Those CLX would sell pretty good, especially if they did a short run of them as a test.Last year at Axpona the ML dealer said there may be new ones in the works. But I talked to Bob at ML service asking about them and was told they were working on new subwoofers.
SOLD my CLX, to me again!
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The very last pair of CLX Art's sold Down Unda (Aus) for 50grand $AUD. That's an awful lot of spend for a speaker system. That very same pair went through two different owners and now is sitting in one of the owner's lounges to be sold again. Reason for selling, the chap ran out of funds for high quality amplifiers and doesn't have the proper room setup to accommodate these full range stats. Asking price is just under 20grand AUD but no takers, simply because of our current economic situation and the associated costs in highend amplification. At one point there was another pair (cherry red finish) going on sale at 10grand. No takers... after nearly a year that price went upto 15grand and found a new owner. That person now uses the Gryphon Mephisto and the Momentum preamp (one of my favourite SS preamps) superb combination driving CLX's, outstanding!
Only 7 pairs of CLX's were ever sold in Aus from 2010 up to 2016/18. That was the very last pair gone for a cool 50grand! Now the Ren15a's are going for 50grand and the Neoliths are 160grand. Things are very pricey over here, especially the highend.
You can get away with tunes using average gear but they won't be "fine tunes." As mentioned above in other posts, these sort of high performance speakers do require the best possible gear. If you can't afford the amp then there's no point in going for CLX's.
As I've mentioned in my last post, there were very lofty speakers systems out there that really impressed. However, there's no other speaker system I'd rather own, regardless of price.
Cheers to the CLX's! Oh, and do enjoy those finest tunes.
RJ
Only 7 pairs of CLX's were ever sold in Aus from 2010 up to 2016/18. That was the very last pair gone for a cool 50grand! Now the Ren15a's are going for 50grand and the Neoliths are 160grand. Things are very pricey over here, especially the highend.
You can get away with tunes using average gear but they won't be "fine tunes." As mentioned above in other posts, these sort of high performance speakers do require the best possible gear. If you can't afford the amp then there's no point in going for CLX's.
As I've mentioned in my last post, there were very lofty speakers systems out there that really impressed. However, there's no other speaker system I'd rather own, regardless of price.
Cheers to the CLX's! Oh, and do enjoy those finest tunes.
RJ
Leporello
Well-known member
That's how the economics of scarcity work, I guess. And even if a pair of CLx's turned up down unda for a killer price, shipping here, in northeastern US, would probably be a deal breaker. I believe I have the amps (Parasound JC-1 monoblocks) but not necessarily the space. I barely have the room for my CLS II's, but the amps do wonders for them, compared to anything else I've had driving them.
I have to dispute your comment about fine tunes, though. Fine tunes are fine tunes, even coming from scratchy 78's. I would have loved to be in the smoke filled jazz club (preferably not breathing the smoke) where Bird was performing and someone pirated a recording, or the studio where Caruso was singing into a horn, but sometimes we're just lucky to have the recordings. The emotion of "Wow, that sounds like the musicians are right in front of me!" and that of the music itself are separate. My opinion. Really horrible sound reproduction can interfere with the enjoyment of great musicians performing great music, but almost nothing can kill it.
BTW Beethoven had little to no acoustic sensation of some of the greatest and most emotionally rewarding music ever composed, that he heard in his head.
So when somebody spends $7,000 on a power cable he could have spent on a bargain pair of CLX's (wherever that was, I could almost have swung that) because "it's all about the music" I have to wonder. Music is for everyone!
Well said L mate!
That's a fair point.
Cheers, RJ
Oh! And do enjoy those finest tunes
Woof!
I doubt it, as the triple-stator bass cells are tough to make and cost more, and since they deployed them as dipoles, they are subject to dipole cancellation in the bass. So one did not get the bang for the buck compared to say, a line array of woofers in an enclosed cavity (e.g 40XW).
They might deliver a model with the same HF panel but paired with a line array of 7 sealed dynamic woofers. Flat to 48Hz, they would benefit from augmentation with well-placed subs, just like the CLX. This would make the overall speaker narrower and able to suit more room sizes.
I keep missing my chance to own the CLX.
Has anyone heard the Studio plus Clarisys planar speaker? Does it play well at lower volumes 80dB A weighted as well as normal playing volumes?
Has anyone heard the Studio plus Clarisys planar speaker? Does it play well at lower volumes 80dB A weighted as well as normal playing volumes?
Ah, the Clarisys speakers. Those are a real mystery!
There are 4 of us over here who were very keen to give these a go... but to no avail. (2 of us own CLX's, 1 has Apogee Diva's fully refurbed by Graz and 1 had the Maggie 30.7's, sold off and now uses triple stacked Klipsch horns).
I managed to get in touch with the Sydney distributor but they don't have a single model on demo, not even the smallest one, the Minuet. Speaking of the Minuet, if it does happen to land in Aus, pricing would be in the range of 60 - 70grand! Depending on what type of magnet arrays you prefer, and if you can afford the full Neodymium version, which goes for 25% more than the standard version, it will be priced at close to 80grand.
This is for the smallest system Minuet then comes the Studio Plus at a whopping 150grand starting price! That price point goes upto 190grand again depending on Neodymium's used right throughout. That's almost 200grand for a ribbon panel type speaker. If I were to engage in this kind of spend, it would be the Genesis Tributes, nothing else.
During my last travels through Spore, I didn't come across any Clarisys models either, and they're supposed to have a registered office over there, with production facilities based in Vietnam. Honestly, I don't have anything against manufacturing in Vietnam. However, when any speaker system for that matter costs 200grand and is made in Vietnam??? That's an awful high margin, plus cost of labour in such regions is a fraction of the cost, compared with made in the West. So which means, if it was made in either USA or Europe then it would cost a million bucks! Forget it!
The other thing is, the parent company is based in Switzerland... so anything touched by the Swiss just has to be pricey. Yeah whatever... but still made in Vietnam! So no thanks mate.
There are other ribbon type speakers if you're really keen and willing to divulge in big spend, Alsyvox Botichelli-X is one of them. I've auditioned two versions of the Alsyvox with Momentum amplifiers and CJ's ART series amplifiers, superb! Alsyvox is Italian designed and comes out of Europe, so they're very critical in their quality. No compromises at this level, and very exotic materials used.
Then there's also the French ribbon panels, Diptyque. These also use the powerful Neodymium's and I got the chance to audition the DP107 and their Refernce line driven by Jadis Mk2 monoblocks, another superb example of panel type speakers at their finest!
If and when I cannot maintain my CLX's any longer and ML runs out of parts for these stats, the Diptyque reference series will be my next purchase, and they're much more affordable than the Clarisys line. As to which one is superior will depend on the room setup and type of gear driving these speakers. The Diptyque reference series is designed supremely well, I highly recommend you audition this brand before dumping large sums on Clarisys.
Cheers, RJ
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amey01
Well-known member
I wish they'd bring back the Statement e3 !
I might give up my Avantgardes for those!
I read your posts all over the internet. You and a few others on this site post like that. Can you tell me if the Dyptique 160mkii can hold together at lower volumes, such as 80dB A weighted? Unless there is something new being developed by Martin Logan I am not aware of, I am looking around with more interest lately. Thank you for your reply.
Certainly would be nice to see another version of the Statements. However, replacing the Evo-II's to an Evo III and considering the pricing of the Neoliths, which were around 160grand $AUD, I'm thinking those Evo-III's would be well over 200grand easy.
Not sure if this category is considered highend or luxury but I'd categorise it as drug money. 200grand on a single speaker system... no thanks! Even the Neoliths, when they arrived in Aus for the first time, only one pair sold and that was it! That one went for close to 150grand. The only one ever sold was actually the demo pair. Thereafter, zero orders were placed on the Neoliths, they just didn't sell. It's a massive system.
There's no market here for ultra priced gear, especially when it's already close to 6 figures in other parts of the world, by the time it lands in Aus, it's nearly double the price! That's our currency conversion rate and has always been off parity. It's very unfair that we have to pay such high prices on highend, let alone mid to low-end gear.
For example the 11A's and 13A's are in the price range of 15 to 35grand and the Ren15a's are over 50grand!
Is this the case in the US? Hell no! The Masterpiece series is way more affordable than what we have to cough out over here.
The items that are selling very slowly in the Masterpiece series is mostly the 11A's and Classic 9. The other series, Electromotion and older Reserve line are slowly moving but not as much as other markets compared to US, Europe, Sth East Asia or the Middle East.
The most significant thing about speaker systems priced into 6 figures or double 6 figures is that there are other choices, Wilson, Rock Port, Kharma Reference, Genesis, Zellaton, YG Acoustics, Alsyvox etc., so this particular group of clientele will always prefer these types of brands simply because of Prestige.
I sincerely believe you really don't need to engage in high amounts of spend to achieve high quality sound. That can very easily be done by careful component selection and proper room setup.
Avant Garde Horns are very expensive here as well. Back in Sept 2018 when I was on my quest for my final speakers, the AG Duo XD's were on my short list. My top 3 were:
Maggie 30.7's $46grand
AG Duo XD's $32grand
ML Ren15a's $40grand
(Note: above pricing in $AUD)
However, I ended up with CLX's! Finding the CLX Art's was a miracle! It took me exactly two years to get hold of them, and they were the very last pair my ML dealer had in stock. Now they're discontinued and the rest is history!
Cheers mate, and enjoy those finest tunes!
Woof! RJ
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The Diptyque speakers are completely different. These are ribbon panels using double sided magnets and very powerful rare Neodymium's on the ribbon tweeters. If I'm correct, Diptyque uses a full array of these Neodymium's only in their Reference line of panels. Hence, the higher price point goes upto 80grand $USD.
ML stats as you know, aren't ribbon panels using heavy duty magnets or very exotic materials, rather these are well designed electrostats. The principle of sound reproduction may be similar but the technology is very different. Just as ribbon panels require powerful magnets to move the ribbon elements, electrostats require a constant charge on their stators for the Mylar to move. As to which is superior depends on personal preferences.
As for listening at lower volumes, it all depends on what type of music you prefer. The Diptyque reference series and Alsyvox line are very exotic panels, using very high quality parts including Neodymium's. Since these magnets are extremely powerful, they have a tremendous jump factor. The start - stop acceleration on certain notes and transients have blistering speed! It's almost like a lightning strike! Now that sort of high performance is also found on the CLX's and can be tamed using certain types of amplifiers.
For example, rather than using high powered SS amps, which will drive these types of Neodymium designed ribbon panels through the roof, for a softer more intimate approach, the right type of tube amps can be an excellent choice. Or even mix & match between a tube preamp and SS Class A output power amplifiers.
During the demo on the Diptyque speakers, it was mostly the Jadis tube amps and similar tube gear, such as ARC and CJ. Therefore, it wasn't very loud, simply because I don't like loud. Although they could play crazy loud, that's not my preference. Most of my listening sessions are way past midnight, at moderate levels with an enveloping affect and superb soundstage depth. In fact, fine tunes are playing right now as I'm typing this post, it's now close to 1am.
If you do get a chance to audition the Diptyque reference series, I can assure you that you won't be disappointed at all. This French based company also has excellent customer service and tech support. I happen to know two new owners of Diptyque panels who are thrilled with their speakers, and absolutely loving it. The only downside is that they were very very keen on CLX's but there aren't any New ones available here.
See how you go and check on pricing in your region, I would also highly recommend the Alsyvox ribbons with tube gear. They are another superb awe-inspiring experience!
Cheers, RJ
Thank you for your time spent on me.
