Just got some Vantages!

[Firefightingrob]

I have had these Vantages for about two weeks now. I use them for theater and two channel. Amazing sound, but I wish sweet the spot was a little bigger. My room is not ideal for producing perfect sound, but I find that just moving my head over a few inches either way makes one speaker dominant.

Right now I have a Definitive Technology CLR 3000 center that I am planning on replacing, but am trying to figure out which ML center would work best.

My seating position is somewhat nearfield and is three theater seats wide. I am thinking the design of the theater i or the motif would work best nearfield. But I want it to integrate well with the sound of the Vantages.

Would a quality center of a different brand fit well. Like a B & W HTM-1.
I have so many questions it is unreal.

That wraps up my first post.

 

[mrmike]

I found that the center channel was harder to match than the rears with my Aeon i's. I had an ok Polk center that sounded good with my old speakers but with the Aeon's it was not a good match so I ended up with a Cinema i. With the rears my Mirage bookshelfs sounded just fine.

B&W makes some great centers that might work pretty well but you should try it out before you buy.I would stick with ML if you can. I hear even the non stats do pretty well.

BTW/ I just upgraded to Vantage and will receive them Friday. I can't wait!

 

[Rich]

I highly recommend going with a Martin Logan center channel. It will match better with your Vantages than any other brand. The Matinee, Motif, and Stage are your best choices. These are all newer models and will employ the same type of panel technology as your Vantages.

 

[Firefightingrob]

Thanks for the replies. I am interested in the stage, because I think it would match the best sonicaly. But, when I look at how the sound is dispersed into the room (in an hourglass pattern), I am worried the seats off to the side will not get the same presentation.

I guess that is what brought my attention to the Theater i. It is convex as apposed to concave and distributes a wider sound wave. But this is an older speaker design and may not match perfectly anyways.

I get the feeling that the motif would not have the power to really match the Vantages at the sound levels I like to play them at, especially when I have 8 buddies over for movie night. The movie must get louder than the ambient noise.

Anyone have any other experience with centers of ML or others that may match well. BTW the room is 15'x19' with 5 theater seats. Other chairs are pulled into the theater room when people come over.

 

[Rich]

I am interested in the stage, because I think it would match the best sonicaly. But, when I look at how the sound is dispersed into the room (in an hourglass pattern), I am worried the seats off to the side will not get the same presentation.

I guess that is what brought my attention to the Theater i. It is convex as apposed to concave and distributes a wider sound wave.

I would not assume that the convex shape of the Theater i will distribute a wider sound wave than the concave shape of the Stage. I believe that due to its shape the wave from the Stage will quickly invert and then spread out in a convex waveform. I don't know -- this is just theory on my part. According to the specs, it has the same horizontal dispersion (30 degrees) as all of Martin Logan's electrostatic speakers.

I do have a Stage matched with my Summits and I haven't experienced any issues with off-axis listening. I think it is one of the best center channels Martin Logan has produced. I still think they can do better. But the Stage is a great center channel.

 

[Firefightingrob]

Here is my concern with ML centers. The stage has all the properties I need, (ok want), but if it has the same dispersion as the Cinema i the seats off to the side are not going to get good sound. Here are links to ML manuals.

Page 11 of this manual has a diagram of how the sound is dispersed:

http://www.us.martinlogan.com/pdf/manuals/manual_cinema_i.pdf

Page 17 of this manual:

http://www.us.martinlogan.com/pdf/manuals/manual_theater_i.pdf

I am curious to hear real world experience with the two different design styles.

I do love the vantages by the way. Find myself listening to much more music and watching music movies. The Doors 15th anniversary DTS dvd last night. And blown away by Eva Cassidey's "Imagine" CD.:music:

 

[asindc]

Thanks for the replies. I am interested in the stage, because I think it would match the best sonicaly. But, when I look at how the sound is dispersed into the room (in an hourglass pattern), I am worried the seats off to the side will not get the same presentation.

I guess that is what brought my attention to the Theater i. It is convex as apposed to concave and distributes a wider sound wave. But this is an older speaker design and may not match perfectly anyways.

I get the feeling that the motif would not have the power to really match the Vantages at the sound levels I like to play them at, especially when I have 8 buddies over for movie night. The movie must get louder than the ambient noise.

Anyone have any other experience with centers of ML or others that may match well. BTW the room is 15'x19' with 5 theater seats. Other chairs are pulled into the theater room when people come over.

I also have the Vantages and the Theater. The Theater is mounted high on the front wall above my projector screen, about 14 feet from my couch. I rarely have problems with the dispersal or breaks in the front soundfield. I do recommend the Theater with the Vantages if that's your best option.

 

[Firefightingrob]

thanks for the insight. I may wait for a theater to come up on the used market somewhere. Anyone know the differenc between theater and theater i?

 

[Rich]

Anyone know the differenc between theater and theater i?

The information is readily available. You just have to be willing to look for it:

Theater


Theater i

 

[Firefightingrob]

Thanks for doing that research for me.
The theater and theater i specs are identical except for release date. Has anyone heard both to compare any sonic difference? I would think that the theater i would have some type of better technology, but the specs do not indicate it.