ML Sequel II owners.....

Kgveteran

Kgveteran

Active Member
Im building a 2.0ch/2.1ch system. I have a Denon dp59L w/DL110 cart. The way it looks my company is anParasound dealer so they make a sweet integrated amp Hint6, im working on availability issues with shipping but im pretty sure im gonna get the parasound.

Wts my boss tells me he has a pair of ML Sequel II’s just “sitting around”, at his house.

How do you like you ML, what kind of gear do you use, what kind of music do you listen to. I like vocalist and music with alot air around it, i love Gregory Alan Isakov and other male vocalist, rarely above 75db.
 
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I have the SL3s, the next version of the Sequel II. I think they sound fantastic, although I have them in storage at the moment. I listen mainly to progressive rock and classical. They're great for vocals and acoustic music.

One thing you should be wary of is that the panels in old Martin Logans have a tendency to fail. While replacements are available, they're almost never cost effective.
 
swechsler said:
I have the SL3s, the next version of the Sequel II. I think they sound fantastic, although I have them in storage at the moment. I listen mainly to progressive rock and classical. They're great for vocals and acoustic music.

One thing you should be wary of is that the panels in old Martin Logans have a tendency to fail. While replacements are available, they're almost never cost effective.
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Wait, is that Genesis Selling England By The Pound as ur avatar ? Im debating the upcoming concert this fall..... saw them in the early 80’s and the 2007 tour, man those guys were the bomb inconcert. Saw Phil right before the pandemic. Saw the 1982 ThreeSidesLive tour where they did SuppersReady (im pretty sure i almost cried)
 
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Me too ! $350 is ridiculous ! Saw them in 2007 that will have to do for me... I thought Roger Waters tickets for $250 was expensive for front row seats I had snagged.. But this is Highway Robbery !!!
 
Thread got derailed into ticket prices. Back to OP's question... I had Sequels. Not the II's, the original. Their panels failed, but at the time I could replace them with new for less than $500. The new panels were from the SL3 range, and ML told me the conductive coating had been changed, and was now good for decades.

I loaned them to a friend. Sadly he passed, and the Executor dismissed my claim they were on loan: if they were in his home, it proved they were his — I could bid on them at the Estate Sale like everyone else. Buying my own speakers didn't appeal to me, so they're gone. Boo-hoo.

While replacing the panels, I discovered a huge problem with the subwoofers. The first one: the rubber surround was not glued to the basket. They didn't even try, no glue was applied to either the surround or the basket, they omitted this crucial step — as a result, the Woofer just flapped. When I got to the second woofer, it was the same — no glue.

I called ML. They were shocked, and sent me two new Woofers. Guess what? They weren't glued either. Doesn't say much for ML's QC.

If my old pair had never been glued, and the new replacements ML were not glued, I figured all Sequel 1 woofers must have been the same. Those loose, flapping Woofers accounted for the bad early reviews: that the fast electrostatic Panels and the Woofers didn't "blend" and that the Bass was slow, bloated and loose.

Now I knew why. I glued them, and the Sequels/Fixed were my now favorite speakers ever. Sad to see them go, but even sadder than my friend since High School was gone — even worse, by his own hand. All in all, a bad day...
 
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I bought Sequel IIs new, because the sound was worth the money. I enjoyed them until a panel failed. They were still under warranty so both panels were replaced. Enjoyed them for a while longer until a panel failed again. By then, they were out of warranty and M-L wanted a grand per panel for the replacement - still better than the CLSs I had, THOSE they didn’t even offer new panels for, unless you I “upgraded” to CLS IIZs for a few grand!!
So, I have mixed feelings about Martin Logan. On one hand, I think they make some fine sounding speakers, on the other, I’m not sold on their commitment to their owners. Maybe their new models hold up, maybe not, but I’m not going to sink more money into them after being thrown under the bus while they worked out developmental issues with their early panels.

I’ll stick with Quad, Acoustat & Soundlab, none of which have given me any similar problems.
 
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frommerstop said:
I’m not going to sink more money into them after being thrown under the bus while the worked out developmental issues with their early panels.
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I'd tend to agree. The only reason I own a set is that I always wanted ESLs and I got them for a great price. If I had to replace the panels it would cost well more than the speakers are worth (although presumably still significantly less than buying a new set of their equivalents). I bought my speakers a couple of years ago for $400/pr. According to a post on AudioAfficionado, the panels for the SL3 cost $650. Each. Plus shipping. In 2012. Who knows what they cost now. So if I have a panel failure, I'll sell them for whatever I can get for them, and move on to something else. The panels are probably fairly priced based on the cost of the speakers; after all, these listed for $3400/pair in the early 2000s. And presumably M-L is counting more on original owners to purchase replacement panels, who want to maintain their investment in as-new operating condition, rather than second owners who bought them for a fraction of their MSRP. But it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Kind of like buying a 10 year old Mercedes S class for $10,000. Sure, you only paid a fraction of its original price, but it's still a $100k car, which comes with $100k car repair bills.
 
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I bought a pair new back in around '93 and replaced panels and electronics in '08 or so then stored them away because I went all low watt tubes and LaScallas. I still have my IIs but not the amp power to do them justice anymore. I can tell you that the more clean power the better they will sound.
 
Yeah, I think the price is going to be right because I’m getting them from a friend, the parasound is putting out between 160 to 240 W watt, so I guess time is going to tell, I have a little work to do in my room I have subwoofers that are way too big so I can re-position and get things ready for the big tall speakers that I’m gonna be listening to

i listen mostly around 70-75db so i should be fine there
 
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As a goof, I connected my Sequels to a 15W Cary 2A3 tube amp, and a 25W Bedini Class A 25/25. Both delivered big sound! I couldn't go nuclear but at civilized levels (incl neighbors and cops) they were great. I even missed their special qualities when switching back to 225W amps.
 
I didn't have Sequel's but enjoyed a pair of Aerius for several years. Son now has them and still going strong.
 
I will say this- I have been extremely impressed with the Sequel, Sequel II and SL3s, over the years.

They will do things in environments that planar speakers have NO BUSINESS being in, that will boggle the mind. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they could be made to sound good in a PHONE BOOTH, if you could actually get them into one. :D

Really, no kidding- they sound good pretty much everywhere. And on almost any good amp, regardless of type or size

IMHO, it's a shame that ML can't seem to make something that works this well in almost every type of environment, anymore. The newer ones are MUCH pickier about placement, and just don't have the enveloping, full sound of the Sequel's generation of ML speakers.

Regards,
Gordon.


Regards,
Gordon.
 
I picked up a pair with some Carver gear a few years ago. They sounded excellent and the panels were fine. I probably should have just kept them, but I flipped them because was worried about future panel failure. I did end up getting a pair of similar Acoustat hybrids, that needed a lot of power supply work. Their panels are pretty much indestructible. Hopefully you get a great deal and the panels are fine!
 
My first ML was the SL3 which came from and after the Sequel...electrostats do things midrange thru highs that give dimension to the music in a way that box speakers cannot do.
 
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