System #198 (Vantage)

[yogibear]

Name: yogibear
Location: Southern California
ML Model: Vantage
Year Purchased: May 2006

Associated Equipment:
Accuphase 307e integrated
Accuphase DC 61 DAC
Genesis Digital Lense
Sony DVD player as transport
Ensemble Fonovivo phono preamp
VPI Aries/JMW10/Benz Ref 2
PS Audio P600 power conditioner
Wires: mostly Cardas Golden Cross and a run of Nordost SPM between DAC and integrated
Music: About 1000 records (mainly jazz) and 500 CDs (mainly jazz and folk)

This is my first time owning MLs. Previously I had Quad 988 and Magnepan 3.6. Great sounding speakers.

 

[TomDac]

Welcome aboard!!

 

[philox]

yogi, nice and clean. Tell me how do the Martin's sound compared to the Maggie's and Quads? I live a few miles away from you by the 15 and 60 freeway. We have a small local Audio meetings from time to time. Right now I am gettig ready for a vacation but afterwards if your interested I could inform you.

 

[kcl]

I agree. A nice, clean, 2-channel system. I bet it sounds wonderful.

:welcome:

 

[twich54]

Yogi, Welcome to a fellow Vantage owner and 'Black Pizza' spinner.

I too was a former MG3.6 man as well.

be sure to keep your doors locked, Tom "lusts" after anything with a Accuphase name plate on it !!

 

[yogibear]

Here'a a pic showing the equipment.

 

[yogibear]

The ML, Quads, and Maggies are all fabulous speakers, but overall I prefer the Vantage over the Quad 988 and Maggies. The Maggies were fun speakers but ultimately I sold them because they were too lifeless at low to normal listening levels. They need to be played loud to sound good. I was never able to get good solid bass out of them. At the time, I was driving the Maggies with Pass X350 amplifier so power was definitely not the issue. I sold the Pass and got the Accuphase integrated when I got the Quads. To my surprise the Accuphase integrated sounded better than the 150lb Pass. Nothing beats the Quad's midrange but they lacked a big soundstage. They also lacked extension on both ends and did not play loud. But if you only listen to music that involves mostly midrange then the Quads are hard to beat. I propped mine up on a set of stands I built to increase the soundstage height. On the floor, the soundstage was too low. And then the Vantage--the midrange bears much resemblance to the Quads. The Quads' mids are a bit more organic sounding but the Vantage is close. The Vantage lacks the huge soundstage of the Maggies but I believe the ML's soundstage is more accurate. With the Maggies I would sometimes hear instruments in places that no other systems would place them in (ultimately, I concluded that this was an error on the Maggies' part). Other than that, the Vantage did better than the Maggies and Quads in the areas that I deem important. They sound great at low levels but can also be cranked up when I am in the mood. They have deep and powerful bass. They are not too finicky about positioning although proper positioning is still very important. Much has been written about the Maggies' ribbon tweeters. I actually prefer the treble of the Vantages. They throw a wide and deep soundstage. They don't have the sheer soundstage size of the Maggies but it is certainly more than enough--much bigger than the Quad.

 

[amey01]

I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the ML versus the Quads you had.

Good to see your system anyway......

 

[yogibear]

See the message above for my take on the Vantage and Quad (as well as Magnepan 3.6). If I was starting all over again and had to choose between the two, I wouldn't hesitate to choose the Vantage. The Quad has a slightly more organic midrange but the ML is better in all other areas. Soundstage is much bigger, plays louder, better frequency extension, and much better reliability. The Quads are a bit more natural (organic) sounding but the difference is not that great. In the midrange, they are definitely more alike than different. Hope this helps.

 

[kmanusa]

I have had similar speakers to you in the recent past and my experience mirrors yours pretty closely, especially with Magnepans. I had Quad 988s and Magnepan MG-IIIas. I think your characterization of the Maggie 3.6s applies very well to the MG-IIIas-- you really have to play them loud to get the most out of them. I have had Tympani series Maggies in the past and I think the same applies to them too.

I would say the Quad 988 is flatter in the mid band than the MG-IIIas but it falls off a bit at the extremes. I did not have too much issue with loudness limits and the Quad although I did use subs with the speaker on occasion which increases headroom.

I currently am using older ML CLS. I would say the CLS is more transparent than the 988 but the 988 may be slightly smoother through the mids. I prefer the larger soundstage of the CLS and overall I think it is a more "live" sounding speaker. The Quad soundstage is helped by raising them off the floor a bit.

I have never heard your Vantages but they must be pretty good to compete favorably with the 988 and MG3.6.

 

[edwinr]

VERY nice system. I like your room and the clever lighting as well... :bowdown:

 

[tonepub]

Great system and I would say after owning Magnepan and Quad myself, I completely agree with you there as well!

Enjoy!