Has anyone evaluated the Summit X? Why isn't anyone raving?

This is usually a pretty rabid crowd. I remember when the Summit came out, this place went wild. The Summit X is out, and there is not a whimper of excitement.

My take on the Summit X is that it was created to not sell itself, but to steer the consumers up to the CLX or down to the more affordable Spire. Still I am surprised that Summit X owners have not posted on this site how thrilled they are with it as the Spire owners have. I think there are several available on the used market.

Anyone hear this speaker? Compare it to another Logan?

Anyone out there like the speaker?

I certainly love the pair I've got in for review....

Have compared them to Spire, CLX and borrowed a pair of old Summits to go side by side.

But you're just going to have to wait till the June issue!

I'll tell you this much, I really like them a lot...

tonepub said:

Have compared them to Spire, CLX and borrowed a pair of old Summits to go side by side.

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That's great, Jeff. I know these are the types of comparisons that serious Martin Logan aficionados are interested in.

David Matz said:

This is usually a pretty rabid crowd. I remember when the Summit came out, this place went wild. The Summit X is out, and there is not a whimper of excitement.

My take on the Summit X is that it was created to not sell itself, but to steer the consumers up to the CLX or down to the more affordable Spire. Still I am surprised that Summit X owners have not posted on this site how thrilled they are with it as the Spire owners have. I think there are several available on the used market.

Anyone hear this speaker? Compare it to another Logan?

Anyone out there like the speaker?

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not many are sold yet. the economy sucks the speakers are new and expensive I am sure they Kick A though!

David Matz said:

This is usually a pretty rabid crowd. I remember when the Summit came out, this place went wild. The Summit X is out, and there is not a whimper of excitement.

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The Summit was somewhat revolutionary for ML, whereas the X is evolutionary. The biggest growth in the Summit to the Summit X is the price. That's probably a contributing factor to the silence.

As much as I liked the CLX when I heard it in Montreal, I am struggling with the price that requires the need for 2 really fast subs as well - and for that money the competition starts to heat up. Soundlabs for example, not that much physically larger and one integrated sound top to bottom. The Summit X might just be the job - can't wait for your review Jeff - but for the ML aficionados here can't you give us a little more insight in your views without "selective disclosure" - we don't want you to go to audiojail, after all!

Steve

Steve, I'm having the same issues myself but for slightly different reasons....

I'll let the cat this far out of the bag, I really feel that ML has done a much better job at woofer integration on the Summit X than ever before. I can honestly listen to most music without subs...

That being said, I've got a pair of JL F110's that Im hooking up this weekend!

Decisions, decisions...

If you don't mind giving too much away, would you say the Summit X has better bass integration than the Spires, or just more powerful?

Feltran said:

If you don't mind giving too much away, would you say the Summit X has better bass integration than the Spires, or just more powerful?

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It's a reviewers MISSION to keep us in the dark and build suspense!

DrJRapp said:

It's a reviewers MISSION to keep us in the dark and build suspense!

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Yeah but June is so far away! Martin Logan can't possibly want Jeff to wait so long before driving sales!

Feltran said:

Yeah but June is so far away! Martin Logan can't possibly want Jeff to wait so long before driving sales!

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June and July are slow for HIFI probably the fewest readers at that time.

Here's my take:

Anyone who can afford Summits already has them and because they're a great speaker, probably loves them a lot.

Anyone who can afford more than Summits will have CLX or something from another manufacturer since the Summit was the top model not so long ago.

Anyone who has Summits and wants to upgrade probably can't stomach the fact they'd be selling their USD$10,000 speakers for USD$5,000, then spending USD$15,000 for an evolutionary step up.

They're basically up for the cost of the original Summits again!!

Now - while I support paying for R&D, and allowing the manufacturer to make a profit, I see that this increase simply cannot be justified. There is no way that the Summit X is 50% more speaker than the original Summit, yet there is a 50% price hike!

So where's the market for the Summit X? Probably cashed up, new to ML types that can't see that this is perhaps not the best value for money speaker in the ML lineup.

NOTE: I say this withouth having heard the Summit X

amey01 said:

So where's the market for the Summit X? [/I]

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My opinion is that the Summit X was created (and given and X moniker instead of an i like most ML upgrades) so a dealer can sell a speaker to someone who really wants a CLX but does not have the $$ or the room or spousal approval (because no matter what ones says about their sound...they are not particularly good looking). IMHO this is a big mistake because the Summit was a real hit on its own.

amey01 said:

Now - while I support paying for R&D, and allowing the manufacturer to make a profit, I see that this increase simply cannot be justified. There is no way that the Summit X is 50% more speaker than the original Summit, yet there is a 50% price hike!

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Having said that, there is a pair on the Gon now, virtually new and boxed, for $8500...

Any takers?

My source for Martin Logans has dried up with the demise of the Sound Advice (Tweeter) chain in Florida. That is where I made all my previous ML purchases. They weren't the best place to audition high-end stereo but their speaker upgrade program (100% credit within one year of purchase) and post-sale customer service was unbeatable.

Now, there are no ML dealers within at least 200 miles of the Tampa Bay area that I know of so it would take some additional effort and time to upgrade to the Summit X or CLX if I wanted to. In addition, it's not easy to sale and ship my current Summits and the current used value on Summits is a buyer's market. Although, the increased prices on new MLs may eventually cause an increase in the resale value of older MLs.

I have no confidence that I could find a dealer willing to give me enough credit on my Summits tempting enough for me to upgrade them. It would certainly be nice to own a new pair of Summit X in Bubinga and black but you're right, it would take a lot of $ just to upgrade my previous investment in Summits especially since I know there is no chance of a discount off of MSRP or a worthy trade-in program. Those days seem to be gone. Therefore, I plan to have my Summits for quite some time and I'm good with that.

amey01 said:

There is no way that the Summit X is 50% more speaker than the original Summit, yet there is a 50% price hike!

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An increase in performance is typically not proportional to the additional cost of audio equipment. I think a 10% improvement is a large gain when your system already sounds good.

Craig said:

I'm satisfied with my Summits as they are and I'm fine with that.

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You should be. I think you will eventually get even Jeff G to admit that unless they are side by side it is really difficult to define the difference unless you have reviewers ears and a reviewers memory.

You should be MORE than satisfied with yourt current Summits....if there is any question in your mind that you have a fabulous pair of speakers go out and purchase and AR 3, a couple of top notch monoblock amps and a source the likes of a Meridian 808 if you don't own them or the equivalent already. I'd be surprised that once you got your jaw off the floor your attitude wasn't way different!

If you can't afford that kind of gear, then the whole point is moot anyway...and you can come here to the east coast and listen any time your want. (my dealer was SA also).

I've only had the speakers for about two weeks and only playing seriously for about a week, so it's not really a matter of keeping you in suspense, it's a matter of listening for a while so I can write something that makes sense.

Which means a bit more time comparing things and we are at deadline on the April issue, so don't have long evenings with nothing to do but swap speakers for a few weeks...

User211 said:

Having said that, there is a pair on the Gon now, virtually new and boxed, for $8500...

Any takers?

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Xs or originals?

amey01 said:

Xs or originals?

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They're X's and located in California

Dave, if your interested there's another pair of X's listed for $8,800 OBO in Desplaines.