Martin Logan Neolith

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
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Apr 2, 2013
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I've recently read the review in the TAS of the new Martin Logan Neoliths. I've now heard them three times. I heard them sound pretty good with very well recorded (read: audiophile) music, but once they switched to a less than stellar recording, they transformed and became quite nasty, thin and literally cleared the room every time.

Has anyone else heard them? Has anyone heard them in a good setting?
 
I heard them in Toronto show and I think any speaker would have a hard time in that room.

Nice looking speaker but the sound was not great I was not reaching for my wallet . I would want to hear them again at lest a couple of times.

This is not cheap speaker to buy or to power not for me at this time.

It seemed well built and was better looking than any photo I have seen of it.
 
Garth - I'm in agreement with you. "Not great". When I first heard them, MSRP had not yet been determined. The rep hinted at around $50k. I wonder how the price jumped so much above that?

Not worth it IMO. I can think of dozens better above $50k I would rather have.


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Been living with the Neoliths for about a month now and pretty excited. Have used with a number of different amps from ARC, CJ, Nagra, Pass and PrimaLuna, all good. These are the most tube friendly ML's I've ever heard. Stay tuned....
 
a.wayne said:
Its the best ML speaker i have ever heard
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I don't agree and many others agree with me. To me, the Renaissance is the best ML. I've heard the Neolith many times. MEH. Something weird going on.


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Never heard the renaissance, did you hear the Neolith at shows or was it someones setup, i heard it in a private setting with devialet 400/400 ..
 
a.wayne said:
Never heard the renaissance, did you hear the Neolith at shows or was it someones setup, i heard it in a private setting with devialet 400/400 ..
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Well, let's see:

On Mc gear at RMAF
On EMM Labs gear at RMAF
On Constellation at CES
And at least three more times.

Plus, at a local Florida dealers with Parasound JC1's.

I liked the Renaissance much better. I like ML's, just don't move your head. [emoji6]

Best ML setup, bar none, is George's (Audio Seduction). Also, probably the lowest noise floor of any system I've ever heard. George obsesses about noise floor and his work has paid off in spades. Fabulous.


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I've never liked ML with Mac either. Always flat and lacking dynamics. Oddly, I'm getting incredible results with my little 20wpc Nagra 300i
 
tonepub said:
I've never liked ML with Mac either. Always flat and lacking dynamics. Oddly, I'm getting incredible results with my little 20wpc Nagra 300i
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I bet that's wonderful.


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tonepub said:
I've never liked ML with Mac either. Always flat and lacking dynamics. Oddly, I'm getting incredible results with my little 20wpc Nagra 300i
Click to expand...


Not an ML fan myself , but i did like the neolith and thought it with potential, I guess Mike needs to hear your setup .. :)
 
tonepub said:
I've never liked ML with Mac either. Always flat and lacking dynamics. Oddly, I'm getting incredible results with my little 20wpc Nagra 300i
Click to expand...
When I had the 2301's I tried them through the Summit X speakers i had at the same time as the Sonus Faber Strads, to say I was disappointed in the sound would be an understatement. My wife had been shopping & when she walked from the garage into the kitchen she bellowed what the hell is wrong with the stereo. I tend to agree with the Mc statement.
 
Of course the best combination I'm getting is with the Pass Xs 300s. (and Xs Pre/Xs Phono). My Quad 2812s sound amazing with those amps too.
 
2301s and Summits not a good match. No highs, no dynamics and no imaging. Just not a fit. The 2275 is not a fit either and that's a wonderful amp!
 
Couldnt find an impedance graph on the Summits , only this on their website ...
4 Ohms, 0.7 at 20kHz. Compatible with 4, 6, or 8 Ohm rated amplifiers.








Would have liked to have seen mag and phase at say 12K-16K.

The 2301 has a 2 ohm tap , did you guys try it on the 2 ohm tap ..?
 
tonepub said:
Of course the best combination I'm getting is with the Pass Xs 300s. (and Xs Pre/Xs Phono). My Quad 2812s sound amazing with those amps too.
Click to expand...

Pass with ML works great. George (Audio Seduction) has this combo and holy crap is it good. But trust me, those Renaissance ML's are the bomb. If you've got the Neolith's sounding good, I would love to hear them.
 
Just heard the Renaissance at a local Best Buy/Magnolia. Horrible setup... ~11 ft apart, toe'd in unevenly, listening position 6 ft from speakers. They were driven by ? Arcam separates (sales guy didn't know specs). Bass was overpowering, high's shrill. Don't know if they even ran the ARC bass correction. They're not going to sell any demo'd like that!

I really wanted to hear the Expression ESL 13A, but they didn't have any. Another local BB/Magnolia supposedly does, so hopefully set up better (though I doubt it).
 
I've heard the new Expressions and they sound really pretty darn good. I've not heard the Renaissance yet but want to. I heard the Neolith's at a Magnolia at the Galleria in Houston and really wasn't impressed at all ... I agree with earlier comments that they were very thin and not much depth. They also were struggling to produce deep bass. I'm guessing the room has some issues. I have gotten really good results with my MC601's with my Ethos soon to be one of the newer pair ... but I run a Mark Levinson No326s pre and I like the synergy with that pre much better than the Mac pre's with the ML speakers and the 601's. I did try the new C1100 recently and still liked the Levinson better. Just personal preference for sure! :-)
 
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