Finally pulled the trigger

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mopar04

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Location
Morgan Hill, CA
Hello everyone. I've been selling Martin Logans as a system designer for a number of years and have always been a fan of the technology but HATED the looks of the models in my price range (Source, purity, etc). But, with the Electromotion ESL's coming in gloss black and having that Vista-esque panel-to-cabinet ratio I finally pulled the trigger. I almost bought the Theos but the EM-ESLs were so similar sounding (amazing value for the money) I decided to upgrade from Motif to Stage with the money I saved. I've got the product on order so no pictures yet, they say 6-8 weeks for delivery. Here's my new setup (once the fronts and center come in):

TV: Panasonic 55" VT30
Fronts: ML Electromotion ESL in gloss black
Center: ML Stage in gloss black
Surrounds: Emotiva ERD-1
Sub: ML Depth i
Pre/Pro: Marantz AV-7005
Amp: Emotiva XPA-5
CD: McIntosh MCD301
SAT: DirecTV HR22
BD: Playstation 3
Game: Xbox360
Power: Panamax M5400-PM
Remote: Control4 HC-300 w/ SR250 Remote
HDMI: AudioQuest Carbon
Analog Interconnect: AudioQuest Diamondback
Speaker Wire: AudioQuest Rocket 88s

Been lurking on the site a long time, but now I finally am a real MartinLogan owner :)
 
Welcome and nice system! Out of curiosity why do you hate the look of the Source and Purity models? While they don't have the standard look of the other models which the EM ESL's went for they look a lot better in person than the pics. I own both the Source and EM ESL's and while I prefer the look of the panel on the EM ESL's the dark cherry cabinet of the Source is better looking IMO. FWIW the Source cabinet is of a higher quality and heavier duty then the EM ESL's. It's much more studier and heavier (12lbs more) and the spikes and terminals are nicer. I'm not knocking the EM ESL's BTW.

How do you like the Emotiva XPA-5 with the EM ESL's? I'm thinking of picking up one of those early next year.
 
Im not sure why but the cabinet design on the sources and purifies just look really awkward to me, too much cabinet and not enough panel. I've always liked their sound though. Also, after being used to world-class wood veneer on my Vienna Acoustics Bach Grand towers that were my previous speakers, the wood they used on the source an purities looked like cheap laminate. Also, the weight difference is not a good measurement of quality. The ESLs have more panel area and rely less on a woofer and a large cabinet for the upper bass range that the panel now handles, more light panel used, less heavy mdf needed, end result being a lighter speaker overall.

I haven't received my ML gear yet, but with regards to the Emotiva amp, all I can say is it's the best bang for your buck out there. I sell McIntosh, Primare, Arcam, Denon, etc and while I'm not sayin the Emotiva beats a McIntosh, it does hold it's own against amps costing 3-4 times as much and the build quality, customer support, and resale value is outstanding.
 
but now I finally am a real MartinLogan owner :)

You mean in another 6-8 weeks !!.......... just bustin' your stones, afterall you're a 'Mopar' guy !

On a serious note....Welcome to the fray !
 
Yeah the 6-8 weeks is going to be a brutal wait. I do already have a few pairs of motion4s for my Sonos system (which pair great by the way), but without ESLs I can't say I've owned real MLs yet haha.
 
The ESLs have more panel area and rely less on a woofer and a large cabinet for the upper bass range that the panel now handles

Unless Im missing something the Source crossover is at 470hz and the new ESLs are at 500hz. So that says to me that the ESls rely on the woofer more than the Source did. I own Sources now and am thinking of selling them to get the ESLs but the crossover thing is one reason Im still on the fence. about it.

regards to the Emotiva amp, all I can say is it's the best bang for your buck out there

Couldn't agree more. I've never heard any McIntosh products but my whole system is Emotiva products form my pre to amps to cd player. The first 2ch amp I got from them which got me hooked on them was just sold online in 5 hours for about $50 less then I paid for it new, and with the 5 year warranty they are hard to beat.
 
Update to my system

So, I change my order around a little bit and ended up getting a pair of Theos, a Motif, and a Depth i in dark cherry. The depth is still on order but here's the rest of it. Still trying to figure out the acoustic treatments I need to do since it's on an awkward wall.

56b609a5.jpg
 
So, I change my order around a little bit and ended up getting a pair of Theos, a Motif, and a Depth i in dark cherry. The depth is still on order but here's the rest of it. Still trying to figure out the acoustic treatments I need to do since it's on an awkward wall.

56b609a5.jpg

Very cool. good luck ENJOY! :cool:
 

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