Ron
Well-known member
I heard the CLX today at the Source. All I can say is WOW. Move over Summits.
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CLX in Torrance at The Source. West Coast Debut.
- Thread starter Ron
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I too heard the CLX today and the same place when Ron was there but we kept missing each other. It is hard to put it all in words.
First they are not as ugly as they seemed in the first pics we saw. These were the same ones Tom saw in Kansas, the 25th Anniversary pair in anodized aluminum. They are about as tall as my CLSiiZ's on my stands and about as wide. The mid/high frequency panel is about as wide as the Aerius panel but longer and of course curved. The bass panel is twice as wide and flat. It is essentially one (really 2 panels) panel broken up into three sections. This design was used to break up vibrations ans resonances. The cabinetry was amazing there are no visible connectors or screws, fasteners showing,
These were powered by a pair of McIntosh MC2001 tube amps, a McIntosh preamp< I did not get the model but it was tubed also. The source was an Esotreic. O am not sure of the model I am guessing P-03 but it was one of the newer stuff. The cabling I did not ask nor care.
The room was the worst part it was just too small about 14x14 and there were some resonances there which did not make the ML guys really happy. The owner of the store agreed but it was a time crunch it was the best they could do given the constraints of delivery.
They played a variety of music from drum solos, small trios of drums, sax and bass do a cut from Pail Simon's Graceland. There were other selections I did not know. They demoed a synthesizer piece which was amazing.
So how did they sound? Like crap
No honestly they were amazing. If I would try to compare to other ML's, I would say similar high and mids to the Summit but a bit better articulation and smoothness throughout the panel. The bass, well quit your whining about only 56Hz,! There was tons of bass. It was fast, clean, clear, precise and accurate.
The entire speaker blended well without any feeling of separation between the panels. There was an openness, air quality, definition to singers voices, choruses/vocal ensemble you could hear individual voices without straining to hear them as you do with some "box" speaker designs. The double bass aka stand up bass was clear and engaging and sounded like they were there. Guitar was amazing and lifelike and you could immediately tell if it was a steel string or nylon and whether it was plucked with fingers or the musician was using a pick. ( That was for you Roberto)
I could say more but I think I have rambled enough. Feel free to ask me more question and I am sure Tom, ROn or I can try and answer.
Ok one more thing...................
The SummitX is a reality and will be out in the fall. It will have the new crossover which was designed for the CLX and is in use in the Spire. Not to alienate the Summit owners, ML will be coming out with an upgrade kit for the Summits so they will become the SummitX if the user wants this. I did not ask if it was field installable but I would guess yes. The estimated and I do mean estimated price will be around $1500.00 USD. It should be available around September time frame.
Jeff
First they are not as ugly as they seemed in the first pics we saw. These were the same ones Tom saw in Kansas, the 25th Anniversary pair in anodized aluminum. They are about as tall as my CLSiiZ's on my stands and about as wide. The mid/high frequency panel is about as wide as the Aerius panel but longer and of course curved. The bass panel is twice as wide and flat. It is essentially one (really 2 panels) panel broken up into three sections. This design was used to break up vibrations ans resonances. The cabinetry was amazing there are no visible connectors or screws, fasteners showing,
These were powered by a pair of McIntosh MC2001 tube amps, a McIntosh preamp< I did not get the model but it was tubed also. The source was an Esotreic. O am not sure of the model I am guessing P-03 but it was one of the newer stuff. The cabling I did not ask nor care.
The room was the worst part it was just too small about 14x14 and there were some resonances there which did not make the ML guys really happy. The owner of the store agreed but it was a time crunch it was the best they could do given the constraints of delivery.
They played a variety of music from drum solos, small trios of drums, sax and bass do a cut from Pail Simon's Graceland. There were other selections I did not know. They demoed a synthesizer piece which was amazing.
So how did they sound? Like crap
No honestly they were amazing. If I would try to compare to other ML's, I would say similar high and mids to the Summit but a bit better articulation and smoothness throughout the panel. The bass, well quit your whining about only 56Hz,! There was tons of bass. It was fast, clean, clear, precise and accurate.
The entire speaker blended well without any feeling of separation between the panels. There was an openness, air quality, definition to singers voices, choruses/vocal ensemble you could hear individual voices without straining to hear them as you do with some "box" speaker designs. The double bass aka stand up bass was clear and engaging and sounded like they were there. Guitar was amazing and lifelike and you could immediately tell if it was a steel string or nylon and whether it was plucked with fingers or the musician was using a pick. ( That was for you Roberto
)I could say more but I think I have rambled enough. Feel free to ask me more question and I am sure Tom, ROn or I can try and answer.
Ok one more thing...................
The SummitX is a reality and will be out in the fall. It will have the new crossover which was designed for the CLX and is in use in the Spire. Not to alienate the Summit owners, ML will be coming out with an upgrade kit for the Summits so they will become the SummitX if the user wants this. I did not ask if it was field installable but I would guess yes. The estimated and I do mean estimated price will be around $1500.00 USD. It should be available around September time frame.
Jeff
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Ok one more thing...................
The SummitX is a reality and will be out in the fall. It will have the new crossover which was designed for the CLX and is in use in the Spire. Not to alienate the Summit owners, ML will be coming out with an upgrade kit for the Summits so they will become the SummitX if the user wants this. I did not ask if it was field installable but I would guess yes. The estimated and I do mean estimated price will be around $1500.00 USD. It should be available around September time frame.Jeff
Hmmm, for those of us who can't get the CLX's, I wonder if the Summit X crossover upgrade will be worth the $$? Tempting, but I'd need to know what the actual improvement is.
TomDac
former MLO owner/operator
I confirm what everyone said about the CLX. I don't think I should repeat them here. Now I know what Tom said about it being THERE! The 25th Anniversary aluminum frame looks awesome and is seamlessly mated with the panels (no screws or anything).
Here's the setup:
The room was 14'x14' acoustically treated. (I personally think that it was still small for the CLX).
Amps - McIntosh MC2301 (300W).
Preamp - McIntosh C500
CDP - Esoteric UX-3
Vinyl - Project Turntable
Cables - Straight Wire Maestro
Sound - Fantastic! (specially with vinyl). Is it twice as good as the Summits? I personally think it is and if I have the space for it, I'll definitely get them.
The Source had individual listening rooms for the CLX, Summit, Sonus Faber, Esoteric, and 2 other rooms I forgot what's in it. The most impressive was the McIntosh Theater room with top of the line speakers and gears.
Tom, I need help with picture attachments. The file is bigger than what's allowed! Maybe I should just email them to you.
Here's the setup:
The room was 14'x14' acoustically treated. (I personally think that it was still small for the CLX).
Amps - McIntosh MC2301 (300W).
Preamp - McIntosh C500
CDP - Esoteric UX-3
Vinyl - Project Turntable
Cables - Straight Wire Maestro
Sound - Fantastic! (specially with vinyl). Is it twice as good as the Summits? I personally think it is and if I have the space for it, I'll definitely get them.
The Source had individual listening rooms for the CLX, Summit, Sonus Faber, Esoteric, and 2 other rooms I forgot what's in it. The most impressive was the McIntosh Theater room with top of the line speakers and gears.
Tom, I need help with picture attachments. The file is bigger than what's allowed! Maybe I should just email them to you.
Tom, thanks for posting the pictures for me. As you can see, the room was quite small, actually too small to do justice for the CLX. Too bad they didn't place them in one of the bigger room. The SOURCE is a very nice high-end dealer with many very nice rooms and different set-ups. The BIG McIntosh room was truly amazing.
If you are serious and want the Anniversary Limited Edition model, place your order quickly. I was told by the ML rep that there is a very high demand for them in Europe but ML is reserving half for the US market.
