Associated Equipment:-Conrad Johnson Premier 3 (upgraded to "B" status)
-VTL 225 monoblocks (powering the CLS's)
-Mod Squad (now called McCormack Audio) Prizm II CD Player
-Kinergetics SW-800 tower subwoofers (powered by 250WPCH Electrocompaniet amp)
-Purist Audio Aqueous interconnects and speaker cables
-VPI HW-19 Mk IV TT w/Benz Micro Glider cartridge

I have had the Cls's since October 1995. Earlier this summer (1996) one of the panels developed a slight "buzzing" sound. It was discovered that one of the smaller "pasted-on" pieces of the mylar panel had worked its way loose.

Martin-Logan did not hesitate in sending two totally new panels as replacements.

After a 30 day break-in period, the new panels sounded even better than the originals.

These speakers are very difficult to set-up. It took me nearly 6 months to get them in the correct positions. Even after that, I found that raising them off the floor approximately 10 inches made them sound truly superb. I ended up building my own stands out of solid oak instead of opting for the Aricici ones for about $ 500. (Mine cost $ 93.00)

I auditioned the new Classe CP-60 pre-amp on these speakers and found that to be the best sound for the CLS's. My Premier 3 pre-amp is about 14 years old, and has now been upgraded. The Classe pre-amp was much more focused and had better detail.

The addition of the Kinergetics SW-800 subs made these remarkable speakers sing even better. It seems to relieve the CLS's of the lower octaves and allows them to sound even better in soundstage and depth--highly recommended for anyone thinking about these excellent speakers.

Prepare to tweak endlessly ... but who doesn't anyway? You'll audition two dozen amps, and test placement for months. But the prize is well worth the wait. Crisp but airy high and mid-ranges like you've never heard. The bass is proving tricky, I admit --- but I have every confidence I'll find it in some miracle sweet spot of electrostatic heaven.

Who needs boxes? Karajan deserves electrostatic. (BTW, strings are INCREDIBLE).

Review en españolMi equipo:
Amp: Sonic Frontier Power 1 (55W)
Pre: Audio Review LS 3B MK-II-R
Transport: Sonic Frontier SFT 1
DAC: Audio Researsh 5
HRS: Harmonic Recover Systems
Interconects: PG Audio siver cable and nordost blue heaven
Speaker cable: PG Audio siver Cable
Accesorios: 16 MPingo, 2 bases shun mook para pre y transport y 1 mas grande para power amp.

CLS IIz
Los mejores parlantes que haya oido a la fecha, no tienen crossover lo que le da una magnifica e inigualable coherencia. Su transparencia es espectacular, los bajos son !!reales!! y profundos, no son un relleno que pretende dar cuerpo, si no el instrumento produciendo el bajo, claro que podrian ser mas fuertes, pero para esto habra que esperar hasta los CLS III (tal ves).
Estos parlantes don expremadamente sencibles a tipo de cable a utilizar y deberia hacerse muchas pruebas antes de elejir el mas apto. Un truco infalible que mejorara el desempeño de sus CLS, es colocarles una tabla de madera de Cristobal (madera de Costa Rica), sobre las tapas de las fuentes: puede ser de 2" (5 cm) de ancho por todo lo largo y de fondo de las tapas de metal, incluso puede ser mas grande. La madera debe lijarse y procurar que ambos piezas pesen lo mismo y tratarse con aceite de limon, a fin de mejorar su resonancia y a su ves, protejer la madera. Si en su pais no hay este tipo de madera busque un equivalente que podria ser del tipo de madera, en que su pais fabrican las guitarras (la caja de resonancia). Sin duda, notara la diferencia en mayor claridad, profundidad y mejoria en las armonicas, y a un costo no mayor a los $50.00.
Saludos desde Costa Rica

I've had two pairs of CLS. First CLS Ia, and now CLS IIz. The distinct sound that caracterizes these panels are quite similar with both speakers; Airy, Huge soundstage and a sense of minimal coloration. To get the most out of the CLS's you will have to pay attention to every detail, this is no speaker for anyone but the audiophile. My experience is that you will have to evaluate every little item in the audio/sound chain to be able to get the most out of the speakers and sense truly great musical experiences. You'll be able to hear even the slightest changes to your system with these speakers, I even heard a clear difference when I changed the Phono-plugs of my interconnects. One tip; the CLS works beautiful with the Goertz cables. It seems that this combination improves the dynamics quite a bit. Also, a last tip: Check the piece of cable that runs from the great (not) terminals down to the printcard that resides inside the electronic cabinet. (IF YOUR WARRANTY IS STILL OK; IGNORE THIS.) You'll be amased how much a change here will benefit the sound...No speaker so far has even come close to these speakers. (except Quad ELS)
A true Classic!

Transparent soundstage, a feeling that you are present with the artists

Weak bass, midrange body, and requires lots of room

I've owned CLS IIZ's for about 7 years now (they were upgraded from A to Z status in 1995) and have just switched speakers to a pair of dynamic dipoles. Over the years, I have made many adjustments in my listening room and equipment to accomodate the CLS's and can report that all of the work has generally been worth it.

What the CLS's provide: a very transparent soundstage, great
nuance, very extended high frequencies, and at their best, a real sense that you are present with the musicians. In my opinion, the CLS's are at their best with small scale acoustic music. Even with a sub (see below), they still lack the midbass impact to convincingly reproduce large-scale music. At least in my experience in three different rooms. To bring out these strengths requires that the CLS's be at least 4 feet from the rear wall and a couple of feet from the sides.

What the CLS's lack: bass below about 40 Hz, a final degree of midrange body on instruments like horns, and impact on
large-scale music. To some degree, the weaknesses
of the CLS's have led me away from big-band music
and attracted me to the music of trios and quartets.

In order to accomodate/satisfy the CLS's over the years, I have 1. added several tube traps behind the speakers, 2. swapped power cords to the electrostatics (a Synergistic Master Coupler was finally used with great results), 3. raised the speakers on Arcici stands, and not least 4. added a REL Stadium II subwoofer.

The final configuration with the sub was definitely one of the best speaker systems I have ever heard. For small-scale acoustic music, it was the best speaker system I have ever heard for under 10 grand. On piano trios, you really got the sense that you were present in the jazz club with the musicians. For guitar music, you can hear the quickness and harmonics of the instrument. The REL sub made the sound much more whole and gave it a much needed foundation. For those who would shy away from subs with the CLS's, I never felt any discontinuity between the panels and the sub. This contrasts with my previous experience with the Sequel II's, which I also owned.

So now I've left the world of the CLS's (it's been three days now). Even in my excitement with a brand new (well, actually used) pair of speakers, I still miss what the CLS's at their best brought into my life.

Equipment used with the CLS's: ARC Classic 120 monoblocks,
SFL-2 preamp, XLO type 5 speaker cable, SW virtuoso interconnects.

Similar Products Used:

ML Sequel II

Amazing resolution, stunning looks, perfectly balanced sound

Deep bass

I'm not a big fan of the hybrid ML speakers, but I'm glad they sell well, because they help subsidize on of the world's most amazing speakers - the ML CLSIIz!

With the high-resolution esl driving the entire frequency range, you are treated to one of the most musically accurate performances you will ever encounter.

These speakers do require a very good amp that not only is harmonically correct, but can also handle the difficult impedance. However, I have seen third-party autoformers that allow a broad range of amps to work with these extraordinary speakers. You also need to spend time on placement, as with any dipole, and a good speaker cable that handles capacitive loads well.

Recommendations include rasing the speakers about a foot off of the floor using either the Arcici or Sound Anchor stands. For those with larger rooms and/or need for good bass, I hear the REL Strata (x2) go well with these.

All in all, a definate step-up in the high-end experience!

Associated equipment:
Krell Audio Standards
Atma-Sphere MA-1 OTLs w/autoformer
Mark Levinson 38S preamp
Krell MD-2 CD Transport
Meridian DAC
MIT 750 Shotgun Cables (original version)

Similar Products Used:

Sound Lab, Magnepan, various hybrid esl designs

the sound is very open and natural

if you listen to very heavy music with loud volume you must not buy this loudspeakers

everytime i listen it´s like a dream coming true the sound is so realistic as if you where there.

for an amplifier i recommand a tube amplifier that is simply the best for this kind of loudspeaker.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio,B&W

Lifelike midrange and dynamics, If you close your eyes You are 'there'

Weak bass and requires extensive set up

I've been listening to high end audio for years including Wilson Grand Slams, Siefert Research Magnum III's, Magnaplanars, Aprogees, Revels, Sonus Faber, B&W etc etc. Nothing comes close to matching the transparency and dynamic sound coming from the CLS. No crossover distortion and a extremely flat frequency curve are all characteristics of a single panel speaker. The CLS's will however reveal all the details of your source material and amplification so beware.
I've been listening to the CLS since they came out in the early 80's and finally bought a pair in 1999 since nothing to date has been able to produce music that matched a live performance for me. I attend the SF Symphony as a season subscriber and also live jazz and pop shows in the Bay area. Only the CLS can deliver the 'live' sound. I've listened to the other members of the ML line and never liked the integration of a woofer with the panels.

I found that I didn't like the spot source of magnetic speakers Since the sound was always localized. Live music uses magnetic speakers however there are many of them, unlike stereo speakers, and didn't speakers produce different frequencies i.e. bass guitar plays out of the bass amp, guitar sounds come from the guitar amp, drums etc are usually mike'd and play through the PA. This is very different to a stereo setup of two speakers delivering the whole sound stage. You can put your ears up to the panels and not lose your hearing since the whole panel is producing the sound. In fact the farther you are away from the speaker, the louder they become since now you are hearing the whole panel.

My setup: ML CLS IIz's, Stereo REL Storm subs, Innersound Mono Blocks, Innersound Preamplifer & Phono, Heavily modified Philips CD player with crown TDA 1541 DAC.

The REL's are the first sub that compliments the CLS's perfectly and the electronics do what you expect electronics to do: nonexistent! Unbelievable setup! I've listened to Dynaudio's 85k speakers and Wilson Maxx's/Pups and every other arrangement I could find and I still haven't been able to match my setup and I've taken 1 1/2 years before writing this review and 15 years of listening before buying the CLSII's.

Setup is extremely important and I've found that placement w.r.t. back wall, side wall etc are very important. I have mine toe'ed in about 6 inches towards the listening area to remove midrange suck 200-1k Hz. My speakers are 3' from the back wall and 1' from the side wall, 7' apart and 9' from the listening area. I have the speakers on stands, homemade since Arcici quit builing them, that are 14" off the ground.

The stands lift the soundstage and the sound doesn't change from sitting to standing. Stands are highly recommended! Really made a positive change.

Conclusion: Highly recommended!

One day I went to my audio dealer and they had a pair of used Martin Logan CLS series played with a classe amp, classe CD player and preamp.I must say they had the best sound I ever experienced!!!
I have listend a number of High End products such as one of the most excellent rated Aerial's 10T. But I have to say that nothing matched the sound of these "Magical" speakers! I just sat down and enjoyed the music!

I was playing Enigma's MCMXC a.D album and I can say that I was amazed. For example on Track 2 around 2:26 where Creteu was talking, it had a serious soundstage! I seriously though that I was in the same room where he was talking in French. Plus I heard all the details that where not noticed before.
These speakers are simple one of the BEST!

There is never a listening session in my room without me being an absolute awe at the musicallity, presence and depth the CLS's produce. My martin Logans are used conjunction with a Sonic Frontiers SFCD 1 CD player.The result is sound very close to realisim. A person once said to me that the CLSIIz do not have enough bass. Well, they do, it is just you do not realy notice the bass much because it is neutral and has nearly zero distortion, like real life bass. The bottom end does not sound like large damped boxes but with timbre and taughtness unlike any other speaker.
Mids and highs are only limited in goodness by the partnering equipment. Valve amplification usually sounds the best with these speakers (but then again, valve amps usually sound better than solid state with most speakers).
Room positioning changes the soundstage, but it never ever sounds bad.

The best speakers in the world for MUSIC.