Martin Logan user for years...new to board

[ES347]

Hello everyone,

I own two prs. of Aerius i's : one pair in our home theater and the other in my primary 2CH system. I feel like a bit of a piker here with postings of Statements and so forth but must admit that my diminutive little system sounds very good. I run the Aerius i's with a Velodyne sub and the sound is pretty fulfilling at least to my ears. I am considering the Spires but have concerns. I know they have what is essentially built in subwoofers with adjustable levels but it seems that with any hybrid planar speaker with a subwoofer, in order to get optimum performance, the planar side of the equation needs to be several feet from the back and side walls as they are in my system. But the subwoofers don't belong out there, being much happier in a corner or at least next to the back wall. For that reason I am hesitant to make the jump. I am told that the new Spires with their newer panel technology and that super duper crossover should sound more transparent than my Aerius's but even with those 10" "subwoofers", I can't see me automatically ditching the Velodyne. Has anyone here on the board upgraded from the Aerius to the Spires and if so, could you try and describe the difference. The local dealer is willing to bring a pr. out for an in-home demo so I'm thinking about doing that. Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[twich54]

ES, welcome !

Regarding your concerns with the Spires I don't think they are for real, here's why, first off it is NOT a "subwoofer" rather a BASS driver that operates beyond the first octave (Deep Bass, the TRUE definition of a "sub"), the bass driver of the Spire actually crosses over in the forth octave (lower midrange) so the "corner placing" for that type of coverage has little or no merit.

 

[Gordon]

Hi ES and welcome. I'm a new guy to ML and just moved to the Spire from the Vantage. I've only had the Spire in the house for about a week with about 30 hours on them. I have to second what Dave said. These are not subs. I also had a "real" sub hooked up to the Vantage but it is not in play right now with the Spire. Not sure if your talking about your 2 channel or HT in your post but I think if it is the HT, you'd want to keep the sub. 2 channel is your call, personal preference. I personally think my sub is either going to replace the one in the HT or go up for sale.

Getting an in home demo is a great idea and would take the guy up on it. I certainly would have jumped at that chance if I could have.

Gordon

 

[rockeratheart]

Hey ES347

Nice to have you here. I wouldn't call you're system "diminutive". I don't even have 1 pair of MLs yet. I've listened to several pairs of MLs in stores and any pair of this high quality brand performs better than, well, I'll say almost all at their price point. (just to be diplomatic) Just wanted to say you should be proud of your Aerius i systems. I am however, not able to advise you on your sub problem though. Good luck.

ben