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Review 2 of 2
Price Paid:
$0.00
from audiogon Summary:
The ML Calrity is an amazing speaker. I really think that this speaker offers more than ANY cone speaker under $5000. It may lack some weight in the low end compared with other speakers in the 5000 range but what it can achieve in the midrange and highs is trully beyond sound, it's just plain music: pleasant and soft / powerful and dynamic / tranquil and nostalgic / meditative / jovial / sad , all those in one word: Music. That spiritual experience that takes us to a new level. Duende, the people of Spain call it ... I just simply love it.
Well, the Clarity's have helped me reach that state with ease. Associated equipment includes:
Marantz DV-8300 Cd/DVD/SACD player (placed via Isoclean isolation feet onto granite slab, power fed via Cardas Golden Cross Powercord) ... incredibly low noise floor! Very open and analog sounding. More analog than the Audio Refinement CD player but not as neutral.
Audioquest VDM-5 digital coax cable to pre/pro (100% pure silver, very smooth cable, slightly on the sweet side I think, but possibly just revealing the Marantz signature and the outstanding transport in the DV-8300)
Audio Refinement Pre-2 DSP (5.1 channel pre/pro with pure 2-channel bypass mode, dolby pro-logic II processing, DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 descoding. This is a very simple/purist approach to HT, with a musical signature from YBA) ... also on a granite slab with the upgraded ceramic feet from Audio Refinement, power fed via Audioquest NRG-3 powercord)
Audioquest King Cobra RCA interconnects to amp (PSC+ copper, triple shielded, with PVC and teflon insulation, this cable has excellent resolution and speed) ... but will soon be replaced with Revelation Audio Labs Paradise RCA interconnects
Audio Refinement Multi-2 amp (with upgraded ceraminc feet, placed on granite block, power fed by an Audioqest NRG-5 powercord, best amp in its price class, Period!) More musical than more expensive gear from Bryston/ Anthem/ Rotel/ Arcam/ Creek/ NAD) with tons of detail. Audition this one with ANY good preamp and you'll hear for yourself.
All powerconditioning is provided by a hospital grade powerbar, found in a hospital ... which just simply thrashed a Monster powerconditioner in just about any area possible ... and cost me nothing! pretty good bang for the buck don't you think? :)
anyways, let's get to the Clarity's SOUND:
ELECTROSTATIC sound from the get-go. In a small package! Incomparable to cones of which I also own a pair. If I'd say that I admire and greatly respect cones, then electrostatic speakers are my passion. Nothing that I've heard this side of the real world (pricewise) can compete with electrostatics. Nevermid Acapella and German Physics, they don't sing on earth but only for those rich enough to travel to the moon. The Clarity's are fast, open, airy, capable of holgraphic imaging, you name it ... they do what electrostatics panels can do. Not to the same level as bigger models in the ML line-up, but it's also the smallest stand-alone electrostatic that sounds like an electrostatic.
Listening room is 10 ft by 12 ft, with the Clarity's along the long wall, facing directly across the width of the room. Thus they have lots of space to breathe (to the side walls),which is critical to electrostatic speakers. Orientation is perpendicular from the wall behind them (90 degrees), no tow-in necessary (in fact tow-in reduces the airiness and muddies the focus). Speakers are about 9 feet apart and seating position is about 9 feet to each speaker.
With this setup I can finally sink into the music and just enjoy it. I've heard some of the better speakers from Paradigm/ PMC/ Monitor Audio/ B&W/ Dynaudio/ Wilson/ B&W/ Krell but none in the systems heard drew me into the music like the Clarity's do. They have an uncanny abiliy to involve you into the music if paired up with the right equipment. Too bad their powercords cannot be upgraded ... REASON to upgrade to the Aeon i's (better speaker, if you can find the money buy it by all means, if you like the Clarity you will love the Aeon i, and if you love the Aeon i you will be blown away by the Ascent i, and so on ... is this a hobby or an addiction?
This speaker introduced me to electrostatics. I knew after hearing it for the first time that I would one day have it in my apartment. And when the Aeon i's arrive the Clarity's will become my surrounds together with the ML Logos centre channel. If I could not afford the Aeon i's, I could easily live with these speakers as my fronts. There are no words, just phrases from my spouse's experience:
"Wow", "These speakers just dissapear", "So much air", "For the first time I don't need to close my eyes to imagine the performance ... it's right here in our room".
... nowdays we both share this passion for music. I think anybody would if they heard our modest system, no matter how cynical they may be. Strengths:
IMAGING: surpasses cones here by a wide margin but needs very clean and stable amplification to achieve this, dips to 1.2 ohms at 20 kHz.
Clarity, hence it's name.
Speed.
Good dynamics for its size, albeit polite in microdynamics.
Nice tight, fast bass from an 8" driver, incorporates well with electrostatic panel. Potential revealed after ML ETC spikes installed and speaker placed on granite slabs. This also helped midrange and highs as well. Further improvement may come via internal wire upgrade (Cardas wire).
Aesthetically, this speaker must be among the better 5% on the market today. Very slim for an electrostatic, modern looking yet not too eccentric, this speaker will fit very well in any apartment.
Rating:
Value - 4 stars (great deal at this price, but still cost more than I would like to spend on a speaker pair)
Overall - 5 stars (far`better than I imagined, only speakers that also impressed me under $5000 USD were PMC's OB1 and ML's Aeon i (surprise, surprise...). Other than that, simply no contest. Weaknesses:
A little thin in the lower registers but then hey! ... you can't have it all for $2600 per speaker pair. This speakers easily get's to within 15% of the best speakers out there. And that's by audiophile standards ... and preferences of course. But we are all human, so we all have our own preferences. No right or wrong, just prefered. My OPINION, give it a try if you want. Similar Products Used:
Monitor Audio silver S8, heard Paradigm Studio 40/60 and Signature 20/40, B&W 800/802, Linn speakers, Wison Watt Puppy 7.1, PMC OB1, Dynaudio Confidence and contour series, Accoustic Arts, Canton, other Martin Logans.
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