New Member Intro

[SpaceCadet]

Hi All-

I've been an audio guy since the early 1980s. In fact, I worked in the industry as a marketing/PR guy representing prominent high-end consumer and and pro audio brands up through the early 2000s. I transitioned over to technology thereafter and lost touch with the business. In the process, traveling and living abroad has caused me to sell off my high end gear. It was replaced with an iPhone containing my music collection and watching movies through a very simple low-fi system.

My lifestyle is moving more toward a nesting stage and my current income will allow me to buy some real audio equipment. One of the most memorable experiences in my past life was listening to a pair of electrostatic speakers back at the Stereophile show in FL (1995?) that left me breathless. So I'm thinking about venturing into the ML family. It's much harder these days to have real in-person demos than it was 30 years ago since the industry has contracted (consolidated?) so much since then. I'm thinking about ElectroMotion ESLs. I'm just at the beginning of my search. I have 2 daughters in college, so I'm probably limiting my budget to $7.5k all up to get a 5.1 system and a 65" screen. I'm not familiar with Atmos yet to know if it is worth the expense.

So, I'm excited to read the forum and getting to know you folks and the ML brand.

SC

 

[twich54]

SC, welcome, good luck with your HT set up !

 

[amey01]

Welcome.....

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Welcome to MLO forum.

Just my opinion and I may be mistaken. For a home theater system, the motion series may be less expensive and more dynamic sounding option than Electromotion ESL. The Electromotion Is recommended when stereo listening to music takes precedence over home theater. Just for the Electromotion ESL you will require a expensive powerful amplifier to open up the sound.

A pro audio company you may know of is Crown. They have recording and broadcast, 4 and 8 channel power amps with volume control that may sound very good with motion series of loudspeakers. Trick is to match motion loudspeaker power handling with crown amplifier RMS output.

 

[SpaceCadet]

Thanks to all for the welcome!

Rah- I have been pondering the same question. Electrostatic or dynamic? In the old days I would spend considerable time critically listening. Jazz, some orchestral and choral works, etc. I have also become quite a fan of large ensemble music from Russian composers, contemporary big band, and even Drum and Bugle Corps (don't judge until you've heard it ). I was hoping that the Electrmotions would give me that big sweet sound stage with all of the depth and detail that I always wanted when I listen in stereo mode. But I was also concerned about whether they would "punch" as hard on a movie soundtrack. And if I make a decision to go dynamic, is ML the right speaker? I'm in my mid 50's and my head-banging days are behind me. So the operative word in your comment is "priority." I probably watch more movies than I critically listen to music alone... but that's because I haven't had a good system to listen to since the 90's.

If it were you, and it was a 50/50 music to movies, what would you do?

BTW, I was just listening to a great review of the Crown XLS series and it is getting many accolades. While it is a powerhouse, I wonder if it will be fine enough for an Electromotion system...

Thanks for the welcome!

SC

 

[AuBrisbane]

Welcome SpaceCadet, and I was expecting that you are after Spacesuit.

On the subject of ML ESL and 50/50 usage for music/movies here is my Down Under experience:
HT system is:
2 X ML ESL as mains
2 X ML Electromotion C2 centre
2 X ML Dynamo 700 subs
2 X Wharfedale Valdus as 100 surround,

all powered by AVR Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A1030 and working fine for last 5 years.

Plenty of power for a very reasonable living room of mine. No sound clipping as expected when electrostatics are powered by modest AVR, as I don't drive them to extreme, just loud enough to enjoy listening to the music or watching movies.
Are ESL good enough for movies? I can confirm yes, with the note of two subs attached (in my case).
By going with ESL you will have covered music perfectly, and to cover movies very well make sure you spend some money on centre speaker as more that 70% of movie action is handled by centre speaker.

Good luck and king regards from Australia.
Zoran

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Thanks to all for the welcome!

Rah- I have been pondering the same question. Electrostatic or dynamic? In the old days I would spend considerable time critically listening. Jazz, some orchestral and choral works, etc. I have also become quite a fan of large ensemble music from Russian composers, contemporary big band, and even Drum and Bugle Corps (don't judge until you've heard it ). I was hoping that the Electrmotions would give me that big sweet sound stage with all of the depth and detail that I always wanted when I listen in stereo mode. But I was also concerned about whether they would "punch" as hard on a movie soundtrack. And if I make a decision to go dynamic, is ML the right speaker? I'm in my mid 50's and my head-banging days are behind me. So the operative word in your comment is "priority." I probably watch more movies than I critically listen to music alone... but that's because I haven't had a good system to listen to since the 90's.

If it were you, and it was a 50/50 music to movies, what would you do?

BTW, I was just listening to a great review of the Crown XLS series and it is getting many accolades. While it is a powerhouse, I wonder if it will be fine enough for an Electromotion system...

Thanks for the welcome!

SC

I may be mistaken but I believe that crown power amps designed for recording and broadcast offer the best sonics. However I listened to Andrew Robinson review of XLS 1002 DriveCore2 power amp. He said this amp is neutral and has power, speed and finesse. The word finesse is important for amplifier when aiming to drive electrostatic loudspeakers and not just their woofers. In a different review by the same person of ML Electromotion ESL he said that he used above Crown amplifier with these loudspeakers and obtained good results. Recording and broadcast amps of similar power output are nearly 3 to 4 times the sale price.

I think you should buy your equipment in steps or stages. First step buy equipment geared towards music listening. Second step buy home theater equipment. First buy ML Electromotion ESL and above Crown amp. This amp is inexpensive. If you do not like the sonics. You can sell at minimal loss.

What would I do if I had a 50-50 preference for music and movies?If I had a budget of 7.5k. I would first buy the ML Electromotion X loudspeakers for 4K. Then buy Anthem MCA225 for 2k if Crown DriveCore 2 does not suffice. I am not sure but then buy a 1.5k preamp by Parasound because without preamp I will not get large soundstage, detail and depth from my system. Add 0.7 k to my budget and buy Samsung 65 inch 4K UHD TV. I would watch movies in stereo only.

 

[fordste]

My opinion is the ESL will cover both realms of music and home theater. The big issue is you do not have the budget to achieve that goal. To get the ESL that will do well in home theater it cannot be any of the entry level speakers. That being said you are left putting together a Motion system if you want to stay close to your budget. You will give up what the ESLs can do for realism in music. Like others said what is your priority?

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Please do let us know how Crown XLS 1002 DriveCore2 sounds with Electrostatic speakers.

Look forward to your post under member systems.

Have fun listening to music.

 

[gwyko]

Hi All-

I've been an audio guy since the early 1980s. In fact, I worked in the industry as a marketing/PR guy representing prominent high-end consumer and and pro audio brands up through the early 2000s. I transitioned over to technology thereafter and lost touch with the business. In the process, traveling and living abroad has caused me to sell off my high end gear. It was replaced with an iPhone containing my music collection and watching movies through a very simple low-fi system.

My lifestyle is moving more toward a nesting stage and my current income will allow me to buy some real audio equipment. One of the most memorable experiences in my past life was listening to a pair of electrostatic speakers back at the Stereophile show in FL (1995?) that left me breathless. So I'm thinking about venturing into the ML family. It's much harder these days to have real in-person demos than it was 30 years ago since the industry has contracted (consolidated?) so much since then. I'm thinking about ElectroMotion ESLs. I'm just at the beginning of my search. I have 2 daughters in college, so I'm probably limiting my budget to $7.5k all up to get a 5.1 system and a 65" screen. I'm not familiar with Atmos yet to know if it is worth the expense.

So, I'm excited to read the forum and getting to know you folks and the ML brand.

SC

Welcome - I just joined here myself and wish you the best with your journey! The end result will be worth it, I am sure!

 

[Dgeez]

I have electrostats driven by ARC solid state amp. These guys have a very low impedance requirement that need to be carefully matched with the amp. Why not ask your local Crown dealer?
Cheers

 

[patsuh]

Hi All-

I've been an audio guy since the early 1980s. In fact, I worked in the industry as a marketing/PR guy representing prominent high-end consumer and and pro audio brands up through the early 2000s. I transitioned over to technology thereafter and lost touch with the business. In the process, traveling and living abroad has caused me to sell off my high end gear. It was replaced with an iPhone containing my music collection and watching movies through a very simple low-fi system.

My lifestyle is moving more toward a nesting stage and my current income will allow me to buy some real audio equipment. One of the most memorable experiences in my past life was listening to a pair of electrostatic speakers back at the Stereophile show in FL (1995?) that left me breathless. So I'm thinking about venturing into the ML family. It's much harder these days to have real in-person demos than it was 30 years ago since the industry has contracted (consolidated?) so much since then. I'm thinking about ElectroMotion ESLs. I'm just at the beginning of my search. I have 2 daughters in college, so I'm probably limiting my budget to $7.5k all up to get a 5.1 system and a 65" screen. I'm not familiar with Atmos yet to know if it is worth the expense.

So, I'm excited to read the forum and getting to know you folks and the ML brand.

SC

buy the motion 60xt instead electromotion esl is much better

 

[spkrdctr]

First it all depends on the size of your room. If you have smaller room the ESL will do fine. I am running the entry level ESLs in my home theater and they have lots of slam IN A SMALL ROOM. If you like listening to movies at regular to slightly elevated levels, Any speaker Martin Logan makes will do the job. If you have a larger room, you would need to go to the Motion Series to get the slam and precision that you need for loud volume movies. They also will play music extremely well. But stick to your budget and if you need to buy cheaper surround speakers, do it. It is NOT all that important for the surrounds to really match (brand etc.) your main front three. Once you are at the level of Martin Logan speakers you really can't buy junk. They simply do not make any junk! So you can easily save money on your surrounds. I would recommend the two front mains and the center be all Martin logan speakers. The motion 60 will handle volume until you have hearing damage. Thats with either movies or music. You really can't go wrong with Martin Logan speakers of any type. Good Luck and above all have fun. If it is not fun, it's just not worth doing!

 

[JonFo]

Having both a massive 5.4.4 ESL system in a custom-built dedicated room and a secondary system with dynamic speakers that fits your budget constraints, my take is you are better off going with dynamic speaker models at this time.

I took a small bedroom and repurposed it as a 'media room' that many would call an HT (since that's all it is good for now). Here is a thread I did on it: Media room – quad ML sub setup

It is now closer to your budget because I now have a 65" OLED, a new Atmos capable receiver (Denon X3600) and a UHD player (panny 820) plus Elac Atmos modules (it's a 5.4.2 setup).

And I have to say that the beautiful image from that OLED means I now watch a ton of content in that room, and the music and HT experience is quite good. But I paid a lot of attention to room setup and of course, ran the Room Corrector (with curve tweaks).

 

[Scorpio1951]

Hello to all,

Very interesting discussions and opinions! I'll offer my two cent opinion: For your needs, I would get the Motion 60, and agree with other posts encouraging you to buy the Motion 60.

 

[martinturner]

Hello to all,

I am new to the platform and I am excited to join the forum. I have been working as a digital marketing manager at a social media agency in HK. I am so excited to learn from each of you all!!!!