Just to quickly address the above two posts, as I don't want to derail this thread. After all, this is about Chris's new love and his enjoyment of the CLX's or at least I'm hoping he's going to enjoy them...
Three Room issues:
1. Not wide enough, and not adequate space from front wall to panels. More like a sausage room!
2. One had an added step or seating area (really don't know what the heck was the purpose) like a low level slab of concrete sticking out of the wall, that ran the entire length of the room only on one side (right side). I believe this extra slab was to allow things / decor to rest as well as seating. Definitely no go for sound.
3. Another room, Front wall was full of glass, followed by an elongated space then a step level higher followed by further seating area behind. If the listening position was placed before this step then you're too close, almost like wearing headphones. Then if you're located on the higher step level, that's too high! Again, definitely not suited for CLX's, mini-monitors or stand mount speakers would have been far better.
4. Due to the glass front wall, they were covered with extra heavy drapes, which then killed the HF extension that CLX's are capable of. The room was over-damped and had awkward parameters.
5. The majority of these different types of rooms just didn't have the right fit for CLX's. Either inadequate space to breathe, couldn't be taken further away from walls, not enough space between panels to form that supreme soundstage they're capable of, and not enough listening distance to make the CLX's disappear. Simply not enough space!
With regards to ceiling height, I found that anywhere from 8 to 9ft is fine, and in some cases 10ft ceilings even better. So that wasn't a problem with these rooms but they just didn't have the space for large stats.
*Note* with other owner who originally had the carry red finish and opted to keep his refurbed Apogee's, his room set-up was mighty fine! Plenty of space all round and he also kept his Apogee's positioned straight, since the listening position was quite far back. Hence, no reason for toe-in.
Re. To sub integration
Yes! This can be quite tricky, especially with CLX's due to their awesome speed in their double bass panels. In my case, I used three different types and ended up with the BF series subs. They ĵust integrate better, specifically with the built-in dsp and ARC software, it was that much easier to make the BF sub disappear. This is my experience and may not be the same for others.
I do know others who have merged their subs with stats and panel type speakers really well, with the help of other tools and software to help with room modes.
I will say this though, in the majority of cases where subs have been used with CLX's, I've found that the BF series seems to be better integrated. After all, this is ML's own design and they've designed the BF series really well! They're fantastic subs.
On another note, there are a few CLX owners systems that I've visited, who actually don't use subs at all! They've carefully selected gear to fully grip the CLX's double bass panels with tremendous speed and control. Plus proper room set-up is key! The LF detail is phenomenal! Also, the type of music they listen to doesn't contain any heavy bass material, so the CLX's are able to capture what's exactly on the recording and they reproduce this extremely well. To such a fine level that adding subs will simply ruin all that finesse!
Initially, for nearly the first two years I didn't use subs either. Only when I started listening to tunes from Grant Green, McDuff with George Benson, 3Blind Mice Japanese jazz Trio and some of Patricia Barber's Trio where LF notes really went quite low, the CLX's were trying to reproduce it and I could distinctly hear it. Only after I installed the BF210, I could actually feel those low notes. The other fantastic feature is that the BF subs only kick in when required, when a low bass signal is applied. Other than that, it's sleeping! So it's a good thing, otherwise bass heaviness will be lingering all throughout playback. To me, this is an artificial enhancement, something I don't care for.
Hope that helps!
Cheers, RJ
Three Room issues:
1. Not wide enough, and not adequate space from front wall to panels. More like a sausage room!
2. One had an added step or seating area (really don't know what the heck was the purpose) like a low level slab of concrete sticking out of the wall, that ran the entire length of the room only on one side (right side). I believe this extra slab was to allow things / decor to rest as well as seating. Definitely no go for sound.
3. Another room, Front wall was full of glass, followed by an elongated space then a step level higher followed by further seating area behind. If the listening position was placed before this step then you're too close, almost like wearing headphones. Then if you're located on the higher step level, that's too high! Again, definitely not suited for CLX's, mini-monitors or stand mount speakers would have been far better.
4. Due to the glass front wall, they were covered with extra heavy drapes, which then killed the HF extension that CLX's are capable of. The room was over-damped and had awkward parameters.
5. The majority of these different types of rooms just didn't have the right fit for CLX's. Either inadequate space to breathe, couldn't be taken further away from walls, not enough space between panels to form that supreme soundstage they're capable of, and not enough listening distance to make the CLX's disappear. Simply not enough space!
With regards to ceiling height, I found that anywhere from 8 to 9ft is fine, and in some cases 10ft ceilings even better. So that wasn't a problem with these rooms but they just didn't have the space for large stats.
*Note* with other owner who originally had the carry red finish and opted to keep his refurbed Apogee's, his room set-up was mighty fine! Plenty of space all round and he also kept his Apogee's positioned straight, since the listening position was quite far back. Hence, no reason for toe-in.
Re. To sub integration
Yes! This can be quite tricky, especially with CLX's due to their awesome speed in their double bass panels. In my case, I used three different types and ended up with the BF series subs. They ĵust integrate better, specifically with the built-in dsp and ARC software, it was that much easier to make the BF sub disappear. This is my experience and may not be the same for others.
I do know others who have merged their subs with stats and panel type speakers really well, with the help of other tools and software to help with room modes.
I will say this though, in the majority of cases where subs have been used with CLX's, I've found that the BF series seems to be better integrated. After all, this is ML's own design and they've designed the BF series really well! They're fantastic subs.
On another note, there are a few CLX owners systems that I've visited, who actually don't use subs at all! They've carefully selected gear to fully grip the CLX's double bass panels with tremendous speed and control. Plus proper room set-up is key! The LF detail is phenomenal! Also, the type of music they listen to doesn't contain any heavy bass material, so the CLX's are able to capture what's exactly on the recording and they reproduce this extremely well. To such a fine level that adding subs will simply ruin all that finesse!
Initially, for nearly the first two years I didn't use subs either. Only when I started listening to tunes from Grant Green, McDuff with George Benson, 3Blind Mice Japanese jazz Trio and some of Patricia Barber's Trio where LF notes really went quite low, the CLX's were trying to reproduce it and I could distinctly hear it. Only after I installed the BF210, I could actually feel those low notes. The other fantastic feature is that the BF subs only kick in when required, when a low bass signal is applied. Other than that, it's sleeping! So it's a good thing, otherwise bass heaviness will be lingering all throughout playback. To me, this is an artificial enhancement, something I don't care for.
Hope that helps!
Cheers, RJ
. There‘S a used 160 Watt SET NAT Magma SE available in the UK that would probably play very nicely with my NAT Magnetostat pre 
I attempted to upload a short music clip video clip with Line Magnetic 845, but apparently 45 seconds is too long.
