CLS's tonight!!!!!!

[jjqiv]

My offer was accepted. I will be picking up a pair of original CLS's tonight. They will be replacing my trustly old SL3's. I can't wait!!!!

 

[Wardsweb]

Congratulations! You are in for a treat. Take your time and play with the placement to get them "dialed in." I also find getting them up off the floor 12"-14" is beneficial.

 

[roberto]

My offer was accepted. I will be picking up a pair of original CLS's tonight. They will be replacing my trustly old SL3's. I can't wait!!!!

Hola jjqiv. First thing regarding the CLSs is that they reflect the quality of the recording and the exact amount of bass in it. Be sure to have at least 1 meter away from the back wall and changing them back and forward from that position, so you can "tune" the best bass response. Remember that because the CLSs are free from cabinet, seting them to the room is the most important consideration. Your first impression will be like the CLSs are lack of bass, but they are not! they do have a very good bass...what happens is that you are used to listen dinamyc speakers at bass, and they reproduce it complette different than electrostatic bass. Tilt them a tittle on it's back, this way you will have much better high frequency energy and toe in them will make them to produce the best image and scenario. Please, don't make any tests until you have living with them at least one week! so you will get used to them and find what we, the crazy guys, like the CLSs over a lot of other models and speaker's brands.
Happy listening, trust your ears!!!
Roberto.

 

[jjqiv]

Thanks for the input guys! I have my SL3's 4' out into the room now. I played their positioning quite a bit. I am planning on doing the same with the CLS's. I listen to some QUAD 988's frequently. They have good very good bass with an 85 watt Airtight integrated tube amp. It has been a while since I have listenned to a pair of CLS's. But I really liked them back then. I have some temporary speakers stands available (an old pair of box speakers placed on their sides).

 

[DTB300]

I went from Sequel II's to CLSIIz's and thoroughly enjoyed the change. You will be in for a real treat!!! I predict lack of sleep due to many late nights listening to music - the first week I was dragging big time at work because I could not pull my self away from listening to music.

Congrats!!!

Dan

 

[Jeff Zaret]

I, like Dan, had Sequel II's and went to CLS's. The first thing I would do is put them in the exact place the SL3's were as far as postioning, toe-in, etc. Listen to them for a bit and then do some fine adjustments. When they are "dialed in" it will seem like you are listening to headphones!! I have mine tilted slightly back and that indeed does help the projection of the upper frequencies.

I am not sure about the stands yet. I have mine on the floor (still) and yes the sound stage may seem a bit different at first but I always listen sitting in front of them on the couch, so the only advantage would be moving the "focal" point upwards. You will loose a little bit of bass when you raise them up on some type of stand and that is when a sub makes up the difference.

Let us know and congrats!!!

Jeff :

 

[Kaliar]

Congratulations,

I'm quite sure you'll spend many happy hours listening to music through the CLS.

Contrary to some of the previous posters, I began my ML journey with those fantastic speakers. And even if they have now been replaced by Odysseys in my primary system, I have been unable to consider selling the CLS IIa, despite what I told my wife when I got the hybrids... They are very very fine speakers, still in use !

Cheers !

 

[jjqiv]

Utterly amazing!!! I'm exhausted. More later.

 

[jjqiv]

What a completely fantastic set of speakers. Even better than I rememberred. Seamlessly intergrated from top to bottom. So musical. Midrange to die for. Great, detailed bass. Holographic imaging. Dynamic as crap. Some passages will make you jump in your seat.

 

[Reverb2009]

Dynamic as crap.

Is crap all that dynamic? Just kidding.

Your making me jell-us JJQIV, I am one of those pour lost, unfortunate souls, that never had a dealer that carried the CLS. I have always wondered what a true electrostatic sounded like, but unless ML brings back the CLS I don’t think I will ever know.

Enjoy those bad boys.

 

[Jeff Zaret]

jjqiv,

I am so glad you like you CLS's. Enjoy them and IMHO they will only get better and you will lose a lot of sleep on the short term but it is well worth it. what is amazing is vinyl sounds great too!


Zip3kx07
I have asked Jom Power a few times at ML and it seems the CLS is not going to be brought back out. I also asked if they would consider making the new XStat panels for the CLS and he said the pattern is so different that it would not be likely they would do it.

Jeff

 

[zaphod]

What a completely fantastic set of speakers. Even better than I rememberred. Seamlessly intergrated from top to bottom. So musical. Midrange to die for. Great, detailed bass. Holographic imaging. Dynamic as crap.

yep, that about covers the CLS experience the seamless range is real important to me. even though i just added a sub, i really only use it for video inputs (movies, tv, vcr) and have it disabled for 2 channel inputs like vinyl, cd and reel2reel.

here's a test: take Gershwin's Rapsody in Blue and listen to the piano as the pianist starts at the bass end of the keyboard and progresses up through the range. listen for the seam.

Some passages will make you jump in your seat.

Doorbells or knocking on doors in movies/TV made us teach the dog the command "false alarm". Usually followed by my muttering "gotta get sh*ttier speakers".

 

[roberto]

my heart is cls with tubes...

Hola Chicos! mmmmm, what a great speakers, right?...and yes, they are great from bottom to top. Just listen Rebecca Pidgeon singing Spanish Harlem, or Steve Davis (dmp-cd522) playing the cymbals at Bye Bye Blackbird.
With the CLS, you have entered in a new world of sound experience. They will "show" everything in your audio chain and the quality will be at the less good electronic device that you might have. Please read here good, not expensive. Not always, expensive electronics means good quality. Treat your room's corners, and then you will have more precise sound. Now, you will start to re-discover all your recordings and start to say: " I have never heard that before"...there are no more "nasal" singing...and what I like better is the inner detail, the size of the instruments. Yes, they are not perfect, they have weak problems, but are minor flaws...it is just great to have no bass box and listen the bass player at the scenario, not in your room with deep bass also. They are very selfish with the narrow sweet spot. Only one person can enjoy that magic!...but what kind of magic!!!. In my system, they don't like to play big orchestras and this is perhaps to my ears...only good recordings on big orchestras are the ones that I can stand like Reference Recording Label. I know that there are some good big orchestra's recordings, but perhaps again, and this is my liking, I only play jazz or classical camera music. When I want to enjoy big orchestras, I play analog only. I get too many digital garbage when I play big orchestras...I still have my EAD DSP-9000. Don't make dramatic changes at the beginning. Take your time! Congrats and enjoy!!!!...and trust in your ears.
Happy listening from Costa Rica,
Roberto.

 

[zaphod]

there are no more "nasal" singing...

wow, CLS's even fix bob dylan

 

[roberto]

wow, CLS's even fix bob dylan

Zaphod...you are too much!!!! LOL
Regards from Costa Rica,
Roberto.