System #203 (Vantage)

[Brian_74]

Name: Brian

Location: Tucson, AZ

Models: Vantage

Year: Purchased July 2007. Numbers 038 and 039!

Associated Electronics:

Sunfire TGA 5200 Amplifier
Harmon Kardon AVR 525 Preamp Processing
Belkin PF60 PureAV Power Conditioner
Signalcable Ultra Series Bi-wire cables
Signalcable Analog 2 IC's with Eichman Bullets​

Comments:
My first Martin Logan experience was about 2 years ago in Magnolia Hi-Fi with a pair of Mosaics. My wife and I were we were really impressed with the sound, but had never even heard of Martin Logan! Then we listened to Clarity and were even more impressed. I never purchased anything at the time, but I knew the ML sound was for me. Then a few months later, the Vantage came out. I set my sights on them because of the powered woofer and all ESL panel. These speakers have exceeded all my expectations and get better every time I listen to them! I am looking forward to more upgrades and more enjoyment

 

[edwinr]

Very nice. I like your cabinet...

 

[twich54]

Hi Brian, welcome ! Nice and clean, what are you using for a source ??

 

[Joey_V]

Brian,

That pic is particularly saaaweet! I like the shiny-ness of the Vantage coupled with the shiny-ness of the LCD!

Nice system!

Two thumbs up!

Joey

 

[Brian_74]

Thanks Guys!
Joey, I do agree--the gloss black of the plasma and speakers complement each other nicely. I am glad I went with black for the Vantage!

As you can see, I planned for enough room between the credenza top and the TV for my Motif center channel. I have about 14 inches so I can do any of the ML centers actually.

The cabinet is by JSP with an espresso finish and I really like it so far. The cable management could be a little better though. Only the bottom half has wire pass cutouts between the sections. There are ventilation cutouts at the top and bottom of each section, but they could be larger as well. It was tough getting all my wiring in. I plan on taking the back off one of these days and doing some more cutouts, along with some super silent PC fans to keep it nice and cool.

At the moment, I'm using an Oppo HD970 DVD/Universal player for my source. I read a lot of good things about them over on AVS and for something that plays SACD and DVD-Audio, the price is right

Besides a center channel, I'd like to get a dedicated CD player and a pre-pro. Any suggestions?

 

[edwinr]

I've got an Ayre CX-7e CD player at the moment. It's fully balanced in operation and offers a very clear, detailed sound with incredible soundstaging. It's worth looking at. Pre power combo's can be a minefield. Maybe you could try a preamp that offers a HT throughput but drives a separate stereo power amp just for your front speakers. My Audio Research LS25MkII does this. There's lots of other preamps that do this too, including Ayre. In this way you can have dedicated 2 channel listening when required, but with a flick of a switch you can activate your surround receiver to handle the processing and driving of your surround speakers. Maybe you could try a tube preamp with a s/s power amp... :think:

 

[Huey]

Nice system...

still trying to figure out your room in the mirror of your TV.

 

[Brian_74]

Maybe you could try a preamp that offers a HT throughput but drives a separate stereo power amp just for your front speakers. Maybe you could try a tube preamp with a s/s power amp... :think:

That's almost exactly what I'm thinking. I want a preamp with HT bypass that defaults to bypass ON when the preamp is powered off. That way when my wife wants to turn on the system to watch TV or for movies, it's very easy to work and I'm not burning up my tubes (if I go with a tube preamp)

The Sunfire will handle driving all the speakers for 5.1 surround. Right now I am using the "current source" terminals. I thought it sounded a little too bright with the "voltage source". Overall, I think the Sunfire sounds very nice with the Vantage :rocker:

In a perfect world, if I could convince my wife, I'd have a separate stereo amp and tube preamp for 2 channel and 5 channel amp and processor for movies.

 

[Huey]

That's almost exactly what I'm thinking. I want a preamp with HT bypass that defaults to bypass ON when the preamp is powered off. That way when my wife wants to turn on the system to watch TV or for movies, it's very easy to work and I'm not burning up my tubes (if I go with a tube preamp)

The Sunfire will handle driving all the speakers for 5.1 surround. Right now I am using the "current source" terminals. I thought it sounded a little too bright with the "voltage source". Overall, I think the Sunfire sounds very nice with the Vantage :rocker:

In a perfect world, if I could convince my wife, I'd have a separate stereo amp and tube preamp for 2 channel and 5 channel amp and processor for movies.

I always thought that pre-amp tubes had a way longer life than power amp tubes.

 

[twich54]

I always thought that pre-amp tubes had a way longer life than power amp tubes.

generally speaking....they do ! In most cases three to five times longer.

 

[Huey]

generally speaking....they do ! In most cases three to five times longer.

OK, lets go for 4 times then :bowdown:

 

[Brian_74]

I just ordered $100 worth of Techflex F6 in various sizes to clean up all my cables behind the credenza! I thought it was going to be relatively clean back there but it still ended up kinda crazy by the time I was done. I tried to keep all my power cables separate or at least at 90 degree angles, but that's kinda hard to do with the power cable and speaker cable to the Vantage. I'll post some before and after pictures when I'm done.

 

[Brian_74]

Nice system...

still trying to figure out your room in the mirror of your TV.

Thanks Huey,
The room is about 22 feet long and 20 feet wide, but the front wall where I have everything set up is only 13 feet wide. The seating position is about 12 feet from the front. The back wall is basically two giant windows. I have heavy draperies for one window and wooden blinds on the other. The floor is travertine tile and about 3 feet in front of the whole setup is a 8' x 5' shag rug which you can just barely see in the first photo. I have the Vantages about 9 feet apart and out about 30" from the wall to the front of the panel.

 

[bober]

That system looks beautiful. 50" Panasonic 1080p Plasma? Am i Right?
I like how it looks on the wall, I honestly thought it was a photograph framed on the wall until I started reading others' posts.
Please post more pictures soon!

 

[Brian_74]

It's a 50 incher alright, but it's a Pioneer. I was considering Panasonic, but I loved the look of the Pioneer with the shiny black bezel, not to mention the picture quality is amazing. I made sure to use a wall mount that will hold a 60" so I can upgrade in a couple years I apologize for the kinda fuzzy system photo, I just got a new digital camera and I'm still trying to figure it out. I will definitely post more pictures soon!

 

[Pcar928fan]

It's a 50 incher alright, but it's a Pioneer. I was considering Panasonic, but I loved the look of the Pioneer with the shiny black bezel, not to mention the picture quality is amazing. I made sure to use a wall mount that will hold a 60" so I can upgrade in a couple years I apologize for the kinda fuzzy system photo, I just got a new digital camera and I'm still trying to figure it out. I will definitely post more pictures soon!

The Pioneer Plasma's are HARD TO BEAT! They are just beautiful on the outside too! I agree I love them! I would love to get something above about 53" w/ the Pioneer name on it... I will probably end up w/ an LCD by a different manufacturer though.

 

[Brian_74]

Just a few more shots of the system. Hopefully a little sharper. I played around with some angles. From the side...see all my messy wires

 

[Brian_74]

another front shot...hmm the flash does as good as the flashlight trick. Seeing how my flash is almost exactly in the middle of the plasma, Does this look about right for aiming the speakers?

 

[sleepysurf]

Nice setup! I also had a JSP A/V cabinet (Ovation model, now discontinued), but it was a full wall unit with side piers, and mangled the soundstage imaging. I hated to get rid of it, cuz it was SO well made (gotta luv those Canadian furniture manufacturers). In fact, I almost bought that same Mozart cabinet you have, but ended up getting a different piece (with CD storage drawers) at Crate&Barrel.

Of note, I actually removed the entire back panel of my Ovation piece, which really improved the ventilation and wire access. I too, have faux-painted walls, and they contrasted nicely with the open cabinet. Try it, you might like it!

 

[macallan]

How does your system sound without a center channel? I am looking to replace my Klipsch system with Vantages and would like to eliminate the center channel. I just need a 2 person sweet spot, how is the phantom center in your set up? Do you struggle to hear dialogue?