Martin Logan Sequel II compared to Tyler Acoustics Monitors

[cokewithvanilla]

I had hoped to compare these speakers in greater depth, but unfortunately, I have received a letter from my apartment complex that says I will be evicted upon the next complaint. Also, I managed to achieve that next complaint just a few minutes after I received the letter (go figure).

Anyhow, I've been playing the Sequel II's 24/7 since I put in the new panels on Friday at 10 am. They still are not fully broken in, I hear it takes around 100 hours.

Since I do not have a whole lot of listening time with these speakers, the review/comparison will be brief. So far, I have noticed that the Sequels take much more to drive. They are detailed. A 192kbps mp3 played on the Monitors will sound alright, on the Sequels, the flaws are very apparent. I am hearing details in tracks that I haven't heard before on any other speaker.

A lot of people have noticed a disconnect between the woofer and stat panel... I have yet to notice this. I think the panel blends with the woofer quite well (in fact, I don't even notice the difference). The mids are not as punchy or in your face as the monitors. This could be good or bad, but I believe I prefer the mids of the monitors. The Sequels seem to be very consistent, I do not feel there is any area that is overdone, everything sounds pretty natural. So far, it seems that on well recorded tracks, I can turn the Sequels up louder than the monitors before my ears start to hurt. This probably has to do with the lack of a tweeter. However, there is a sort of harshness on low quality music (mp3s) that is not noticed on the monitors. It's almost as every sound has a sharp edge.

The Sequels image quite well, when they (and you) are positioned properly. I don't know how many times during setup that I found myself using the balance control wayy too much, only to sit back down and have to adjust it again. It seems that if the speakers are not properly placed, moving your head 4 inches in either direction causes the imaging to change dramatically. However, I am not currently noticing this with my current (and probably final) positioning.

The last thing I've noticed is that these speakers are not exactly apartment friendly. I am able to turn them up louder without fatigue, and they have 10 inch drivers. This combination leads to complaints all day, along with the police showing up for a final kick in the sack.

If I were to compare these to then monitors I would probably say that I like each speaker equally. The monitors really produce mids very, very well and for this they are surely keepers. I think the Sequels are better in the highs (and lows, but that doesn't count) for me because they are less harsh and not as fatiguing. I really think the monitors image well, it would be extremely difficult for me to say which speaker accomplishes this better. I would need more listening time, which I am afraid I will not get. The monitors are certainly more forgiving when it comes to the material and positioning. I like that I can set them up virtually any way, and still get good quality sound. I remember when I was moving, I had one speaker on the floor, and the other on my computer tower and they still managed to image quite well. When properly placed, I believe the Sequels melt in to the room a bit better than the monitors.

All in all, these are both great speakers. As to which pair I will keep, I think that it is probably going to be the monitors, simply because I might stand a chance of not getting evicted.

[stuwee]

coke, you're killin' me, I've had the orginial Sequel's for 6 years now, and I'm moving into an apartment so they have to go, those 10" woofers in the ported enclosure put out some serious bass, you just have to postion them in the right spot to hear it in your listening zone. I can rattle things off the wall in rooms across the house. I don't find much of a gap between the bass and panel intergration either, pretty seemless to me too.

They ain't listen at low level speakers, they come alive energizing the air in the room literally , you can't beat the lack of a crossover and box colorations in the critical mid to highs area of those panels, there's a real magic in that design!! Sounds like we're in the same boat, great speakers and no where to listen to them , you should be very happy with those Tylers tho. A great speaker as well!!

[polkfarmboy]

I think you need a strong amp or a tube setup to really bring out the mids on them logans .If I was to only have my pioneer receiver with an external amp hooked up I would think poorly of the mids and overall sound quality of ML speakers especialy on a bad recordings

I think every flaw is revealed in the audio chain with the logans as you know but this can be a blessing. When you do upgrade equipment you will be rewarded alot more with the panels etching out every last detail .

One thing that I noticed with my logans when I first got them is you dont really know how loud your playing them because there is virtually no distortion. A classic example for me was waiting for my kettle to boil and I could not hear it even though my music did not sound at all loud. Another example of this low distortion is when you go to speak and you cant even really hear your own voice because the music is loud without sounding so because its very very clear

[cokewithvanilla]

They ain't listen at low level speakers, they come alive energizing the air in the room literally , you can't beat the lack of a crossover and box colorations in the critical mid to highs area of those panels, there's a real magic in that design!! Sounds like we're in the same boat, great speakers and no where to listen to them , you should be very happy with those Tylers tho. A great speaker as well!!

That's so true. I just listened to one track (gotta do a little so by the time the courtesy officer comes out, he hears nothing :) ) at a pretty decent volume and they just sound great.... they are very clear... and it is easy to turn up too much

[stuwee]

Hehe, with my Yammie amp I bet at about 200w @ 4ohms is the magic spot, and that's sitting back about 25 feet, any louder and I'd need to blow out the back of the living room

I don't think you can blow the panels with too much juice, I've made both woofers separate from their surrounds though with close to 300w going into them. I replaced them with upgraded ones from ML that handle the power much better. Enjoy!!!!

[cokewithvanilla]

Just did an A/B and the Tylers sound very good.. they are clear and precise as well... however, I believe the logans present a larger more full sound stage.... perhaps this is somewhat due to the fact that they are full range. I also notice that the Tylers image a bit more consistently... as in, moving around seems to still have an effect on the imaging of the logans, while it has a much lesser effect on the Tylers.

[VR3]

Interesting -

I would be curious to see what you think in comparison of the Tylers with a sub...

Also note worthy as the Tylers were half or a third of the cost of the Logans new :)

Enjoy!

Thanks for the review!