I had the opportunity to purchase a pair of Martin Logan Mosaics and a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver for a very good price yesterday so I did. I was intending on buying a pair of Axiom M60's, but this deal was too good to pass up. Did I make a mistake? Does anyone have any experience with these speakers? If so, how to they compare to the M60's? Also, if I keep the Martin Logans, will QS8's and a VP150 go well with them?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Normally you want your Left and Right mains to be matched to the center.
If you do a search for "subject" only for +martin +logan for the last few years there has been much discussion. I recall one guy saying his M60's were staying and he was returning the MLs, not sure what models though.
Thanks.
I searched, but came up empty handed. There was only one post about Martin Logans and it wasn't about the Mosaics. I guess I'll continue to break them in (manual says 30 hours) and see how they sound. I have 30 days to see if they're what I'm looking for.
Billy, I haven't heard any Martin Logans, but like any speaker choice--let your ears decide for you. Listen to them as much as you can with different types of music. What sort of things do you find desireable in a speaker? Image and soundstage? Warm midrange? Smooth treble? Detail? Emotion? There is no answer I can give you. It's a process. Don't be afraid to like something, and more importantly, don't be afraid to dislike something--no matter how much money you spend. The goal is to find something you are happy with.
If you decide you like the Martin Logan's, your best bet would be to find a center channel from them if possible. The QS8's Imo would be a great choice for surrounds with any brand of speakers.
I've always found electrostatic speakers sounded thin to me.
Having said that, I've only heard one pair in the last 10 years, and a few pair before that.
See what you like... everyone's got a preference.
Bren R.
The Mosaics get good marks in various reviews, but are mostly characterized as laid back. No matter - to underscore a point made above, let your ears decide for you.
Also, as Randy points out, matching a center is good stuff. If you decide to keep them, you may want to consider a ML center as well.
Well, so far these seem to be what I'm looking for. The sound is very smooth and the clarity is extremely nice. As of right now it looks like I will keep them. I will be getting a ML center channel and a
(HSU or SVS) sub in the near future, but the way the living room is configured, it's going to be hard (almost impossible) to have a full 5.1 or 7.1 surround system. I guess I'll stick with the fronts, center and sub until we move and have a room designated for a theater. That's when the Axiom's will be ordered. Thanks for all the advice. It's greatly appreciated.
I did have one question about the Yamaha 2500. It seems that you really have to move the volume a lot to get any sound. I mean, you get plenty of volume, but it seems to come on slowly. Is this normal?
Quote:
The Mosaics get good marks in various reviews, but are mostly characterized as laid back.
Oddly, an adjective that's never been used to describe me. 
Bren R.
Hi billypratt75,
You might check the rated impedance of the Mosaics. Electrostatic speakers are sometimes notoriously difficult loads to drive. If the Mosaics present a 4-ohm load or lower, your Yamaha might be current-limiting its output to prevent overheating of the output transistors, which might explain why the Yamaha's power output seems low.
Alan,
The manual says 5-ohms. I'm sure you're familiar with these speakers, but the manual states that they are a hybrid design, not just a straight electrostatic speaker. I have no idea what this means, but I'm guessing a mix between a electrostatic and box speaker.
Anyway, these speakers sound nice and the clarity is great, but they have to be positioned perfectly to get good sound. I have them set up fairly well, but I cannot pull them 2-3 feet from the wall like the manual states. If I did, they would be out of place in the living room. I still don't know about keeping them. They do seem to be a little laid back and after adjusting the receiver somewhat, I still have to turn it up to about -30 to get some decent sound.
Do the M60's have to be pulled 2-3 feet from the wall? I can only move them about a ft. or so from the wall and then it looks like they are out in the middle of the floor of the living room.
m60's need at least 3" or more so the low bass filters into the room from the ports.
Hi billy,
You're quite right on the meaning of "hybrid". The Martin Logan (and many electrostatics) use a conventional dynamic woofer for the deep bass, because electrostatic panels cannot reproduce deep bass at loud levels without "arcing", which would damage the membrane diaphragm.
You've also noted some of the other typical limitations of electrostatics--having to be positioned perfectly to get a reasonable stereo image, and the "laid-back" quality, which usually means a somewhat recessed midrange. But lots of listeners like that quality.
I think you'd find the M60s more forgiving in terms of placement--a few inches out from the wall behind is all that's required--and much more detailed in the midrange than the Martin-Logans. But planar speakers of all stripes are always interesting to experiment with.
The 5-ohm impedance is likely marginal for your Sony. It probably doesn't like it but I doubt it would trigger any current limiting unless the impedance curve dipped lower.