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In that setting they resemble tombstones..:D


Congrats on your new speakers :music:
 
They Have Arrived!

They have arrived!

I spent most of last evening getting them into the house, unpacked, assembled, hooked up and positioned. Finally got to spend a few hours listening to them after 10:00 last night, so between the jet lag after coming back from Amsterdam, and the late night last night I'm a pretty tired camper today.

Obviously I need to tweak the positioning, rake angle etc., but I will say that I love what I'm hearing so far.

More impressions to come, and obviously I'll update my system post accordingly. Now I just have to decide what to do about my ReQuest - keep them and use them as rears in a multi-channel setup when the dedicated room is done, or sell them? What would you guys do?
 
Now I just have to decide what to do about my ReQuest - keep them and use them as rears in a multi-channel setup when the dedicated room is done, or sell them? What would you guys do?


That's a no-brainer Tim........keep for your multi-channel set-up assuming you'll have the room.

BTW, I'll be out next month, tell Sandy I'm inviting myself over !!!
 
Keep them unless the sale will finance something else you would like right now.
That said if the future room is not going to be huge it will probably be overkill.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
That's a no-brainer Tim........keep for your multi-channel set-up assuming you'll have the room.

BTW, I'll be out next month, tell Sandy I'm inviting myself over !!!

Dave, you are of course welcome to swing by. Sandy would probably kick me in the a$$ if I didn't have you over!
 
Now I just have to decide what to do about my ReQuest - keep them and use them as rears in a multi-channel setup when the dedicated room is done, or sell them? What would you guys do?
Sell them and use the cash to play catch up with Dave on the turntable front (super platter and periphery ring).
 
Tim,

Keep them so then you can be in the super secret CLS club that has only two members right Dan (DTB300) and me who have Sequel ii's for rears and CLS for fronts. You can just be an adjunct with the Requests.


LOL

Jeff:cool:
 
Bernard = Instigator ! LOL !
Actually I was just presenting it from my perspective. I have zero interest in HT and surround sound, so it would make sense (for me) to sell the speakers and upgrade the analog front end.
 
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Actually I was just presenting it from my perspective. I have zero interest in HT and surround sound, so it would make sense (for me) to sell the speakers and upgrade the analog front end.

A true student of the art.
 
Looks like I may have them (my ReQuests) sold to a very nice new member here.

I'm kind of sad about it actually...

But hey, life is about change.
 
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Looks like I may have them sold to a very nice new member here.

I'm kind of sad about it actually...

But hey, life is about change.
So Tim, what are you going to buy with all that major change you may have ?
 
So Tim, what are you going to buy with all that major change you may have ?

Truth be told Bernard, I think I'm going to put most of it into savings and just hold on for a bit. I AM toying with the idea of getting a set of the Sound Anchor stands for the CLS's. I think I'll also be spending a chunk of it on some new vinyl. Tomorrow is National Independant Record Store day and both Acoustic Sounds and Music Direct are offering 10% off on any order over $75.00 - I'll have no problem hitting that mark!
 
First Pictures

Well, I've finally had an opportunity to sit back and start getting the measure of these wonderful speakers and capture a few shots of them in my setup. I'll update my system post as well, but thought I'd share a few thoughts and images here.

When I first set the speakers up (after wrestling the ReQuests out of the room - forgot how heavy they truely are) the right speaker didn't function. Dead as a doornail, no sound whatsoever. "Oh HELL" I thought, "What did I get myself into?" I dis-assembled the speaker and started poking around inside the transformer box and lo and behold I found a wire that had become disconnected from the terminal strip that comes from the panel. A quick and easy fix, re-assemble and hook up and now I was back in business! Sort of....

Even though these speakers are nearly a decade old, and thus fully "broken in", they needed to be charged for a while I discovered - literally a couple of days. When I started to listen on the first day they were thin sounding, lacked dynamics and seemed just sort of "limp". Again I wondered to myself if I'd made a mistake...

Evening two things started to come together a bit more. Just as in real estate, Location, Location, Location is the mantra of these speakers - much more so than what I'd experienced with my ReQuests. I pulled out the tape measure and got everything measured up evenly between the two speakers within about 1/8" of all rear walls, side walls etc. Big improvement. Next I started playing with toe in, fiddling with it off and on for about 2 days. Finally I adjusted the rake, and even more improvements were to be had. Lesson learned, the CLS requires carefull attention to the details of setup.

By now the panels and electronics were starting to really come alive as well. The thinness I'd noted the first night had utterly disappeared and now the panels were very nearly (only a small fraction less) as dynamic as my ReQuests. I was a happy camper! I'd also been playing with the settings on my REL Stadium III sub this whole time and it had also finally achieved the seamless integration I was hoping for. With the new setup I moved the sub over into the corner of the room, behind the right CLS panel. Bliss!

I've listened to a LOT of music over the last 24 hours, and while I imagine that I'll really be getting the full measure of these amazing speakers for weeks to come, I have to say that I now have NO regrets whatsoever in making the change from my ReQuests (and I REALLY loved my ReQuests), to the CLS IIz. Hard as it is to let my ReQuests go, I'll still be enjoying my music all over again.

Man I love this hobby!

A few shots of the new setup...
 

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Tim, glad to hear you're happy.

So......every time you unplug your speakers for cleaning, storms, etc it's going to take three days of "power up" for them to sound their best ????
 
Tim,
I am glad things are coming together. There will be more tweaks in mvement of these speakers so be prepared but these will only be minor ones at this point. Are they spiked and if not do it. It will help with a nbit more definition on the lower mids/upper bass.

As far as Sound Anchors, I think we should talk about that in an email.

They look great and as time goes by you will be amazed!:D

Jeff:cool:
 
THE 10 Rules of Martin Logan CLS

Rule #1 Forget anything you knew about former Martin Logan speakers.

Rule #2 Get them on stands.

Rule #3 Get them away from the front wall 4 to 6 feet


Rule #4 get a case and a fifth of your favorite drink,Open one as soon as possible. (You will need it) CLS will test your sanity with set up and placement.

Rule #5 Don't fret about selling your last favorite speakers that sounded better at the first set up of your new ones. You will get over it. Rule #4 will help that.

Rule #6 Treat your room with sound panels . CLS are a pure coherent sound source that reveal the worst in a room.

Rule #7 Straiten them panels up to exactly 90* verticle

Rule #8 Move your sub behind you if posible and run it at 90* phase with X over at 40HZ to 45

Rule #9 Refer to rule #4 again

Rule # 10 Make fun of everybody else who does not have CLS . As when they are PROPERLY set up with the PROPER AMP and Surrounding equipment NOTHING sounds as good. (don't forget the secret hand shake )


Seriously Give them time. They are a sweet speaker but are not as user friendly to set up and get the exact sound you want. When you do take the time and do some things that are not ordinary with other Logan's you will be rewarded with some of the worlds best sounds.

I know its hard for the WAF but get them out into the room. They realy start to sing at 5 to 6 feet. Its magic. Look at my fire place with the sound panel I made. It made a world of diference. These are a dedicated speaker that is greedy and wants all the room to them selves. What they reward you with is world class sound when set up right.

Stands are a MUST ! Sound Anchors are nice but they only come in a set height. I think they are a bit high IMHO. I am designing 2 different sets of stands NOW . One based on the older ARCICI stands that were good stands that were discontinued. The other a real technical advance in design. Im still trying to get it right.

Glad you are getting it done !
 
Tim, glad to hear you're happy.

So......every time you unplug your speakers for cleaning, storms, etc it's going to take three days of "power up" for them to sound their best ????

Hmmm...I hadn't thought about that Dave. Frankly, I don't know, only time will tell. I do know that the seller had them "un-powered" for several months, so that may have something to do with the lengthy charge time.
 
Tim,
I am glad things are coming together. There will be more tweaks in mvement of these speakers so be prepared but these will only be minor ones at this point. Are they spiked and if not do it. It will help with a nbit more definition on the lower mids/upper bass.

As far as Sound Anchors, I think we should talk about that in an email.

They look great and as time goes by you will be amazed!:D

Jeff:cool:

Thanks Jeff - I am growing to love them more every day. They are in fact spiked - I had a set of the Martin Logan ETC spikes on the ReQuests that now reside on the CLS's.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Sound Anchor stands, C.A.P. mentions that he thinks they are too high. I know you did a DIY project on stands yourself, but when I went to look for it I couldn't find it. I may pose the question of CLS stands in a seperate thread.
 

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THE 10 Rules of Martin Logan CLS

Rule #1 Forget anything you knew about former Martin Logan speakers.

Rule #2 Get them on stands.

Rule #3 Get them away from the front wall 4 to 6 feet


Rule #4 get a case and a fifth of your favorite drink,Open one as soon as possible. (You will need it) CLS will test your sanity with set up and placement.

Rule #5 Don't fret about selling your last favorite speakers that sounded better at the first set up of your new ones. You will get over it. Rule #4 will help that.

Rule #6 Treat your room with sound panels . CLS are a pure coherent sound source that reveal the worst in a room.

Rule #7 Straiten them panels up to exactly 90* verticle

Rule #8 Move your sub behind you if posible and run it at 90* phase with X over at 40HZ to 45

Rule #9 Refer to rule #4 again

Rule # 10 Make fun of everybody else who does not have CLS . As when they are PROPERLY set up with the PROPER AMP and Surrounding equipment NOTHING sounds as good. (don't forget the secret hand shake )


Seriously Give them time. They are a sweet speaker but are not as user friendly to set up and get the exact sound you want. When you do take the time and do some things that are not ordinary with other Logan's you will be rewarded with some of the worlds best sounds.

I know its hard for the WAF but get them out into the room. They realy start to sing at 5 to 6 feet. Its magic. Look at my fire place with the sound panel I made. It made a world of diference. These are a dedicated speaker that is greedy and wants all the room to them selves. What they reward you with is world class sound when set up right.

Stands are a MUST ! Sound Anchors are nice but they only come in a set height. I think they are a bit high IMHO. I am designing 2 different sets of stands NOW . One based on the older ARCICI stands that were good stands that were discontinued. The other a real technical advance in design. Im still trying to get it right.

Glad you are getting it done !

C.A.P. - what a great post. I could relate on many points, nod in agreement on others and laugh my a$$ off on the repeated references to Item #4 - which I did utilize by the way; Knob Creek specifically.

I'm in the process of designing and building a dedicated room that will really allow me to pull the speakers out into the room. For me this will be the ultimate man cave, but until that day I'm afraid I have to shoehorn the beasts into my smallish home office. It doesn't allow me to pull them out into the room any further than 3 feet or so (the pictures are decieving), but I am enjoying the virtues of nearfield listening!

Your comment about the sub placement and phase is very interesting. Did you know that Lugano utilizes this type of placement? It 's interesting that he reached the same conclusion as you on the other side of the world.

I will continue to play with rake angle per your suggestion.

Very curious about your comments on stands. As I mention to Jeff above, I'd been thinking about the Sound Anchors, but will likely hold off to get some other impressions and experiment with some ideas of my own. I'm going to start a seperate thread on this topic as I see it being beneficial for any CLS owner. I'd very much like to talk to you about your designs. Let me know if you want something modeled in SolidWorks should you want to commercialize it. I am a Product Development Manager and would be happy to participate in any aspects of the design, IP or fabrication processes should you be interested.
 
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