Some of the best I have heard...?

[pop]

I have been spending many enjoyable hours in front of the Martin Logan hybrid Electrostat line, and I must say I am smitten.

Ethos, Montis, SummitX it matters not, they all sound gorgeous. Never with these speakers do I try to pick them apart, I just relax and enjoy.

This speaker line is slowly pulling me away from traditional loudspeakers and opening up a whole new world. Dead center to the speakers, I have not heard more vivid imaging and deep placement. I love the sound off axis as well, it's as if stepping off to the side of concert to grab a beer at the bar. Everything still sounds clear, but lovingly placed in the distance.

I wonder, how many of you have had the opportunity to plant yourself in front of a pair? What are your thoughts? If you haven't, I highly suggest it.

[Boomzilla]

I've owned ML hybrids before. They are all you say, and more. IMHO, the Martin Logans and Magnplanars are some of the best "non-box" speakers on the market.

That said, they don't work well in my room because the room is not symmetrical from right to left. The back wave of the right speaker has a solid wall for 10 feet on either side; the left speaker has a opening to another room but a few feet from its outside edge. The back wave of the left speaker is lost to the other room & therefore the left speaker always sounds lower in amplitude than the right. I could compensate with the balance control, but that causes imaging issues.

In short, my room is just not "dipole" friendly which is why I let go two excellent pairs of speakers - Magnepan 1.6 and ML Arius. They're wonderful speakers - but not in my room.

If your room is acoustically symmetrical from right to left, then yes, planer speakers are a cheap ticket to sound that would cost 2 to 3 times more in a dynamic speaker. If you're smitten, then don't resist - you're in good company.

Boom

[Kent]

Hello Pop,

Martin Logan speakers are spectacular! I've owned several models over the years and loved them. I'm seriously thinking about going back to them. I love the dynamic speakers I currently use but miss the "magic" a properly setup pair of electrostats gives. My first "hi end" system speakers were the original Aerius model.

Boom is right you're in good company:)

[wizardofoz]

I have similar issues for my Linkwitz Orion open baffles (OB) with respect to room, but my open room area is to the right - though I can at least open the left to outdoor balcony and retain some better balance. This is not so of my other "listening" room that is more symmetrical but due to room clutter its less liveable area at the moment.

Aside from where multichannel dictates centre and sides etc in box speakers - primarily due to either height or physical location issues, all my 2 channel listening now is done on non box (OB) speakers bar one pair of Yamaha NS1000M's which have nostalgic considerations as well as being a classic monitor - although they are far less forgiving of bad material than most - normally used for short periods as they are in a bedroom where they get used before bed or as waking up on a sleeping in day.

I find the non OB sound quite distracting these days, unless they have a significant area to breathe. Like many of us these days getting time to really sit down and listen is a luxury that is few and far between our busy lives these days.