Martin Logan Aerius speakers

[sbcoffey42]

I have a work acquaintance who is selling a set of Martain Logans for a 1000. They look to be in incredible shape and he is the original owner. The price looks fair for what research i have done. The plan would be to connect them to a pioneer sx1050 in my music room.  Does anyone have any expierence with these they would like to share or advice on what i should be looking for when i can see them?

[PrestonTom]

I used to own a pair of these. They are an entry level model and went through some updates. You will want to know if the panels have ever been replaced. The panels wear out over time, partially due to humidity. If so, there will be a loss at the higher frequencies. 

 

Since they are a panel speaker, considerable care is required in their placement. The manual (available online) is a good guide if you follow the directions carefully (the process is a bit tedious and certainly not quick).

 

The midrange will sound very nice (true of most panel speakers). The bass (in this case a sealed cone woofer) will be a bit underwhelming. It is best used with a subwoofer. When you listen to them, properly positioned, the there will be a "magic" about them. Turn it up 15-20 dB (3-4 times "louder"), then ask yourself if the "magic" is still there?

 

My review is not a negative one. Panel speakers, in general, do some things very nicely. The Aerius would be a good introduction.

 

BTW, if you have a look at Craigslist, you will see the asking price is a little high. 

 

Good luck,

-Tom

[sbcoffey42]

Thank you for your response. I do not believe they are going anywhere anytime soon and they have been cared for by someone who appreciates them. I will see if ican haggle a better price. Unless i find something i would like better at that price point.

[MC39693]

@sbcoffey42 I own ML Clarity which are maybe 2 or 3 generations newer, entry level. As noted above check that the panels are ok, how have they been cared for and what type of environment have they been in. They are nominally 4 ohm. Have you run any 4 ohm speakers on your receiver? I use a Denon x4300 with similar power rating (125 watts at 8 ohm) as your receiver and my Theater I center channel (4 ohm) is ok, and needs to be dialed back a bit to not overwhelm the Clarity which are nominally 6 ohm. 

 

If you have not done so, you might check ML site for their discussion of their hybrid panel speakers. And there is a ML owners web site you might check for input on Aerius. 

 

As @PrestonTom noted the mids should be very good. Low end can use some help, I use twin 10 inch sealed front firing subs. The reason to keep them away from walls, they are dipole in that the panel emits sound to the rear as well as front, and they have fairly wide side dispersion. 

 

Good luck. 

[PrestonTom]

Good points.

Need to emphasize that panel speakers, in general, are a tough load for an amplifier. They are both inefficient and reactive. Amplifier requirements will be quite different than what you see with Klipsch equipment.

 

Just going through the numbers in my head and my deficient memory, it is quite possible those Aerius speakers are over 30 years old. The panels may need replacement (they will still make sound, but it will rolled off and attenuated). Replacement panels, if needed, can be installed by the user and are only slightly expensive.

 

In either case, good luck,

-Tom

[MC39693]

I have been able to run my Klipsch Heresy on same Denon together with the ML. Let’s just say Audessey and lots of tuning per channel was required! The Heresy efficiency at 8 ohm really ran over the ML. But I love the ML mids. There are threads on the ML Owners forum re. panel maintenance and  replacement. Some folks take them off and wash them... I’m too chicken to try that. A light clean cloth dusting and vacuuming once in a while, plus Calgary is very dry. 

 

I have been trying to get my wife to sew up a pair of covers, light cotton maybe to keep dust off them when not in use.

 

drop a note and let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

 

@PrestonTom, I've seen after market linear power supplies for ML speakers vs the cheap little wall wart/power supplies as OEM.  Any thoughts as to whether these at $249 each CAD would be worthwhile?  Just a thought, but my 65 year old ears might not hear any difference anyhow!  All I do on my CL is cleaning, and a bit of bees wax once per year on the wood.  The Theater I just gets cleaned.  It is a really good centre channel.

[PrestonTom]

No idea about the power supplies, although I do l know folks like to upgrade them. I remember When I found out I was supposed to clean the panels. I used an upholstery attachment on the vacuum cleaner and was very, very careful. A relative phoned later and asked what I was up to ("vacuuming my speakers ...."). They thought I had really gone over the top after hearing that. 

[Alexander]

 

Back in ~1996-7 I bought ML Aerius, upgraded to SL2's and finally reQuest's. As mentioned they are very different than a conventional speaker. And yes they are very hard on amps. At the time I got these the sales rep told me that these things can have impedance swings as low as 2 ohms. Just to give you an example of there life span & cost - I had needed to replace the reQuest panels after ~12 years and by the time I finally did in 2012 they cost just over $1000 for the pair. You may want to contact ML on what a new set of panels would cost. IMHO the price is too high for his/her Aerius and having moved up in the models both the SL2's & reQuest's both were head and shoulders better than the Aerius.

 

But by all means if given the opportunity to hear even an entry level “stat's” then go for it. You never know, you might get the bug for something like these.

[MC39693]

@PrestonTom My wife thinks I’ve lost it for asking her to make “pyjamas” for the speakers!

 

I second @Alexander comment, the asking price seems high even not considering the potential for panel replacement. I’d be asking $1,000 Canadian if I was to list my Clarity which are much newer and include more technology (tweeter, better crossover, newer stators etc.). So, I’d listen to them, but i’d Not pay asking price. 

 

Be careful, once you hear ML it’s hard to shake!

[sbcoffey42]

"Back in ~1996-7 I bought ML Aerius, upgraded to SL2's and finally reQuest's. As mentioned they are very different than a conventional speaker. And yes they are very hard on amps. At the time I got these the sales rep told me that these things can have impedance swings as low as 2 ohms. Just to give you an example of there life span & cost - I had needed to replace the reQuest panels after ~12 years and by the time I finally did in 2012 they cost just over $1000 for the pair. You may want to contact ML on what a new set of panels would cost. IMHO the price is too high for his/her Aerius and having moved up in the models both the SL2's & reQuest's both were head and shoulders better than the Aerius."

 

This is an important consideration, these speakers could be quite aged, I do think they have been cared for but by the sounds of it, even cared for will have failures.

[Alexander]

20 minutes ago, sbcoffey42 said:

 

This is an important consideration, these speakers could be quite aged, I do think they have been cared for but by the sounds of it, even cared for will have failures.

 

As a reference, I live in a totally smoke free home and was always in A/C, also the speakers were always un-plugged from the 120v outlet when not in use. The amps I ran with them had an advertised rating of handling a 1ohm load (Denon poa-4400 mono blocks).