Hi all,
Does anyone have any thoughts on the following problem?
Two years ago I bought a pair of used Martin Logan CLS I's. The
seller told me that the stat panels had been replaced about two
years prior.
About one year later, the volume output of one of the speakers
began to degrade. I was able to compensate by adjusting my
balance knob. Nine months later, the other speaker's volumn
output also began to degrade. Currently, they are both equal
but the output level is so low, they are unlistenable.
An acquaintance of mine had to replace the stat panels in his
Martin Logan Sequel II's at about three years. Is this a
coincidence?
I live about 30 miles from the coast in San Diego county. I don't
believe I have a humidity problem though. The speakers also never receive direct sunlight. I rarely vacuum clean the stat panels but they
don't seem to accumulate much dust either. My amp (Hafler 200,
please no comments!) supplies ~100 watts per channel, well below the
200 watt maximum.
Is there a common problem with electrostatics in that the stat
panels have a known short lifespan? Is this common with
Martin Logan? Is this due to poor quality control? Is this
due to abuse?
I believe that the stat panels should last much longer than
3-4 years. Do owners of other electrostatic speakers have
to replace their stat panels often?
I spoke with a Martin Logan tech and he said that this doesn't
sound familiar, or common. He said I can trade in my stat
panels for a new (refurbished?) set for $650 (plus shipping). I
don't want to shell out this kind of money every 3-4 years!!
My local dealer also said that he hadn't heard of this problem
either. However, a long time Martin Logan dealer in the L.A.
area does know of this problem. He said that sometimes the
conductive layer of the speaker membrane will get a "break",
usually in the corners. Thus the membrane won't accumulate the
proper static charge and won't play properly. He also
thought that $650 was very fair for replacement.
Has anyone had similar experiences? Any thoughts or ideas?
Thanks,
Ken Middaugh
ken@atcwest.com
(619) 571-6749 day
(619) 749-0227 eve.
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