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Sonnie

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2007
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Location
L.A. (Lower Alabama)
Welp... I finally did it!
dumbcrazy.gif


I have always wanted to try Martin Logan's in our home theater and have put it off for years, mainly because I never could afford them and/or never ran across any really good deals on used ML's.

I ran across a pair of Ascent i's for what believe is a good deal, so I pulled the trigger and they are on the way.

Of course now I have to find a suitable ML center and something for surrounds... as well as the Denon 2807 probably ain't gonna do the trick amplifier wise.
spend.gif


I'm probably going to be looking for a used Cinema i and I'm not sure about the surrounds yet. I've found some used Scripts, but need to consider all my options. If anyone sees something floating around somewhere, please let me know asap.

I've also found a couple of good used amps:

Parasound HCA-2205a - 220wpc/8ohm 300wpc/4ohm (Asking $1275)
Parasound HCA-1206 - 120wpc/8ohm 200wpc/4ohm (Asking $890)
Sunfire Cinema Grand 5 - 200wpc/8ohm (Asking $1000)
Rotel RMB1075 - 120wpc/8ohm 200wpc/4ohm (Asking $775)


Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Sonnie
 
You found a Cinema grand for $1000? That's a really good price and of the amps you mentioned I might jump on that one. A lot of people on this forum use Sunfire products (myself included).

If you can see if you can audition some ML speakers with amps from Rotel, Sunfire, etc. Granted it will sound different when you finally get things hooked up at your house. But if you are really turned off by the Rotel + ML speaker combo at the dealer (for example), chances are you won't like it when you take it home. But, stranger things have happened! Room acoustics are a big part of the equation, that's for sure.

Other amps I would suggest:

Bryston
Classe
Plinius (maybe a bit out of the price range for right now)
Pass (same as Plinius-they tend to be pricey, but the quality is quite good)

There are lots and lots of great SS amps out there!

Happy hunting!
 
Yeah... those Cinema Grands are generally pretty easy to find. I remember back when I sold mine, there were several for sale. I see them available quite often for anywhere from $900-1100.

I was just looking at the specs on my Denon...

110wpc/8ohms
140wpc/6ohms
170wpc/4ohms (Dynamic Power)

I have my doubts, but I will at least try it. It will only have to handle 80Hz and up.

Sonnie
 
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Well if it's any consolation I drove my Aerius i for years with a 75Wpc Yamaha integrated amp. Now, I didn't listen to really loud volume levels. The total wattage isn't the end-all-ball. Rather, you need stability when there are big swings down to low impedance levels. You coould probably drive something like the Vantage (powered woofers) with a 50Wpc tube amp.

Erik
 
Relax. Your Denon will be fine. When you plug your new speakers in and have your first listen, you'll be wondering why you were worried in the first place. Now after a little while you could add a 2 channel power amplifier for your mains - just plug it into the pre-outs of your Denon. The Denon's preamp is good enough to exploit the benfits of a higher quality ampifier. The Denon's only job will be to run your centre and rear channels. You will be surprised how dynamic the Denon will sound when you relieve it of the front channel duties.

There are other ways to do this of course - but it wll cost more money.
 
I don't know... I think that Denon will output about 75wpc with all channels driven.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. I got a really good deal on a Anthem AVM-50 and MCA-50 combo. I think I'm gonna be extremely happy.
 
Hi Sonnie,

First, welcome aboard!

Are you the Shackmiester at hometheatershack.com?
If so, I sure have benefited from all the great info over there. Thanks.

Sounds like you scored a nice haul on speakers and amps. Congrats.

Now comes all the setup and tweaking, that's a big part of the fun.

Cheers,
 
I don't know... I think that Denon will output about 75wpc with all channels driven.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. I got a really good deal on a Anthem AVM-50 and MCA-50 combo. I think I'm gonna be extremely happy.

Cool! Nothing wrong with Anthem (aka Sonic Frontiers). I only wish they'd move back into tubes again... :rocker:
 
Yep... Sonic Frontiers! Would have loved to had one of those Statement D2's, but I couldn't work a deal on it. I think the AVM-50 is close enough for a hillbilly.

Hi Jonathan... yes, I that same Sonnie from the Shack! Thanks and glad it's been some help for you. Our focus from the beginning has been to make it one of the more informative forums for home theater on the net. Of course we are more known for sub equalization and diy subwoofer projects along with the subwoofer testing guru sharing all his testing via the Shack. However, we've been spreading into other areas and will eventually be very broad in our informatino. We are seriously beginning to explode in growth. Over 12,000 members in 18 months. We are also considered an escape from all the non-sense that goes on in some of the other similar forums with all the flame wars and uncontrollable members. We have a very strict zero tolerance set of forum rules that we uphold really well.

You guys don't forget we are giving away an SVS PB13-Ultra over there. Pretty easy qualifications to get in on the drawing. Just do some posting over the next 3 months.


So far... I've been very impressed with this forum. It's not too often you find a forum for a speaker manufacturer that has soooooo many loyal followers. Actually I don't recall any at all, but there may be a few others somewhere.

It seems like once you become a ML owner, you don't go back to anything else. Amazing... and one reason I'm looking forward to giving the ML's a go.
 
...
So far... I've been very impressed with this forum. It's not too often you find a forum for a speaker manufacturer that has soooooo many loyal followers. Actually I don't recall any at all, but there may be a few others somewhere.

It seems like once you become a ML owner, you don't go back to anything else. Amazing... and one reason I'm looking forward to giving the ML's a go.

Hi Sonnie, yep, we try and stay civilized here, even cable discussions end amicably enough ;)

And yes, ML ownership is pretty much a one way street, you just graduate to the next model you can fit/afford. You rarely switch to anything else, at least not for serious music listening.

Dialing in an ML rig for absolute maximum results is a fun journey. I'm on year 14 of that trip and still loving it. I'm certain you will love your experience with them, and the members of this site are more than willing to help make it so.
 
Got the Ascent i's in last night... gorgeous speakers!

Unfortunately a minor scratch during shipping. The box side had a huge hole in it and you could clearly see about an inch or so scratch on the side of the speaker. It obviously won't effect performance, but would hurt resale value if I ever did decide to sell them.

I'm curious as to what others would do in this case. Would you file a claim and if so, how much would you ask for?


--------------------

Got them setup and I must say, even with the Denon, awesome is not a fair enough word. I believe I have finally found what I've been looking for. It did take a little setup time, but I dialed them in and they are just simply awesome.

As I was going back inside the house to get something, my wife went out into the HT room and checked them out while I had David Gilmour in Concert playing. When I got back in the HT room, her response was, "Those sound good, you are going to keep those aren't you?" (She knows how bad I am about horse trading all the time.)
 
Sonnie,
Congrats on your speakers. Use them in the best of health. :D

I would file a claim and see how much it may cost to fix.
I see a few choices.
1) Is the scratch on the cabinet, the front or the rails? Can it be fixed locally or is it something that can not be fixed without a lot of effort?
2) Is this bad enough to be a concern and does it show from the front?
3) Leave it be and enjoy the speakers.

Jeff:cool:
 
Thanks Jeff...

The scratch is on the side just above the woofer housing part, just at the side column starts to rise. It is not on the rail.

I'm not sure if it's repairable or not... and I'm not sure if there is anyone around here that could do such a repair. I've never heard of anyone.

It is not visible unless you get up close and look at the side.

It is not a concern to me at present, but if I ever decide to sell them, I will have to disclose it and I believe it will no doubt drop the value of the speakers.

I'm mainly wondering would it devalue them $100, $200, $500... I have no idea really. I only want to be reasonable about it.
 
Thanks Jeff...

The scratch is on the side just above the woofer housing part, just at the side column starts to rise. It is not on the rail.

I'm not sure if it's repairable or not... and I'm not sure if there is anyone around here that could do such a repair. I've never heard of anyone.

It is not visible unless you get up close and look at the side.

It is not a concern to me at present, but if I ever decide to sell them, I will have to disclose it and I believe it will no doubt drop the value of the speakers.

I'm mainly wondering would it devalue them $100, $200, $500... I have no idea really. I only want to be reasonable about it.

Hola Sonnie...why don't you take some pics and send them to the service dept. at Martin Logan. They can value the damage or if this damage could hurt the quality of the sound...also you could try to replace the whole cabinet, and I think it is not so expensive...only time to put everything back on the new cabinet...just thinking loud in the worse case. If it is only a scratch, leave as it is, and enjoy your new superb sound thorugh them...happy listening,
Roberto.
 
I just got a call from Yellow Freight and they asked me to send them some pics of the scratch and the box. I'll send some to Martin Logan as well and see what they say as far as value degration.
 
I ended up settling on $300 for the damage. I'm not too worried about it. I plan on keeping these speakers til they rot.

Got everything connected... Motif center installed, Anthem AVM-50 and MCA-50 installed. This is by far the best sounding system I've ever owned. Sweet, Sweet and more Sweet! If it was any better, I'm not sure I could stand it.
 
Sonnie,

I've followed your journey and it's great to read that you're thoroughly enjoying your system! Sorry about the shipping mishap, we've all had our share of that... but glad that all's well that ends well.

Keep us posted with your system as it evolves or gets tweaked. As Jon said, it's a fun adventure finding better and better ways to make the Logans sound better as time goes by.

Joey
 
Welcome to blissfull audio enlightenment, Sonnie. Whereabouts in L.A. are you? Sounds like you have a great system started. I have a pair of Ascents in my second system and love them. If you do some searches on this forum, you will come upon some threads where we discuss biamping them. They seem to benefit greatly from this. As for surrounds, I would look for a used set of scripts or clarities. Even a pair of frescoes would work fine.
 
Hi Rich... sorry for the delay in responding. I missed the notification.

I'm from Luverne, about 50 miles south of Montgomery... just off Hwy. 331. Work in Troy, which you will probably recognize easier.

I ended up having to let the Anthem gear go. There are too many other goodies I needed and the Anthem was overkill with features I would never use. That AVM-50 has a $1500 Gennum processor in it that I have absolutely no reason to use. Anyway... I sold the Anthem gear and have a NAD T785 on order. Got a really good deal on it. I will probably bi-amp the Ascent i's since I'll have a couple of extra channels not being used.

Thus far I've left the Boston surrounds in the room and they have served the purpose very well. If I can ever land a really good deal on some Fresco's, I probably will snag them up, but I don't have the room for the Script's... at least I don't think I do. They would be directly in the ear of rear seaters.
 
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