Pairing up the Statement E2 with Surrounds

I am currently in construction on a new home theater after a year of fits and starts and, though I had originally decided to use freestanding Prodigy Logans for my surrounds, I can't seem to justify the imposition to the room's aesthetic.

Now I will be using ML Statement E2 freestanders for the front only and either in-wall or on-wall for the center and sides/rears. I'm not crazy about the sonic compromise but the wife had her say....

ML used to make the Script and now they make the Voyage. They are different designs. Is anyone here familiar enough to let me know the sonic differences? I want the surrounds to be big and engaging and have a matching sonic signature to the Statements. I am not sold on using ML's necessarily but I think electrostats might be best employed for timbral accuracy.

In my old home theater I used BG Radia Ribbons in the wall. They were 72" long and had a BIG sonic footprint. I would consider using them again but I am afraid of mixing technologies.

I am also concerned that the back of the room (it is 30' long) will be lacking in the bass that the Statements amply provide up front. I was wondering if a single rear sub (for movies only) would integrate well.

Any advice on these matters would be most graciously appreciated,

Thanks,
Russ

Are you aware of the MartinLogan Stage? It's ML's top wall-mounted centre and surround speaker, and might be just what you're looking for.

My 2 cents

Russ,

In that size room and for what you want to do I think you should reconsider the floorstanders. If you can get the Wife to sign off on it! How about Odyssey's? You may not be happy with anything smaller. I was using Odyssey's in the front and Sequel II's for my rear surrounds and the results were amazing.Try to stick with all Electrostats for continuity. You will hear a difference in timbre by using a non electrostatic rear channel speaker. I never realized how aggresive the surrounds and the material sometimes mixed on some tracks could be.I believe the Mr Brooks movie with the gunshot scene was the revelation. My recomendation for subs would be the JL audio Fathom 113.

Hi Russ:

If you have to go in wall with the rest, here's something you might want to at least audition.

http://www.wisdomaudio.com/

I heard these at CES and was very impressed. Sure, they aren't going to beat your Statements, but I think they would integrate well. And, they would keep the mrs happy!

Good luck

Thanks all!
I will check out the Stage. As for the Wisdom Audio speakers, they are wonderful speakers but they are not electrostatic. They are Planar Magnetic in design and somewhat different tonally. I know this first hand because my speakers before trading up to the Statements were M-75 Adrenaline Rush, Which are 4-turn PM speakers. They were excellent speakers but the Statements are just in another league entirely.

Remember I said that I had BG Radia ribbons in the wall for my last Theater? Well, these ribbons were actually made by Tom, the owner of Wisdom Audio. Those ribbons were a great match for the M-75's but now I need surrounds to match the Statements perfectly.

If I use Freestanding surrounds at the back I might be able to swing it but the side surrounds would eat into too much floor space and I have aisles right there to contend with.

I will check out the stage but if there are any other suggestions, keep 'em coming!

Meanwhile, for a center channel is the "theater" the one to beat? I am not using a perfed screen so it will be mounted above the screen in this case.

-Russ

You can always grab a used pair (or 2 pair) of Scripts for your sides. The panels are too small for surround duties in your magnificant system, but for the side duties they would be just fine.

I can't wait to see pics when you get finished...sounds awesome!

Dan

I was wondering why my doors seemed darker this

morning... lets hope this thread remains somewhat civil.

sashua said:

Meanwhile, for a center channel is the "theater" the one to beat? I am not using a perfed screen so it will be mounted above the screen in this case.

-Russ

Click to expand...

Nope. Again, the Stage is probably what you're after. Enjoy!

mixing technology

Mixing ribbons and electrostatics should be okay as they are both "fast". Mixing line sources and point sources can be a problem. Since they are launched from different directions it should be okay.

Here is another option that you and even the boss might like.

You can buy 4 used Stylos. They have a pretty large sonic footprint as they are around 60 inches tall and can be mounted on the wall where they can be raked in and out and pivoted left and right for giving the best sound and yet they are designed to work on the wall. Actually one of MLs better home theater designs, IMHO.

They were available in both black and white. The best part is that Martin Logan still has both new replacement panels and woofers. I replaced both panels and woofers about a year ago after having used the Stylos in my home theater for 12 years. They are now just like new and should go another 12 years. I have them mounted on the wall as front and rear speakers, with Fresco i speakers on the side walls, in a 7.2 surround system. Pictures are posted in member systems in number 275, I think. In case you want to see how they look mounted.

As for sub, there are some really good ones out there now. And besides the one already mentioned the SVS PB13 Utra is an amazing sub. It is as large as a coffee table and weighs about 150 pounds, but setting it up in the back of the room it will blow you away with its musical and special effects abilities and it is under 2 grand. The nice thing about the SVS in the back is that you never see it but you can really feel it. It will actually move the entire row of Home Theater seats.

Anyways, you asked for ideas, just thought I would offer up something that would match your Statements and hopefully be up out of the way and match your wife's taste too. That is always the hard part.

A true sub

Since you can get excellent bass fom your main speaker how about a big sub like Wilson or Velodyne and run it in the 20-30 hz range. That'll lossen your cavity fillings.
I think the stylos are a beautiful choice.

I guess what I'm curious about is that if your wife is ok with a pair of Statement E2's up front, why a couple of freestanding speakers at the back of a 30 foot room is going to raise a problem....

Hmmmm.

There you go Jeff, trying to use logical thinking. As my wife is always saying, "Don't you dare use that Logic sh@t on me".

And she is right without logic you can not win, score one for the wife.

JMAUSGP said:

There you go Jeff, trying to use logical thinking. As my wife is always saying, "Don't you dare use that Logic sh@t on me".

And she is right without logic you can not win, score one for the wife.

Click to expand...

You mean without logic and reason....

Also for the center channel I would throw in the Logos to consider.

ML still sells panels and woofers for them as well. I repaneled mine last year and it was instantly new.

They are really large and heavy about 50 pounds but they are very musical and match the E2s very well. Being so large they also give a nice sonic foot print.

The Theater i is also a nice choice.

JMAUSGP said:

Also for the center channel I would throw in the Logos to consider.

ML still sells panels and woofers for them as well. I repaneled mine last year and it was instantly new.

They are really large and heavy about 50 pounds but they are very musical and match the E2s very well. Being so large they also give a nice sonic foot print.

The Theater i is also a nice choice.

Click to expand...

Actually, I'd vote against the Logos, and I had one.
Various reasons, but the panel to box spacing (vs open backs for Stage and others) is the main one, it causes horrible comb-filtering and skews the clarity of the dialog. Also a single 6” driver is not enough mid-bass, especially with Statements. I'd bottom the heck out of my Logos woofer, and I crossed them over at 100Hz.

For centers, the Stage is currently the best option, especially if mounting above the screen. With twin woofers, it can sort of keep up.

I also highly recommend placing absorbent treatments (like 2+” of OC 706) on the walls directly behind the center speaker to mitigate reflections coming back through the panel from smearing the sound (and dialog).



As for rears, I’d ask: is it mostly movies or is high-resolution surround audio also a priority?
Or is audio going to be a 2ch thing in that room?

Jonfo brings up some good points about the Logos.

I also have both the Stage and the newly repaneled Logos. I chose the Logos for the center channel with my CLXs because of glass directly behind the center channel. The Logos has sound absorbing material behind the panel that at least for me makes the Logos more musical. And the CLX 5.1 surround sound system is music only.

I use the Stage in a 7.2 HT setup and it does do dialog and effects very well probably better than the Logos hence the HT use.

As with all the advice you will get on MLOC your mileage may vary, but you should have a lot of fun trying to prove or disprove any advice you get here especialy with a set of Statement E2s

Hi Russ,
With statements for fronts I would recommend rears prodigy,s ,odyssey or requests for sides too. Anything smaller panel wise will be noticeable.
I have prodigy,s logos,and requests for rears and 4 subs 2front(revel b15) and 2 rears(genesis 900)
amps,Audio research ref 600mkIII monoblocs L,R
krell TAS centre only
bat vk-500 rear L,R
Pre amps,vk-5(soon ref 3)
copland cva 306 (6 channel tube)
proceed avp(sub volume only blueray)
analog out blueray.
cd transport,ML ref No31.5
DAC,jadis js2mkII
more too much typing
And would get 2 subs for rears and use statements subs up front.
As for amps if for 2 channel large tube amps for panels are a big step up in sound quality from any solid state amp,even mbl 9008 and 9011.Even for movies SS is a let down in sound quality when my ref600 are resting for 2 channel I don,t bother listening till tube amp repaired etc.
Your pre is very good,and will match their SS amp well and be trouble free or use 5 channel ss amp for movies and tube amps for 2 channel just a thought,
regards victor