Cost of CLS IIz replacement panels - Huge increase?

I've got my CLS IIzs for sale and a prospective buyer inquired with ML about the current cost of replacement panels (the panels sound perfect and don't need replacing as far as I can tell, but the buyer is concerned anyway). He e-mailed Jim Powers who replied that new panels are now $1500+shipping! Weren't they just $900/pair pretty recently? I wonder why the huge price increase?

Yes ML has increased the cost of all new panels by 50%. I agree this is a huge price jump. I should have picked up new panels form my Monoliths 7 months back when it was $900.00 as well.

Wow!!!

That's a huge increase.Looks like I will be thinking about selling my Monolith II's at those prices.You would think with the economy going in the tank,manufacturers would try to hold their prices down.This will definitely start hurting the resell value of their speakers.Panels plus woofers will make the cost $2000 before you would even buy a set of Monoliths.

Its forced out dating. They knew that the panels will go out in 7 to 10 years, sometimes faster. They also were good at helping us out. Its now a matter of forcing us to either buy new or pay the piper. There is a bit of inflation on steel but the research has been recouped many times over. Its a tough one to swallow as I TO NEED NEW Panels $600 price increase is a slap in the face and a shoe to the nads.
That being said I can guarantee that you cant buy a$1500 speaker that can even come close to what a proper CLS set up can do. Hell make that $10k speaker !

Come on guys, the price increase had been deferred for years.

They had not adjusted costs, and basically kept the prices low way longer than necessary.

There are production and carrying costs to this inventory. So not surprised to see them go up.

Yes, it's painful, but I still find the ability to update a speaker of the caliber of the CLS or monolith for $1,500 to be a reasonable deal.

Will it make a few people sit and consider going new, of course it will, but then, that used speaker is still in circulation and eventually, it will be economic for someone to replace the panel and keep it going for another decade or two.

The total-lifetime value of a MatinLogan is pretty amazing. Sure beats most other brands.

FWIW, it costs considerably more to re-panel an Apogee Duetta Sig. over, say, a CLS. The reason is labour and shipping costs on the bass panels - since Graz (the ribbon maker) won't let you do it yourself - it's a bit more involved than just "popping out" a CLS panel. Mid range/tweeter ribbons can be done yourself.

It shouldn't be forgotten just how easy it is to replace an ML panel. It's a cool part of the design.

Not sure how easy it is to re-panel a CLX. With luck, no one will have had to do that yet. Probably not too bad to do, I expect.

C.A.P said:

Its forced out dating. They knew that the panels will go out in 7 to 10 years, sometimes faster. They also were good at helping us out. Its now a matter of forcing us to either buy new or pay the piper. There is a bit of inflation on steel but the research has been recouped many times over. Its a tough one to swallow as I TO NEED NEW Panels $600 price increase is a slap in the face and a shoe to the nads.
That being said I can guarantee that you cant buy a$1500 speaker that can even come close to what a proper CLS set up can do. Hell make that $10k speaker !

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C.A.P we all know that the only other model you would be happy with is the CLX that's about $25,000.00 new a far cry from $1500.00 to keep what you have. hard economic times have probably forced their hand on items that they know they could have squeezed more out of all a long but just didn't for whatever reason.50% is to much at once though I would never raise the price of a product that high that fast but hey the cost of an item is dictated by what the public is willing to pay for it perhaps the used market is surging now and they want to cash in on it who really knows.

JonFo said:

Yes, it's painful, but I still find the ability to update a speaker of the caliber of the CLS or monolith for $1,500 to be a reasonable deal.

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Slight descrepancy - I don't condiser it an "update" per se - it is effectively a consumable part and needs to be treated as such (by BOTH ML and users of ML products).

Personally, I think the increase is a bit steep.

well, i just priced out getting my Quad 57 re-paneled and the price for the pair is 1500 for all 6 panels. very comparable price

Hello,
I also think this increase is fairly drastic. How much of this is because of the change in ownership I wonder. I realize that Shoreline has owned ML for a few years now, but I cannot help but wonder if this is a corollary to the new regime maximizing profits. Not bemoaning capitalism.

Just think it makes a bad impression on something which is certainly a negative when weighing the pros and cons of electrostatic speaker ownership.
Reasonable prices for new panels certainly made purchasing ML's more enticing. And, as mentioned, this well might impact resale value. Especially with the CLS, which sometimes sell for 500 to 1000 dollars more than the replacement panels.

A ten percent increase over so many years would have been a much easier pill to swallow on what is a consumable item.
ML

new tires for my pickup truck cost me a $1,000.00 and they will not last as long as a pair of new panels let alone give me the enjoyment that my Logans do everyday.I don't even want to think about the property taxes I paid last year which I really see next to no benefit from.I am just trying to put things into perspective it sucks to have to spend money on any maintenance item but when you look at all of the other things in life that we blow our money on its not all that bad at least with this we get to relax and enjoy the music ( that is when we are not obsessing about upgrading amps,TT's,cd players or speaker placement lol) what can I say its a dam expensive hobby.just hope that nothing crazy happens to Logan in these tough times now how bad would that suck!

amey01 said:

Slight descrepancy - I don't condiser it an "update" per se - it is effectively a consumable part and needs to be treated as such (by BOTH ML and users of ML products).

Personally, I think the increase is a bit steep.

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I didn't realize you were dyslexic, Amad

I am in the process of getting a pair of CLS and one concern was the panels. One seller on A-gon took his pair to ML and was told that one panel was shot. Part of what I discovered is that ML personnel think that 10-15 years in a good environment is the lifetime for a set of panels. **** The following is supposition **** I think that ML believes that we are prone to change the panels too soon.

I don't believe that this the reason for the price rise. I am not happy for the rise but considering how long the price held at $900, I can understand it and if I need a set of panels will dig a bit deeper and pay the money. It is still a bargain.

I just replaced the panels in my CLSIIZs last January. I was lucking on the timing and may have been the last person to buy them at the old price.

The panels that I replaced were the originals and still performing well but the new panels were an improvement and seem to play with more efficiency (louder). My main reason for replacing them was due to age. I also sent my CLS power supply cases in to Jim Powers and crew for a checkup and new binding posts at a very reasonable price. These speakers are going to look and sound great for many more years to come.

A 66% increase was huge for those of us accustomed to the old price but $1,500 is still well worth renewing a CLS speaker. I"m sure they had a business reason for the price increase and well...they do have to keep the lights on, make a profit and keep people employed in a small Kansas town. We're fortunate the company still supports us with the older models at all.

Cone speakers also wear out or simply deteriorate with age or harsh environments. What is their lifespan and cost to replace with a model comparable to the original?

I also have a pair of CSL IIzs that I was thinking about trying new panels on. With the price increase it seams more unlikly I'll do so.
Possible reasons for such a hugh increase? New ownership for one and maybe they think it would make people consider CLXs a little more.

cyclone said:

I also have a pair of CSL IIzs that I was thinking about trying new panels on. With the price increase it seams more unlikly I'll do so.
Possible reasons for such a hugh increase? New ownership for one and maybe they think it would make people consider CLXs a little more.

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the entire cost of a new pair of panels for a set of cls does not even cover the tax (suburb of Chicago 7.5% ) of a pair of new CLX

Here's a reply from Jim regarding the price increase:

Not so much improvements as much as we finally evaluated materials and manufacturing cost. We realized we had been giving them away. Since the last pricing review, many of the materials alone had gone up enormous amounts.

It is still the same old great sound.

Hope this helps.

jp

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I was planning to save up this year to get new panels for my dad's (he passed away) CLS IIs, but simply cannot justify an extra $600 for the repanel. How much can a pair of CLS IIs in need of new panels go for?

That's a good question I've got a pair of CLS IIzs for sale on the site now that have the original panels on them. The panels are still fully functional and still sound good to me how much new panels might enhance the sound I don't know I've never heard a pair with new ones.
I was tempted to try new panels at $900.00 at $1500.00 the temptation was gone. If they would have increased them $300.00 at a time with a little notice between the last increase that would of been nice thing.
Back to the question of the value of CLS IIs in need of new panels there is a pair in the classifieds now for local pick up that hasn't sold for $500.00 OBO .......WOW!

cyclone said:

That's a good question I've got a pair of CLS IIzs for sale on the site now that have the original panels on them. The panels are still fully functional and still sound good to me how much new panels might enhance the sound I don't know I've never heard a pair with new ones.
I was tempted to try new panels at $900.00 at $1500.00 the temptation was gone. If they would have increased them $300.00 at a time with a little notice between the last increase that would of been nice thing.
Back to the question of the value of CLS IIs in need of new panels there is a pair in the classifieds now for local pick up that hasn't sold for $500.00 OBO .......WOW!

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probably precisely due to the cost of new panels.

cyclone said:

That's a good question I've got a pair of CLS IIzs for sale on the site now that have the original panels on them. The panels are still fully functional and still sound good to me how much new panels might enhance the sound I don't know I've never heard a pair with new ones.
I was tempted to try new panels at $900.00 at $1500.00 the temptation was gone. If they would have increased them $300.00 at a time with a little notice between the last increase that would of been nice thing.
Back to the question of the value of CLS IIs in need of new panels there is a pair in the classifieds now for local pick up that hasn't sold for $500.00 OBO .......WOW!

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You should be able to sell yours,if you are willing to ship. I know it is a pain but...