yesterday I acquired a previously loved pair of CLS IIs with a birth date of oct '93 and both panels replaced at least once during its life with a verifiable chain of ownership. after more than 9 prs of panel speakers, 5 of them ESLs, I'm surprised I never owned a set of martin logans. I've heard plenty of them, the monolith for one was a speaker I always wanted to own but never did. I first heard the original CLS back ca '87 and subsequent versions in later years it wasn't love at first listen but they were an intriguing proposition.
I wasn't really looking for set but a local pair came up, no shipping expenses and at an agreeable price so a deal was struck. i've had these in the system now for about a day and a half and they're sounding good - but not great. my first impression is the lack of high freq extension, even for an ESL its a little dark. the low bass is absent, like nothing in the bottom octave and a half maybe two. I haven't tried the test tones on the stereophile disc to confirm what i'm hearing but my quad 57s have better 'perceived' extension at both extremes so its got me wondering. the panels have a strong output and the sensitivity seems to meet spec based on where my volume control is at, theres no buzzing or 'kazooing' nosies from the panels of any kind and the channel balance is dead even.
So i'm looking for some pointers, or tell me there's something wrong with my pair or yes, my initial observations are consistent with the CLSs character. I have plans to raise them on stands and maybe add a sub. lm looking for suggestions on all of the above.
I wasn't really looking for set but a local pair came up, no shipping expenses and at an agreeable price so a deal was struck. i've had these in the system now for about a day and a half and they're sounding good - but not great. my first impression is the lack of high freq extension, even for an ESL its a little dark. the low bass is absent, like nothing in the bottom octave and a half maybe two. I haven't tried the test tones on the stereophile disc to confirm what i'm hearing but my quad 57s have better 'perceived' extension at both extremes so its got me wondering. the panels have a strong output and the sensitivity seems to meet spec based on where my volume control is at, theres no buzzing or 'kazooing' nosies from the panels of any kind and the channel balance is dead even.
So i'm looking for some pointers, or tell me there's something wrong with my pair or yes, my initial observations are consistent with the CLSs character. I have plans to raise them on stands and maybe add a sub. lm looking for suggestions on all of the above.
