I have the impression that Marten speakers are very rare and are very seldom offered on the used market, not even demo models from dealers. Rather, I see “requests” on the various platforms.
Yes, offers if available are usually from the Marten dealer. That too is rare because offers from the dealer are usually models that are obsolete such as the Duke 2 replaced by current models Parker and Oscar Duo.
In my experience everything is important with the Marten because with its revealing nature it will expose or highlight the sound of everything including cables and power conditioner more easily than other speakers that are less revealing. I didn’t experiment with a lot of speaker cables as I’ve run out of funds to keep experimenting. Jorma cables are expensive but I understand they are a good fit to the Marten. I’m using Chord Signature XL with the Duke 2. The power cords on my amp and DAC are very costly. I paid more for the mains cable than the DAC that’s connected with it.
And most importantly matching is very important as they don’t sound good if matched with the wrong amps. Unfortunately the 282/250DR are not good enough or perhaps they just don’t match.
Getting back to the discussion on Marten speakers, although I do not have experience with the Parker Duo diamond, I am guessing the house sound of the Marten may be fairly similar across the range? With the Duke 2 the clarity, detail and refinement in the music are all excellent but it’s always a fatigue free listen with a smooth and clean sound presentation. There’s not a hint of harshness or brightness although the treble is fairly energetic, lit or extended. Although the Duke 2 does not sound dull or laidback to me, similarly I find the speakers to play it safe by not sounding too forward and energetic, leaning slightly to the smooth side of things. It appears that the Duke 2 or Parker Duo may sound comparatively duller than the more energetic, forward or dynamic sounding Fyne FI-8.
Besides the Fyne FI-8, do you find any other speaker that sounds somewhat more forward, energetic and dynamic than the Marten?
The underlying sentiment seems to be a concern over the Marten being perceived as “less exciting.” When comparing speakers with diverse presentations, it’s the emotional resonance a listener experiences with a specific sound signature that brings them joy and satisfaction. It can be very subjective.
Fyne’s unique concentric drivers and horn-loaded tweeter endow it with a distinct sonic signature. While many speakers can be characterized as “forward, energetic, and dynamic,” they may attain these traits through various design principles and might not necessarily sound like Fyne.
I own the Marten Parker Duo ceramic version for six months now (together with Accuphase E 650 amp, dp 450 CD player and the NAIM NDX2 streamer). Absolutely stunning combination with a tone to die for. Before purchasing the Parker speakers I compared them at my dealer with the diamond version. My impression (and the dealer agreed) was that the models were quite narrow soundwise and not worth the 7000 Euro or so price difference. The trebles were slightly more refined on the diamonds, but basses with the ceramic model were stronger. I am absolutely happy with the sound of the Parker Duo. Interestingly also the Parker Trio floor standing model did not make a huge difference when comparing.
Thank you very much @Zupfgeiger for sharing your opinion. Fantastic! And it is another experience that the Parker Duo’s match very well with pure class A amps. I am also very satisfied by them.
Regarding the Parker Trio, in my room at least, there was a clear difference, as a result of of the higher sensitivity and larger cabin.
Similarly, there is auditable difference between the Trio and the Quintet, although this difference is smaller compared to Duo/ Trio.
Enjoy your system!
Thanks for your feedback. Maybe my judgement would have been more elaborated if I have had the chance to compare both models in my living room. But at least in my dealers studio the difference was not that huge. I find not only the refinement of tone to be world class, but also the ability to fill bigger rooms (as my 44 square meter living). No wonder as the Parker Duo is quite a huge and heavy stand mount speaker. I am mostly listening to jazz and classical music, but sometimes in the morning, when everyone else in our house is at work or at school, I push them really loud with good old Rock n‘roll. Oh boy , they do deliver in that respect.
Apologies if you have mentioned it before. Does the Norma 140 have the delicacy and refinement apart from sounding dynamic? It’s interesting that the Norma competes favourably with the Gryphon Diablo 300 as the latter costs a lot more. The Gryphon Diablo 300 (and 120) used to be in my radar previously, and I think about it recently too. However, it costs too much even at used prices so it was dropped. Also, it is too heavy and I don’t usually consider amps that go above 30kg these days (although I bought a power conditioner that weighs more than that just lately).
I recall you mentioned the Norma 140 sound more engaging or dynamic that the Luxman 509X that you auditioned previously with the Duke 2? Does the 140 have the same level of refinement and detail as the 509X? My Duke 2 sounds splendid with the 590AXII but I’m having a bit of itch.
Have you ever tried driving the Duke 2 with a powerful 300W amplifier to observe how the speakers transform with increased headroom, especially when playing large orchestral or live concert music?
It’s quite a while since I auditioned these amps and only ever in the dealers and I ended up with the 140 without even listening to it. I guess that introduction is me caveating what follows.
I think the safest way for me to summarise my comments would be to label them as ‘First Impressions’, more of a holistic perspective than any detailed analysis of any particular trait. I also came away from that demo without feeling that what I’d heard was the result of a ‘must have’ amplifier (it was the same after I listened to the Kula but exact opposite after listening to the Dukes for the first time ).
With the Norma, buying unheard was a risk, but I trawled the net and read tens of reviews that all pretty much aligned and none, not one, had any significant negative comments. As I continue to tweak its the Norma that isn’t even in my thoughts when thinking about what next to try. I haven’t even tried the direct in from the TT2 yet, so that one’s still in reserve.
I know this sounds like the Norma is perfect and it isn’t of course. I’d say that if one knows of a particular trait they prefer, highly detailed, warm or lush, super dynamic, then hunt out a brand known for those traits, as the Norma doesn’t augment any specific signature, it just quietly sits doing everything well. I maintain it sits plumb in the middle on a scale that has warm and lush at one end and super dynamic and detailed at the other. It also pairs well with the Dukes…
I know I haven’t really answered your question, but looking at your system my guess is, and it really is a guess, is that if you dropped in a 140, it would perform admirably, but probably wouldn’t give you much more than you already have. It might be different here and there, but overall, you’ll probably need to move up the diminishing returns ladder to start seeing marked improvements.
Now, if you want to try the Norma pre/power amp combo, then I’m all ears🎶
PS I recently added Signature XL speaker cable and a small subwoofer, I’ll post about those separately.
I haven’t tried as most good powerful integrateds such as Gryphon or Vitus etc. cost too much and are above my budget.
In my case, I used to drive the Parker Duo’s with the Gryphon Diablo 300. Headroom and effortless drive absolutely yes. But to my tastes and room, the sound of Pass matches better with the Duo’s.
Your post makes a lot of sense. It appears that I may be a victim of my own preaching “there’s no end to this game”.
I’d be interested in your thoughts on the Chord Signature XL. If you are used to most common speaker cables in the market, the Signature XL may appear to be bass light at first but after a while you will get used to the added clarity and neutrality of the cable.
I do not have experience unfortunately with the Chord Signature. I see in the web that this is a silver / hybrid one; I may be wrong.
In my case, I use fully copper speaker cables and interconnects. They suit better my tastes as a hybrid case gave too much brightness for me. I am know comparing an 8N copper interconnect vs the 6N I have.
All the best, Nikos
I was using Witch Hat Phantom and was planning to buy a new set of Spectre cables until that went belly up. Luckily I got my money back and set about researching alternatives. I had previously read your comments regarding the Signature XL but it didn’t matter as they were well out of my budget. Until… a used set came up at a too good to refuse price, so I jumped on it.
Switching from the Phantoms there was, as I’d hoped, a notable uplift, in particular added detail and smoothness especially at volume, timbre - everything sounded more natural and an improvement in the magical traits of flow and feel all added up to a much better all round experience - I was hooked.
I also felt that there was less bass but again, like you, feel this was due to better and more accurate reproduction of the lower-upper bass frequencies. In my small room, I have always had a speaker position compromise, best image/soundstage vs best bass and, predictably, positioned the speakers at the midway point to enjoy the best overall sound. The Chords magnified this difference and I didn’t manage to find an acceptable mid position for the speakers. This is where my next recent purchase came in…
Getting a subwoofer had been in my thoughts for a while, but I never really felt enough of a need to get one. Now though, I had the excuse and went for the SVS Micro 3000. I haven’t had it too long so still playing around but it has surprised me the impact it has had. I have it set at the lowest gain and at the Dukes lowest point of 38Hz and it is astounding. I still haven’t worked out the mechanics, because if I disconnect the main speakers and just have the sub playing, there is nothing to be heard. But in conjunction with the speakers it fills out the sub bass (obviously) but also adds more depth and clarity to the lower and upper bass. It also provides a nice foundation for the rest of the music to play upon.
So definite thumbs up for the speaker cable, but for a fully balanced sound, probably best with full range speakers or with a sub.
I have done extensive research on Luxman L-590AXII (which I own) vs Pass Labs INT-60. In a recent video by Steve Huff who compared the Luxman L-590AXII to the Pass Labs INT-250 and INT-60, the Luxman was said to be neutral on the scale, refined and nuanced with good separation and detail. The Pass leans slightly to warm on the scale with warmer mids, doesn’t do all-out detail and is slightly recessed and softer in the treble. Luxman for a more neutral sound, Pass for warmer and tube-like presentation. The Pass was described to have a taller and wider soundstage than the Luxman and sounds more holographic.
I can imagine the strengths of the Pass Labs to shine through when matched with the Parker Duo. Having said that, Pursuit Perfect System on Youtube found the Gryphon Diablo 300 to match the Parker Duo better than Diablo 120 which was said to sound warmer and darker than the 300.
Yes, the room is always a compromise and we just have to work with what we have and optimise the set up especially placement of speakers to the best ability that we can. My room is rather small too and I suspect the Duke 2 will show more potential if the room is larger.
I have a sub in the system but it’s currently not in use as I wanted to evaluate the system as it is after all the upgrades (power conditioner, cables etc.) When I’m done, I’ll start to look at integrating the sub into the system.
An update. I finally went with the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle which caught me by surprise really. It’s a rack upgrade. I didn’t expect any big improvement although I was hoping for one. My speakers sounded different now, in a good way. It’s not the Marten this time though as I have swapped the speakers several months ago. I will switch to the Marten several months later when I’m done with the Graham LS5/9.
Most obvious difference is the drive in music. The low bass and midbass are punching and coming through as the bass has weight and a solidity feel to it. A slight difference in tonal quality of instruments with a denser feel. Everything sounds more “live” in the room feel. Overall a higher quality sound with the new rack. It’s the Solid Tech Rack of Silence Reference.
The Luxman L-590AXII now shows better slam and dynamics than before, and the Grahams are not polite or “soft sounding” as I thought of earlier. Everything matters including the rack.
I’ll switch to the Naim and Duke 2 before the end of the year.
Interesting, as your new rack looks like a similar concept to your existing one? Or may be misjudging from the photo?
Also one is on tiles and the other on wood?