Summit - How much better than the Vista?

[Flavio]

I have decided to replace my existing Sunfire CRM-2 speakers (5 of them) with Martin Logan speakers but am undecided which ones to buy.

I can get a pair of used Summits for about 50% of the new price which seems like a good deal to me.
However I am not really convinced they are worth double the amount of a pair of used Vistas I can get as well.

My listening is 75% home theater and 25% music. I have two SVS PB13 Ultra subwoofers already and a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature 5-channel amplifier which I believe will be a good match with the Martin Logans.

For music I stream directly from my NAS (uncompressed formats only) to my Onkyo 3007 receiver which I only use a pre-amp.
I'l add an Emotiva DAC as soon as that becomes available and connect it to the PS3 and stream music through the PS3 instead of through the Onkyo.
Movies are streamed through my PS3 as well or played on DVD or Blu-ray through the PS3.

The center speaker will become a wall mounted Martin Logan Motif and surrounds a pair of wall mounted Script or Script i's.

The system is in my living room which is pretty large and has an open kitchen (1000 sq.ft. including kitchen, 8 ft. ceiling).
The speakers will be placed appr. 10 feet apart and my listening position is about 15 feet from the left and right speakers. Due to WAF restrictions I can only place them about 3 feet from the rear wall and 2,5 feet from the sidewall (in case of the right speaker, the left speaker is on the open side of the room).

No large room treatments possible again because of WAF restrictions. I already had a very hard time getting my better half to accept floorstanding speakers especially 'weird' looking ones like the Martin Logans!

Summit and Vista speakers are both the same generation I believe so apart from the size are there major technological differences between the two?

The main reason I am undecided is because neither the Summit or Vista will play full range. I'll probably highpass the Vista at 50Hz and the Summit at 30Hz and use the SVS Ultra subs for the lowest octaves.
On the other hand I always try to get the best gear possible and the Summit was one of the flagship ML speakers not so long ago.

The ideal would perhaps be a pair of Spires but they are impossible to find second hand at a good price in Europe.

Has anyone upgraded from a Vista to a Summit and used both with subwoofers and has some insight into the improvements that could be attained?

 

[musicman]

If your budget permit, go with the Summit. It is a much better speaker than the vista which is avery good speakers for it's price but doesn't compare at all with the summit. Everything in the Summit will be better than the Vista.

Musicman.

 

[roberto]

I have decided to replace my existing Sunfire CRM-2 speakers (5 of them) with Martin Logan speakers but am undecided which ones to buy.

I can get a pair of used Summits for about 50% of the new price which seems like a good deal to me.
However I am not really convinced they are worth double the amount of a pair of used Vistas I can get as well.

My listening is 75% home theater and 25% music. I have two SVS PB13 Ultra subwoofers already and a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature 5-channel amplifier which I believe will be a good match with the Martin Logans.

For music I stream directly from my NAS (uncompressed formats only) to my Onkyo 3007 receiver which I only use a pre-amp.
I'l add an Emotiva DAC as soon as that becomes available and connect it to the PS3 and stream music through the PS3 instead of through the Onkyo.
Movies are streamed through my PS3 as well or played on DVD or Blu-ray through the PS3.

The center speaker will become a wall mounted Martin Logan Motif and surrounds a pair of wall mounted Script or Script i's.

The system is in my living room which is pretty large and has an open kitchen (1000 sq.ft. including kitchen, 8 ft. ceiling).
The speakers will be placed appr. 10 feet apart and my listening position is about 15 feet from the left and right speakers. Due to WAF restrictions I can only place them about 3 feet from the rear wall and 2,5 feet from the sidewall (in case of the right speaker, the left speaker is on the open side of the room).

No large room treatments possible again because of WAF restrictions. I already had a very hard time getting my better half to accept floorstanding speakers especially 'weird' looking ones like the Martin Logans!

Summit and Vista speakers are both the same generation I believe so apart from the size are there major technological differences between the two?

The main reason I am undecided is because neither the Summit or Vista will play full range. I'll probably highpass the Vista at 50Hz and the Summit at 30Hz and use the SVS Ultra subs for the lowest octaves.
On the other hand I always try to get the best gear possible and the Summit was one of the flagship ML speakers not so long ago.

The ideal would perhaps be a pair of Spires but they are impossible to find second hand at a good price in Europe.

Has anyone upgraded from a Vista to a Summit and used both with subwoofers and has some insight into the improvements that could be attained?

Hola Flavio. The Vista is a very good value of ML speaker, but the Summit is a total different beast. It has two 10" woofers and each woofer has a 200 Watts digital amplifier itself. You can adjust all standing waves of your room, because you have two bass controls at 25Hz and the other at 5oHz. You can use it full range, you can get this array from your receiver with no problem. The LFE from your receiver to the subs can work well too. The panel is bigger and also the price of course. Here in America, the cost of the Vista is around $4.500.00 pair, and the cost of the Summits X $ 14.000.00 for the pair...ten grand more...and the Summits are one of the best speakers on the world market. Happy listening,
Roberto.

 

[DrJRapp]

I was faced with the same question nearly four years ago when I bought my Summits new...Vista of Summit?. I chose the Summit because of the large sized room it was to perform in, which was only about 70% of the size of yo9ur room. It's aq simple physical fact that panel size and number of LF drivers determines how much air can be moved. In a larger room, the Summits will not need to work as hard as the Vista to achieve equivalent spl....results will be lower distortion overall. Your existing of SWS subs should work well. I have the PC 13 Ultra in my own HT.

 

[Ron]

I moved from the Vantage to the Summits. It was like night and day. No need for the subs. I use the subs for home theater only.

 

[CCH]

There are a lot of very questionable ways to spend money in audio, but this isn't one of them. The difference in price is money well spent. Go with the Summits.

 

[Jungle Jack]

I moved from the Vantage to the Summits. It was like night and day. No need for the subs. I use the subs for home theater only.

Hello,
While I am glad that you have gotten that much pleasure out of your Summits,
I auditioned both the Summit and the Vantages extensively prior to purchase and my experience was not quite so dramatic.

I certainly found the Summit the superior speaker, but the difference was not so profound to me to justify the doubling in price. At the time of purchase, the Spire had not been released and Summits were not selling on the used market for less than I paid for my Vantages as well.

Even in dimensions, the difference in size between the Vantage and Summit is not that vast. Especially in the size of the panel. While it is noticeably bigger, it is not like the difference between say the Aeon and the Prodigy of years past.

Certainly, the dual powered woofer section of the Summit with the corresponding more powerful ICE module makes for much more powerful bass. That being said, I really have been pleased with the Vantage with 2 channel playback.
Cheers,
ML

 

[Ron]

Hello,
While I am glad that you have gotten that much pleasure out of your Summits,
I auditioned both the Summit and the Vantages extensively prior to purchase and my experience was not quite so dramatic.

I certainly found the Summit the superior speaker, but the difference was not so profound to me to justify the doubling in price. At the time of purchase, the Spire had not been released and Summits were not selling on the used market for less than I paid for my Vantages as well.

Even in dimensions, the difference in size between the Vantage and Summit is not that vast. Especially in the size of the panel. While it is noticeably bigger, it is not like the difference between say the Aeon and the Prodigy of years past.

Certainly, the dual powered woofer section of the Summit with the corresponding more powerful ICE module makes for much more powerful bass. That being said, I really have been pleased with the Vantage with 2 channel playback.
Cheers,
ML

I should have mentioned my room is quite large, and the summits sound just fill the room better. I also went from a 200 wpc mac to a 400 wpc mac. The base is deeper and not as dry sounding if that makes any since.