MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESL
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Electromotion ESL has been on the market for eight years. Has not been upgraded during that time.
spkrdctr
Well-known member
Mine are two years old and sound fantastic. But, I do have a major problem. OK, it is a Martin Logan problem, I live in a one bedroom apartment. So, to really enjoy the ESL's you really need to turn them up a good bit and ALL the sound, instruments and nuances staart shining through. You hear stuff you have never heard before on a recording. Then if you turn them down at a certain low level you hear all that awesomeness drop out. Im guessing at 70 to 75 db. I haven't measured it although I do have a sound meter. I just haven't thought about it until just now! Anyway, I have to be careful in turning them up too much as the neighbors will also be enjoying my ESLs even though they didn't ask too. So during the day I can turn them up but at night I keep them at the Bose level of sound. In the daytime they sing like angels. The glorious sound gives pure joy and a heavenly feeling. The ESLs in a smaller space of say 600 to 700 Square feet will blow you away. Awesome bass and fantastic clear spine tingling highs. Best bang for the buck in speakers on the market today. Of course in much larger rooms you have to step up in size. But I think I wandered off the topic here. I got caught up in my speakers. Better than drinking alcohol or doing cocaine! 
roberto
Well-known member
Hola,Mine are two years old and sound fantastic. But, I do have a major problem. OK, it is a Martin Logan problem, I live in a one bedroom apartment. So, to really enjoy the ESL's you really need to turn them up a good bit and ALL the sound, instruments and nuances staart shining through. You hear stuff you have never heard before on a recording. Then if you turn them down at a certain low level you hear all that awesomeness drop out. Im guessing at 70 to 75 db. I haven't measured it although I do have a sound meter. I just haven't thought about it until just now! Anyway, I have to be careful in turning them up too much as the neighbors will also be enjoying my ESLs even though they didn't ask too. So during the day I can turn them up but at night I keep them at the Bose level of sound. In the daytime they sing like angels. The glorious sound gives pure joy and a heavenly feeling. The ESLs in a smaller space of say 600 to 700 Square feet will blow you away. Awesome bass and fantastic clear spine tingling highs. Best bang for the buck in speakers on the market today. Of course in much larger rooms you have to step up in size. But I think I wandered off the topic here. I got caught up in my speakers. Better than drinking alcohol or doing cocaine!
Can you tell us what amp do you have? It looks to me that you might have a low level power amp thing. The Electromotions can work nicely with a tube amp with only 20W/channel. And the low level is fantastic. I have a customer who has a pair at his office. So, he plays his music (mostly jazz and classical) at a very low level. He is still amused about the quality sound he has. He use a Conrad Johnson CA-45.
Some power amps like to have some input voltage to give their best. Have you tried another power amp? The stat panels are different that regular dynamic speakers. The principle behind them is the air that they move. Having a diaphragm so light that it weight less than the air the it moves, all the room fills with their free distortion sound. No matters what level you have, always the room is filled with the music. And not only that, if you set them properly, the stage is phenomenal, with the right size of the musical instruments and voices. Reading you, I am sure that you like them very much...just give a try another amp, or perhaps I could be wrong.
Happy listening!
jnorris
Member
I, too, have noticed the benefits of listening a little louder. I guess at the lower volumes the little nuances don't reach your ears from across the room. Tonality and dynamics are greatly enhanced. Perfect example is Amanda McBroom on the Sheffield album "Growing Up in Hollywood Town", at lower volumes she sounds a little muted, but at higher volumes she's more present with much of the recording studio echoes more audible.
LJSki
Member
As a new ML owner myself (and new to the hobby... although a long time 'speaker envy' member) here are a few thoughts (sorry for the length.. I just couldn't shut up) (For spkrdctr and jnorris)
I bought my ESL's last October 2019, after deciding I was going to take the plunge into real audio. I initially purchased a whole SVS setup, prime all the way around. Sounded terrible (except the enormous amount of bass... but that was way way over the top). Sent them back. I had heard ML's many times, and loved them (and own the Motion 4's which were my current theater setup). (I'm poor so don't laugh to hard at some of my modifications!) Purchased 2x ESL and 1x ElectroMotion ESL C. (Everything below is in reference to the ESL stand ups. The Center I haven't really done a lot with, other than a new amp to match the other two (coming next week) The center is not 'wonderful' yet... so need to work on that).
(I'm putting this all in here to let you know that these speakers CAN be amazing in your space, mine is similar in size, it just took a bit of fiddling)
Sounded amazing right out of the box. So the journey began...
First off spent considerable time getting them positioned and leveled to the best spot for me and my room, nearly face on to me, and 0 rake forward or back (although I think maybe 1deg back might be a tad smoother, still left them at 0): had good 'decent' sound, still way better than anything previous.
Switched to better cables: I couldn't really detect any difference.
Bought some outriggers, and used the spikes: Pretty immediate 'change' in sound. Instantly got more clear, bass seemed to fade out though. Stage finally appeared (finally understood what people are talking about) really focused everything nicely (I thought.. until...)
Bought some "washing machine" foot pads for under the spikes (really just because they were ruining the floor): HUGE change in the sound. Stage much larger, bass re-appeared in full, focus is razor sharp on the imaging. This one little thing blew me away... and cost a whole $9
Bought a pair of Wyred 4 sound used SX-1000 amps: Biggest jump. Now everything is crystal clear. I run these full range, with 2 subs for 40hz and lower, and the sound is just wild. Bass changed drastically again. This time, cleaned up to very precise and 'impactful' without any bloat or drive by car sound (thump thump junk) This is another thing I had clearly miss-understood in reviews and ratings. My first thought was that the bass was way to low... but after trying many combinations of EQ and Subs.. it became clear that the bass was ALL there, just as it was meant to be instead of mutated into something else. I still get chills every time I play "into the air" by Phil Collins and the drum line kicks in. Another fun new experience was Pipe Oregon (try "Bach Toccata And Fugue" on Dr Chesky's Sensational Fantastic and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show). It sounds like I'm there. (I have heard a lot of Pipe Oregon live performances for comparison). When he hits the pedals... the bass is natural and just wraps around you. (The subs do help here on those notes below 40hz, but even without it's pretty stunning). I could go on and on... I am sure (I know) there are better speakers and systems, however for me.. these are probably the end of the journey (unless I move to a much larger space) Everyone that comes and listens is blown away. I'm still blown away nightly (Just listened to Phaedra for the first time on this newest iteration last night... wow a whole nother level of WILD!)
...So that's my experience so far... and to bring that back into perspective. I bought a MiniDSP Umik-1 near the start of this journey, as I am 'ear paranoid' (Music is truly my primary enjoyment in life, and I am terrified of losing any hearing). I keep this on a mic stand, next to my chair, connected to my phone with a calibrated App so I can keep an eye on Volume levels. I get all the above mentioned sound while keeping the Average SPL around 75db. After inserting the new amps, it was pretty interesting to see how the "timeline" of some of my favorite music came to life.. you can see the increase in dynamics easily on the screen. Louder can be fun... (I have hit 110db with these...but very briefly), but I don't feel it enhances the overall sound any. There is an odd perception that the music is louder, even though it's actually quieter, probably due to the better dynamics and overall effect. If anything, I would turn these down some, but the sound floor in my house is higher than it should be (loud AC). I have crystal clarity from the full spectrum. After adding the amps, I NEED the SPL meter, as the sound is so clear, it's very easy to start nudging the volume up and up... just because your having so much fun!
To summarize... get an amp with a lot of headroom (the SX-1000 gives me probably 1000W at 6ohms (clearly don't ever put full power to that, unless you want to pick your woofer out of the wall behind you), and play with the little tweaks, you might (will) be surprised. You'll get all the enjoyment you can handle at any volume.
Enjoy the journey!
LJ
I bought my ESL's last October 2019, after deciding I was going to take the plunge into real audio. I initially purchased a whole SVS setup, prime all the way around. Sounded terrible (except the enormous amount of bass... but that was way way over the top). Sent them back. I had heard ML's many times, and loved them (and own the Motion 4's which were my current theater setup). (I'm poor so don't laugh to hard at some of my modifications!) Purchased 2x ESL and 1x ElectroMotion ESL C. (Everything below is in reference to the ESL stand ups. The Center I haven't really done a lot with, other than a new amp to match the other two (coming next week) The center is not 'wonderful' yet... so need to work on that).
(I'm putting this all in here to let you know that these speakers CAN be amazing in your space, mine is similar in size, it just took a bit of fiddling)
Sounded amazing right out of the box. So the journey began...
First off spent considerable time getting them positioned and leveled to the best spot for me and my room, nearly face on to me, and 0 rake forward or back (although I think maybe 1deg back might be a tad smoother, still left them at 0): had good 'decent' sound, still way better than anything previous.
Switched to better cables: I couldn't really detect any difference.
Bought some outriggers, and used the spikes: Pretty immediate 'change' in sound. Instantly got more clear, bass seemed to fade out though. Stage finally appeared (finally understood what people are talking about) really focused everything nicely (I thought.. until...)
Bought some "washing machine" foot pads for under the spikes (really just because they were ruining the floor): HUGE change in the sound. Stage much larger, bass re-appeared in full, focus is razor sharp on the imaging. This one little thing blew me away... and cost a whole $9
Bought a pair of Wyred 4 sound used SX-1000 amps: Biggest jump. Now everything is crystal clear. I run these full range, with 2 subs for 40hz and lower, and the sound is just wild. Bass changed drastically again. This time, cleaned up to very precise and 'impactful' without any bloat or drive by car sound (thump thump junk) This is another thing I had clearly miss-understood in reviews and ratings. My first thought was that the bass was way to low... but after trying many combinations of EQ and Subs.. it became clear that the bass was ALL there, just as it was meant to be instead of mutated into something else. I still get chills every time I play "into the air" by Phil Collins and the drum line kicks in. Another fun new experience was Pipe Oregon (try "Bach Toccata And Fugue" on Dr Chesky's Sensational Fantastic and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show). It sounds like I'm there. (I have heard a lot of Pipe Oregon live performances for comparison). When he hits the pedals... the bass is natural and just wraps around you. (The subs do help here on those notes below 40hz, but even without it's pretty stunning). I could go on and on... I am sure (I know) there are better speakers and systems, however for me.. these are probably the end of the journey (unless I move to a much larger space) Everyone that comes and listens is blown away. I'm still blown away nightly (Just listened to Phaedra for the first time on this newest iteration last night... wow a whole nother level of WILD!)
...So that's my experience so far... and to bring that back into perspective. I bought a MiniDSP Umik-1 near the start of this journey, as I am 'ear paranoid' (Music is truly my primary enjoyment in life, and I am terrified of losing any hearing). I keep this on a mic stand, next to my chair, connected to my phone with a calibrated App so I can keep an eye on Volume levels. I get all the above mentioned sound while keeping the Average SPL around 75db. After inserting the new amps, it was pretty interesting to see how the "timeline" of some of my favorite music came to life.. you can see the increase in dynamics easily on the screen. Louder can be fun... (I have hit 110db with these...but very briefly), but I don't feel it enhances the overall sound any. There is an odd perception that the music is louder, even though it's actually quieter, probably due to the better dynamics and overall effect. If anything, I would turn these down some, but the sound floor in my house is higher than it should be (loud AC). I have crystal clarity from the full spectrum. After adding the amps, I NEED the SPL meter, as the sound is so clear, it's very easy to start nudging the volume up and up... just because your having so much fun!
To summarize... get an amp with a lot of headroom (the SX-1000 gives me probably 1000W at 6ohms (clearly don't ever put full power to that, unless you want to pick your woofer out of the wall behind you), and play with the little tweaks, you might (will) be surprised. You'll get all the enjoyment you can handle at any volume.
Enjoy the journey!
LJ
spkrdctr
Well-known member
Roberto, I have 100 watts per channel. I will measure my sound today. I guessed at 70 db. It could be 60 db. It is very low though. I will get more info from my sound meter.
