Paradigm vs Martin Logan (1 Viewer)

[NathanEddy]

I'd like some Paradigm speakers. I went to Best Buy to demo speakers, and they told me Martin Logan was a "sister company." The speakers I listened to were good, but they are $1,300 each. The Motion 60, I believe. Paired with the Dynamo 1100, they were actually quite badass. But the price! Jesus. So can I get something of the same quality from Paradigm for less? Are ML speakers worth the price?

 

[NathanEddy]

It looks like the Paradigm Prestige 75F are discounted to the same price as the (discounted) MartinLogan Motion 60XTi, roughly $1300 each. Can anyone weigh on which is the better speaker?

 

[Sam Posten]

At this point you are paying for aesthetics and vibe. If you like them get em and don’t drive yourself mad trying to net 1% better or worse. I have paradigms throughout my house and find them to be the best bang for the buck brand across their different tiers but you might find the coloring of other brands to fit you better.

 

[JohnRice]

Try to listen to more speakers. I suggest you go back and listen to the ELAC UniFi F5.2 (the Gen 2 5.2, not the Gen 1) at less than half the price, with the same sub, to keep things fair. If it's a Magnolia store, they should have them. Decide if the MLs are worth twice as much. Personally, between ML and Paradigm at the same price, I'd tend to lean toward the Paradigms, but personal preference always plays in.

 

[NathanEddy]

I read a review of the Motion 60s on Home Theater Review that casts some serious doubts on the Martin Logan Motion 60s for me, personally:

After I had a chance to measure the Motion 60XT, I found out why. According to my measurements, the speaker's woofer section has a resonant peak at 80 Hz. As it happens, my room's deepest axial mode (the deepest frequency at which the room resonates) is at 20 Hz. This means I'm getting a boost at all the harmonics of 20 Hz, including 40, 60, and 80 Hz. Fortunately, it's a broad boost, so it tends to have a subjectively positive effect; it tends to make the bass sound a little more kick-ass, rather than colored or boomy. But it's right where the Motion 60XT has its big resonant peak, so it only makes the speaker's idiosyncrasy more apparent. My guess is that the resonant peak may also obscure the upper bass and lower midrange, which is why I found that voices sometimes sounded thin.

. . .

Note that this is not just a room issue. I've tested hundreds of speakers in this room and only rarely encountered a situation like this. Most top speakers are not so room-sensitive. If one of your room's dimensions is 14 or 28 feet, you might have the same issue with the Motion 60XT.

My room is 19'4" x 14'8". So are these speakers just not going to work for me?

 

[JohnRice]

That does seem to be what he's saying.

 

[NathanEddy]

Yes, I just didn't know whether he was right. He does suggest a workaround involving a sub and the right receiver, but I don't want to have to force a square peg into a round hole. I think I'll spend my 3 grand on something else.

 

[JohnRice]

Just give the ELAC UniFi F52 a try.

 

[NathanEddy]

In Nashville, I can't find any store that has the ELAC speakers. Best Buy sells them, but doesn't have them in the store.

The article I quoted above mentioned a workaround of purchasing the equivalent bookshelf speakers (basically the top end of the Motion 60s) and pairing those with a good sub. I tried this out yesterday, and was astonished by the sound. They were amazing. I REALLY like these folded ribbon tweeters! I have a little bit of high frequency hearing loss (I'm 48, with a bit of tinnitus), so I like a "bright" speaker. This would save me $1600.

But then I switched over to the towers--same track and sub--and it was like Heaven opened up and I could hear the angels singing. The soundstage was massive. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get the towers. I'll have them for the rest of my life, I guess. A 30 year investment.

I think I'm going to buy an Arcam avr390 receiver to fix my room issues. I've read that their software can make the room "disappear."

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Maybe you can tame that peak resonance issue w/ some room treatment, if it indeed exists for you room, not just relying on your AVR's software. The fact he already identified for you where it'd likely be a substantial issue probably makes that task much easier.

_Man_

 

[NathanEddy]

I went with the MartinLogan Motion 60, matching center, and the 15s for surround speakers. Two Dynamo 800 subs, and Arcam receiver for its room correction software. It was pricey as hell, but I couldn't listen to the other speakers prior to purchase, so I went with what I knew sounded great. And they do!

 

[Steven Simon]

Nathan,
Did you look at the ESL's?

 

[NathanEddy]

Briefly, not seriously. I am very happy with what I got. I finally hooked up my second subwoofer yesterday. Although my room is not ideal, the system sounds amazing

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Congrats! And enjoy!



_Man_

 

[RustyD]

I went to Canada to buy my Paradigm's. They are made there and the US $ was worth a lot more and they gave me a great deal. I got $2500 reference's for about $1000