Martin Logan ESL X, ESL C, & Dynamo 1600X Electrostatic Speaker Review
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Today I give my five-month review of the Martin Logan ESL X, ESL C, and Dynamo 1600X subwoofer. Would you buy this $8K+ speaker system? ESL X - amzn.to/2Uvp2er ESL C - amzn.to/2OtRDwI Dynamo 1600X - amzn.to/2Uxhg3A
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Hey Channa, love the video bro. Last night I spent several hours rocking out with the Martin Logan Motion Series and they are incredible, especially for concert Blurays. I had a friend over today and he was extremely impressed with them as well. I'm hoping to have my review of them up tomorrow.
Thank you Mike! I bet those Motion Series sound great! I have the bookshelf one in for review as well.
@room-ten-oh-nine ! :)
Thank you both for your reviews. Just added a pair of ML60XT's...not Youthman's 60XTi's but as you know...very, very close. Pretty darn impressive. Youthman you should try powering your towers, and Channa your electrostats to the Crown XLS DriveCore Class D amps...I just hooked up my XLS 1502...525w 2 channels driven @ 4Ohms...it will blow your minds. Huge headroom, just a clear natural sound...unbelievable for the $$$....it will go toe to toe with almost any of the big $$$ class A/B amps out there at 15% of the cost without even getting close to overheating...the fan didn't even come on after I played the entire Eagles Fairwell Live from Melbourne Blu-ray Concert at 110dB!
Right At Home with Lee Redwood I agree I have the 60xti with a crown 2502 and they sound amazing love the speakers
How do you rate the ML to go super loud..
Have Denon x3600 avr
OH love my ESL X's. Don't you give them back! 😁
LOL!!!
@@TechnoDad techno dad you gonna review the svs pb2000 pro subwoofers sb,pc, anytime soon can't find reviews anywhere
No, they haven't sent me one. I still have the PC4000 to open, so that's probably why they haven't sent anything new.
@@TechnoDad yeah I understand was waiting on yours and others before I decide on purchasing dual pb2000 pros I wonder are they worth it over the originals,but any ways keep up the good work I learned alot from you sir....I'll keep watching
@@TechnoDad hey techno dad you think 3 sub I silly
For music I'd 100% go martin logan. Klipsch may win with the bass but they cannot compete interms of sound stage and imaging.
I agree!
Thinking about buying the ESL X, ESL C, along with subwoofer. Do you still recommend them today? Are there others speaker systems that compare to martin logan today?
Good review, I can understand your wife's point of view, those Kefs are kind of ugly, the Martin Logans are otherworldly, plus the sound has to win her over, it seems Magnepans and Martin Logans have a bit higher spouse rating, nothing like a big ugly box getting in the way. I recently acquired a Denefrips Ares II and it has changed how I listen to music, or more accurately how often I listen, there is spaciousness, a feeling of being there and the music just flows. I know the Martin Logans do a similar thing to the music, elevating it to a magical place, I am probably going to get the ESL's and use my sub to supplement the lows.
They are definitely aesthetically pleasing to many people. I always found them too artistic looking for a home theater. They are definitely speakers you want to show off. The sound is so natural. You can really lose yourself in music. Instruments and voices have such great separation and location in the soundstage
Yeah, the way the MLs reproduce acoustic instruments and vocals is just amazing!
@@TechnoDad when are you guys gonna review the pb2000 pro subwoofers
No brotha the ESL X are incredible but the electrostats are hard to get a good center image. They reproduce music incredibly its hard to get proper toe in or out with them
Techno Dad. Turn those bad boys up and queue up Dire Straits 'You and Your Friend' and behold the greatest reference piece ever recorded. Oh! and thanks for all the great reviews.
I'll try that out!
Yes, this electrostatic curved panel The dispersion is so uniform throughout a listening area, u could sound stage the music from any corner of a room"
But most electrostatic speaker suffer from humid climates, the static charge drops at the cost of efficiency.At high fre
quencies,the disturbance also rises to uncomfortable levels. 🎶🎵
No, I live in Florida which has high humidity and they have no affect on my three ML Esl.
Hey chalna.. what aVR/ amplifier u were using?
PSA speakers and Subs! JTR speakers and subs!
I have ML left, center and Right and are so statisfied with them....went to big high fidelity show in Tampa Saturday and the ML room was there and it was the best...there were speakers there for $200,000 a pair NOT including the Amp etc and they were 8 feet tall and not better than the ML electostats..
Nice Phillip! I can totally understand.
Check out Martin Logan 60XTi . They are very nice also .
I bet they are! I saw them at CEDIA. I have the smaller bookshelf in for review.
M.L. All the way!
Martin Logan!
Yup yup!!!
I love them my brand of choice that I’m now scared to try other brands lol
LOL!!
Great review ! I just HAVE to mention, from our LAST brick and mortar store here in Western Ma. I decided on the Martin Logan ESL-9's of the Masterpiece series just a week ago and found my Marantz SR-6011 having a bit of trouble driving their 4 Ohm load.
SO, tonight, I JUST picked up a brand new Parasound Halo A-21 with the matching Halo P6 preamp !! They have yet to be unboxed, but that will happen over this weekend. (Feb. 8, 2020)
What did THIS system replace?? My beloved Klipschorns that I have enjoyed for 11 years powered by restored Dynaco tube gear from the mid 60ies!! I would have NEVER thought that the Electrostats could create such a WALL OF SOUND from only 110w. per ch. With the added headroom of the Parasound A-21 at 400w per. ch. I am sure these speakers will be nothing short of amazing! Thanks to the fellows over at Safe and Sound in Chicopee MA. for helping me pair up all these components!
Nice setup!! I love Parasound amps and pres. They are clean as a whistle! I really want a pair of Expression ESL 13As and run them with a JC-5 and P6. That would be my reference two channel listening setup.
@@TechnoDad Thank you for your encouraging words. I was fortunate to be able to listen to the ESL 9's in a private showroom a little over a week ago My dealer had the complete 'Moon' system powering them. They handed me an iPad with Tidal and said 'Enjoy'.
The ESL 11 and 13 models were right next to the 9's, but they were out of my price range, so I did not ask to hear them. I had to stay focused on what I could afford. I was able to order the GLOSS BLACK versions and they arrived at my dealer's warehouse (where I picked them up) in short order. The Parasound amp and preamp were a TOTAL afterthought once I found my Marantz was over heating.
The sale of the Klipschorns was the only way I could afford the new amp and pre. Real world finances you know (O; Can't wait to re-arrange the audio rack to make room, and then sit back and hear what it all sounds like.. I would love to share a photo with you of the setup. But I am not sure how to do that. You'll let me know ? I'll stay tuned to the channel ((O;
MLs will sound WAY better if you just move that TV back. MLs need to be at least 3 feet from the walls to get that magical, 3 Dimensional, Holographic sound. With the TV equal distance from the wall, it's the same as having the MLs against the wall. Actually worse, because if you had the MLs up against the wall, the woofer enclosure would prevent the panels from being up against the wall. You probably know all this already but circumstance may be preventing you from doing this. This is true for even most box speakers, but more so for dipolar speakers like our MLs. You said something like it will be a tough choice between these and the Klipsch - base on SQ, it shouldn't even be a question. But no matter what you choose, it's your decision and whatever sounds better to you is what matters. Enjoy!
Not sure how well you can answer this, though would this kind of setup also do well for music production purposes?
Open up your Klipsch and see inside. They use cheap parts. If like the 600M most likely the speakers have no good fillings. Crossovers are very cheap. Go with Martin Logans. Klipsch are good till you see how they are made.
Martin Logan without a question. Unique, cool, what they do good nothing can touch, what they do poorly is fixed with a decent sub. Not even close.
This is a tough call, I am in the exact same position as you I have the klipsch rf7iii’s and Martin Logan esl X. I listen to the Martin Logan’s and always am amazed by their refinement and quality, but then I hook up the klipsch and they just make me smile.
Pls do vid on arc audio connection issues. It ain’t Workin and unreliable. Installers hate it and use optical. It really sucks. It was tormenting to try to get it to work between tv avr and speakers, it never worked reliably.
My esl and esl c come in tomorrow with a marantz mm7055 and integra preprocessor. I already have motion 4i for tears and a rel t9i
“waf” is the biggest joke ever, to all those men who are whipped, because of their wife’s vanity is pathetic.
Added your playlist to my Tidal collection. Fist, awesome playlist especially for demo purposes. We have the ML ESLX's for the front 2, ML ESL C18 for the front center and Tru Audio 8in REV Carbon Fiber speakers for the rear surround and left right surround all in ceiling. Using the ML Dynamo 1100X for the sub. Blown away with how good the setup is. I may switch out the ceiling speakers for the ML ceiling one day but for now the Tru Audio work great for the ceiling setup. Overall, now that I went with ML ESL speakers, I am not sure I would go back to anything else. Great review and love the video. Keep it up.
Do you think the App control on the Dynamo Subs are superior to a High Level Input that REL subs use?
Thanks for the great videos! What amp are you using to drive the MLs? What amp(s) do you recommend for ML esl?
Would you ever look at giving advice on vintage high-end speakers that we can get a reduced cost but the performance is worth the risk of used equipment
What did you decide, Martin Logan or Klipsch?
Love the channel brother, been watching your videos for quite some time, keep it up!
Thank you!
Are the esl x worth the extra money than a normal esl non x
Very different speakers. If the only thing you are missing on the ML’s is bass then as you said a good sub will make up the difference. I just did a review of my speakers, Aerial Acoustics 7T’s. Can I put a link up in the comment section? If not, no big deal.
Sure
The ml's are phenomenal speakers but the glare from the material used to make them gives me concern..will I be watching the glare or the movie?? Hahaha..
Lol! I don’t notice that actually. What’s more distracting is gloss black finish on speakers.
Hey Techno, what do you think about this ESL electrostat set up for Front L/R and Center? I am huge fan of music and along with HT - I am trying to set up both in same area and looking at getting ESL X Front Left Right and ESL C Center? How would you describe their tone? I have tried few Klipsch and just find them loud and bright and not much Musical.
Hi Savan, great question! I love the MLs for music and movies! The mids and highs are very delicate when it's organic instruments and male/female vocals. It sounds very natural and accurate. I might be upgrading to a different speaker setup soon. Are you in the US? Shoot me an email - technodad55@gmail.com
Hi
I have Onkyo TX-RZ 830 9.2 A/V receiver,
And I would like to buy a Power amplifier 9 Channels and be suitable with my Onkyo , So what is the appropriate device .
With my best wishes
Monoprice Monolith 9X
Have you ever looked into or hear anything from GoldenEar's Triton Series? I've been looking for an upgrade in my two channel system and the Triton Fives have me very close to pulling the trigger. It's come down to GoldenEar and Revel for the last couple of months!
I went to their booth at CES and they totally ignored me. I did get their PR's contact information and reached out but nothing happened. I haven't heard them but I hear good things about them.
What no comparison between the two??? TD please do a playing comparison between these two ,that would be phenomenal and it would allow us to help you choose. Thumbs up on another great video.
I will try to do a video with some mixed music. Just don't want to get hit with copyright.
I absolutely love my ESL's, and to piggie back on what you mentioned, these are wife approved!
Yup! I might put them back into rotation again!
Happy wife happy life , go with the martin Logan's with the sub and call it a day
Woot woot!!
This might be a silly question, but why not run the ML's but just add an extra sub or a larger sub
I do, but when reviewing a speaker I need to experience it by itself. I have a pair of REL HT/1508s, and they work very well with the MLs - ua-cam.com/video/PdvlwdNqsXU/v-deo.html
Two things, 1. Great playlist good takes in music. Looks similar to mine, Crystal Method, Eagles, Live, Banks etc. 2. Dual 10”s try Polk L800.
Glad you like the music! I got a great demo of the L800s at CES and man do those sound great! It's like the whole room was wearing headphones. Loved it!
Great review, but I’m subtracting a point for cardi B🤣🤣🤣
Lol! Fair enough.
Would just the smaller regular ESL be a big change in quality.
Great question! I heard them at Best Buy and they sounded great. The ESL has a single 8” woofer and a smaller electrostatic panel - amzn.to/31tNlLc
Hey man, love your channel!!! I recently just started with my home theater and your home theater basics videos have really helped me with my setup!!! Just wanted to say thanks!!!
You’re welcome Dan! Thank you for watching!
i'd love to have a pr of those ML's
You don't have speaker selector switch to a+b them
No, but that would also mean both pairs of speakers would have to be lined up. I don't have room for that. I"ll have to switch them around.
📝
That's pretty smooth - I haven't really seen much on electrostatic speakers. Cool to know that they have a high end resolution.
The way they reproduce acoustic instruments and vocals is like pure magic!
Channa D do u have interest in review klipsch with THX certification? Is possible klipsch sent then to u? They still sell but don't market on it. There's nothing anywhere.
That THX system is pretty bomb! It’s hard to get those as they cost quite a bit. I have some Klipsch Heritage stuff in and I’ll be opening soon.
@@TechnoDad bomb is good? bad? awesome? haha, compare Heritage so. I'll be waiting.
Thanks for the review. You always do such a professional and knowledgeable review. So polished. Much love to your craft.
Thank you Tristan!
Your living room received a serious visual upgrade with the ML's, they looked fantastic!
Thanks for showing us what dreams are made of :D
I wish I had the coin to spoil myself with a setup like that!
If you have the time, can you give me your opinion of my setup?
Denon X4500H, KEF LCR (Q700, Q200C), Q100 ear level side surrounds and back, Q100 front heights, Rythmik FVX15, LG 55" E6, Panasonic DMP UB900, PS4 Pro.
I was thinking about a power amp as my next upgrade, what would you do?
Eventually want to do a reno with overheads, not sure on the time line.
I was also trying to seek out a KEF Q600C in black oak but that has become difficult to find where I am. I have found the 200c to be lacking, I've played with the crossover, and raised the levels a bit. It works, but I was really hoping to have the same size uni Q driver. Didn't realize when I purchased it that it was better suited to the 500's.
I'm fairly new about taking this stuff seriously lol
Anyway, always enjoy your videos, thanks for putting out great content!
Hi D F! That's a pretty solid system!! I still have my 65" E6 in the guest room. It's tough sometimes to get the desired level out of surrounds and height channels. It would be better to offload the ear level speakers to an external power amp. At the same time be realistic about Atmos expectations as most movies don't have much going on in those channels.
@@TechnoDad Thank you, and thank you for the feedback. I built it piece by piece, and have upgraded things as I went.
Recently went from a x4200w to the 4500. For whatever reason I found the 4200 to have a better sound, not sure if I am just crazy, but the speakers seem to be brighter (harsh at times) in some scenes (gun shots/reloads John Wick 1, bathhouse scene for example).
It's possible I am being more critical now, and never noticed it before. 🤷♂️
I assumed you got a new OLED when you mentioned the E9 in the video. How are you liking it so far compared to the E6?
Great channel! I have the monitor audio silver system in my home cinema.
Nice!
Thank you for the Playlist on Tidal good set. I would also suggest you adding London Grammer and the Tesky Brothers very good level of micro-Dynamic sound
I met you this year at the Hiesens Booth at CES 2020
I hope you can do a focus on office desk audio systems that sound amazing at several price points
What’s up man?!?! Did you like CES this year? I spoke with the Audioengine guys and they have some new speakers coming out so I hope to have some of those on the channel.
@@TechnoDad I'm Headed up to Reno for work Just picked up some of the new Dayton Powerd blue tooth bookshelf speakers. hopefully, be able to improve the sound quality at the office
any good suggestions I thinking of doing something similar for the office at the house
technodad why dont you ask martilogan for a giveaway set for us mortals.
It’s not a Xbox
Lol! I can try!
Hey Techno Thanks for the review. Would you review the B&W S702? How would you compare those to the Martin Logans or Klipsch?
Hi Shinobi! I would love to, but they don't send out review units. At least not to me...
Bowers and Wilkins give me ear fatigue and Martin Logan’s have a very mellow yet musical sound to them. I think klipsch is a little too muddy for me
And Sorry ask again about but, can Denon x6500h be enough to push a 7.1 klipsch with the RF7II to reference level's? (without distort or blew up)
Yes, the RF7II are super sensitive, so it will be so loud that you'll be afraid, your head will explode long before they distort.
@@raymondleggs5508 haha thx, i'm have afraid cause their are really awesome, but have afraid to lost my denon try to pushing hard the volume.
You should be fine!
Great Vid! I am glad to hear feedback on the ESL's, I have been looking at ML's EFX (On Wall version) of that speaker for some time. If the ESL's get a WAF score of 10, the EFX might just get an 11! The problem is, there aren't that many reviews of the EFX speaker and stores don't have them to demo. I suspect the mids to highs will be VERY similar to the ESL's, I am more interested with the effect of having them on the wall. Does it keep it's imaging? Anyone have any experience with the EFX's?
That’s a great question. I think getting the proper image with the on wall speaker could be an issue. I have never seen them in person though...
Electrostatic panels radiate sound both front and back. Placing it right against a wall is not ideal. Which will cause some sound interference and degradation doing that. But I haven't heard for myself
What is better rel t9/I or dynamo 1600x, I have the rel
I haven’t heard a Rel yet
Techno Dad definitely try them out. Zero distortion, extremely fast and deep bass, musical and great for home theatre as well
Go Magnepan
I was at a high fidelity show in Tampa last Friday and one room had Magnepan...$1600 a pair...I asked the exhibitor to play a particular grand piano piece and they broke up from the keys on the right side....he was surprised and admitted they broke up....
Phillip Weissburg what do you mean “ broke up”
@@tingamer2508 aka distortion of the true sound...dah
hey T-D choose 1, RXA 3080 or SR 7013
SR7013
@@TechnoDad Then I made the right choice!!!!!!
I don't think I even have to say it =)
LOL!!!
@@TechnoDad .. :-) I have a cool idea to share with you. ..#Incoming
Love the t-shirt👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😂
Maybe I should have said, "This video is sponsored by Arizona Green Tea" . LOL!
Techno Dad 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
Techno Dad those Logan’s look very nice. Like...very very nice. But I can’t get my head around electro stats. It’s deffo a gear to believe thing. Not got the funds even if I wanted them, but I may try get in somewhere for a demo.
They are pricey, but you can find them at Best Buy Magnolia. Check them out some time!
KLIPSCH
Were these bi - wired?
No, just standard
Techno Dad Oh, thanks for the reply.
Techno Dad Can't wait for the Klipsch videos.
What is the purpose of those silver metal?
Silver metal?
Sorry, the description made by me is quite wrong.
I was referring to those things that are transparent. The physical speaker is on floor and continues up with an ornament, through which you can see.
I’ve been excited for this!!!
Oh also FIRST COMMENT
Hah! Awesome!!
Did you bi-amp or bi-wire?
No, just standard.
I love my klipsch and I love the look of traditional speakers
Stay with the Klipsch TD.