Who has the oldest Martin Logans

Wardsweb · Dec 30, 2007

I have had so many years of enjoyment from my CLS speakers. They continue to this day to amaze and bring musical bliss to my life. Which brings me to my question: How old are your Martin Logan speakers?

I'm not sure of the actual build date on mine but it must be almost 20 years. They pre-date the serial number decode list.

CE-8810010 and CE-8810011

slowGEEZR · Dec 31, 2007

Much older than mine. My Aerius' serial numbers indicate they were built in '95.

Horchem1972 · Dec 31, 2007

Oldest Logans

There is a gentleman here that has a serial number decoder.Hopefully he will answer your post.If not,e-mail Martin Logan and they will tell you when they were produced.My Monolith II's were made in 1987 and they still have the original panels and woofers.I used to own the the original CLS and they are great speakers.:rocker::bowdown:

Beat_Dominator · Dec 31, 2007

My Sequel IIs were made in 1989 and previous owner replaced the panels in 1992.

slownlo · Dec 31, 2007

Wardsweb said:
I'm not sure of the actual build date on mine but it must be almost 20 years. They pre-date the serial number decode list.

Your speakers are so old,... Jesus was the first owner...(lol).

Just a little holiday humor....

I just today ordered a pair of new CLS panels from ML, the originals were circa '85 and still sounded pretty good...but I'm doing up the frames so I figured some new panels were justifed...not sure what the original finish ML used on them but they looked like a "mustard" color probably due to age...

I just got done sanding the frames back to the sweet "natchal" oak and I'm gonna finish them with about 5 coats of clear satin poly-seal...the oak looks so nice I don't want to lose that color by staining it...I should be done in about a week with the frames and will be posting pics as soon as they are done...

I'm totally psyched about getting the new panels and getting these classics back up to snuff...

DIY Rulez!

JonFo · Dec 31, 2007

slownlo said:
..

I'm totally psyched about getting the new panels and getting these classics back up to snuff...

DIY Rulez!

Amen Brother!

Isn’t it nice that a 20+ year old speaker can still sound great and easily be restored to pristine conditions, love the ML's. :musicnote:

kmanusa · Dec 31, 2007

Original CLS, Interface Power Supply S/N 2844/45. I have new panels which are still breaking in; the old ones were from 1991 and still working ok.

C.A.P · Dec 31, 2007

slownlo said:
Your speakers are so old,... Jesus was the first owner...(lol).

Just a little holiday humor....

I just today ordered a pair of new CLS panels from ML, the originals were circa '85 and still sounded pretty good...but I'm doing up the frames so I figured some new panels were justifed...not sure what the original finish ML used on them but they looked like a "mustard" color probably due to age...

I just got done sanding the frames back to the sweet "natchal" oak and I'm gonna finish them with about 5 coats of clear satin poly-seal...the oak looks so nice I don't want to lose that color by staining it...I should be done in about a week with the frames and will be posting pics as soon as they are done...

I'm totally psyched about getting the new panels and getting these classics back up to snuff...

DIY Rulez!

Do the new CLS panels come in the clear spar technology ? I just ordered some new Quest panels just for that !

Dreamer · Jan 1, 2008

I have a pair of original Sequels and their serial #'s predate the serial number decoder list. I bought them from the original owner (with original boxes and receipt) in 1993. They still have the original panels and woofers, and sound great...

Serial #:
8803178
8803179

I'm assuming that means that they were the 178th and 179th Sequels made that year, and they were made in March of 1988. This means that they are 20 years old now, and are still sounding fine with original woofers and panels...

--Richard

Peter Hogan · Jan 1, 2008

Hi,
I have a pair of CLS's which were originally owned by Ron (Logan) Sutherland, one of the founders of ML. The Serial Numbers on the electronics are ML-211-1E and ML-211-2E, the panels do not have serial numbers. Judging from the looks of the electronics boards, with signs of component swapping, (Mr. Sutherland was the engineer for ML back then), they look like they may be original prototype units, and have been fine tuned before production component values were finalized.

The serial numbers are pre-standard ML numbers. I called Jim Powers, and he couldn't find any info on them, so I don't know the exact age, but they have small electronic boxes, with the large step-up transformers on the outside of the box. Newer CLS's have larger boxes, with those transformers on the inside.

Peter

slownlo · Jan 1, 2008

C.A.P said:
Do the new CLS panels come in the clear spar technology ? I just ordered some new Quest panels just for that !

I haven't received them yet. I just ordered them yesterday...
I'll take some pics of the unpacking process and the panels to share with all interested parties...:music:

slownlo · Jan 1, 2008

JonFo said:
Amen Brother!

Isn’t it nice that a 20+ year old speaker can still sound great and easily be restored to pristine conditions, love the ML's. :musicnote:

Yeah,...:music:

My wife loves the look of the sanded oak panels, and she was actually the one that suggested I not "stain" them and lose that natural look...the satin polyurethane will seal and protect the wood,.. but will retain the natural oak wood look...I was surprised at how gorgeous the natural oak is under that stain ML used...

I think I'll give those sound anchor stands a new powder coat too!

EdSawyer · Jan 1, 2008

I have some CLS 1 like that...

I don't think mine have quite that provenance, but they do have the external transformer mounted on the outside of the box. I will have to check serial numbers. I think the panels were replaced a few years ago. The frames are mahogany, which is a pretty rare wood for CLS.

I am in NH, would be interesting to compare notes sometime. I will try to post some pics of mine someday soon.

-Ed

Peter Hogan said:
Hi,
I have a pair of CLS's which were originally owned by Ron (Logan) Sutherland, one of the founders of ML. The Serial Numbers on the electronics are ML-211-1E and ML-211-2E, the panels do not have serial numbers. Judging from the looks of the electronics boards, with signs of component swapping, (Mr. Sutherland was the engineer for ML back then), they look like they may be original prototype units, and have been fine tuned before production component values were finalized.

The serial numbers are pre-standard ML numbers. I called Jim Powers, and he couldn't find any info on them, so I don't know the exact age, but they have small electronic boxes, with the large step-up transformers on the outside of the box. Newer CLS's have larger boxes, with those transformers on the inside.

Peter

Peter Hogan · Jan 1, 2008

EdSawyer said:
I don't think mine have quite that provenance, but they do have the external transformer mounted on the outside of the box. I will have to check serial numbers. I think the panels were replaced a few years ago. The frames are mahogany, which is a pretty rare wood for CLS.

I am in NH, would be interesting to compare notes sometime. I will try to post some pics of mine someday soon.

-Ed

Hi,
The 3 types of electronics boxes I've found so far are for the original CLS's, the CLSII's, and the CLSIIz's. I have pictures below so you can see the difference. The original has a small box with transformer on the outside, the CLSII has a large box, with a single transformer on the inside, and the CLSIIz has a large box with two transformers on the inside. Mine are on the left, you can see the extra orange capacitors added, and the round inductor on the right has been disconnected, as well as the power resistors show signs of being swapped out.

Peter

EdSawyer · Jan 1, 2008

Thanks for pics

Good info to have, nice to see how they have changed over the years. Mine are the early ones, like in the first pic. (trans on outside).

-Ed

kmanusa · Jan 3, 2008

Peter Hogan said:
Hi,
The 3 types of electronics boxes I've found so far are for the original CLS's, the CLSII's, and the CLSIIz's. I have pictures below so you can see the difference. The original has a small box with transformer on the outside, the CLSII has a large box, with a single transformer on the inside, and the CLSIIz has a large box with two transformers on the inside. Mine are on the left, you can see the extra orange capacitors added, and the round inductor on the right has been disconnected, as well as the power resistors show signs of being swapped out.

Peter

I have a pair of original CLS but my interface box is similar to the one you show for CLSII-- that is, with transformer on the inside.

Joey_V · Jan 3, 2008

So do we have a consensus as to who has the oldest recorded Logans on MLO?

Diamonds · Jan 3, 2008

Joey_V said:
So do we have a consensus as to who has the oldest recorded Logans on MLO?

I know I did not have the oldest MLs but I had the first consumer ML Summits. Serial numbers 7 and 8. Sorry I always thought that was pretty cool! My claim to fame I suppose.

Retro · Jan 4, 2008

Got a pair of CLS

Electronics has ser. # 1306 & 1307 ...,
Internals looks almost similar to the old unit posted by Peter, the topcovers for my units are different by the fact they dont have the bend which is normal for early CLS units,
another difference they are made of brass and simply looks great when polished

Regarding the EQ before the transformer my units has only one cap in the RCL filters,
seen from the verious nudie pics shown of CLS boxes here at MLC vs. the CLS schematics ....,
makes me believe there are more than four different versions of the electronics made for the CLS (MK I)

The stators are a pair of service panels which where made in march 93

PiXeL · Feb 12, 2008

My Sequel IIs from '96 are still running on the original panels/ woofers.

Still sounds awsome! :music:

Love'em.

My hometheater @ a Norwegian forum

Who has the oldest Martin Logans

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