Hi everyone, I’m getting ready to pick up a pair Martin Logan source speakers. The general consensus is martinlogan are somewhat demanding and most require a 4-ohm load, however mine will actually be 5 ohms. They will be in a room that is only 15 by 15, so not a large room. I do have loud listening habits, however the room is not large by any means and I will probably be within eight to ten feet of the speakers. Eventually maybe next year I will upgrade to the larger PS audio amps, but for now how do you think that this setup will work?
Here are some specs on the speakers in question.
Sensitivity
90 dB/2.83 volts/meter
Impedance 5 Ohms, 1.6 @ 20kHz. Compatible with 4, 6, or 8 Ohm rated amplifiers.
Recommended Amplifier Power
20‒400 watts per channel
Also I wanted to add that when I heard the speakers at Best Buy about 10 years ago they powered them with a receiver and it got plenty loud enough for me in that room. Also they have newer ESL is that replaced the source, and I have recently heard them, and they were also powered by receivers at Best Buy, and they did well. Not sure how regular recievers would be in the long run with long hours of use, but it seems that if the Sprout puts out comprable power that it should be Stout enough?
I’ve owned the ML Source and now own the ESL’s and have tried both with a few different amps. To be honest, I don’t think you’d get the best out of those speakers with that amp. That’s actually a pretty decent sized room. Something like the Stellar S300 would be way better as far as power but then you’d have to pair it with a preamp. But I don’t think what you have would suck by any means, just maybe not optimal.
Right, I know I wouldn’t get the best out of it, considering it’s low on power, however it would be a temporary solution until I can build up for the amp and preamp next year. I like the fact for now that it would just be an all-in-one solution. I shouldn’t be any worse off than if I were to buy an avr?
No, I think you’re probably better off in the interim with what you’ve got, and you may be pleasantly surprised…you never know.
Well right now I have an old Pioneer Elite amp that doesn’t even let me fix the adjustments of the high pass filter which sounds like it’s stuck on small speakers. In fact it won’t let me make any adjustments at all. I have some budget Dayton audios from Parts Express with the ribbon tweeter, and they sound decent but I can’t even get the woofers to move much with this amp. I believe it’s crossed over high but, the amp will not let me and to the EQ settings at all. It needs fixing. So currently I don’t really have anything, so the Sprout will be much better than what I have. Unfortunately the budget will not allow for a bigger amp and preamp. I guess next week when I go to pick up the sources I will find out, but I think the bass will be lacking due to the settings that are already pre-set, and cant be adjusted.
Yeah but now you’ve got something to look forward to in the future! I was very pleased with the Source speakers before Audio Advisor sent me the email offering the B-Stock ESL’s at a ridiculous price. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.