A new "Vantage" or an old "Ascent" ... ?

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max

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Dear All,
what do you think about my dilemma?
Thank you for your support.
Massimo
 
What are you willing to trade off?

Not sure what your trade off is. The Vantage is definitely a better speaker, especially in terms of bass integration and slightly in terms of highs/ midrange. The Vantage is approx. $5K new. You can get a used Ascent in the neighborhood of $2K. For the $3K in savings you can pick up some nice equipment (nice power amp, CD player, and preamp) to get your system to sound much better than say, running Vantages off an old Yamaha. If you share what other equipment you have now, we can provide more insight.

I faced a similar decision and went with the Ascents and Bryston amp and preamp, and I really like my system for the $$ I spent.
 
I heard David Matz's system today and it was a solid system. I would recommend the same thing he just said BUT I will add....

The Vantages are the better speaker, no doubt. However, you will have to factor in the costs of good electronics running it. IF you choose to get the Vantage, you can always start out with lesser electronics and then move up to more stellar ones (this is what I did)... however, IF you choose to go the Ascents route, you will have more money to spend on the electronics right off the bat.

Either way, remember that this is a journey and it's not as satisfying starting off with the best system.

My advice is to build your system around the best possible speaker and then go from there. If you know you are up to the challenge and the adventure of moving up in electronics on a later date, then the Vantages are for you.

All just in my opinion. :D

Joey
 
The Vantages are a better buy if you can afford a pair. The Vantage will run surprisingly well with a moderately priced s/s amp. In fact when I auditioned a pair of Vantages at home for a couple of weeks, I ran them with an Atoll Electronique IN50 integrated amplifier. I was really surprised that these speakers could sound so good with such a low cost amp. However when I changed the Vantages for Summits, the Atoll didn't fair so well. I still had reasonable sound, but I noticed the amp was struggling a little.
 
David Matz said:
.....
If you share what other equipment you have now, we can provide more insight.

I faced a similar decision and went with the Ascents and Bryston amp and preamp, and I really like my system for the $$ I spent.

Hi guys and thank you for your input.
Really my equipment is the same David has : Bryston pre and amp !
So, I'm happy to hear from you that Bryston + ML is a good choice.

And the trade-off is 5,5 KEuro vs 4,0 KEuro.... :confused:
 
Hi Max,

I change my Ascent for a pair of Vantages and can say that both sound incredible. I have personnally replace my Ascent with the Vantage for aestetic and a better bass integration with the panel. I also run the ML with Bryston amp & preamp. If you use the speakers in a medium size room the size of the vantages is less intrusive (WAF).

Regards
Musicman
 
max said:
Hi guys and thank you for your input.
Really my equipment is the same David has : Bryston pre and amp !
So, I'm happy to hear from you that Bryston + ML is a good choice.

And the trade-off is 5,5 KEuro vs 4,0 KEuro.... :confused:

In that case, there's no point in not getting the Vantage.

:)
 
What CD Player are you using?

The Bryston equipment is an excellent match. For the speaker cost differential savings, one option is to purchase or upgrade your CD player. If you are running a very good Cd player already, it's a much tougher decision. It will probably require a close listening comparison of extra bass and better panel vs. the elimination of graininess/ better sound of the CD player. However, if you are running a cheaper CD player, the extra money really should be spent on the CD player rather than the speakers. Always go for the weakest link.

Another option of course is to buy the Ascents, delay your gratification, invest your money, and then buy whatever replaces the Vantage. For all the buzz about the latest series of Logans now, in 2 or 3 years the new ones will be even better.
 
David, answering your question, I'm using the ESOTERIC DV50s as CD player. What do you think about it?
And about the buzz around Vantage, please can you tell me some more?
Thank you all of you for your precious help !
Massimo
 
David Matz said:
and then buy whatever replaces the Vantage. For all the buzz about the latest series of Logans now, in 2 or 3 years the new ones will be even better.
Hi David,

Please explain what you mean by this...
 
By the buzz I mean anecdotal evidence in talking to many dealers that the Vanatages are by far the best speaker for $5K US. From a more influential perspective, Ken Kessler from Hi-Fi News gave a raving review of the Vanatges claiming that the Vantages are almost as good as the Summits in smaller spaces. ( I know Joey disagrees with this and there were many discussions on this board about this, if you do a search.)

The review is posted on the board here in the reviews section or on the martin logan site below.

http://www.us.martinlogan.com/reviews/vantage_hifi_news.html

Max, from what I understand your CD player is pretty good, although I have never heard it. I would try to listen to both speakers head to head and then figure out if it's worth the extra expenditures.
 
Ok David, I would try to listen to both of them (unfortunately not on the same place).
By the way, just today, I have seen online that the dealer where I would buy the Vantage has a pair of SL3 for 2,3KEuro ! What is you point of view for SL3?
Massimo
 
Unfortunately, I have not heard the SL3's, but I know they were reviewed very favorabley when they came out.

http://www.us.martinlogan.com/reviews/sl3_stereophile.html

I know there are many members here who are passionate about their SL3's. I think if you post a new thread they may be able to respond when they see it titled as such, in case they don't check this Vantage/ Ascent thread.

I do want to add that I do love the Vantage. I got hooked on Logans by hearing Eric Clapton playing live on an SACD and the Vantages. However, when reason and senses came around, I chose to go with the Ascents and better electronics than the Vantages.

Best of Luck with your decision.
 
I understand where David is coming from... but Max already has good electronics and for the difference of 1.5K, he can get the Vantages, I say - do it right from the getgo and get the Vantage.

If he needs a new source, he will do that in the future.

There are 2 ways around this:
1. Build your entire system now with whatever funds you have, that's what David did.
2. Build parts of your system little by little... starting with as good a speaker that you can lay your audio foundation on, that's what I did.

For me, you (Max) already have good gear, so do it right and go Vantage.

There's no reason why you should wait for the "next" MLs because of several reasons:
1. The Ascents you are getting are not cheap from what you mentioned.
2. Even if you "invest the remainder of what you wouldve spent if you went Ascents instead of Vantage" you would still come up short for the pure reason that the Ascents will depreciate faster than whatever 10% avg Mutual Fund returns can get you within 3 years.

Get the Vantage, is my opinion.

Of course, listen to both. But there is no doubt in my mind that you will be getting a more balanced panel and a bass box that is better integrated with the panels IF you go with the Vantage.
 

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