New ML Owner. CLS II's re-paneled and brought up to spec.

[Ronin]

Hello-

Be great to see more about any other experiences with ML in general and CLS II. I have had a ton of box speakers like Focal, Dyn, Wilson and YG. However I remember one of the coolest sounding set ups I had (maybe 20 years ago?) was Bryston and Requests. I had an opportunity to grab these speakers and went for it.

They are one owner from a former employee or partner with ML. (No names given) They also included new panels. The new panels were installed and the crossovers brought up to spec. Also they were modified by Joe V and have 4 terminals per speaker (LF/HF) so I'm in touch with ML on how best to take advantage of this mod. I imagine this is for a bi-wire or even bi-amp set up.

The speakers arrive today and I'm just going to jumper the terminals and hook it up basic two wire + and - for now. Kinda work on positioning etc.

This is a new venture... No idea how it will turn out but it could be pretty cool I hope. Nice to deviate from the box technology even though there are some pretty good speakers out there.

Thanks for any suggestions and have a great 4th!
etc.

 

[Ronin]

BTW. Just sent SN's to ML. They may be gone for long weekend. However box states CLS II Z. I'm not sure how to verify what I got but hopefully ML can help

 

[Reverb]

Welcome. We like seeing pictures. Do you have some to share of your system?

 

[Ronin]

Welcome. We like seeing pictures. Do you have some to share of your system?

 

[Ronin]

Does anyone have a link to the serial number decoder? I have looked and the link I found is dead. Also I guess these have two SNs? One on the electronics and one on the panel? SORRY. I think I found it.......

 

[Ronin]

Well they are definetly 2s, I can tell that. The box says "z" but not sure how you verify that. Using the nifty decoder it looks like the electronics are 1990 and the panels are 2001. So far I'm streaming some HD stuff and the sound is amazing. Subs are doing there thing and th stage is wide and detailed. Still gotta tweak but a good start.

 

[Robert D]

Great find in those speakers!

 

[Brad225]

Congratulations and welcome to the crowd here.
I think considering everything that has been changed you will need to get the accurate information from ML.

Which box seys Z?
I owned CLS II, IIA and IIZ. On the IIIZ had the CLS IIIZ on the back of the interface.

Curious about the 2 sets of binding posts. I can't imaging how you could bi-amp or bi-wire the panel as it is one transducer. I would be curious to see a pic of the inside of the interface. Possibly to feed a signal to your subs. My Vandersteen and later ML subs sounded much better receiving their signal from the amps/speakers rather than a line level. If your subs will do that give it a try.

You will find many suggestions as to how you can improve the sound.
One that I would recommend is getting them 8"-10" off the floor with a base of some type. This will get the center height of the panel closer to your ear height.

With some searching you will find many different ideas.
Good luck Ronin and keep us updated with your CLS future.

 

[Ronin]

Congratulations and welcome to the crowd here.
I think considering everything that has been changed you will need to get the accurate information from ML.

100% agreed and thank you!

Which box seys Z?
I owned CLS II, IIA and IIZ. On the IIIZ had the CLS IIIZ on the back of the interface.

This had the panels inside

Curious about the 2 sets of binding posts. I can't imaging how you could bi-amp or bi-wire the panel as it is one transducer. I would be curious to see a pic of the inside of the interface. Possibly to feed a signal to your subs. My Vandersteen and later ML subs sounded much better receiving their signal from the amps/speakers rather than a line level. If your subs will do that give it a try.


The upper terminals state "High Frequency Softening" and there is a rocker switch below that that toggles between "soft" and "flat". I hope I get to talk with Joe and/or the ML team about what this is designed for. I was told Joe did the mods. Not sure if that was a common mod or a one off. I have not been able to contact the original owner.

You will find many suggestions as to how you can improve the sound.
One that I would recommend is getting them 8"-10" off the floor with a base of some type. This will get the center height of the panel closer to your ear height.
I have seen pics of those stands. That would be a great thing to look into after I play with these for a bit and learn more about them

With some searching you will find many different ideas.
Good luck Ronin and keep us updated with your CLS future.
Thank you!!!

 

[Ronin]

My guess is I have a lot to learn about these speakers. Maybe a CLS II with Z panels? Then we got 4 terminals on the back and I was told upgraded crossovers. All by Joe. probably a while ago. Be interesting to see what ML comes up with. They sound darn good though. I listened earlier on "soft". Tomorrow I'll try "flat". I'm not going to mess with those terminals until I know a bit more about them. It sounds great the way it is hooked up now with cables into what I guess are the "normal" terminals and jumpers to the new terminals.

 

[Brad225]

Can you post a pic of the back of the complete interface?

I'm even more curious about there being a crossover in them.

 

[Brandon Hartwick]

Sounds like one set of binding posts probably runs through some different passive components to alter the upper frequency response. I imagine you only use one set or the other, not both.

 

[Ronin]

Brad225- I'm not sure what you mean by the pic but I'll try below.

Brandon- I bet you could be right. I have looked at pics of other units and the "Freq softening" verbiage is there along with the rocker (flat/soft) switch. That means those extra terminals are just out there. Now the reason I have them jumpered is that is how they came. Thin little 20ga wires but red to red, black to black.
I guess i could try them with jumpers removed then with mains connected to the Mod terminals. I would not think I could blow them up. I was told that from the get go the resistors were upgraded and this is a modified crossover. Just wish I had contact with someone who knew the absolute answer. I'm sure I will by next week ..

Update- I tried using the bottom terminal only and it sounded like crap. Low volume, muffled-terrible.
Then I tried top terminal only and it sounded pretty good. I have reverted back to jumpers for now (which I believe sounds the best) untill I hear from ML or someone who knows what's up. They sound wonderful so far and I got music everywhere in the room due to the rear firing. Even as I type this at my desk which is 180 off axis it sounds great...

 

[Ronin]

The only other thing I can think of after trying both terminal separate is that somehow one set is LF and the other is HF. And I don't even know if that's possible. But it seems the best sound is with jumpers. Everyone have a great 4th. Thanks everyone for chiming in......

 

[Brad225]

Brad225- I'm not sure what you mean by the pic but I'll try below.

Brandon- I bet you could be right. I have looked at pics of other units and the "Freq softening" verbiage is there along with the rocker (flat/soft) switch. That means those extra terminals are just out there. Now the reason I have them jumpered is that is how they came. Thin little 20ga wires but red to red, black to black.
I guess i could try them with jumpers removed then with mains connected to the Mod terminals. I would not think I could blow them up. I was told that from the get go the resistors were upgraded and this is a modified crossover. Just wish I had contact with someone who knew the absolute answer. I'm sure I will by next week ..

Update- I tried using the bottom terminal only and it sounded like crap. Low volume, muffled-terrible.
Then I tried top terminal only and it sounded pretty good. I have reverted back to jumpers for now (which I believe sounds the best) untill I hear from ML or someone who knows what's up. They sound wonderful so far and I got music everywhere in the room due to the rear firing. Even as I type this at my desk which is 180 off axis it sounds great...


View attachment 22988

Can you take a pic of the white writing on the interface so it can be read?

 

[Ronin]

The white writing seems to be factory standard. It says " high frequency softening" and while directly below the Mod terminals, I believe it refers to the soft/flat rocker switch that is below the verbiage.

The added terminals seem to have no description.

Mine looks like this one but with an extra set of terminals above the verbiage.


Vs

 

[Ronin]

 

[Hassebasse75]

Does anyone have a link to the serial number decoder? I have looked and the link I found is dead. Also I guess these have two SNs? One on the electronics and one on the panel? SORRY. I think I found it.......

 

[Ronin]

Thank you. My original crossover looks like 1990 and panels 2001.

 

[Reverb]

Awesome looking setup. How did it turn out?