Matching my Statements with surrounds - Ideas?

A couple weeks ago I came here for advice on the best amplification for my ML Statement E2's that I recently purchased. I now have 4 Spectron Musician III MK2 Monoblocks on order thanks to advice on the internet and my ears will be the judge over their 30 day return policy.

Now I need to buy surround speakers for the room and I'm not sure which ML models will be best suited to the task. The room will be reasonably large, about 20' x 30-35' when complete and it is new construction that I will custom design for acoustics with Dennis Erskine.

I am not looking at spending a great deal of money on the surrounds (though I acknowledge that this is obviously a relative term) since I have spent so much already and feel that the surround speakers are somewhat less important. I DO need a good center channel and have heard of some people here doubling up on the Stylos model.
I may go with used ReQuests or Monolith III's for the rears or ???

Can I get some ideas and advice here please? I want to find a seamless match for my E2's and use legacy products to do it (after all, the E2 itself is a legacy product now, right?)

~Russ

Your in esoteric territory here - not many will have heard the E2, let alone be able to make good match decisions based on actual experience...

Monolith IIIs with new panels if required could be great, I'd guess, and JonFo will probably like to tell you how they could be made even better, if you ask nicely and are prepared to go to the effort. He may even sort your room out for you too!

I've never heard the Statements, and I'm not as high quality of an audiophile as many on these forums, but I'd go with one of the speakers based on the Statement engineering design, with the old Statement-era physical design (Prodigy, Odyssey, Ascent, or aeon) if I wanted to stay retro.

Why not just have the Statements just for stereo and have HT in another room?

this one is easy

you need another pair of statements for the rears.anybody who can afford one pair I am sure has enough cash for another!just dig deep buddy we know you got it.

Another room, eh? What about the bathroom? A pair of Statements playing Ride of the Valkyries while I take a dump would be sensational.

Use a second pair for the rear channels? Hmmmm. Another great idea. The first pair nearly killed me of course. These things are like 1600 lbs. - but another pair ought to shift the human being to speaker ratio a little closer to the 30:1 mark I've been aiming for.

C'mon guys. How about something a bit more realistic and a little less "creative". You all have more experience with ML speakers than I do. I just bought these E2's and haven't even set them up yet. I'm just now assembling the rest of the system.

What are most of you using for rears and centers? I might need a little more panel real estate than some of you to match the E2's but the same principles of sonic bang for the buck apply.

sashua said:

but another pair ought to shift the human being to speaker ratio a little closer to the 30:1 mark I've been aiming for.

Click to expand...

Heh, nice. I agree we haven't been all that helpful, chalk that up to a mix of inexperience with the Statements and jealousy. I'm not a huge fan of HT and surround sound in general so I'm not going to be much help other than I think you'd be best off keeping the generations of the panels consistent. I certainly wouldn't think that anything even as big as the Aerius would be needed. Then again I personally prefer a 3.1 setup for the TV, ignoring the surround signal all together.

Hi
While I do realise I don't really have any clue for equippement of this caliber, it's still a wonderful "problem" you are having...
Monoliths or ReQuests should be more than enough and perfectly inline with your mains. It's just that for rear channels it seems a bit overkill. Ascent is maybe greatest value speaker in ML line ever, you could be fine with that. From current production I'd take Vantage or ever Spire as those have really nice performance with relatively good value.
To build a really reference system I'd recomment using same speaker for center channel as for rears. It can be really hard to match any speaker for center with Statements so instead of having a bad mach how about no installing center channel speaker at all and running multichannel in phantom mode? At least you could try that first and if it doesn'twork for you getting a matching speaker later on.
When shopping for second hand spkrs be prepared to replace panels. You guys are so lucky to have this option available at reasonable cost so take advantage of that.

sashua said:

Another room, eh? What about the bathroom? A pair of Statements playing Ride of the Valkyries while I take a dump would be sensational.

Use a second pair for the rear channels? Hmmmm. Another great idea. The first pair nearly killed me of course. These things are like 1600 lbs. - but another pair ought to shift the human being to speaker ratio a little closer to the 30:1 mark I've been aiming for.

C'mon guys. How about something a bit more realistic and a little less "creative". You all have more experience with ML speakers than I do. I just bought these E2's and haven't even set them up yet. I'm just now assembling the rest of the system.

What are most of you using for rears and centers? I might need a little more panel real estate than some of you to match the E2's but the same principles of sonic bang for the buck apply.

Click to expand...

At the risk of sounding rude ! I will say what I feel ( it has not stopped me before). If you can afford to buy Statements and not know what amps may sound good or bad, I'm flabbergasted. First, anyone who buys Statements should know what may or may sound good. These are the top of the food chain in Electrostatic design. Any one who can afford them either is a Audio purest or a overpaid unacknowledged show off. Its not a matter of coming on here and placating us with your purchase and being so somber and asking us what we think may sound well with a $100k retail speaker. As if you really don't know! or is it YOU want us to know you have Statements. There are a few on here who have Statements. Mostly quiet members who let us see their systems, drool a bit and comment on them. All have been very knowledgeable. I think they knew exactly what they planned on running them with . If you don't know what may sound good with them you either have no Audio brains or your the typical Audio idiot who buys for the cost not the value.

Running statements for HT is a insult to their design. This alone is a joke. Then to ask what to run for rears. Quit the Sarcasm and sell them to a real audiophile who may appreciate them, or Quit the bragging and go listen and enjoy !

I hope you know what you have

I could not have sad it better C.A.P! do you know what you have?
I only could dream of owning such a pair let alone a room large enough
and acoustically correct to house such great speakers. maybe we could help you better if we could see some pics of your project so we could and lead you in the right direction!some of us are going to need proof as well as a better idea of what's going on before we comment.I personally am not sure I even believe you have these beauties.

Hmmm..... Well despite C.A.P.'s and Fish Man's somewhat callous replies, I think you should get a set of ReQuests. The panel size is similar to your stat panels (though not as tall of course), and they are of similar generation. You can find a used pair for a decent price and I believe they would blend very well.

Rant mode on...

I don't get the demeaning tone I've been noticing around here lately. A lot of churlish attitudes and superior posturing to what end? This guys got a set of Statements for pete's sake and want's to join the community, ask a few questions etc. and he is recieved with scorn and ridicule. I just don't get that.

Who cares if he's going to use them as part of a home theater setup? Who cares if he's asking about which amps others might recommend? Who gives a good $hit if he can afford something others can't? It's his friggin' money and his friggin' system. How dare any of us cop an attitude over the good fortunes of others. Will we also start ridiculing those who have meager setup's compared to some of us? Where will we set the upper and lower limits of what we'll deem acceptable here in our little group? After that maybe we should start limiting certain religions, races and sexual orientations huh?

Used to be that all were welcome around here. I'm disappointed in you guys about that.

Great post MiTT; I agree!

point taked MITT

the filter between my brain and my fingers has been corrupted these days.

I was going to write pretty much exactly what Mitt wrote, but didn't get round to it soon enough.

One thing I have never understood - how can you be jealous of someone YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW???

Get a grip, people! No matter how successful you are, someone will ALWAYS have MORE than you do. Good luck to them! Don't hate them for it - it'll just make YOU unhappy....

So if anyone can make any good suggestions, please do so...

like a conversation

Everytime I post a question or reply I feel guilty because I don't own a set of MLs yet. I've sold them to retail customers before, learned alot over the last 6 months, but I still don't own any yet. I've felt welcomed by everyone even though I would go back and reword many of the "questions" I originally posted because somehow I feel like they come out wrong. Some of you have second systems in your house that will be nicer than my reasonably aquireable system. But nonetheless, I've never felt like I couldn't slowly do my research and take my time to make the wisest buying decision for me.

If I read this right, there's a guy with one of the best pairs of speakers any of us would want, and he just happens to be learning as he goes. Like I said before, I've learned alot, and if I hadn't had to wait to build funds first, I would have been learning on the fly too. You know what though, we all have bad days too. If that's the case, put in you favorite documented musical piece in your source replayer, shape it, amp it, and listen to it. :rocker: That always helps me.
After all, that's what a stat was made for.
ben

oh believe me I am not a player hater by any stretch.anybody who enters any hobby or interest with no knowledge at the top of the food chain right away is going to get catch flack from people who have been doing it a long time.

I see your point. . .

CAP makes one too, so does MiTT. I guess I was just looking to mention how I feel like I'm the opposite of the spectrum. I've been getting help from everybody and I don't have anything in my system yet that says MartinLogan.

But I have been graciously accepted.

"Another room, eh? What about the bathroom? A pair of Statements playing Ride of the Valkyries while I take a dump would be sensational."

I much prefer stereo to HT, for purely sonic reasons.

C.A.P said:

At the risk of sounding rude ! I will say what I feel ( it has not stopped me before). If you can afford to buy Statements and not know what amps may sound good or bad, I'm flabbergasted. First, anyone who buys Statements should know what may or may sound good. These are the top of the food chain in Electrostatic design. Any one who can afford them either is a Audio purest or a overpaid unacknowledged show off. Its not a matter of coming on here and placating us with your purchase and being so somber and asking us what we think may sound well with a $100k retail speaker. As if you really don't know! or is it YOU want us to know you have Statements. There are a few on here who have Statements. Mostly quiet members who let us see their systems, drool a bit and comment on them. All have been very knowledgeable. I think they knew exactly what they planned on running them with . If you don't know what may sound good with them you either have no Audio brains or your the typical Audio idiot who buys for the cost not the value.

Running statements for HT is a insult to their design. This alone is a joke. Then to ask what to run for rears. Quit the Sarcasm and sell them to a real audiophile who may appreciate them, or Quit the bragging and go listen and enjoy !

Click to expand...

Dude, could you be any more vituperative?

Another perspective: the OP is attune to music, not equipment. There are many of us out there who love music rather than equipment. For us, equipment is the means rather than the end. By contrast, I have the distinct impression that for many audiophiles, its about the equipment. This is often expressed in terms of a "journey", i.e., the 'joy' of auditioning alternative components, cables, treatments, etc., all in the quest for the perfect constellation of things (i.e., equipment). I can understand that approach/view; I just don't subscribe to it.

I'm not an audiophile in the manner I suspect you are. I know what are the essential basics. For example, I know that I prefer the sound of ribbon and electrostatic speakers to traditional cone speakers. I also know that I prefer pristine 2-channel reproduction to multi-channel, although the system I am presently building will have both - both because I also want to watch movies, and, I want to have the ability to enjoy what I suspect will become an increasing prevalent format.

ML is building one off CLXs for me as I write this. And, I, too, am in a quandary as to what speakers to use for my side and rear channels. My front end: all Burmester. Why Burmester...if you heard it, saw it, touched it...you'd understand. Did I leave every stone unturned before I bought the CLXs and Burmester front end? No. There might be components out there which are marginally better than what I bought, but I don't care. This stuff is amazing and is otherworldly with the CLXs. I'll figure the rest out while the CLXs and Burmester gear is being manufactured. I'm telling you this because I suspect that the OP is in the same boat...he knows he prefers electrostats, likes ML, and had the opportunity to purchase a legendary speaker. And, that's all he needed to know. The gear and associated speakers can be figured out. In short order, he'll be enjoying the music while you go to audiophile meetings, pour over audio magazines, hang out at audio stores, and generally sniff the a$$es of other equipment-focused trolls.

Oh, and if this post gets me banned...so be it. I have no respect for close-minded, arrogant, petty, jealous trolls.

MiTT said:

Hmmm..... Well despite C.A.P.'s and Fish Man's somewhat callous replies, I think you should get a set of ReQuests. The panel size is similar to your stat panels (though not as tall of course), and they are of similar generation. You can find a used pair for a decent price and I believe they would blend very well.

Rant mode on...

I don't get the demeaning tone I've been noticing around here lately. A lot of churlish attitudes and superior posturing to what end? This guys got a set of Statements for pete's sake and want's to join the community, ask a few questions etc. and he is recieved with scorn and ridicule. I just don't get that.

No , Tim ! I see it a bit different. Not CHURLISH, but veracious!. How many individuals buy the top of the line ESOTERIC gear with a vague knowledge of it. That alone shows one of the two things I mentioned earlier. I know ANYTHING I have bought that was a big purchase was researched and very well thought out.

Who cares if he's going to use them as part of a home theater setup? Who cares if he's asking about which amps others might recommend? Who gives a good $hit if he can afford something others can't? It's his friggin' money and his friggin' system. How dare any of us cop an attitude over the good fortunes of others. Will we also start ridiculing those who have meager setup's compared to some of us? Where will we set the upper and lower limits of what we'll deem acceptable here in our little group? After that maybe we should start limiting certain religions, races and sexual orientations huh?

You have a lot of temerity to ASS-ume we are judging anyone. To voice and opinion based on some facts shown is the way a forum site works. Negative or positive , not every one sees it the same way. p!ss poor planning leads to p!ss poor performance. I am sorry , you feel I am Callus. I may be to a degree. To be Heedless or to remiss your decision on such a product makes your self look a bit foolish. RACE,RELIGION, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION has nothing to do with this. Yes its his money and I could care a less is he burns them.





Used to be that all were welcome around here. I'm disappointed in you guys about that.

Click to expand...

Yes, indeed that is the way I see it too. I have, and will continue to help any individual who needs or asks for help. I never have based anyones system or money spent on it how worthy they are as a individual. Many have came to my home and listened and enjoyed the merits of fine audio. I too have been to many individuals homes and shared my equipment for them to see if it will better their systems. . This is how we learn and help each other out. However; I will continue to voice my views on what I think. That my friend is my constitutional right !

Mr. Tifosi with 7 posts ! WHO is accusing WHOM of Trolling!


Its C.A.P, not DUDE !


If Mr. Sashua would like to rebuttal fine, I will listen. If not I will stand by my comments and not defend them again.