System #294 (CLS)

Name: Alan B. Cook
Location: Chicago, IL
Speakers: CLS
Purchased: Around 2001

-Digital Front End-

-Transport: Primare D20 CD player with three Black Diamond Racing cones. Transparent Power Link Plus Power cord. Custom made 75ohm digital coaxial cable with particular attention to proper termination and shielding connects it to the DAC.

-Digital to Analog Converter: Theta DS Pro Basic III "Version A" with three Ayre wood blocks. Audioquest Panther RCA interconnects to preamp. Transparent Power Link Plus Power cord.

-Analog Sources-

-Turntable: Pro-Ject 1.2 Turntable fitted with Audioquest Sorbothane record mat mounted with a Grado Gold Cartridge. Sitting on a maple butcher block with five Racquetball halves between that and the top of the rack. A single Audioquest Sorbothane footer sits on the plinth when playing and on top of the dust cover when not playing. Dust cover is removed during playback.

-Phono Stage: Pro-ject Phono Box sitting on a single Audioquest Sorbothane puck. Wall wart power supply is fitted with Audioquest noise stopper. Audioquest Ruby interconnect to preamp.

-FM Tuner: Tandberg 3011A FM Tuner sitting on three Ayre wood blocks. Standard power cord because of non standard AC inlet. Audioquest Quartz to preamp

-Preamplifier: Adcom GFP-750 (with unused inputs shorted) sitting on three Ayre wood blocks. A single Audioquest Sorbothane footer is on the top cover to reduce resonance. Transparent Power Link Plus power cord. Audioquest Panther XLR to amp.

-Amplifier: Threshold Stasis S550e sitting on three Ayre wood blocks with a single Audioquest Sorbothane footer on the top cover to reduce resonance Transparent Power Link Plus Power cord. Audioquest Gibraltar speaker cables (pre DBS version)to speakers.

-Speakers: Martin Logan CLS with Martin Logan Energy Transfer Coupler spikes. Audioquest AC-15 power cords.

-Power Conditioner: Panamax Max-5510 with Transparent Power Link Plus power cord. Top panel has magazines stacked on top to reduce resonance.

-Eagle Hospital Grade outlet with ceramic outlet cover to power the system.

-Lovan Equipment Rack

-Various DIY acoustic treatment

Alan, Welcome to the fold !

Welcome , Secret CLS decoder ring will be coming soon . I loved them old Thresholds. Nelson Pass at his finest. You have a nice big room GET THEM ON STANDS and be ready to be amazed. Bass will tighten up and detail will be so much better. Pin point imaging !:music:

Alan,
:welcome:

We have a large Active Chicago Contingent on the forum,
As well as a large group of CLS Owners.

I noticed that I just missed a Chicago area meet up. I hope there is another soon. As far as the CLS every time that I mention that I own a pair to a former owner they always quickly say something along the line of, "I used to own a pair, never sell them!"

Years ago I went on a factory tour of Martin Logan (I worked at a dealer back then) and while having a conversation with one of the sales guys I mentioned that I owned a pair the Original CLS. Gayle Sanders was in the room and he stopped his conversation mid sentence and came over to us and said, "Those are my second favorite speakers we've ever made." This was right around the time that they were fazing out the CLSIIz which had been announced a week or two prior. Since he broached the subject I asked why they were being discontinued. He said that it was near impossible to get dealers to display them because their perceived lack of bass, the amps that they required, and the space needed to set them up. One could tell that he was genuinely saddened. His favorite speakers were of course the Statement e2

After hearing what stands can do from Magnepan 20.1 and 3.6 it wouldn't surprise me at all if they made a profound difference with CLS speakers. Is someone making a commercial stand for them? I bet http://www.soundanchors.com/ does or could make some custom stands. I'd like to hear more.

Looks nice - welcome.

What's the little silver box under your amp?

Sound Anchor does indeed make a custom stand for the CLS, several folks here have them. Others (see C.A.P's system and Jeff Zarrett's) have designed and built ther own. I've designed a set, but can't get around to fabricating them yet myself.

Tell us more about your musical tastes, and I'd like to see some shots of your supporting equipment and the home brewed acoustic treatments.

Welcome BTW from a fellow CLS owner. Great story about Gayle Sanders and his take on the CLS. I won't be parting with mine I assure you!

Tim-

It's part of a Stax headphone system. Stax was one of the first companies to recognize the headphone output of receivers/preamps as a massive weak link. Basically, it raises the impedance in order to drop the wattage of the amplifier in order to allow the amp to power Stax 'phones.

Welcome Alen,

You have a very nice setup. I love the look and sound of the CLS. I got a chance to listen to a pair a few months back. Till then the CLS was something I had seen only in pictures. To me the CLS are the embodiment of what stats should be.

Glad to see another Northern IL member. We all get together 2 or 3 times a year to talk about all things audio. We even get together at the Green Mill to listen to live Jazz.

Again Welcome.