Martin Logan Aeon I

[GregLett]

My budget is limited at the moment, just purchased a new house. I'm sure down the road I'll be upgrading Now I have to get a A.R tube amp. I already have a tube pre, and cd player.

 

[TomDac]

edwinr They are the Aeon I, They are great.

Well gang I stopped by today (couldn't wait) to audition a pair of Aeon I that my dealer had setup
with A.R. gear. Well to make a long story short I bought them. I guess I'm now officially in the
club.

Hey Greg,
Welcome aboard!!! :cheers:

 

[edwinr]

Congratulations, Greg.

 

[GregLett]

thanks guys

 

[Joey_V]

Greg,

Loved following your little journey! Glad you're part of the club!!

Joey

 

[benleeys]

Greg,

Wecome to the Club!.

If I may, a word of caution on the upgrade bug from a guy who has been in the hi-fi world all of 40 years. Once you start listening for faults in your system whenever you turn it on, instead of enjoying the sheer pleasure of good music, it's time to stop and take stock of your situation and direction.

It happened to me some 25 years ago. I woke up one morning and asked myself what I was doing. After having spent hard earned kilo bucks, I was stilll feeling miserable. Despite my constant upgrading, the sound from my system was no where near concert hall sound. To give an idea of what I had going at that time, my system consisted of the Maggie Tympany IIIA, Audio Research SP6 preamp and EC3 electronic crossover, Audio Research 75A and 76 power amps, a Technics direct drive turntable with SME and Infinity arms mounted, Revox tape, etc, etc.

So what did I do? Placed an ad in the papers and got rid of the whole bloody lot for half the price I paid. Then for the next 8 years or so, I only had myself a pair of Spica driven by the rather cute Quad pre, power and tuner for company beside my bed while I decided how to avoid the insane situation I was once in. To cut the long story short, I fell in love electrostatics and acquired the Sequel II and Classe gear to drive them. More important, I did no upgrading (except for adding sources) for the last 16 years till a few months back. Am today the proud owner of a pair Summit plus all the other ML units for 5.1. And I am a very happy man and master of my audio destiny.

All right, guys, you'll be asking now when I am going to post my pics. Be patient. I am now sourcing for a camera. Hope the story of my life will benefit someone out there.

Ben

 

[GregLett]

Thanks benleeys. I know exactly what you mean.

 

[twich54]

Greg - Glad to hear of your recent purchase ! Enjoy and again welcome !

Alive@five - hey Seth.....didn't you recently purchase the new ARC Ref110 ?? if so we look forward to your impressions, I'm sure it's broken in by now.

Benleeys - Ben , your audio journey is a point well made, for most of us that have been around awhile can relate !!

 

[GregLett]

Greg -

Also do me a favor - tell Steve Seth says hi. Thanks.

Seth he remembered you you purchased there in 1991?

 

[GregLett]

Guys I'm thinking about getting a 35W tube for now to power the Aeon's for now. I have to keep the budget around $1,000 for now. Is 35W enough or am I nuts. Can anyone give me some Tube amp suggestions in that range?

Thanks.

 

[Craig]

To answer your question - Probably.

Basing amp power on wattage alone can be misleading. I've driven Aeons with a 16 watt tube amp with excellent results including good bass. What matters is that the tube amp needs to have plenty of current. The tube amp I used was an Art Audio Carrisa with 845 tubes. These tubes usually put out about 50 watts but the Carrisa is designed to use them in an untraditional low voltage and high current mode.

I currently have an Art Audio Jota BXLS SET amp that works nicely on the Aeons or Summits and it is rated at 24 watts. Again. it has plenty of current.

I also tried a powering a pair of Aeons with a Cary 300B SEI integrated (13-14 watts) amp and it failed miserably on the Aeons and the Ascents. It did however make the Summits sing rather nicely but then they are 92db sensitivity.

So to attempt to answer your question, yes a 35 watt tube amp can work with the Aeons if it has the current power to back it up. I think when you get into the 35 watt range you're probably ok but it may depends on your desired volume levels. preamp sensitivity, room size and listening preference.

Which amp were you considering? Best way to find out is to try the amp if you can and be sure to let us know how it works out.

 

[GregLett]

Craig,

Yes you did answer the question. I do remember that the current matters more than the wattage. Since this is the first time with and ML type speaker I just wasn't sure. I'm considering the PrimaLuna ProLogue Four Stereo Amplifier
I really wanted the monoblocs but got to spread the cash around.

http://www.upscaleaudio.com/product.asp?itemid=500


Thanks.

 

[GregLett]

I powered up my Aeon for the first time tonight, sounds great! I discovered that I cannot shut off the NAC tweater on one of the speakers.
Has anyone experienced this problem before?
I will most likely leave it on, but I want to hear the setup with off, +
hope it's not the start of a bigger problem.

I will call my dealer tomorrow to discuss.

 

[ralflar]

This should be fixed. You may prefer to leave them on now. In the future you may want to switch them off. I switched mine on and off a number of times and never had a problem. They had to be on while I used an HT receiver to power the speakers, and off ever since.

 

[GregLett]

This should be fixed. You may prefer to leave them on now. In the future you may want to switch them off. I switched mine on and off a number of times and never had a problem. They had to be on while I used an HT receiver to power the speakers, and off ever since.

ML send a replacement NAC tweeter, which I just installed. What a BIG PAIN IN THE RARE!!. Seems simple enough, except they have the connector strapped down, so you don't have enpugh slack to pull it through the opening. I had to use a needle nose plier, to pull on the wire, hold the connector in place then push the new tweeter on. Boy was I scared! thought I would damage something, anyway it's all done now and all seems well.:cheers:

 

[Audioseduction]

Ha Ha You are so right. If I didn't know any better I would just say the ML's are terrible speakers and walk away. Thy are running them with NAD equipment and it's just not a good match. He switched on the Krell by chance and it was much much better.

I would have to strongly disagree about your statement that NAD equipment is not a good match. I currently have matched up with my Aeon i's a NAD C162 preamp and a NAD C542 CD player. They perform wonderful with the ML's.

 

[GregLett]

I would have to strongly disagree about your statement that NAD equipment is not a good match. I currently have matched up with my Aeon i's a NAD C162 preamp and a NAD C542 CD player. They perform wonderful with the ML's.

George,

In your setup that may be he case. Your cable, equipment , speaker combo might just be the right mix. For my ears the new NAD series and the ML Vantage, setup that I heard at Harveys, was so so. I would not have purchased the ML's if that was the only Audition I heard. Their Krell ML combo, much, much better. That kept me interested in the ML line. It's all synergy in this hobby.