What do you do when you think you've reached the limit? My MartinLogans are here!

At least... I own them.

I had to sell my HT system and save a bit of money. I swear I was thinking about getting some Staxes, but hey... the ML's were a couple hundred more. So much for the "lonely sport" (or so I thought).

It all started with a nice walk through the mall... lo and behold, my local department store was having an 18 month / zero interest sale. I went in. Who in his right mind would have ever thought they were selling the MartinLogan Scripts and Scenarios there???

So, after checking my credit line and making a few phone calls to finally accept the offer on my HT, I bought the Scenarios. True, they are the smallest brother of the ML family, but hey... they are true blue Logans.

Since I got them in small downpayments, I also buy a Velodyne 12 in. sub. Hey, you can't go wrong with Velodyne, can you? (Short answer: No, I don't think so).

2 weeks later, the speakers arrive. First thing I notice: they are the demo model. Some quick calls to the store reveal that my speakers are bound to arrive in 2 months, so they sent me the demo set for me to play with. Fair enough. I don't sign the delivery papers and that's it.

So, I hastily assemble everything. Yes, the speakers sound like utter cr*p. Worse than AM radio (no kidding). I play with them all day. Something is definitely wrong. Only later on do I discover my voltage regulator has gone to heaven (or hell, maybe) and there is no power supplied to the electrostatic panel. I change the voltage regulator.

Ok. How do I say this. MartinLogans + Velodyne = ER-4s & Sennheiser 580 killer? Yes, I do think so. For the first time, I have found a speaker system that can absolutely kill a headphone combo. No kidding. They do require tons of compromises, for example... there is only one (and I do mean *one*) sweet spot. Forget about group listening. They will be your oversized headphone set from now on. Second, their positioning is absolutely crucial to their sound quality. Miss it by a few inches and sound will be phasey and incoherent. Get it right and it will make soundstaging not a word, but an experience to live by.

What is the most amazing thing about them? That someone invented the thing, maybe? Their low-level detail resolution is jaw-dropping. Play your favourite CD at the lowest volume possible, and be ready. There won't be any detail you'll miss. They can resolve the tiniest bit of detail with an intense sense of speed and attack, even at the lowest volume possible. Turn on the volume, and the direct reflections from your back and side walls turn your hall into an immense sound stage.

As for the sound quality, my sister summed it up pretty good: "your old speakers sounded nice, but these ones sound exactly like the real thing. I can almost touch the music".

So, why do I feel these speakers are better than the 580's or the ER4-s? Simple. Because they have the same level of detail, yet their soundstaging is out of this world.

Conclusion: I'm still amazed, and I'm listening one by one to my CD collection. I'm amazed, amazed, amazed, amazed. I can't go to "box" speakers now. WOW.

Jude, you can keep the Orpheus now

Calanctus, it'd be very difficult for me to answer your question because I've never felt electrostatic sound is sterile. I'm speaking strictly from memory here, but the day I listened to Staxes (at the CES in Las Vegas) I felt they were warm, yet lushly detailed. I tried on the Classics and the Earphones, and found the Earphones on the lean side, while the Classics were *just* right.

I'd say their analytical nature (if any) should not be a problem with ML's because of their dipolar nature. The added ambiance does wonders for the sound. As I said, they are the only speaker I've ever owned which everyone who hears it thinks the same...

"These things sound way too much like the real thing"

Kelly,

I'm not having that many phase issues with the MartinLogans and the Velodyne. As long as they are close together and the sub is in phase with the signal, the bass sounds good. I have the subwoofer setting at 80 hz for both systems.

Still, I'd like to try the whole thing using the Outlaw subwoofer controller, which definitely would add a lot of control to the crossover points and phase issues.

I don't think I have the money now to invest in digital phase correction. I'd rather upgrade my amp next year. The one I have right now is no slouch (it's a 1989 or 1988 Harman / Kardon HK6650R integrated - one of the beefiest integrateds I've seen, with 100 watts RMS at 8 ohms and 175 at 4 ohms) but I can hear it clipping at moderate to high listening levels. During normal listening sessions, it sounds superb (I was lucky to get an ML model with a 6 ohm nominal impedance rating) MartinLogans really do require tons of clean power to sound their best, so I think I'll go the monoblock way with them.

As soon as my wallet recovers from the financial hit, of course