Clarity (new) vs. Aerius (used)

I was hoping someone could help me to compare and contrast the sound quality between the Clarity (new) versus the Aerius (1996) models. Keep in mind I am getting a very good 'used' price on the 1996 Aerius'.
I've heard the Clarity's many times, but how do they compare to a set of 1996 Aerius'?

*I would be powering either speakers with a Yamaha M-60.:musicnote:


Thnx in advance!

sfreehand said:

I was hoping someone could help me to compare and contrast the sound quality between the Clarity (new) versus the Aerius (1996) models. Keep in mind I am getting a very good 'used' price on the 1996 Aerius'.
I've heard the Clarity's many times, but how do they compare to a set of 1996 Aerius'?

*I would be powering either speakers with a Yamaha M-60.:musicnote:


Thnx in advance!

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Hola...the design for the Clarity was more toward HT application. This does not mean that you can´t use them as a stereo only. On the other hand, the Aerius were made for stereo. The Clarity has the ability to be use with most HT amplifiers on the market, in other words, it is more friendly to use, the new microperf stators and a tweeter firing to the front wall, this new stators have about 50% of more diaphragm air exposure than the Aerius bigger stat panel. Many people here at the forum will say that they like better the Aerius, but I will recommend to you to listen both and choose the one that you like most. Trust your ears, and happy listening.
Roberto.

roberto said:

Hola...the design for the Clarity was more toward HT application. This does not mean that you can´t use them as a stereo only. On the other hand, the Aerius were made for stereo. The Clarity has the ability to be use with most HT amplifiers on the market, in other words, it is more friendly to use, the new microperf stators and a tweeter firing to the front wall, this new stators have about 50% of more diaphragm air exposure than the Aerius bigger stat panel. Many people here at the forum will say that they like better the Aerius, but I will recommend to you to listen both and choose the one that you like most. Trust your ears, and happy listening.
Roberto.

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Now, if he were getting the Aerius i, that would mean a newer panel, no?

I have SL3s and fell in love with MLs because of the Claritys. SL3s and Aerius are the same vintage so I'll give my $.02 FWIW:

The height of the Clarity makes it impossible to enjoy standing up. The sound field just falls off the map. If you're using it for 2-ch and only for seated listening then that would be fine. The SL3, on the other hand, is the same whether I'm seated or standing (I'm 5'9"). It fills the room and in my condo, I can be in my other room and the music still sounds fantastic.

Aesthetically, the Clarity wins in a landslide. The SL3 frame is extremely dated at this point. However, you can get new rails made by a competent woodworker so that does help I guess.

Price definitely goes to the SL3/Aerius. I would imagine you could get some original Aerius ESLs for less than $1200. That's the price of a single Clarity.

If I were to upgrade now, and this is not to say that I'm unhappy with my SL3s (because I'm not), I would hold off and get either the newer Aerius i or even better the Oddyssey.

If you have the electronics to power your Aerius ESLs then it might be worth waiting until you can come up with another $1k and get the newer model with the better panel.

Again, it's my $.02 and your mileage may vary

Aerius and SL3 are way different, so I don't think that's a good comparison, Charliemike. Also, saying he should go for Aerius or better yet, an Odyssey? Wow.. that's a HUGE jump. Trying to compare apples to oranges, IMHO.

The Aerius was one of the smaller Logans - perfect for a smaller apartment or condo. The SL3s lineage came from the Sequel models and then transformed into the Ascent. The Odyssey was from the Quest lineage and is a MUCH larger speaker. Difference between Aerius and SL3 is HUGE, as is the difference between the Ascent and Odyssey. The Aerius transformed into the Aeon.

Personally, I like the looks of the Clarity, but prefer the sound of the Aerius, however with that being said, I would look for a pair of Ascents or Aeons on the used market - newer technology, easier to drive and not specifically developed for HT application... There are several pairs of Ascents on Audiogon.com for about $2500 - great speaker at a great price, IMHO.

As always, what Robert said is the bottom line: Let your ears decide!

Good Luck!

TomDac said:

Aerius and SL3 are way different, so I don't think that's a good comparison, Charliemike. Also, saying he should go for Aerius or better yet, an Odyssey? Wow.. that's a HUGE jump. Trying to compare apples to oranges, IMHO.

The Aerius was one of the smaller Logans - perfect for a smaller apartment or condo. The SL3s lineage came from the Sequel models and then transformed into the Ascent. The Odyssey was from the Quest lineage and is a MUCH larger speaker. Difference between Aerius and SL3 is HUGE, as is the difference between the Ascent and Odyssey. The Aerius transformed into the Aeon.

Personally, I like the looks of the Clarity, but prefer the sound of the Aerius, however with that being said, I would look for a pair of Ascents or Aeons on the used market - newer technology, easier to drive and not specifically developed for HT application... There are several pairs of Ascents on Audiogon.com for about $2500 - great speaker at a great price, IMHO.

As always, what Robert said is the bottom line: Let your ears decide!

Good Luck!

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I keep getting all those daggone "A" ESLs confused ROFL

I would rather have the Ascent i over the Aerius even if I had to wait another year to pay for it. I got my SL3s for $1500 and at about $3k the Oddys are 2x as much. However, that's just $150/mo to be set aside to upgrade.

I bet that I spend that much on eating out.

The Clarity was designed as a budget model, the Aerius is what we now know as the Vista, so a higher model.

The one thing I've found with 'logans is higer model = better sound more so than newer model = better sound.

This case, I'd go for the Aerius, however you may need to factor the cost of new panels in to the overall.

Thanks to all For the help... Im very new to the Martin Logans. Claritys are all I have heard and they really blew me away. For the last 15 years I have been satisified wuth my Tannoy FSM's They are extremly accurate, I got them from a friend ( Denny purcell ) who was up grading his main speakers for his Mastering Studio ( GeorgeTown Masters ) They have alot of history to them, Many Many very big names were mastered on this...mostly country, but alittle bit of everything, The Elvis aniversary boxed set, and all most everything done by Garth Brooks to name a few....So I have been spoiled !

BUT ML's...I really was taken back by the whole experance !! What a wonderful sound, they have this kind of mid growl !! I dont know how else to descibe it..Just FANTASTIC !!! and there just so refreasing to look at...

Yes the age worrys me alittle, Does anyone know the cost to replace the Stat's ?? Also what year did they start making the " i " model ??

Is there any other way do tell a i from " Non i ", other than serial # ??

And does anyone know what is replacing the Clarity ? I was offerered the demo units from a local store, and i thought I read somewhere on this forum that the Claritys were being discontinued...?

So I gather that everyone Is voting in favor on the Aerius

Tom...

Personally, I like the looks of the Clarity, but prefer the sound of the Aerius

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,

Can you tell me in what ways you perfer the sound of the Aerius ?

and...

however with that being said, I would look for a pair of Ascents or Aeons on the used market - newer technology, easier to drive and not specifically developed for HT application

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Maybe pro / con sound differance off all 3 ( Aerius, Ascent, and Aeons )

And If you could only have 1 of the 3 ...what would you chose ??

Thanks again to all helping the newbe out...Heres a picture of my Tannoys before I got the out of storage. Note the Tweeter Location...

1. Look at the timeline section to figure out when the "i" were introduced.
2. If I were to choose between Ascent, Aeon, Aerius, Clarity.... I think the Ascent is the best.

O, btw.... :welcome: to the fold!

Joey_V said:

1. Look at the timeline section to figure out when the "i" were introduced.
2. If I were to choose between Ascent, Aeon, Aerius, Clarity.... I think the Ascent is the best.

O, btw.... :welcome: to the fold!

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Just to further defend my insanity and hijack your post ... The Ascent i is about $2500 or so on teh 'Gon. The Oddys are $3300 ...

I'd probably find a way to squirrel $70/mo away for a year to get teh Oddys if I couldn't afford the difference now.

Though, to be honest, if I'm that strapped I really shouldn't be buying $2500 speakers either

More panel always means better sound.. The Clarity's panel is smaller and relies on the NAC driver for hi frequencies... I guess that's why I liked the sound of the Aerius better.

TomDac said:

More panel always means better sound.. The Clarity's panel is smaller and relies on the NAC driver for hi frequencies... I guess that's why I liked the sound of the Aerius better.

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But the Clarity is just so ... pretty!

yeah.. it's very good looking.

I have the clarities, and I love them. But still, I wish every single day that I had picked up the vistas instead of the clarities. They really weren't that much more expensive in the big picture, but they sound much better!

(I guess what I'm saying is, I'd get the aerius)

I see that you list Ohio as your home. If you are in the Cleveland, or Northeast Ohio area, I have a pair of Aerius i's that I just replaced with Vista's and will be selling them. If you are near by you could bring your amp, hook it up and see what they sound like. That would be the best way to tell which model you prefer.

PM me if you are interested.

Chuck

There's nothing wrong with the Clarities. In the right system they can be stunning. In fact they're so good I'd love to have them for a second system. The Clarities were the first Martin Logan I had really ever listened to for any length of time... I like 'em.

Another idea

I have the Clarities. I bought them when they first came out. I like them quite a bit and I only use them for 2-channel listening. However, I am in the midst of modding them a bit. The PS and XO caps, resistors and inductors are not as high quality as I had expected, so I am replacing them with high end parts. Jim Powers suggested to me the key XO caps, so those are now high voltage PIOs (that required a bit of tricky installation). PS electrolytics are now Sprague and Rubycon. New inductors and resistors will be Duelunds. I did other tweaks like disconnnected the blue LED and removed the wiring, disconnected the NAC (I never used it) and added LOTS of weighting/damping to the surprisingly cheap plastic base. I am very hopeful that this will perhaps smooth out some of the HF forwardness and tighten up the bass. This is a long way of saying that if you like the Clarities and are a DIY'er, you could have your cake and eat it too. Plus, it was announced earlier today that Tweeter will be shutting down a large number of stores, so I think we will be seeing the price on the Clarities drop a good bit.

texaslonghorn538 said:

Plus, it was announced earlier today that Tweeter will be shutting down a large number of stores, so I think we will be seeing the price on the Clarities drop a good bit.

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Wow..... that's good news for potential ML buyers!

Bad news for Tweeter though.... .

my $0.02, as Clarity owner, I'll admit to being biased...but my decision came down to sound (which got me to ML), price, and aesthetics. Aesthetically, the older models simply would not work in my listening environment. If the Vista or Vantage had been available when I was looking, I might have tried to stretch the budget a bit to jump up, but I am very happy with my Clarities. As several have alluded, a little patience will likely reveal some pretty killer deals on new or used Clarities.

As for the NAC, I too find it to be a useless little thing that I never turn on. I find it distracts from the sound of the panel.

All that said, you cannot go wrong, regardless of which you choose. If you go with the older models, ML will make sure you have a good experience. They are a great company!

The NAC only works in certain rooms. But if you need the NAC you can switch it in or out and can make a discernable difference...

Chuck...I sent you a PM...Let me know if you dont get it...and Thanks !!!