CLS Bound ............A trip to KC for pick up..

[C.A.P]

Thet journey beginz..........lol

 

[C.A.P]

Home early this AM at 3:30am. 13 1/2 hrs It was smooth sailing until I hit my own state then it was all bad ! White knuckle white outs driving 20 mph with no real idea where the road is .

I will post fallow up pics soon and initial listening reviews.

 

[attyonline]

Glad you made it home safely. I did not see that you were doing the drive home from KC till I looked today or i would have suggested you stop in Indy to give me a first-hand look or listen. Hope you enjoy them!

 

[Kruppy]

I talked to CAP a little while ago, sounds like he's got some one of kind CLS. If I didn't have plans for this weekend I'd be up at his place soaking in some sounds.

 

[Joey_V]

Congrats, Chris.... sweet stuff there.

 

[C.A.P]

Uhhhh.........

 

[Kruppy]

Uhhhh.........

You promised pictures. Where are they?

 

[rhd1953]

Shhhh, can't you see, he's busy with the CLS's

Quiet please!

Don't you know, C.A.P. now has to listen to all his favorites...through the CLS's (and maybe try different positions). He is hearing from a new perspective.

 

[C.A.P]

A room with a view !

Here are some pics. as promised.



They are Walnut frames that look to be hand picked from the lot of walnut frames at the time. They have some of the most beautiful matching wood in both frames. Jim Power even commented on that. These were owned by the ex- VP of sales at Martin Logan. He thinks he had them built to his specs as they are hand rubbed with an oil finish that is smooth and leaves the grain showing all its beauty. (That is what threw me when I looked at them in the pics before the sale, They looked different from the walnut I have seen) Jim added a few tweaks to the X over with some damping resisters. He also went through and thoroughly cleaned and checked them out.

This I can tell you. These are world class. Gone is that bass blend of the woofer to the panel. The bass from the CLS is tight and as detailed as I have ever heard. Mating a sub was the easiest I have ever done. Something I have fought with the Quest's for a while.

I have a modified (I cant keep my hands off anything) Sunfire sub X over at 40 hz and its seamless as I have ever heard . The CLS will be close to where they are in the pics. However; I will do some wire management and clean up,(my wife asked if everyone has all the blue tape) The beauty is these babies are easy to maneuver.

I have owned big Magnepan IIIa, Carver Amazing s , The Quest's and many Cone Speakers to name a few. I have listened to many High end A list speakers and NOTHING can even come close to these at what they do. I have always admired them but really never had a serious listen to them. Man was I missing the boat. I can attest to a specific house sound from Martin Logan. They are much more behaved in the highs and have a luscious mid range that cant be matched. My wife sat down and listened and her comment was "These are great , we need to do another get together, I cant believe all that comes from those panels" !

I have them hooked up to my Krell and was a bit worried that it would make them a bit SS sounding. NOPE ! This baby makes these things sing. I have no issues with it at all. Again it proves my point that Martin Logan in general likes current, and clean class A power that can be stable to 1/2 ohm .

I may toy with some stands , but for now I am having to much fun !

 

[Jeff Zaret]

C.A.P./Chris
Mazel Tov
They look great!
Now you have an idea what us other CLS owners have been saying. Enjoy them because they will give you many hours of smiles and pleasure.
Maybe you will get sick tomorrow and stay home another say.

cough cough

Jeff

 

[Craig]

They do look great. I really like the wood choice and finish and it also goes well with the wood floors and mantle. A real nice find.

I just hope the rumors of the high CLX prices are wrong.

 

[Kruppy]

Lookin' good. Can't wait to see and hear them in person.

 

[twich54]

CAP, Congrats on a great find ! Looks sweet and as you said, sounds even better !!

 

[longhorn]

What did ML state about the upcoming CLX?

 

[Cherian]

CAP, Looking so good!!! I would love to listen to a CLS with no sub. I have never listened to an true ESL MLs. I bet it sounds as good as it looks. :bowdown:

 

[mosttoysrk]

CAP,
Welcome to the CLS club, this is only the beginning. I powered my CLS with Krell and was satisfied until.......... I switched to a mc275 and 2220 McIntosh tubes. There is a world of difference with tubes.....planting the seed....

 

[C.A.P]

What did ML state about the upcoming CLX?

Yes but it was hush hush. It will be released in Europe first as there is a big 2 channel draw there. With that if there is any tweaks and changes to be made they can do it before release in the states. From talking to them it sounds like a 2 panel system, one for highs and one for mid bass(maybe even a mini statement with cones). Thye are trying to make it different but still have the draw of the CLS. The CLS as good as it is was not a big seller. Jim Power said, "we only sold like 6 to 7 pair in the last year in production". Its not that they are not magical they just are a really clean revealing speaker that usually needs a sub, and carefull equipment set up.

CAP, Looking so good!!! I would love to listen to a CLS with no sub. I have never listened to an true ESL MLs. I bet it sounds as good as it looks. :bowdown:

Its a definite free sound. As the bass is there you just do not feel it. That being said its the best bass blend with a sub as its a single drive unit to blend with. Not a woofer and a panel that already has phase and timing issues.

CAP,
Welcome to the CLS club, this is only the beginning. I powered my CLS with Krell and was satisfied until.......... I switched to a mc275 and 2220 McIntosh tubes. There is a world of difference with tubes.....planting the seed....

Yes ,I hear most of you CLS owners do like them with tubes ! There is a quote I read from a reviewer that said "With the right tube amp, and the lights dimmed you can see God in your living room"
http://www.avrev.com/news/0702/16.martinlogan.shtml

 

[longhorn]

How big is your soundstage and sweetspot for us mere mortals..........:bowdown:

 

[C.A.P]

How big is your soundstage and sweetspot for us mere mortals..........:bowdown:

That all depends on the placement of these. If you want you can place them close together and get a precise sound almost like headphones. The room plays a much bigger part of the picture with these speakers as they are pure line source. I will post all final measurements as soon as I get them finalized and test some stands too. I have them spread a tad wider than the rule of 1/3 . They have a HUGE stage and great depth. The precise placement is erie sometimes as its like real person singing there. I am still learning these as the tilt and the toe play a Much greater role than before. I have been doing some sitting on the floor to get a somewhat idea of what stands may sound like ! These things have shown me detail in recordings that I never have heard before. My Quest's are ****ed as they have been demoted to a lowly front HT speakers run by a receiver.. They have had a nasty divorce from clean power ..

 

[nsgarch]

Chris, I like the image of you sitting on the floor but that won't duplicate the effect of raising the panels; because when the panels are on the floor (especially a hardwood floor) the membrane's bass output is almost doubled by the floor reflection (doubled but distorted.) If you want to hear the effect of some height, get 6 - 8x8x8 concrete blocks and put 3 under the spikes of each speaker. You'll get better much tighter bass and midrange and a more coherent stage. The only downside is the bass will have less apparent power (without the floor reinforcement) and you'll understand the need for just a wee bit of "Depth"