Bunch of stuff some with issues...

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WVU ML Fan

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Hi guys!

Pretty new to the forum. I recently got a bulk of Martin Logan equipment, along with a Theta Casablanca, and several amps. He told me there was maybe a power surge and now the stuff doesn't sound right to him. I am not 100% this is the case or what is causing the issues. The mains, a pair of Martin Logan Requests, have very low sound volume in the panels. I need to give it all the power my 100 watt tube amp can give for them to be over talking volume and it starts to distort. If I don't adjust the gain on my subwoofer amp driving the subs to almost nothing the subs are completely overpowering. I am guessing the panels are bad or they need a bath. The black dots in the middle of the circles are visible. I will call Martin Logan at a later hour to see what they say. Both of the requests sound the same as far as the panels output volume. There seems to be some damage to the rubbery at the very top of the panel. Any idea on the cost for a set of new panels if they can still be got?

I also got a pair of Martin Logan Scripts in this package which seem to be about right with the exception of one panel being bad. I am guessing replacing just one panel would be a bad idea.. Thinking I am going to need to replace those too. If I don't go through ML, which I probably will, any idea on cost or difficulty to find?
 
Well, I can verify the panels aren't the problem on the script speakers. Spoke with ML and they guided me to switching the panels and it is still the same speaker with the issue. Time to test those power supplies! =P
 
Not going to lie, if it is the power supplies on the ReQuests too I will be happy. They do sound very different plugged in vs not so I am afraid on some level that is not the issue. Granted failing vs just on the way to failure I suppose is a possibility.
 
Script speakers working! Bad resister on the power supply. Now they sometimes still chatter but a step in the right dirrection. Those panels are DIRTY so when I clean the ReQuests I will clean them too. The chirps seem to go with the bass a little if that is a hint for anyone...
 
So I washed the ReQuest panels and that made a night and day difference but now one panel takes usually about 30 seconds for sound to start coming out of the panel correctly from the amplifier. It sort of crackles in and out and then once it starts it sounds outstanding with the exception of it sometimes being crackly in and out... I found when I took the speaker apart that that panel's connection wire was no longer soldered correctly but redid it. I am wondering if I could have not done a good enough job or if it is the panels. If it is the panels are they worth spending the $1800 or should I just sell, informing they need new panels and buy a different set of speakers? Is there less expensive alternative? This seems like a lot of money to pay on 15 year old speakers. I could be wrong on that.
 
So I washed the ReQuest panels and that made a night and day difference but now one panel takes usually about 30 seconds for sound to start coming out of the panel correctly from the amplifier. It sort of crackles in and out and then once it starts it sounds outstanding with the exception of it sometimes being crackly in and out... I found when I took the speaker apart that that panel's connection wire was no longer soldered correctly but redid it. I am wondering if I could have not done a good enough job or if it is the panels. If it is the panels are they worth spending the $1800 or should I just sell, informing they need new panels and buy a different set of speakers? Is there less expensive alternative? This seems like a lot of money to pay on 15 year old speakers. I could be wrong on that.

It sounds from your description, having cleaned the panels and resoldered the connection that the panel may be bad. However to rule out amplifier board problems, have you swapped channels to see if the problem switches to the other speaker? If you do that and the problem persists in the same channel, then the panel is probably the culprit. The ReQuests were very good speakers in their day (the mid-90s) but like everything else, speaker technology has moved forward so your decision should consider whether it would make more sense to looks at a used pair of Vistas (which would give you much better panels and crossover to newer design woofer).
 
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