Martin Logan, whatya think?

Ya, I'm new, this is my first post, and I have more of Bobs gear than I can remember to list. I actually met the toothy big guy in the mid 70s in Seattle at a speaker lab type thingy. I think he has brains in his excrement...anyway, I was hooked.

I am looking at upgrading my front speakers, and wonder what is thought about the Martin Logan ESLs. I would get some Carver Sunfires, but what I would like are too large, too expensive, and will piss off the wife. The ESL hardly take up any room, and aren't a bad value. Anyone care to give a bit of advise to an old Fart?

WELCOME!

I've heard a variety of Martin Logan electrostats, but never been impressed with their small (sub-5') models. Plus, I can't imagine you'd spend less on MLs than Amazings....

Rather than spend that kind of scratch & if size is a problem, I'd buy a pair of the Sunfire CRMs & a good subwoofer. My $.02~

What size room, what other components, are you working with?

Welcome

WELCOME!!
From another "Old Fart".
WAF is a very important thing all right. When we got married and moved into our house, my wife said she did not like the idea of the "focal point" in the living room being the TV and stereo system. She had never seen my system, since it was in storage. At first she was not too happy about the size of the Polk Audio SDA 2A's, and the stack of audio gear I had, but as time went on, she began to enjoy the system. When I bought the Polk SRS 2's and set them up, she was apprehensive, but after listening to them, she likes. My system has grown to take up one end of our living room, and it is now the "focal point" for sure, and she loves it. I guess the best thing to say is, it took some time for her to get used to the system, and flowers on every special occasion (with a few times thrown in just because), but in the end she approves. I have a GREAT WIFE!

Greetings all:

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but stereo upgrades tend to move at a Glacial pace with me, as it takes awhile for me to ascertain what will be best for me. I finally went and checked out the Martin Logan ESLs, in comparison with what KEF, NHT classic 4Towers and Def. Tech. 8060s had to offer. I spent the better part of 2 hours listening to all, mostly to the irritation of Huppins Store here in Spokane WA. (I am old school, bigger is better, with a huge sound stage, I like loud things) and was sold on the NHT classic 4Towers. The Martin Logan ESLs were too directional with no convincing bottom end, which would not be a good choice for home theater. Really, they would only work exceptional when used by themselves as a dedicated 2 channel set up with a nice tube amp and Lostless recording playback CD player, then they would shine. The Def. Techs. while having a large sound stage, sounded harsh to me, and the Fancy Kef, while having a wonderful midrange and silky smooth high, did not have the lower end I was looking for; the NHT classic 4Towers did everything well, and were biampable, which really brings out the Lower end. While not quite as refined as the Martin Logan's on the top end, they were a darn site better than the DEF Tech, and sounded, at least to me, to be equal to the KEF's I listened to; and sounded as good as my Carver Cinema 5.1 center channel speakers, or maybe a touch better. All and all, they were the best choice, and had a wonderful black lacquer piano finish, and were not massively huge, which made the wife very happy. I have had the NHT SuperTwo towers as rear channel speakers now for about 4 years, and have been mightily impressed with their performance. The sound quality from the new NHT 4Towers is of such a high quality, as to be able to compete with other speakers costing thousands more, and yet the deal I got on them (1,500$ for the pair), I could not pass up. If folks here on the list are interested in the gear I have I can list it all, it's rather long, but for this topic, I am using the 4Towers as front channel units, Carver Cinema 5.1 front center channel, in conjunction with a Marantz SR8002 AV receiver, Carver TFM-35x and TFM-25, along with Klipsch 2 channel in wall side speakers, and NHT SuperTwos for the rear. This is set up as a 7.1 surround system, complete with a M&K 12" powered sub., but no rear center channel. I really am not all that interested in a rear center channel, as the NHT SuperTwos seem to more than make up for one. Actually, the bass I get off the NHT Classic 4Towers is so good, as to really make the need for the powered M&K Sub Woofer not necessary. But then overkill is a passion of mine since I still subscribe to the old school mentality that bigger is not only better, but more life like. Believe it or not, I still can hear pretty well...., but for some reason I don't hear my wife as well as I once did....hmmmm, wonder why? LOL!
Thanks to all who provided input, it really helped me out a lot. So, all you fellow audio heads...post on!

Rick...the Le Petomane!