL is the best looking yet. I agree with some other posters that the sub-box is too edgy - maybe rounding off the corners and edges would help.

One thing I find very interesting is that it appears that the panels are angled up much more than all other MLs. I wonder what that'll do in large rooms, where the listener is a good distance away from the speakers.

Thanks to the persons that made it possible for us to get a sneak peak at these speakers here on this website.

Thanks to Martin Logan for sharing the info and pics with us. I truly appreciate it.

I do have a question. If the Summit is a little smaller than the Ascent,how can it have sound that surpasses or meets the Prodigy? I thought the bigger the panel the better? The powered sub is great,I just wandering about the Panel portion.

A Prodigy or Odyssey will rock given enough juice,will a panel smaller than both speakers be able to do the same?

Again,thank you for the pic and info,hopefully more pics will be posted soon in various trim options.