Joey_V
Well-known member
Alright.... came back from a WONDERFUL audition!
I was about to go to Stuttgart Electronics - but I called ahead and found out that it was a by-appointment only. I talked to the guy and he told me that they sell ML Vantage on a per order basis - meaning, they dont carry any in stock. The cool thing, however, was that he was willing to sell me the Vantage for the price of a floor model (without even opening it ). He quoted me 20% off... awesome! And regarding delivery to my apartment in Chicago, he told me he'll help me out as much as he can. I told him I'll get back to him within a month and we'll get the Vantages moving over to my place. Hehehhe...
Anyway, this was good news for me because I can certainly afford them now! I felt like celebrating and so I went out anyway. I passed by my local Tweeter and I stopped by since I know the Logan Rep there pretty well.
Guess what.... they had BOTH the Vantage and the Summits all hooked up to their best stuff - $10,000 worth of Krell Electronics (cdp, preamp, amp)! Along with a Descent just for good measure.
Anyway, I told Brian that I wouldnt be able to buy at the moment and when I will be (in a month), then we'd talk turkey (let's see if they match what Stuttgart Electronics quoted me). He was fine with it and he let me listen to the two. I must have been there for 2 hours or so because once I got acclimated to the speakers - there really was no sense in leaving.
First up, the Summits. VERY big in person - WIDE, too! Much larger stator panel relative to the Vantage! Also, the cabinet was a good 2x in volume larger! The Summits played wide, loud, and beautifully! The extension was there, the midrange was present in spades, and the bass (with the Descent turned off) was tactile yet transient... perrrrrfect! We listened to all sorts of songs - from Mariah Carrey to Norah Jones to 50 cent to 3 Doors Down to Eagles.
Next up, I hooked up the Vantage.
"Please God.. please make the Vantage sound halfway as good as the Summits or I'll end up spending $10,000 on speakers...."
First note..... boom! Vocals, midrange, highs, treble, and even the bass was eeriely (sp?) similar to that of the Summits. The Summits had better bass - no doubt - but all above a certain frequency sounded very similar from the sweet spot. The Summits were CRAZY overall... very good depth in soundstage while remaining uncongested and airy throughout the musical reproduction! At times, I felt that speakers were too good for what I was playing through them.... I felt the need for better recordings!
The Vantage were also CRAZY overall! Far better than when I auditioned at the other Tweeter store! There was no recessed vocal/midrange - everything came through loud and clear. The imaging was precise, the stage extended beyond the panels - both in width and in depth.... the bass was quick, fast, and wickedly good! Keep in mind that I was in a large 20x20 room - and the bass was good enough for me to say that I wont be missing my subwoofer (I have to sell so I can buy the Vantage) in the meantime... until I can afford to augment it with a better SVS or the Descent.
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Anyone who walked by walked slightly slower when they came upon the Vantage/Summit presentation. They all checked out the stators, the all looked at the tag - then they either popped an eyeball or stayed for a longer listen (behind me of course, I had the sweetspot of the house ). EVERYONE who walked by commented on how clear they were, how the music didnt seem "short", how the music just sounded that much more REAL! It was great hearing this from people who arent even audiophiles, just mere browsers or car audio guys!
I went to the other room to listen to the JM Labs Focal 907Be.... I heard them a while ago when I visited Tweeter in search for the Vantage (back a few months ago when the Vantage were just press released) and I remember saying to myself that these Focals were toe to toe as good or even slightly better than the BW 703 towers (both at around the $4G mark).
This time, I plunked in my cd into the Krell cdp, turned the knob on the Krell preamp, and let the current flow from the Krell amp... sat down on a chair - listened.
The music came out - but it was congested! Nothing relative to the Vantage! I couldnt believe my ears - here were some of the greatest speakers I had heard to date, but they were a magnitude inferior to the Vantage! I remember thinking that these Focals were slightly better than the Ascents they had at the Tweeter store a few months back - but these were downright embarassed by the new MLs. I listened for a total of 5 minutes and I turned off the cdp, took my cd, and went back to the Vantage display. There isnt anything like a quick reality check as to how "regular" speakers sound to elevate the ML experience.
Played my cd - walked back to the sweetspot... ahhhhhh..... audio utopia!
These two speakers - the Summits and the Vantage - are the TWO finest speakers I have EVER heard in my life. None of the BW speakers (yes, not even the vaunted 800D) nor did any of the Focals nor did any of the Polk LSi nor did any of the Paradigm Signatures sound better or come even close to the music flowing through these two.
Lastly, I must say, after hearing the two - getting the Vantages wont be anything like I thought before: "settling for less". No. The Vantages are sooo good, that I know if I stopped my audio journey with these Vantages - I'll still be a VERY happy man.
Yes... you all should get one.
The Vantage (much less the Summits) were THAT good!
Can someone say.... T minus 1 month and counting?
At $3999... I'd be stupid to pass the Vantage up.
PS
I must say that the Crystal Lake, IL Tweeter folks were great and that this whole store is sooo pro-Logans.. it's like they're each one of us!
I was about to go to Stuttgart Electronics - but I called ahead and found out that it was a by-appointment only. I talked to the guy and he told me that they sell ML Vantage on a per order basis - meaning, they dont carry any in stock. The cool thing, however, was that he was willing to sell me the Vantage for the price of a floor model (without even opening it ). He quoted me 20% off... awesome! And regarding delivery to my apartment in Chicago, he told me he'll help me out as much as he can. I told him I'll get back to him within a month and we'll get the Vantages moving over to my place. Hehehhe...
Anyway, this was good news for me because I can certainly afford them now! I felt like celebrating and so I went out anyway. I passed by my local Tweeter and I stopped by since I know the Logan Rep there pretty well.
Guess what.... they had BOTH the Vantage and the Summits all hooked up to their best stuff - $10,000 worth of Krell Electronics (cdp, preamp, amp)! Along with a Descent just for good measure.
Anyway, I told Brian that I wouldnt be able to buy at the moment and when I will be (in a month), then we'd talk turkey (let's see if they match what Stuttgart Electronics quoted me). He was fine with it and he let me listen to the two. I must have been there for 2 hours or so because once I got acclimated to the speakers - there really was no sense in leaving.
First up, the Summits. VERY big in person - WIDE, too! Much larger stator panel relative to the Vantage! Also, the cabinet was a good 2x in volume larger! The Summits played wide, loud, and beautifully! The extension was there, the midrange was present in spades, and the bass (with the Descent turned off) was tactile yet transient... perrrrrfect! We listened to all sorts of songs - from Mariah Carrey to Norah Jones to 50 cent to 3 Doors Down to Eagles.
Next up, I hooked up the Vantage.
"Please God.. please make the Vantage sound halfway as good as the Summits or I'll end up spending $10,000 on speakers...."
First note..... boom! Vocals, midrange, highs, treble, and even the bass was eeriely (sp?) similar to that of the Summits. The Summits had better bass - no doubt - but all above a certain frequency sounded very similar from the sweet spot. The Summits were CRAZY overall... very good depth in soundstage while remaining uncongested and airy throughout the musical reproduction! At times, I felt that speakers were too good for what I was playing through them.... I felt the need for better recordings!
The Vantage were also CRAZY overall! Far better than when I auditioned at the other Tweeter store! There was no recessed vocal/midrange - everything came through loud and clear. The imaging was precise, the stage extended beyond the panels - both in width and in depth.... the bass was quick, fast, and wickedly good! Keep in mind that I was in a large 20x20 room - and the bass was good enough for me to say that I wont be missing my subwoofer (I have to sell so I can buy the Vantage) in the meantime... until I can afford to augment it with a better SVS or the Descent.
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Anyone who walked by walked slightly slower when they came upon the Vantage/Summit presentation. They all checked out the stators, the all looked at the tag - then they either popped an eyeball or stayed for a longer listen (behind me of course, I had the sweetspot of the house ). EVERYONE who walked by commented on how clear they were, how the music didnt seem "short", how the music just sounded that much more REAL! It was great hearing this from people who arent even audiophiles, just mere browsers or car audio guys!
I went to the other room to listen to the JM Labs Focal 907Be.... I heard them a while ago when I visited Tweeter in search for the Vantage (back a few months ago when the Vantage were just press released) and I remember saying to myself that these Focals were toe to toe as good or even slightly better than the BW 703 towers (both at around the $4G mark).
This time, I plunked in my cd into the Krell cdp, turned the knob on the Krell preamp, and let the current flow from the Krell amp... sat down on a chair - listened.
The music came out - but it was congested! Nothing relative to the Vantage! I couldnt believe my ears - here were some of the greatest speakers I had heard to date, but they were a magnitude inferior to the Vantage! I remember thinking that these Focals were slightly better than the Ascents they had at the Tweeter store a few months back - but these were downright embarassed by the new MLs. I listened for a total of 5 minutes and I turned off the cdp, took my cd, and went back to the Vantage display. There isnt anything like a quick reality check as to how "regular" speakers sound to elevate the ML experience.
Played my cd - walked back to the sweetspot... ahhhhhh..... audio utopia!
These two speakers - the Summits and the Vantage - are the TWO finest speakers I have EVER heard in my life. None of the BW speakers (yes, not even the vaunted 800D) nor did any of the Focals nor did any of the Polk LSi nor did any of the Paradigm Signatures sound better or come even close to the music flowing through these two.
Lastly, I must say, after hearing the two - getting the Vantages wont be anything like I thought before: "settling for less". No. The Vantages are sooo good, that I know if I stopped my audio journey with these Vantages - I'll still be a VERY happy man.
Yes... you all should get one.
The Vantage (much less the Summits) were THAT good!
Can someone say.... T minus 1 month and counting?
At $3999... I'd be stupid to pass the Vantage up.
PS
I must say that the Crystal Lake, IL Tweeter folks were great and that this whole store is sooo pro-Logans.. it's like they're each one of us!
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