SPEAKERS: Aerius i or Contour 1.1?

[paneristi]

Hello Friends,
I am planning to build home audio system, and need your advice in doing so.

Currently, I am looking at 2 sets of used speakers at local stores. The first set is Martin Logan Aerius i (US$ 890), and the second is Dynaudio Contour 1.1 (US$ 670) without stand. Both are not sold in the same store.

My listening room is my bedroom (5m x 5m x 4m), and I listen to various type of music (to name a few: Pat Metheny, GRP artists, Charlotte Church, Flim & the BB's, U2, Tears for Fears, Vienna Boys Choirs, etc.).

It has been 2 years (sold my gears before I got married; WAF played big role that time) that I never listen to good music, and I am currently using PC speakers only.

I know I have to trust my ears first & foremost. But I am supposed some advices from you would be a great help.

I did some listening to the Contour (driven by Jadis & Clearaudio Turntable), listening to Queen and Clair Marlo, but was not quite satisfied. Then we switched the speaker to Avalon (don't know the model) floorstanding. Sounded more soothing, but still, something was missing.

I recall listening to Avalon a long time ago, and it was far better than this setup. My conclusion is this Jadis & turntable are not for me (regardless of price & high praise, they dont sound right to my ears). I was asking for a CD player, but this store carries only turntables (yes, believe it). And tube amps only (primarily Jadis).

As for Martin Logan: the last time I heard Aerius was in '96 in Dallas, and all I can remember is that they make everything "larger than it is supposed to be".

My questions are:
1. Will the Contour sound better with Solid State amps? e.g. used Forte Model 5 or Rotel amp. Will it plays chamber music nicely?
2. Will Aerius fit nicely to various of music? Will it play CANTALOOP-US3 nicely?
3. Considering the price difference is only around US$100, is the Aerius more worth it?

As I mentioned above, my ears should do the final judgement. However, listening to those speakers with the components seems impossible. Thus, I will be needing some of your advice.

Many thanks for your help.

[Lord_Magnepan]

My questions are:
1. Will the Contour sound better with Solid State amps? e.g. used Forte Model 5 or Rotel amp. Will it plays chamber music nicely?
2. Will Aerius fit nicely to various of music? Will it play CANTALOOP-US3 nicely?
3. Considering the price difference is only around US$100, is the Aerius more worth it?


Hello

1. The Contour will sound better with Solid State Power AMP. You could use a Tube Pre-Stage and a Solid Power Stage. Or you can try a hybrid AMP like mine. The Pathos Classic One



2.The Aerius will play nice in the room. A nicer speaker to my ears would be a Magnepan MG12 or the 1.6 (save some more ;-) ) fits the room very nicely. The Aerius does not have a coherent sound since the Panels are faster than the regular drivers.

3. I would choose the Contour over the Aerius.

PS: My room is about the same size as yours, and this is my old 1.6 in my room. And the second pic is my 3.6 now....





Cheers

[topspeed]

My questions are:
1. Will the Contour sound better with Solid State amps? e.g. used Forte Model 5 or Rotel amp. Will it plays chamber music nicely?

You don't really elaborate what you didn't like with the Jadis amp driving the Danes so it's hard to say if you'd like ss over tubes. Considering there is a far greater variance in speaker sound than amp sound (even tube vs. ss), I'd probably pass on the Danes and move on. There's nothing wrong with them, they just don't do it for you. Switching amps may make subtle changes but most certainly won't make the wholesale changes that you are looking for.

2. Will Aerius fit nicely to various of music? Will it play CANTALOOP-US3 nicely?

Only your ears can answer that question. Sorry.

3. Considering the price difference is only around US$100, is the Aerius more worth it?

Better sound quality ("better" as defined by you, not us) is always worth the extra dough. Can you put a price on satisfaction? I can't either. I'd rather spend a little more now and be comfortable with my purchase than buy something cheaper and always wonder what it would have been like if I would have bought what the better piece.

One thing to remember, the ML's are bipolar speakers and therefore like to have some room behind them to work right. If you are putting these in a bedroom setting, I'd make sure they are going to fit within both your layout and your wife's sensibilities. She may not be too keen on having speakers sitting three feet out into the room.


Good luck and I hope this helps.

[texlle]

The entire Dynaudio line received very impressive reviews, and I have heard both speakers before, and would probably go with the Contours, personally .

[Jimmy C]

Hello Friends,
I am planning to build home audio system, and need your advice in doing so.

Currently, I am looking at 2 sets of used speakers at local stores. The first set is Martin Logan Aerius i (US$ 890), and the second is Dynaudio Contour 1.1 (US$ 670) without stand. Both are not sold in the same store.

My listening room is my bedroom (5m x 5m x 4m), and I listen to various type of music (to name a few: Pat Metheny, GRP artists, Charlotte Church, Flim & the BB's, U2, Tears for Fears, Vienna Boys Choirs, etc.).

It has been 2 years (sold my gears before I got married; WAF played big role that time) that I never listen to good music, and I am currently using PC speakers only.

I know I have to trust my ears first & foremost. But I am supposed some advices from you would be a great help.

I did some listening to the Contour (driven by Jadis & Clearaudio Turntable), listening to Queen and Clair Marlo, but was not quite satisfied. Then we switched the speaker to Avalon (don't know the model) floorstanding. Sounded more soothing, but still, something was missing.

I recall listening to Avalon a long time ago, and it was far better than this setup. My conclusion is this Jadis & turntable are not for me (regardless of price & high praise, they dont sound right to my ears). I was asking for a CD player, but this store carries only turntables (yes, believe it). And tube amps only (primarily Jadis).

As for Martin Logan: the last time I heard Aerius was in '96 in Dallas, and all I can remember is that they make everything "larger than it is supposed to be".

My questions are:
1. Will the Contour sound better with Solid State amps? e.g. used Forte Model 5 or Rotel amp. Will it plays chamber music nicely?
2. Will Aerius fit nicely to various of music? Will it play CANTALOOP-US3 nicely?
3. Considering the price difference is only around US$100, is the Aerius more worth it?

As I mentioned above, my ears should do the final judgement. However, listening to those speakers with the components seems impossible. Thus, I will be needing some of your advice.

Many thanks for your help.

...providing I can type around my overly affectionate cat...lol.

I had a bit of a different experience with the Aerius... I felt this was the ONLY Logan in the line-up (at the time) that portrayed realistic sized images. To me, anything above the Aerius seems like the musicians are 10 feet tall (at times) ...lol... well, sound IS eminating from the whole panel. Now, take my M20s at ear level - these can still fool one into thinking there are instruments, sound effects (whatever) occasionally hovering at 6 or 8 feet. Now... imagine what a 6' tall Logan can do... hehe.

The other reason I like the smaller stats (compared to bigger MLs) is that the bass integration seemed better - possibly (probably) because a smaller woofer is employed in the Aerius... quicker. I could never pony up for the big MLs.. too many problems for me. Oh, yeah... I can't afford them, either... ;*P

AFAICR, neither speaker on your shortlist are impervious to crappy recordings... the Danes included. Both can thin out and seem a bit dry, but really good with decent/great software.

The Martin Logans need room behind them... part of their allure is the spaciousness and transparency they can deliver... Iwould leave at least 3' behind them. More would be better. I have a dealer here on Long Island that gives a GREAT ML demo. They have a big room, also...

As you stated, you will decide. My gut is you will go for the (of the two) Dane...

[paneristi]

I will listen to BOTH of them again.

As for the Danes driven by Jadis & Clearaudio T/T, what I felt LACKing was DYNAMIC. Could it be that the power amp was only 60w?
While browsing the net, I found some articles stating that all Dyn sings very good dynamically, and they must be fed by powerful amp.
Theoretically, the more power, the fuller the sound, is it not?

My suspicion over the amplification & source was brought up when I listened to the Avalon. The Avalon I listened previously were fed by powerful SS, and, the dynamic was there.
This time, they sounded flat. Was it because it was only 60w?

One thing for sure: I will listen to even more speakers

[kode3]

I have Martin Logan's and love them, I would listen to them... maybe play with there placement in the room. This tends to not be a Logan friendly board for some reason. Check out www.martinloganowners.com for more info on them. But bottom line, it's your choice, and your money. Go with what sounds best to you!

[Lord_Magnepan]

I have Martin Logan's and love them, I would listen to them... maybe play with there placement in the room. This tends to not be a Logan friendly board for some reason. Check out www.martinloganowners.com for more info on them. But bottom line, it's your choice, and your money. Go with what sounds best to you!

I am Logan Friendly too. But just the old pure electrostatics, as soon as they made hybrids i droped them cause they just dont integrate well enough for me.

But i do give you the fact that most people dont look into Planars (Magnetostatics, Electrostatics etc...) cause of prejudgement and insufficient knowledge.

Cheers

To aneristi:

Please look into different Speaker Technology too. Many people find their happyness in Planars.

[topspeed]

I have Martin Logan's and love them, I would listen to them... maybe play with there placement in the room. This tends to not be a Logan friendly board for some reason. Check out www.martinloganowners.com for more info on them. But bottom line, it's your choice, and your money. Go with what sounds best to you!

You're right, going to an obviously unbiased board populated by ML owners will give the poster a much better feel for their speakers . While you're at it, why not get some information about the dangers of smoking from the Tobacco Institute while you're at it?

I'm unclear why you think this is an anti-ML board. Read the posts and show me an inaccurate statement. Do ML's need room behind them? Yes. Are they sensitive to placement by design? Yes. Do they have issues with sweet spots? Yes. Will these become issues in a bedroom setting? Yes. Are any of these points slams against ML? Not even close. It is what it is.