Bass, overall speed, imaging. Detailed but not analytical.
Price/performance.
Looks

Needs a good front-end, both source and amplifier.
Still critical to good placement.

The first time I heard the Summits at a demo, just after market introduction, I was not impressed. They sounded very much like my old ML Sequel speakers & I did not find it worth the upgrade cost. I've listened to many other speakers since, but very few bettered my old MLs in imaging for which I love electrostatics so much. (breadth, depth and height, height!!)
Then I heard the Summits again: this time, they were well broken in and properly set up: they were awesome, I was immediately hooked so I bought them as soon as I could get a good deal.
At home, they sound even better. The depth & speed of the bass is incredible and integrates beautifully with the panel. Highs are clean and well extended - the overall picture is beautiful, coherent, detailed, very realistic.
After extensive listening, I was surprised to find these speakers to be much more tolerant to mediocre recordings. On the Sequels, poor recordings sounded absolutely awful, they still sound acceptable on the Summits. Yet, no details have gone lost and good recordings sound absolutely spectacular. Live recordings sound eerily realistic and I still get a shock sometimes when a piece of percussion suddenly seems to appear in the room.
I've reached the end of my quest, don't need to look further for a better speaker and can now concentrate on music alone.

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Listened to: other ML products, Wilson, Audio Physic, Avalon (closest contender), Vivid, Kharma, Isophon

Clean, tight bass. Holographic imaging. Lifelike reproduction of all sorts of music. Excellent price/quality ratio.
Tuneable bass section makes placement and fixing room interaction problems very easy.

Not really a weakness of the speaker itself: it reveals weaknesses of the rest of your system and weaknesses in recording or production of the music.
Require careful placement and tuning.
Small sweet spot.

My first introduction to Martin Logan was 6 years ago when I fell in love with a pair of Sequel 2 speakers. It took some careful upgrading on the front-end to make them really sing but once I found the right amp/source/cabling, I was a very happy camper.
As the bass was not the strongest feature of the sequels and the highs were starting to get a little faint, I went out looking for a worthy replacement. I've listened to newer Logans and many dynamic speakers (Audio Physic, Wilson, Vivid, Isophon and then some), but only found Avalon's top models offering more quality without losing the qualities of the Sequels (notably the fantastic imaging).
Until I heard a pair of properly tuned, well broken-in Summits: awesome! Super clean and tight bass down to the lowest octave, sparkling highs and still that fantastic imaging that creates this beautiful space of sound. Very detailed but never analytical.
At home, they sound even better and I am rediscovering all my recordings. I often hear percussion instruments that I never heard before, so scarily lifelike that it seems somebody just walked in the room.
The sequels sounded especially good with jazz recordings, but I found the summits great with all sorts of music (rock, dub, house, etc), especially live recordings.

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Martin Logan Sequel, Wilson Sophia, Vivid, Kharma, Audio Phyic Avanti & Caldera, Isophon Cassiano, Avalon Ascendant & Isis

Transparency, ease, bass, control, soundstage, design. Overwhelming way good recordings are reproduced.

None, if you think the price is not a real issue.

I owned a pair of Sequel II's and SL3's, so I know what to expect from Martin Logans. After the SL3 paired to my YBA3 pre-amp and YBA2 HC amp, any other speaker is a minor upgrade, not really worth the money. Only the Summit is a real improvement in this respect, and the Euro 110.000 Statements E2 ofcourse, but they are a little too big and far too expensive. I have to say, if you hear the Summits before they have been properly broken in, you think they look pretty and sound nice, but not worth the extra thousands. But if you hear what they do after several weeks of coninuous playing on a combination that suit them well, you won't believe your ears. Martin Logan finally cracked the bassproblem! Bass was something to be desired on Martin Logans until the Summit. The bass can be set up just the way you like it, now ML's even rock! The pre-amp/amp combi does not have to be unbelievable strong, because the basesection of the Summit is active; ML has put in the amps they feel drives the bass best. And you hear they know what they are doing like never before. I like the new design which is less bulky and even acceptable for my girlfriend who silently hated the big Sequels and SL's. The price is high, but if you compare it to a amp/pre-amp and seperate woofer and good cabling you needed to drive older Martin Logans, it is a very reasonable price, for you normally do not have to change your amps.

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Martin Logan Sequel II Martin Logan SL3 YBA2 High Current amplifier YBA3 pre-amplifier

Image is appropriate and spot-on. Great recordings become holographic. Inferior records are at least listenable. Sets up fairly easily for an ESL. Reasonable sized footprint Woofer/ESL integration is the best I have ever heard in a hybrid design. Adjustable bass response simplifies room mating. Detailed reproduction is true to source but not "etched."

Requires break-in but well worth it. Even out of the box, these speakers are quite listenable. Unlike prior ML ESLs, the exposed airframe panel must be handled carefully as it is not protected by a wooden surround. This makes moving the speaker more challenging and awkward. Exposed subwoofer on botton mandates extreme care in moving speaker (best done by two people). Changing the feet to spikes is also a bit trickier but should only need to be done once. Cosmetic panel colors are no longer changeable by the owner.

The Summits are ML's most recent effort at size-efficient hybrid ESL/dynamic speakers. Their design is a clear departure from their predecessors in that the panel is a relatively "naked" airframe and the subwoofers are internally powered. In addition, the mating of the ESL and woofer elements is nearly seamless and can be adjusted for room characteristics. A break-in period is required to get the woofers to ease up; this can vary from a very long weekend to a couple of weeks. The decision to go with a powered woofer gives the Summits the bass control seen in their Descent/Depth series and may even obviate the need for a separate subwoofer in some applications. The Summit footprint is no larger than the recently discontinued Ascent series making it very room friendly. Placement does demand some space (minimum of 3') from the rear and sidewalls as is the case with all ESLs. The feet are different from early models as well (spikes must be taken out and reversed). The speakers do sound well with standard feet which are also more stable. It is recommended that these speakers be set up with a two-person team. One to occupy the listening position, the other to adjust rake angle and toe-in, and bass adjustments. The Summits benefit from topnotch front end components. They will reveal shortcomings in source material as well. However, superior recordings sound like superior recordings, nothing added or subtracted. Once setup is done, you are left with a "state-of-the-art" speaker that rivals the best that is out there. As with all of the recent ML speakers, the accompanying manual is helpful in guiding setup and adjustment. Given the expense of this speaker system, I would strongly advise potential buyers to audition in a showroom where the speakers are properly set up and broken-in. The break-in issue is critical due to the woofer properties as noted earlier.

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Martin Logan Ascent i's