Awesome speakers, I've listened to ML and they do sound very nice too. The woofer at the base makes up for the bottom end electrostat lacks. But nothing provides more midrange detail and clarity than these

@Wayde: "Nothing provide more midrange detail and clarity..."?

I dunno. It's been a long, long time since I did the whole audiophile thing but I'd never bet against Quads in the midrange.

I guess I just dated myself, didn't I?

I have to agree that the MLs are nice. I've never heard anything in their line that disappointed, unlike Apogee with their Duettas or Magnepan with their smallest speaker, both examples of the low and obviously-not-as-good end of an otherwise stellar lineup of speakers.

Meh...While they do indeed sound nice, the electrostatic panels need to be replaced on a regular basis. Of course this depends on how much the speakers are used, but still, what's the point of dropping 11K if they don't last?

Now don't go rippin' on Magnepans benenglish. The MC1 is a hellagood speaker for only $800/pair. True, bass below 80Hz is literally non-existent, but what's there is richly detailed, open, and transparent. Just mate them with a fast, musical, sub and they compare very favorably with anything on the market for less than $3K/pair and probably beat most wrt the mid-range sweet spot.

Only the Theil Powerpoint 1.2's can match them in sound while matching the Magnepan's the ability to disappear into a room.

@namlu: Where did you hear that? I've owned a pair of MLs for over five years, never had an issue. You just dust them occasionally. You could poke holes in them with a pencil and they will still sound fine.

The only thing that I've ever worried about with the electrostats is how darn low their impedance goes. It takes amps that are stable to 2 ohms to really get the most out of them.

@player2: it's not true. I worked for ML in college, and have had a pair of Sequel IIs for ten years. You don't have to replace shit. On rare occasions, if you leave them in a very humid environment for a long time (like going on vacation for two weeks in the summer and leaving the AC off), they'll lose their charge. People used to replace the panels when that happened (again, 1 in 1,000 owners) until they figured out that a heatgun or hairdryer on high will bring them back. ML will tell you that when you call for service now.

These don't start at 11k. We're looking at getting a pair of these and the "base" model is around $2,500

Logans are OK, nothing special. I've heard just about all of them except for their top-of-the-line, and wasn't particularly blown away. Electrostats can be pretty damn good when paired with the right amplifier and in PERFECT room conditions, but nobody has perfect acoustics in their house. In average living rooms, they stink, and their $3K Descent Subwoofer is an absolute piece of junk, has to be one of the worst sounding subs I've ever heard.

When it comes to dealing with problematic reflections, nodes, and suckouts that every average room has, you just cannot beat a good ol' fashioned dynamic speaker built by Dynaudio, Von Schweikert, Usher, MAGICO, etc.

@DaveBSC: damn man, you sound like you know about this. if that's on the up and up, then thanks, because ever seeing these sweet looking things I had planned to get a pair someday (you know, once the 'stupid' money starts to appear :^0
Anyhoot, won't be making that mistake now, thank you very much :^)

@justsayyes: My apologies. I'm not really rippin' on the small Maggies and, to be fair, I haven't listened to them for a long time. They've always been a good value and a completely defensible choice. My tastes just run a little different and I prefer a different set of compromises in less-expensive speakers. It's always possible, too, that I never heard them with really good amps. I just find that in that price range and with the lower-end amps that would tend to be used in that range, it's easier to get a lively sound and higher levels with a dynamic speaker. I used to recommend Fried back in the day. As you point out, Theils are great, too. I know people who swear by Vandersteen. To each his own.

I'm really shocked beyond words that you believe the Descent i subwoofer is a "piece of junk." It was voted subwoofer of the year by Absolute Sound in 2002 and again in 2004. Kinda hard to be a piece of junk and win that prestigious award twice. Most people regard it as perhaps the best sub in the world, especially with it's cheap price tag in comparison to its competitors...

Not to mention, you must not know much about electrostatic speakers, at least Martin Logans, as they utilize Controlled Dispersion. So, you do NOT need the perfect room. In fact, just the opposite. It doesn't matter if you have a room built for sound, or someone's worst nightmare, an electrostatic speaker takes the room out of the equation so the sweet spot is the best reproduction of sound in the world. I LOVE my Martin Logan's as everyone comments on how awesome they look, and are even more blown away by how great they sound!!! And at 2k a pair and up they're easily affordable and can work off of a receiver but love an amp...

Granted, electrostatics are NOT for EVERYONE, nor will they sound good in ANY room. However, for those who are serious about music that rivals hearing it LIVE, electrostatics (and particularly ML's) are second to none. I was fortunate to be among a group of ML owners/fanatics who toured the ML design center/factory in Lawrence, KS earlier this year. The ML team is a talented bunch-- perfectly melding acoustic art and science with modern design. There are very few speakers that can give you an endorphin rush like the ML Summits! If you ever get a chance to hear them PROPERLY SET UP, they will take your breath away!