New ELS 13a's On the Way!
 

Sold my Golden Ear Triton 1's and ordered the ESL 13a's!

I really struggled with this purchase. More $$ for the premium color Basalt Black. And there were some other choices BUT I loved these during my demo. And I've never owned Electrostatics.

My gear consists of a McIntosh C2600 tube preamp and McIntosh MC452.

These should be delivered in about a week or so.

Truly can't wait!

I'm sure the wait will be worth it. Congratulations

Congrats as those are awesome speakers!!! Remember the pics! FWIW ... The PBK makes a huge difference so something to consider if you didn't already purchase that.

Timobi.......Your McIntosh C2600 and MC452 will sound wonderful with the Martin Logan ELS 13a hybrid panels. Looking forward to your review.


Photo: 6moons

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatur...Ocassion/1.jpg

Well I don't know if you have heard Logan+Mac but I have. I think you are really gonna likey.

What did you demo them off of and what were the other contenders. I have yet to hear the Masterpiece series but everything I see design wise seems to suggest that ML has addressed what I considered weaknesses in the Summit/montis. I.e. I like the very large cabinets. Gotta believe the bass is going to be smoother

Thank you guys so much! First thats a wonderful pic Dan! Made me get even more anxious to actually have these in home!

yes, pics will be in order. :)

Timm, I demo'd the ESL 11a's and the B&W 803 D3's. Also heard a pair from Kef but can't remember the model.

Finally demo'd a pair of Magnepan 3.7's..

I came from GoldenEar Triton 1's. I really loved a lot of what they did. Huge sound with excellent bass but over time they grew a tad fatiguing to me. The term 'bright' is over used in audio but these were just on the etched side of things.

In my listening auditions none of these speakers had the bass output that the Tritons had. So this is something that will need addressing. However, the room that Magnolia had was pretty bad. I think I can tweak the settings and achieve better bass. Plus these have the Anthem Room Correction kit to help dial things in.

They hooked up the very gear I own: MC452 and C2600. I just fell in love with the large soundstage and the detail these had. Detail and resolution without any harshness.

I hope to receive these in the next week or so. And will definitely post back my impressions.:smoking:

^^^

Nice!!

:yes:

Triton's have powered bass, right? I think powered bass speakers are usually a bit over the top...too much bass. Vandersteen model 7 might be the exception. Remember, more bass isn't necessarily better bass :no:

Congrats on your ML's :thumbsup:

Would be curious on your 3.7 impressions. I like them a lot and the 20.7 more. What did you like better about the 11a vs 3.7? Even though not a real fair comparison. I find Maggie's to do soundstage very well and wonder if you found the same.

Indeed! And to further that the T1s had a tad too much LFE. :)

Hey Timm,

I really loved the 3.7's. I kind of grew up on Maggies. My dad had a couple of pairs over the years as did my older brother.

But the Maggies truly need a lot a room. I just don't have that room size. The ML's require the right room as well but to a lesser degree.

For my ears and where I've been and where I am now in my Audio Life :) I just preferred the smoother and warmer sound of the ML's.

No doubt tho the 3.7s are world class and a very resolving speaker.

I liked the 11a but the 13a kind of blew me away. Those are what I ended up buying. Truly can't wait for these to arrive.

I am truly excited for you. Please make sure to follow up with all of the great descriptors!!:)

The bass is adjustable. So none issue. Congrats on your stats! :thumbsup:

Congrats!!!

Thx Guys. Weather issues delayed the ML's being delivered yesterday. BUT hopefully Monday they will be here! I am moving in about 3 weeks. The new house is a much better fit for audio LOL. Yes I got this new place primarily to better serve my new ML's and the Home Theater. :)

Had planned to keep in the boxes till I move. But heck with that! Just moving about 3 miles away. I plan on breaking them in and jamming while I slowly begin the packing process.

They are here! But I am going to wait to move. It's just a couple of weeks away. These are just too big to have to try and box back up. ;)

But stay tuned for Timobi's review and awesome pics. :)

Good idea Tim, patience is a virtue. Having spent many hours listening to them I suspect you will be one happy camper !

oh yah.... what a nightmare though!!! Maybe you could put the boxes in the listening position and kind of pretend??? That has got to be killing you.... But, Dave is right.... Patience Yago Patience... Name that Disney film... haha.

Yes its hard seeing them practically shoved in the Liv room! But the house i'm getting will need some acoustic treatment; is a nice big audio room. Can't wait. I had every intention of opening them up and getting them all broken in. But the rare smart voice that said Tim, WAIT! :)

Thx guys and I appreciate you both being excited for me and with me as well :thumbsup:

Haha!! These are exciting times!! So here is the big question and always something I bother over. What is the first song I play on a new piece of gear? It is sort of like the 'right of passage' for me or something. Maybe I'll open a thread on that :). But you have time to think about it at least.

Great question! In the past I've played the excellent 180gram Vinyl pressing of James Taylor's Handy Man. Love the acoustic guitar on that track. Then some Linda Ronstadt...then slowly build up to serious Rock stuff. Then back to the acoustic stuff :)

Yes. When my new arrivals show up in the next 10 days or so ... I am thinking Tea for the Tillerman. There is a story out there how he demo'd the record on Maggie's. But my taste in music has gone all over the map in the past 5 years. I have my music in genre libraries now as I will listen to just about everything - but not country. :)

I always brought the 200 gram Tea for the Tillerman with me when I would audition speakers. GREAT album.

This time next week I will be all moved and have the audio hooked up. I'll have boxes everywhere but dangit the audio will be rocking! ;)

Question for you ML owners.

Floors are laminate I think. I'll have a big rug in the liv room but the speakers will be on the floor with spikes. Is it better to have this on something other than the faux wood?

direct coupled to the floor is best IMO.

[QUOTE=Timobi;853409]They are here! ;)QUOTE]

Isn't that a beautiful sight -- priceless.:thumbsup: Congrats Tim.:yes:

Best Sir,

Bob

Thank you...do you have some recommendations for these?

congrats on your speakers.. i listened to your exact same setup yesterday 13a's with McIntosh C2600 tube preamp and McIntosh MC452....the cd player was a mac mc550...amazing sound..

i have the 13a's also...i am waiting for some krell stuff to be delivered..hope it sounds as good as yours

just use the spikes provided with your Logans

Finally got them up and going. Please excuse the wires and cables! I will hide those etc..after I get optimal placement. ;)

I only have about 40 hours so far...they say at least 72 hours to break in the woofers. And that long before critical listening. Ok right!

Coming from GoldenEar Triton 1's I had a lot of bass. Not always accurate maybe but a big big sound with low LFE. These ESL 13's are not that kind of speaker.

The first day I thought I made a mistake. :) But the more I listened the more I have grown to truly enjoy them and are hearing details that I missed before.

The bass issue is a big issue but I also believe it's my room. The reviews go on and on about the tight bass. So I know after break in I will get the ARC software and see what happens.

There was a moment that I actually considered returning these. BUT; I also had a revelation yesterday evening while jamming while unpacking. (i just moved). I've always had my sofa and/or seats against the wall. Just the way its worked out over the years. Never really had the room. As you guys know thats kind of an Audio NO NO but you do what you gotta do. Anyway I was walking behind the chair you'll see in my pics. Thats the sweet spot BTW. I have another chair just like it on the way.

Anyway the bass was much stronger and full. And there it was; I was close to the wall. My guess is If had the Tritons in this room and was about 6 feet from the wall at my chair I would have had less bass.

So I just need to figure out how to get the room acoustics right and get a little more bass output at my seating position. Where I have the ML's and the audio is the only spot. I also have experienced having them pulled out about 2-3 feet and settled on the 15 inches or so from the wall. Seems to be the best compromise for now.

BUT the positives are: Huge soundstage; They are delicate but at the same time can play louder and LARGE more than I thought they could. These are not my dads Quads from the 1974. There's not that exaggerated treble or forward character I felt the Tritons had. Granted the T1's were and ARE wonderful. But for me at times they came across harsh. These 13a's are not lacking in detail-actually I'm hearing things I missed. But they are not in your face.

This was a longer review than I intended :)

But if anyone here has some ideas or tweaks for me re: Bass, please pass on. Magnolia in Dallas is where I purchased them. One of their guys may come out but that will be a cost to me since I am in North Louisiana. And to be frank, those guys while super nice don't give me a great sense of confidence.

Oh one more thing. I experimented with 4ohm and 8 ohms and honestly can't really tell the difference.

Thanks for all the support in this thread.

Other gear: McIntosh MC452....C2600....VPI Classic Signature.

You want to hear a funny story? I was in Dallas for the weekend and went to a Magnolia store hoping to hear the ML 15A but the largest they had was the 13A like you just purchased. The salesman I spoke to was telling about his customer with new 13A's from Louisiana and how he might be going over to help setup these speakers and the ARC tuning. What a small world it is!!!

I own a pair of Summit X's which I also bought at a Magnolia store 3 1/2 years ago. If you would like we can speak via email or phone sometime and I can offer a lot of advice for getting the most out of these speakers. To be honest I was amazed at the sound of the 13A in their store which was driven by a Arcam receiver vs my speakers with my McIntosh system. The 13A has some serious potential for greatness.

Small world indeed!!! :) :) Was the salesman Mitchell? he's been the main guy I've used over the past 2 years with stuff. Its the Park Lane location. Right by Northpark Mall.

Yes would love to share info with you and would be grateful for any insight you can offer...

Thx!

timothybglover@icloud.com (I'll send you my contact info)

Yes indeed it was Mitchell. I will be in touch.

Tim.......One issue that immediately jumps out at me is the left channel woofer is almost completely blocked from the sweet spot by the couch. It is most likely acting as an absorption panel to some degree and is certainly altering the low frequency wave launch. You commented that this particular arrangement is how it had to be in this room and I understand architectural restrictions often dictate speaker locations. Still, something needs to happen to get the speaker from behind that end of the couch, perhaps shifting the credenza and the speakers a foot or so to the right. Don't be afraid to move the speakers a bit closer to the back wall, perhaps as close as 12" to gain some low frequency reinforcement. You may want to try moving the couch down the wall another foot or so, and move your sweet spot chair closer to the wall behind it by the same distance. It will be a trial and error exercise. Don't be hasty with your adjustments. Spend some time listening after each change in speaker and/or furniture location is made.


https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...5&d=1500869031



https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...6&d=1500869057

Excellent suggestions Dan. I can do that. I have room to push things back a bit. Thx!

With all due respect Dan that is not a good idea. Logans, like all di-poles need room to breath. They always sound their best when 'out' from the wall, 4-6'

Tim, it's tough to tell from the pics but another area to address is the rake angle, try bringing them (incrementally) closer to vertical. This is in relationship to your seating position in your chair.

Dave.......My experience with planar speakers is limited to dealer show rooms so I have little hands on experience with them. I was thinking more about the depth of the woofer cabinets only and how close to the wall they might be able to gain energy in the bass region. I hadn't considered that the panels radiate from the rear. Thanks for pointing that out.

Timobi,

Congrats on the Expressions! I'm thrilled with mine!

As Dave pointed out, ML's need to be AWAY from the front wall (ideally 3 or more feet, if possible). That keeps the rear sound wave from reflecting back and "smearing" the front/direct wave. For optimizing the bass, wait until you have a good 100+ hrs playing time, then run Anthem Room Correction. If you're still not happy, you can manually adjust the bass settings (and mid-bass toggle), or play around a bit more with speaker positioning... finding the best balance of soundstage depth and imaging (midrange and highs) vs. bass.

If still unhappy, I suggest measuring the speaker/room response with something like XTZ Room Analyzer, Omnimic, or REW. It's possible you could have a major bass null in your "sweet spot" (as I do) which might require rearranging the speakers in the room, and/or adding a sub (or two).

For more advice, hop on over to the ML Owners Forum and post your questions there... http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum

What if you place acoustic/diffusion padding on the wall behind the speakers? Would that help? I maybe in a similar position to need to do this.

Really appreciate all the suggestions. I did move my sofa back about a foot. Just shifted all the seating furniture down about a foot. I tried moving the speakers closer to the wall but thought the sound wasn't as immersive.

I got in another 10 hours of break in today while I was at work. I know this is a work in progress. And I know lots of rooms are far from perfect. When I see others pics I often say how are they pulling that off LOL. So there will be tradeoffs. I just want all the sonic glory of the ML's panels as well as getting the most and best bass I can get. Hahahah don't we all? :)