CLS upgrade

[Brad225]

Have any of you that have CLS II MLs upgraded them or felt the need to.
If so what improvement did you have?

Thanks

 

[enilsen]

Upgrades have always intrigued me as you never know if the original design was flawed or they just found a better way to make things sound.

One thing I've noticed in the past is that when new upgrades come along many appear to embrace these upgrades and argue that what was built in the past is now obsolete. Then at closer examination the upgrades were designed to help cheaper equipment cope better with what would appear to be too demanding for the masses.

IMO an upgrade to an existing system should be evaluated carefully as there is no guarantee that it will always harmonize.

 

[lugano]

Have any of you that have CLS II MLs upgraded them or felt the need to.
If so what improvement did you have?

Thanks

Brad, as of today there are no updates for the CLS series available from Martinlogan, except getting new panels... the update to IIz (not available anymore) would have been a good idea because of a better impedance and the music signal autosensing.

 

[Brad225]

I found a pair of CLS II and was curious about the upgrade to IIa and IIz. Would any of you buy IIs or look for a pair of Zs.
If ML does come out with a new CLS or CLX (which ever it is) next year, there may be some more A & Z models on the used market.

Thanks

 

[lugano]

I found a pair of CLS II and was curious about the upgrade to IIa and IIz. Would any of you buy IIs or look for a pair of Zs.

I would definitely look for a pair of Z's.

 

[karma]

Brad, as of today there are no updates for the CLS series available from Martinlogan, except getting new panels... the update to IIz (not available anymore) would have been a good idea because of a better impedance and the music signal autosensing.

HI,
Having just been through the upgrade question for my CLSIIA's recently I can say there are a few upgrades depending on the version of CLS's you have.

* CLSIIZ: No upgrades except new panels if needed. The panels are identical to the original so this is not really an upgrade.

* CLSIIA: New panels (identical to originals and the IIZ) and the sensing power supply used in the IIZ are available. The power supplys are not expensive and eliminates the need to unplug to prevent dust collection. Has no sonic implications. I suggest you do this mod simply because this is the high voltage supply which tend to age as does any high voltage circuit. It's a good deal.

* CLSII: The A mod is very simple and is basically a wiring change. You can do this yourself. Changes the speaker into a CLSIIA. All of the above also apply.

* Original CLS: Don't know. Contact ML.

The Z upgrade is no longer available. Depending on the amplifier you use the Z upgrade may or may not offer an improvement. In my system, it is not needed. I think many others have found this as well.

Sparky

 

[Brad225]

Thanks Karma, A couple of questions for you.

Are both the A & power supply upgrades from ML or some where else. Are both of these DIY or do the power supplies need to be done by ML.
Did you get information on cost and could you share it?
I am using ARC LS-25 and ARC Classic 120s. What was the Z upgrade to determine it's value for my system.

Brad

 

[karma]

Thanks Karma, A couple of questions for you.

Are both the A & power supply upgrades from ML or some where else. Are both of these DIY or do the power supplies need to be done by ML.
Did you get information on cost and could you share it?
I am using ARC LS-25 and ARC Classic 120s. What was the Z upgrade to determine it's value for my system.

Brad

HI Brad,
All of the mods mentioned can be done by the owner if you are a little handy and have some common sense. All are based either on factory information or factory parts.

I don't have the power supply info in front of me but the price was in the $90 per speaker range.

The Z mod increased the impedance at the extreme high frequencies to make the speaker easier to drive by a wider variety of amplifiers. My guess, only a guess, is your ARC amps do not need the Z mod. I have ARC amps too as you can see if you check my signature which drive my CLSIIA's just fine.

Sparky