Over this past weekend I picked up a pair of used Quest Zs and got them hooked up on Saturday night/Sunday morning with a bit of placement playing around.
I have listened to them for roughly two days and asked my wife what she thought. She rarely has an opinion on sound changes when I make a change, which I do quite frequently. She commented that the "new" speakers seemed to sound better on classical/female vocals/older musich (which she would include Nora Jones, Frank Sinatra, Jazzy stuff - her definition not mine). She felt however that with Rock and popular (ie. new music) they do not sound as good.
Of course I inquired as to how they sounded different, but she could not put her finger on it or describe it more than as stated above.
Fortunately a friend who is pretty familiar with sound systems, loves music and is familiar with auditioning equipment was willing to sit down and listen as well.
He found that the Zs did well, but required the volume levels to be turned up quite high to "bring them to life". At my more normal listening volumes (that I am accustomed to), he found that they were dull. He found some areas that they excelled within, sound staging, focus, air and clarity, but lacked the excitement.
My listening has resulted in similar feelings, a bit of dullness to music that would normally (in my mind) generate a greater feeling of excitement and energy. This was dimished if I turned the volume up very high, a good amount higher (in perceived decibel levels than I am accustomed to listening).
This brings me to the point in which I am seeking feedback.
First, is this characteristic of the Martin Logan "house" sound?
Is this a sign that the panels need to be replaced?
Is this a typical placement issue?
Any comments or suggestions?
Background: my normal speakers are Wilson W/P 5.1s and my amp is Krell FPB 300C driven by a GNSC modded Opus 21 and controlled by a Aesthetix Calypso (Mullard M10 Gold Pin NOS tubes). Cabling various, a combo of Transparent and Stealth for IC, everything in balanced mode. My normal speaker cables (non biwired are Harmonic Tech Reference 9s) and am running a pair of Zu cables for the woofers as a completely separate run to bi-wire the Zs. My room is roughly 12/13 X 18/19 feet with a single slanted ceiling starting at about 12 feet angling down to about 8 feet. The room is fairly well treated.
I have listened to them for roughly two days and asked my wife what she thought. She rarely has an opinion on sound changes when I make a change, which I do quite frequently. She commented that the "new" speakers seemed to sound better on classical/female vocals/older musich (which she would include Nora Jones, Frank Sinatra, Jazzy stuff - her definition not mine). She felt however that with Rock and popular (ie. new music) they do not sound as good.
Of course I inquired as to how they sounded different, but she could not put her finger on it or describe it more than as stated above.
Fortunately a friend who is pretty familiar with sound systems, loves music and is familiar with auditioning equipment was willing to sit down and listen as well.
He found that the Zs did well, but required the volume levels to be turned up quite high to "bring them to life". At my more normal listening volumes (that I am accustomed to), he found that they were dull. He found some areas that they excelled within, sound staging, focus, air and clarity, but lacked the excitement.
My listening has resulted in similar feelings, a bit of dullness to music that would normally (in my mind) generate a greater feeling of excitement and energy. This was dimished if I turned the volume up very high, a good amount higher (in perceived decibel levels than I am accustomed to listening).
This brings me to the point in which I am seeking feedback.
First, is this characteristic of the Martin Logan "house" sound?
Is this a sign that the panels need to be replaced?
Is this a typical placement issue?
Any comments or suggestions?
Background: my normal speakers are Wilson W/P 5.1s and my amp is Krell FPB 300C driven by a GNSC modded Opus 21 and controlled by a Aesthetix Calypso (Mullard M10 Gold Pin NOS tubes). Cabling various, a combo of Transparent and Stealth for IC, everything in balanced mode. My normal speaker cables (non biwired are Harmonic Tech Reference 9s) and am running a pair of Zu cables for the woofers as a completely separate run to bi-wire the Zs. My room is roughly 12/13 X 18/19 feet with a single slanted ceiling starting at about 12 feet angling down to about 8 feet. The room is fairly well treated.