Martin Logan Aeons help?

Hello,

I demoed the Aeons for two weeks when I'm searching for speakers to buy. During that time, I used "two" amp set up. The first one using a receiver, the Yamaha RXV1 125 W/ch; and the second using an outboard (separate) amp, the Threshold Stasis S500 Series II 250 w/ch A-AB.

The difference is dramatic using the Threshold compared to the receiver. The electrostat will eat your receiver alive, no doubt! Planars, ribbons, or ESL panels requires good amplification (high current) because of the shift in the impedance curve during normal operation (say, 20hz-20khz). Some manufacturer's data indicates that the nominal impedance is about 4 Ohms at 1 Khz and goes down to 1.0 ohms at 20 Khz.( Martin Logans as a good example). Unless your receiver can handle such current transient demands, you will not experience the true beauty of electrostatic speakers at all!

Hope this helps

I would think that you could upgrade to an external power amplifier and satisfy the requirements. You only need two channels of clean power to handle them. I have used non-ML surrounds with my ML L/C/R and it worked fine. I mostly have ML surrounds now because I got a tremendous bargin on them (here at the 'Gon). I'd say that the most you'd really need to spend is a 2-channel amp and a ML Cinema center channel.

Not sure what your budget is, but I picked up a Counterpoint SA-220 (almost 400wpc @ 4 ohms, more than enough to run my larger Odysseys) for under $800. I picked up a newer Classe CA200 (also 400wpc @ 4 ohms) for around $1000. I'm not suggesting that you go buy either of these pieces, necessarily - but I know that they handle my speakers and one presumes they'll handle the Aeons at least as well. (and you can probably spend less.)

Clew- Agnes3 has the right idea. Tubes and ESL can be outstanding together. As was suggested, you could take this in steps by getting the tube amp first, utilizing the Denon pre outs. This would get you on your way. (You might look into a nice used VTL stereo or mono-blocks amps. I saw a pair of ARC M100 mono-blocks for around $2K not too long ago. I've seen the Cary V12 used as low as $2200, and it is extremely good. Plan on spending $1500 to $2K to get good build and sonic quality. Budget a little for some New Old Stock (NOS) tubes, and you'll be very pleased with what the M-Ls can do.

The next step (and equally as important) would be a nice analog pre-amp. Again, I'm partial to good tube designs. (An older Audible Illusions 2D can be found for around $500, and it has the added advantage of offering a very nice internal MM phonostage if you decide to explore the beauty of vinyl). C-J, MFA, Aranov all offered fine amps and pre-amps that at used prices can be excellent building blocks. Also, there are several manufacturers making excellent components selling factory direct that offer very high value. Wright-sound.com is one such site, and there are many others if you really start to investigate the net.

Though I've mentioned the obvious components, don't forget about interconnect and speaker cables, power cords, and what the equipment is resting upon. I recommend that you check out the Sonoran cables and Sistrum/audiopoints at audiopoints.com, as I've had excellent results with their products. Nearly everyone will have their personal favorites, and I'm no exception.

You are just starting your journey to the dark side ...er, I mean the enlightened path of hi-end audio;^) Keep in mind that most of the fun is in the trip, not necessarily the destination. Enjoy!

Clew 84:

I just bought AEON over B&W CMD9. To my ears, AEON outperformed B&W while listening to REM and classical music. B&W CMD9 are good and excels in reproducing high frequency, but lacks mid-range, bass, depth, and clarity. You're in the right price range for a good power amp to drive AEON. I noticed a big difference in sound quality at both low and loud volumes comparing Rotel 200W ($1000) to Classe 151 150W ($2300)amp. Classe outperformed Rotel easily, as should be.
Later on, I plan to hook up a $2K plus power amp to my Integra 7.2 A/V so as to avoid pre-amp costs, perhaps you can consider this option as well. What do you think?

There is a review in the latest TAS.