Speakers similar to Martinlogan ESLs in clarity

[ChicagoLR3]

Ive recently had some time to audition several speaker lines in the last few days. The thing that has stood out to me several times is that i really enjoy the sound of Martinlogan speakers. I've listened to both the Vantage and Purity lines. I'm less than thrilled about the narrow soundstage, a having to be exactly in line with them to get the best sound. Not to mention setting up a 5.1 setup would be cost prohibitive at this point.

So how about it? Can you guys recommend anything to me that will give me the accuracy of the ESL's, but with a wide soundstage? I've heard both the Aperion 6T and Salk Songtower's are supposed to be very accurate, but one review i read mentioned the soundstage of the Songtowers' was fairly narrow.

 

[bandphan]

One thing you have to keep in mind is your room. Thats going to pay a huge part in the sound you get. What type of showroom did you hear the Logans? IMO unless setup correctly, the sound you heard may not be the way the should sound.

 

[ChicagoLR3]

The Vantages i heard were in a open display, meaning it was at the entrance to the Magnolia store pointing out towards the BB retail floor. The purities were in a small room, not accoustically treated. My living room is about 14x20, with the system pointing lengthwise (20 feet)

 

[bandphan]

The Vantages i heard were in a open display, meaning it was at the entrance to the Magnolia store pointing out towards the BB retail floor. The purities were in a small room, not accoustically treated. My living room is about 14x20, with the system pointing lengthwise (20 feet)

An open area for ESL is a disaster. Di-pole speakers design counts on the front and side walls. Typical you dont want to over treat the front wall. Yes off axis response in them is not as wide as others, but with the front wall reflections that changes the perceived sound. The Salks with the ribbon tweeter (as does the Hiquphon 0WII )present a good sound stage. If you dont mid powered speakers Seaton Spark and Catalyst are good also. JTRs also provide a exceptional sound stage.

 

[ChicagoLR3]

Understood. Although for being in an open space, I thought the vantages still sounded very good. Pretty much the only thing keeping me from buying a set of Martinlogan Source speakers with a center channel is the narrow soundstage they present. Not to mention from what i understand i would likely need to buy an amp thats comfortable around 4ohm.

Does anyone know about any other floorstanders with the clarity of martinlogan but with a better soundstage?

 

[jostenmeat]

Does anyone know about any other floorstanders with the clarity of martinlogan but with a better soundstage?

I don't know. But, one speaker that I wish I listened to, and might recommend checking out here, are some Linkwitz speakers, like the Orion. Similarly to ML stators, they will benefit from having several feet away from the front wall. And dipoles are generally designed so that we are placed in the null. Since they are using dynamic drivers, perhaps that might allow a compromise between your typical speaker and the beamier electrostats, but I can't say for sure. The dynamic drivers should be able to handle greater volumes before suffering compression as well. AJinFLA has these, I believe. He says they are similar in sound to electrostats, but enjoy greater output without the compression.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/orion_us.htm

 

[chadburger]

An open area for ESL is a disaster. Di-pole speakers design counts on the front and side walls. Typical you dont want to over treat the front wall. Yes off axis response in them is not as wide as others, but with the front wall reflections that changes the perceived sound. The Salks with the ribbon tweeter (as does the Hiquphon 0WII )present a good sound stage. If you dont mid powered speakers Seaton Spark and Catalyst are good also. JTRs also provide a exceptional sound stage.

A Martin Logan counts on backwall but not on sidewall, its narrow character dispersion shouldnt hit a side wall before your ear if positioned correctly but it does benefit from a rear wall at some distance and perhaps diffusion of that surface.
I own Innersound Eros MKIII speakers but have them in storage, I liked the sound of them but the "head in a vise" narrow sweetspot became an issue for me. The Innersound is like a Logan, ESL panel with dynamic woofer for bass so my solution may work for you aswell.
I went with VMPS speakers that offer planar mids and ribbon tweeters along with a dynamic woofer that offers a sense of the speed and sound of a ESL with bass to die for (VMPS is known for its amazing bass) and a wider more usable sweetspot. Check them out and you may like what you see, website will offer owners you can get a demo from.