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Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Martin-Logan Scenario Speakers by Arnel

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REVIEW: Martin-Logan Scenario Speakers

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Model: Scenario
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $2000
Description: 2-way hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker
Manufacturer URL: Martin-Logan
Model Picture: View

Review by Arnel ( A ) on July 15, 2002 at 02:31:44
IP Address: 202.108.97.218
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for the Scenario


I thought that my search for a speaker that is both finely detailed and musical would keep on going 'round in circles. But I'm thankful for the day that I ran into a demo of MartinLogan speakers. To put it simply, I was hooked.

My first "high-end" speaker was the B&W CDM 1NT. I was amazed, and I still am, by its ability to resolve details while maintaining a sweet balance. Bass sounds a bit dry, but very tuneful, midband is transparent and open. However, its tonal balance is rather tweeter-biased, but I refuse to call it "bright" due to the term being commonly associated with treble harshness. Still, this is my favorite "minimonitor" under $2000.

Then I got bored by details, and sought musicality. I found it in the Sonus Faber Concertino Home. Its midrange was its best asset. It is capable of bringing out instrumental textures (harmonic structure), although apparently colored. This, coupled with a warm tonal balance, makes for much of its musicality. However, its treble sounded a bit recessed, its upper bass a bit too warm and less articulate, in contrast to the B&W's tonal character. Not as detailed as the B&W, but very musical indeed.

My idea of the "ideal" speaker to fit my budget (no more than $4000) was a good compromise between details and musicality. I never imagined that for under $4000 I can have both detail and musicality IN EXTREMELY GOOD MEASURE... until I found the MartinLogan Scenario... not for $4000, but for $2000!

Its electrostatic panel resolves much more details than the B&W does. There is airiness that I only heard in VERY expensive dynamic speakers like B&W Signature 800 and Revel Salon. The fast transient response makes piano and percussion sound more "tactile", just like in real life. I've only experienced this "tactile" sound with expensive dynamic speakers such as Wilsons. Its tonal balance is as neutral as a $2000 speaker gets, and categorically falls right between the treble-biased B&W and the darkish Sonus Faber.

The bass, although not as deep or punchy as that of competing floorstanders (such as B&W's CDM 7NT), is about as taut and articulate as a dynamic driver can be. Sure, an electrostatic bass driver would deliver a more articulate bass, but that panel would be huge. The sealed-box design, with its gradual roll-off, makes it more room-friendly and its "faster" speed compared to ported designs make it a better match to the ultra-fast electrostatic panel.

I've always thought of musicality as an excuse for excess warmth or any such colorations that make the sound more pleasing to the ear. I never thought that "musicality through accuracy" is actually possible, at least not for $2000. For example, I now enjoy the inner musicality in many heavily-layered, complex recordings that I thought sounded "bad" with the B&W. The key is the Scenario's ability to resolve inner detail and complex passages in an unforced manner. Other "musical" speakers will just "smooth-out" these intricate details into a ear-pleasing whole, whereas the Scenario reproduces each part as an individual sound and layers them in a natural way that's pleasing to the ears. Technically, this is because of the superb start-stop response of the electrostatic panel. In this regard, most "detailed" dynamic designs are more amplitude-biased (the louder layers overpower the softer ones), so you tend to hear edgy, less refined detailing.

Now for the cons. Some people may not like their forward-biased soundstaging. As for WAF, even the "smallest" electrostatics such as the Scenario are still big, although the see-through panel makes it less imposing, not to mention gorgeous. They require more careful placement because of the dipole radiation and limited dispersion (small sweet spot). For my smallish 9' x 16' room, I positioned them along the long wall, about 2 feet away from back wall and well away from any side wall. They don't go as loud as some $2000 floorstanders out there, but still they handle moderately high volumes quite gracefully. Anyway, they need quite a lot of amplifier power to go really crazy loud, as their sensitivity rating is tricky... 89 dB/2.83 V/m is not the same as 89 dB/1W/m! And they need CURRENT, as the impedance drops to 2 ohms. Although my beloved, but under-appreciated (by some elitist audiophiles), Sony ES receiver handles it quite well in my small room, I might need to go separates when I move to a bigger apartment. Oh, did I mention that it needs to be plugged in?

I think I will stick with electrostatics for a long, long time. Not that I promise never to look at (and listen to) dynamic speakers ever again. I wonder what's the point of going back to dynamic speakers, though, when I need to spend four times the price to get equal amounts of unforced detail and transparency from a dynamic speaker!


Product Weakness: forward-biased soundstaging may not suit some tastes; electrostatics are just BIG; dynamic speakers of similar size can go louder; dipolar radiation requires more careful placement; relatively small sweet spot can be an issue to some who value wide dispersion
Product Strengths: stunning detail resolution, speed, transparency and clarity that rivals some $10K+ dynamic designs; neutral tonal balance; extremely fast transients allows for "tactile" impact of leading-edge sounds such as that of percussive instruments; taut bass from the sealed-box woofer


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Sony VA555ES receiver; Denon PMA-2000R3 integrated
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Sony DVP S9000ES DVD/SACD player
Speakers: B&W CDM 1NT (for surround)
Cables/Interconnects: various van den Hul, Tara Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections): all
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Martin-Logan Scenario Speakers - Arnel 02:31:44 07/15/02 ( 6)