Martin Logan vs. Thiel

Hey Kurt, Have you audition the Revel Salons? I used to owned ML Odysseys, they had great clarity and speed but that's about it. I was happy with them for a couple of months, then wanted to go back to cones. After auditioning a wide range of speakers.. B&W Nautilus 800, 802, Wilson Audio System 6, Avalon Eidolon, Thiel, JmLab Utopia, and others that has escape me. Then I audition the Revel Studios at AVI in NJ, and was blown away, it had the clarity and speed of the Martin Logans, with a soundstage so wide and deep that it seems to pull you in, not to mention the dynamic, transcient, attack and decay of each note. I thought they were the greatest speakers I have heard, until I audition the Revel Salons with a full bloom levinson setup, which was out of this world.

No I don't have any Revels for sale.
Wish I could afford the Salons tho.

I haven't heard MLs and Thiels side by side in a long while. Though I have heard them often this way. I remember the MLs being brighter, glassier and harder than the Thiels. What bothered me more than that, was the transition from ESL to dynamic driver, it was just too disjointed for me. Mind you I still liked the MLs, and this isn't meant to be a put down. The old CL models were my favorite MLs. I bought Thiels.

I just made the change from SL-3's to the CS 2.4's. Mostly based on listening room size change. No longer had the rear space for the ML's. I demoed the 2.3's side by side w/my SL-3's in my home. They both image really well but i preferred the bass on the 2.3. The integration of bass always bothered me on the ML but i still love the sound. The 2.4's are still breaking in but are truly great, imo. good luck.

This may sound like beating a dead horse but I would blame the Audioquest cables for the "lack of shimmer" in your system. The Martin Logans are incredibly transparent and I never realized how much so until I replaced some very pricey Audioquest Cobalt wires with Nordost Blue Heavens. I would even go as far as to say that there is some sort of bad interaction between AQ cables and ML speakers. No need to go overboard on cables, just get something a little more neutral.

What speakers are easier to Drive? Martin Logans or Thiels? I'm not talking about sensativity but impedence, the nominal for both is around 4 ohms but the logans also dip to 1.8-2ohms depending on model, so you think that any amp capable of driving the logans nicely will do the same to Thiels? minus the 3db sensativity factor?