MartinLogan Montis

Welcome and Happy New Year! Having lived with them for well over 15 years, I find the top MLs to be generally fine speakers, others like the CLX just superb but incomplete, and I missed many opportunities to audition the Statement e2. I find speakers like Magico to be overall better performers (to put it mildly; and there are others for sure, while yet others like the Wilson Alexia FAR from it), while at the same time probably all MLs can be improved. And perhaps that's the best aspect - that they can be modified and tightened up with better crossovers and other mods, as in any speaker can benefit from a top crossover and reduced vibrations. Though mine are old yet highly modified, it has been VERY hard to part with them, mostly because of the cost of admission at the next truly meaningful level; even my beloved Q3 cannot offer such a wide and deep soundstage. Which brings me to... Analysis Audio, a non-electrostatic ribbon/planar-magnetic that will have Maggie owners bow, yet so electrostatic-sounding and just beautiful overall... Folks here at WBF are just beginning to discover them lately (though a couple do own them, yet don't speak up), and I am really glad. My first exposure to them was about 5-6 years ago, and, oops I can't fit them in my room - my reaction back then was basically the same as this audiophile's about my own speakers here.

Having said all this, we are hosting New-Year's tonight and these MLs are sounding superb, but it did take a significant investment in electronics and recent modifications to my Pass XP-25 and Berkeley Alpha DAC to get there (have posted about the former, but not the latter yet). And because I am complex - as my wife would liberally say - the speakers that really pique my interest the most lately are the top Piegas... you see, I also owned a pair of Maggie MG IIIas up till 2010 and a ribbon driver has a special place in my audio heart... which brings me back to Analysis... complex indeed

Cody@TARA said:

Hello all! My name's Cody; just a disclaimer: I am an employee of TARA Labs. I'm not here to promote TARA Labs products, I was just hoping to have some worthwhile discussions with other audiophiles.

Our listening room has recently been graced by the presence of a pair of MartinLogan Montis loudspeakers. I have quite a bit of experience with electrostatic speakers, and I thought these sounded fantastic! They're currently setup with Cary components and TARA Labs Omega Evolution cables. The MartinLogans sounded clean, open, and extremely musical, especially listening to The Rolling Stones' 2013 live concert in Hyde Park (fantastic album by the way). I thoroughly enjoy the unique sound of electrostatic speakers, but I know they're not for everyone. I'd be curious to hear others' experiences with Martin Logan speakers, or any other electrostatic speakers such as JansZen, Immersion, etc.?

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Welcome Cody. Happy New Year...look forward to reading your posts. Big fan of Apogees from many years ago...would definitely like to hear the Analysis Audio speakers and the Piega references as well. The nuance and speed of panels is beguiling...it has been the all-out slam which i sometimes miss, particularly when it is usually the really big panels that deliver this (which requires both room size and SPACE around the speaker)...

I have never heard the Montis but have heard the CLX several times incl with the Descent Subs. Would like to hear the new Neolith at some point. Without creeping too far into professional/Tara Lab territory...what other speakers does TAra use in its LIstening Room...and what amps are you using now? Most curious.

The Montis is an incredible speaker and performs well above its price.

They do require some work but, assuming you have the room, gear, and a little patience, well well worth it.

The AA's, Janzens, and Maggies are also serious contenders.

I think you need to decide between a "box" speaker and a planar and then proceed with auditioning.

I used to own the Summits and think Montis is a better speaker. It sounds more right. I heard a Mch day before with Montis as the front two, and Bryston processor and Mch amp. Mahler's second was awesome.

That said, I am off Stat panels and completely sold on the Analysis w.r.t Logans, but Logans remain for me a close second, much above Apogees, Maggies, Quads, and Soundlabs. I would like to hear the Janzens because they can be pushed back to the wall. The other one that I like is a hybrid shaped like a Logan but with a ribbon magnet like the AA, made by a small manufacturer in NJ called GT Audio planar.