Reviewing Martin Logan ESL 15A: What Do We Think?

We are delving into our comprehensive review of the Martin Logan ESL 15A speakers, sharing our honest thoughts and impressions on their performance and features.
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Audio Excellence Inc. is a high-end audio/video store in Markham, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. We've been in business since 1991.
Check out our interviews with designers and audio luminaries like Daryl Wilson of Wilson Audio, Paul McGowan of PS Audio, Paolo Tezzon of Sonus Faber, Wendell Diller of Magnepan, John Atkinson of Stereophile, Dan D'Agostino of D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, Nelson Pass of Pass Labs and others.
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[@bigjay1970]

This is the reason why I still watch even though Jay and Villip are gone. 🤔🤫 Real authentic reviews! 😎

[@kenmcglown6642]

Great, intelligently thorough review!!! I've heard these speakers at my local ML dealer on several occasions and I concur with everything you guys concluded about these world class sounding speakers. Bravo!!!

[@digggerrjones7345]

Adrian hit the nail directly on the head!! The person purchasing the gear needs to concentrate on *their* pleasure and satisfaction.

[@alaincayer8999]

Adrian : I am French speaking. Renaissance also means to rebirth. They may refer they improved an earlier speaker. Which makes more sense than the Renaissance period.

[@adrianlow2114]

Thank you. I was simply being sarcastic and having fun with the name 😅

[@garyvaiskauckas8463]

At 32:52 Adrian summed up the review best: “These may be the most underrated speakers in high-end!” As an owner of the 13A's it was great to see the incredible Masterpiece speakers finally receive an in depth review. Thanks Audio Excellence team! P.S. Also even more underrated is how incredible the Martin Logan Masterpiece speakers work in a media room for music and home theater. I paired the 13A's Front L/R with a C34A Center and FX2's surrounds. The electrostatic speakers are far less sensitive to room reflection than traditional enclosed speakers. Cheers, Gary

[@scottbennett3119]

Great review! You guys are very good at explaining the sound quality, and entertaining too... Thanks

[@hiresaudiocosta873]

Looking forward to the comparison video 🎉

[@johnanderson8096]

That was CRAZY ENJOYABLE...... Thank You!!!

[@adrianlow2114]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@johnnyt9780]

Thanks for the great review!

[@adrianlow2114]

Our pleasure

[@pswitzeny]

Really fantastic video guys! I can't believe we didn't get an unboxing though!! I mean, sure, parts were sprinkled in here but it was bit like a chocolate cookie with not enough chocolate chips! 😂 I'm kidding of course. As always, amazing music selection, especially from Mike!! Thanks, gents!

[@PP-nh1lv]

You've done the 11A's and now the 15A's. How about the 13A's? It would be nice to know the different characteristics of these 3 models and how they compare and how they differ given their monetary spread. Thanks!

[@davidopalecky7318]

Thanks for sharing 👍 I have the 13a's. They sound great. With 2 ML subs 1600. McIntosh C52 and 462 amp.

[@garysmith8455]

Good to see a great nod to ML ! I sold my Klipschorns and bought the 'babies' from the Masterpiece series = the Classic 9's. These are the ONLY passive (like the Neolith) from this series. I added the Dynamo 1600x subwoofer with ARC and have been enjoying this combo for a long while now. All Parasound front end driving them. This series is 90db+ efficient, and is a true DIPOLE/LINE SOURCE so they make a huge sound if you wish with the RECOMENDED 400 watt per channel amplification, and the Classic 9's have plenty of dynamics in my 18x24' space. Thanks again guys, great review! And GLAD to see so many fellow owners in the comment section. (O:

[@jamesschneider3828]

Nice review. It's nice to see that recognize the elephant in the room and that is the fact that if you have friends over that some are not in the sweet spot. Some speakers and systems can give a wide dispersion allowing several positions a really good quality performance while others sitting 3 feet to the side get 50% or more less of that experience. I have their motion series speakers (60XT) and I believe they are of great build quality. Their folded motion tweeters had me moving the speakers around more than I preferred, but when I got to where they rest today (no tow in) they sound fantastic. The sound stage is close to 180° with well recorded music.

[@alpro3714]

BTW Renaissance, a French word, means Rebirth in English... 🙂

[@Mark-rw3kw]

Yeah, they should have known that, and not just assumed it has only one meaning related to the historical period mentioned.

[@davidzwicker9988]

OCD indeed! Now biamping, bypassing the bass crossover and going active on my earlier ML model hybrids.

[@idianmansjur2673]

Great review. Martin Logan ESL speakers used to have a lot of issues in Asia due to humidity and dust, wonder if it is still the case ?

[@psyphonyxaudio]

....and ... Hand built in Canada / Mississauga.

[@garysmith8455]

Yes, they sill are! The videos on the website from before COVID are still amazing to watch. I met with Andy and Andrew at my dealer a couple months ago, and they said the NEOLITH with still the most difficult panel to construct ! It is 22" across ! They have to get that across the frame the first time, or it is scraped and they start again.

[@thevinylnoob]

Awesome Review Guys! Agree 110% with you that Martin Logan's get very little recognition or reviews. And for that price what speaker brand and model can beat it for less or equal value in your opinion? I feel it hits way above its weight class.

[@jeffreythurston1822]

Great discussion as always. Could you speak to how these speakers would pair with newer high powered McIntosh SS amps with tube preamp?

[@djcordes4352]

I’ve heard them with the c2700 and MC462 and it sounds great. However, I just switched from the C2700 to C53 myself because I yearned for more bass in my own system with a 462

[@datka3]

I have ESL15s since 2020 , moved up from Focal Sopra 2 . I just couldn’t resist this Open and live sound that ESL15s presented . I have further improved sound by 1. adding speaker footers , ( isoacoustic gaia 1) 2. Using power conditioner for ESL 15s ( non current limiting) 3. Power cords for ESL 15s further improve sound . Once you live with ESLs it’s hard to switch to another speaker brand

[@larrycasey3587]

Very nice well rounded personable panel review on the 15's that did not sound like a glorified sales pitch. The speakers are the real deal if you have the coin. Only reason I own a pair is due to selling a house in a sellers market. The wonderful transparency and open highs combined with the bass power with incredible delineation makes for fantastic listening experience. Regarding M-L lack of review/interest it seems they are the Rodney Dangerfield of stats in that they get "no respect". I have them in a dedicated room and listen usually every day for a few hours with no TV or other distractions. They can draw you in like very few other speakers and I use to rotate them in and out with highly modified Klipsch LaScala's with SVS subs with the LaScala's. The criticism of the one prime position/person speaker is valid in that that there is definitely a sweet spot listening position. In any event when I am not listening they are drawing me back in and one of the best audio purchases I have made.

[@anhy10ful]

I purchased the 11A and found the bass was not deep enough, so I switched to the 13A and the bass was still not much better. I then added two Martin Logan BalancedForce 210 Subs. The real thing started to happen. My amp was a McIntosh MA12000. I calibrated the 13A with ARC and had ARC turned on. I downloaded the custom crossover filter from Martin Logan and installed it on the BF210 calibrated specifically for the 13A. When playing the song named Hotel California by the Eagles with the added BF210 subs. the bass was true to what the Artists intended.

[@erics9754]

Same as you but I just got rid of them and bought some real electrostatics from the Soundlab line which puts these to shame.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

This channel is like Siskel & Ebert _At The Movies,_ but for audiophile gear

[@JRadian]

You should compare and review the Sanders Sound 10E electrostat hybrid speakers!

[@datka3]

Regarding reduced dynamic range. Since room correction DSP only applies to the base 25-350 hz I’m surprised this was observed, I can see it reducing dynamic range in that frequency but for rest it’s same signal with or without ARC enabled

[@mannycazz8018]

Compare these martin logan 15 against the Final audio model 35. I heard the Final audio at THE SHOW in costa mesa. Looking forward in your thoughts on this comparison.

[@kode3]

Still rocking Ascents from 2001... why upgrade?

[@ghn5ue336]

Adrien is right.. these are very underrated speakers. The performance compares to others costing much more. The same applies to the other Martin Logan Masterpiece speakers.

[@Kam87GT]

Thanks a lot for awesome review, question why even this speaker so amazing don’t have many interest?

[@mahasidha9]

Whoops glad you love them; previously I could never pull the trigger because the transition between woofers and panel was NEVER seamless. The generation before the ML 13A I believe it was called Montis simply did not do it; the panel is of a different material it really is seamless now, amazing imagine 4 - 10" powered woofers blending with a panel!

[@dajikbatarang1]

I remember on your old website you said that you preferred the Magnepan 1.7i compared to the ESL 11A. Now that you have both in house which do you prefer?

[@Mark-rw3kw]

That was before he became a ML dealer.

[@adrianlow2114]

@@Mark-rw3kwI believe I simply said that where coherence is concerned, the Maggie’s are better. And it’s still true. The entire frequency band is reproduced by 1 material. And for a fraction of the cost

[@dennishill290]

Martin-logan SUMMITS..... !

[@nelsonclub7722]

Could anyone recommend the Cambridge Edge W mono amps to drive the lesser budgeted ML's - I only use streaming and already have the Cambridge EVO 150 but would change up to the Cambridge NQ - which just brings me to another question that I cannot find an answer to - how much better is the streaming part of the Cambridge EVO 150 to the Cambridge Edge NQ?

[@carlhanstke4287]

Well damn….I own the Martin Logan 11A’s and thought I was in music heaven. Now it seems I have to upgrade…..again. See ya soon for a test listen!! ;)

[@toddhupp]

is price each or pair guys

[@simonirvine1628]

Large packaging, Big Sound 🔈🔉🔊

[@mahasidha9]

JAYS AUDIO LAB HAD TOP OF THE LINE GRYPHON BEHIND THESE AND HE ALSO HAD PARASOUND MONO BLOCS AND EVERY TIME THE SPEAKERS showed what was upline.

[@ofir5000]

WE LOVE UNBOXING VIDEOS❤

[@adrianlow2114]

Lol 😂

[@dihydrotestosterone]

Funny, I couldn't care less 😅

[@lwdp74]

At 5’ 8” tall Id think the vertical sweet spot would let you stand up unless you’re over 6’. These speakers are a a couple inches taller than me!

[@markswan9148]

Can you suggest 3 realistic amps to match please

[@garyvaiskauckas8463]

Martin Logan has paired the Masterpiece series speakers with Parasound Halo's at audio shows and the pairing sounds incredible. Since the 15A's, 13A's and 11A's have a powered woofer the ESL panel and overall speaker is very efficient and does not require that much power to drive.

[@garysmith8455]

@@garyvaiskauckas8463 I have the Classic 9's. My audio shop paired the Parasound Halo A21 and P6 and I could not be happier with the combo

[@peternilsson1645]

🎯👏👍🙏

[@digggerrjones7345]

What is the song that starts playing at 19:39???

[@stevenburdick424]

Where is Cece

[@winstonwolff]

So it took $350,000 worth of equipment to make these $27,000, speakers sound good? They better sound like Angel's trumpets with all that equipment you have in that room.

[@howardskeivys4184]

👍🤣

[@garyvaiskauckas8463]

The Martin Logan electrostatic speakers are not difficult to drive, but they are revealing. Pair these speakers with a good class A/AB amp and you will hear things in the recording that you've never heard before. As an example Martin Logan and Parasound Halo amps have been paired together at many audio shows and sound incredible for a more budget friendly pairing.

[@erics9754]

I have a secret there are electrostatic speakers out there that are the Walmart brand and there are some that are the Rolls Royce brand which I mean standard no one in this comment section knows the Rolls Royce ones but 1 person guesses the brand. I am glad that I among few others know about them. I will give you a hint Martin Logan sucks.@@garyvaiskauckas8463

[@capwkidd]

If you guys like the ML’s, you got to listen to the full range electrostatic speakers by Sound Lab! I have heard the ML 15A’s, and they are not as good as my Sound Lab M1’s…. You can walk around, stand, etc, and they sound the same… If an electrostatic panel is taller than you, the sound won’t change when you stand up… the ML 15A is too short

[@betaomega04]

Now I want fried chicken...

[@tool8337]

TOOL!

[@lawrencemassey7190]

Canadian reviews like watching grass grow

[@sigiung8722]

Just a lot of words, why we have to listen and trust. Play them, play, we have ears too. Stop bs

[@timmyers7548]

better buy Focal Trio6 monitors. You will get better sound for just 4000$