I've heard the MartinLogan CLX.... WOW

Speaking only for myself, I have listened to the CLX's driven by Krell Evo 600 and 900, MBL 9010 and by Boulder 2060. Without question everyone at the audition far and away preferred the Boulder. As Boulder's flagship? 600 watt Class A amp, it provided a purity of tone that drove the speakers exceedingly well. Much better than the Krell which exacerbated (relative to MBL and Boulder) the fact that the speaker provides a wonderfully engaging holographic soundstage (but feels a touch "hollow" through the midband.
Overall, back to the speaker itself, it is a captivating sound without doubt. Midrange magic is alive and well...augemented by its soundstaging. The soundstage, 'breath around voices' is unique and one of the great things many of us love about panels. However, I think this panel will benefit from the Descent sub which is now being shipped with a CLX setting on it.

Compared to SF Strads, original Wilson Grand Slamm (all same price here in UK as CLX) the ML CLX feels hollow in the midband. The bodies sound ethereal, yes, but compared to Strad, do not feel as 'there' in 3D as I thought until compared them. As panels, Apogee Stages and Quad 2905 also had more 'body' to my ear. 2905 def not as refined as the CLX by a fair margin.
In sum, imho, once the Descent is added, the CLX could be an absolutely killer combination of panel magic, dynamics, bass and true body in the music. Without the Descent, I would enjoy but not ultimately choose the ClX for that price. Enjoy!

hi lloyd:

if you were selecting a speaker and had 2 on your list, namely, the clx and the magnepan 20.1, which would you select, and why ?

Hi Mr. Tennis,

I have seen your posts and respect your passion for tubes (MV125 in particular). I owned CJ MV60 for 9 years and still own CJ pre.

I have never heard the Maggie 20.1s but have read it is a great speaker. The many Maggies I have heard have generally felt 'fuller' to my ear than the corresponding MLs. In the way an EL34 tube can feel fuller in that rich, lifelike way. I would bet the CLX could get there with some work (Descent sub), but standalone, I would suspect that the Maggie 20.1s are the fuller loudspeaker. Personally, I would be very happy with clx plus descent I bet longterm. standalone, not for me. I would def want to hear the 20.1s. Again note the caveat I have heard many maggie's, just not the 20.1. Good luck!

Does anyone else find the CLX ugly?

Has anyone here auditioned the Maggie 20.1 and bought the CLX instead? The price is similar but the looks and specifications are worlds apart. Its the sound that counts though hence the question.

if you would consider a speaker the size of the 20.1, also consider the apogee duetta signature.