Apogee vs. Martin-Logan

[abram...@ccmail.ncsc.navy.mil]

In his port, Sajjad wrote:

>Can anyone offer any comments on comparing the Apogee Centaurus 6 to
>the
>Martin Logan Aerius? I believe they both cost the same (around
>$2000),
>and they are both hybrid designs.

Let me start by saying that I am relatively new to the high-end
market. I don't have a high-end system yet myself, but I am trying to
get there.

I have heard both speakers, but not in the same city, never mind a
direct A-B comparison. Plus, the front end of each speaker was quite
different. I heard the Apogees with an NAD THX amp, and I forget the
CD player. The M-L was with a Conrad-Johnson amp and a CAL CD player.

Yes, both speakers are in the $2k range, and both are hybrid designs.
One main difference is that the Apogee has a ribbon driver, whereas
the M-L is electrostatic. I'm not too sure on the physics behind
these designs, but they are different.

Here is my $.02. I did *NOT* like the M-L Aerius's at all. They had
a very strange sound too them. Perhaps weird imaging? I don't know.
But it wasn't normal. As if part of the sound was coming from
different depths, but not in any organized fashion. Maybe is was just
their location in the room. But the sound was not too pleasing. But
the Apogees I did like. I would describe them as accurate. They
reproduced vocals quite well. The imaging was also different, as
compared to dynamic driver-types, but it was pleasant. The sound did
not come from the speakers themselves, and a decent soundstage came
out. I was doing an A-B comparison at the time with PSB Stratus
Silvers. Before I got to do a direct comparison, the PSB's sounded
pretty good. Decent tonal characteristics, not major bumps or dips.
But when I directly compared them with the Apogees, the Slant 6s
(Centaurus) blew them away. But the PSB's were also $500 less.

Jeff
abram...@ccmail.ncsc.navy.mil

---------------------------------------------------------------------
These views are my own and in no way represent those of the DoN, DoD,
or the US Government. I have enough trouble representing my own
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[Sajjad Ahmed]

Can anyone offer any comments on comparing the Apogee Centaurus 6 to the
Martin Logan Aerius? I believe they both cost the same (around $2000),
and they are both hybrid designs.

Thanks.

-Sajjad-

[Mark Verber]

In article <9500057893....@ccmail.ncsc.navy.mil>,
abram...@ccmail.ncsc.navy.mil wrote:

> In his port, Sajjad wrote:
>
> >Can anyone offer any comments on comparing the Apogee Centaurus 6 to
> >the
> >Martin Logan Aerius? I believe they both cost the same (around
> >$2000),
> >and they are both hybrid designs.

> Here is my $.02. I did *NOT* like the M-L Aerius's at all. They had

> a very strange sound too them. Perhaps weird imaging? I don't know.
> But it wasn't normal. As if part of the sound was coming from
> different depths, but not in any organized fashion. Maybe is was just
> their location in the room. But the sound was not too pleasing. But
> the Apogees I did like. I would describe them as accurate. They
> reproduced vocals quite well.

My guess is that the dealer did not set up the Aerius' correctly. They
are *very* sensitive to placement, and if not placed correctly, they
do sound awful. When the Aerius is set up properly they image very well.
I compared the Aerius to the previous Centaur line and found the Aerius
superior to the Centaur, especially for vocals. I just listened
to the Centaur Slant 6... which seemed to be an improvement over the
previous Centaurs, but I still prefer the Aerius.

--Mark Verber

[Sam Chan]

The Martin Logans are very sensitive to placement! Fort Myers, FL finally
have a high-end store. They are sell the M-Ls faster than they can display
them.

Last week I was able to finally audition the Aerius. Luckly most of the people
in the store know me and they let me move them around and set up their "display"
models. It took me about 20 minutes before I could get decent imaging
and sound out of them. I don't know if they move them since.

Anyway, good luck on your search...

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