Marten Speakers

just curious if a comparison between Oscar and Parker trios would be possible? I know price wise O3 and Parker duo are probably closer but what about 2 similar floor mounts or even the two different stand-mounts? Either way would like to hear your thoughts after hearing them again
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I would caution that the Parker Trio puts out a prodigious amount of bass. When I listened to the speaker in a midsize room around 4m x 6m, the bass was too much and was overpowering the room despite the employment of bass traps in the corners.

If possible try to listen and compare the Parker Duo to the Oscar/Parker Trio. I was told that the Parker series is better than the Oscar. I would get the best possible speaker (usually better quality drivers for midrange and treble). Although the Parker Duo is a standmount, it is unlike any other design as there is a passive bass radiator behind the cabinet which boost bass response.

The Gryphon Diablo 300 should be a great match to the Marten whichever model. I’m not sure about your Primare pre36 and 35.2 monos. In my experience, the speaker-amp match and the way the amps are powered up are most crucial for optimal / best sound quality and in my book, more important than the quality of the source / DAC. The speakers are so transparent that you’ll get different results not only with a different amp/source but cables as well.

Good luck.

I keep forgetting that the Parker trio is a whole different animal from the Oscar trio and would not suit my room at all, so I guess the comparison would have to be either Oscar trio or Parker duo or possibly trio

Hi wusplay and happy holidays. I was wondering how the audiovectors compare to the Martens. I’m still considering both or perhaps the floor mount version of either r3 or Oscar trio. I’m not sure I really have enough space around the Martens and my system is 282/250. It’s difficult for me to audition, so much of the decision may be from informed sources , so any advice is appreciated.

Yes. Diamond Edition are very refined. The highs and mids are exceptional, the bass is much better than the Duke 2…but they are extremely expensive.
I’ve said this before… from a financial point of view, it’s not really worth changing the Duke 2 for the Diamond Edition.
Duke 2 are extraordinary speakers…

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Since moving to a 5.5 x 6.5m room a few months ago, I have experienced a notable change in the performance of my speakers, particularly after recently adding the Gryphon Essence pre and power amplifier. The combination of the room and amplifier has given me a fresh perspective on the speakers’ capabilities. I learned that Audiovector speakers are tuned by Gryphon, and their pairing has proven to be truly exceptional. The Marten speakers have also become more engaging with Gryphon than with Vitus. This transition has altered my impression of the speakers and underscored the importance of the right amplification according to user taste. Hence, your 282/250 combo might produce a significantly different outcome. Owning these speakers for over a year hasn’t led me to fully understand them yet; they continue to surprise me with their performance in various setups.

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Thnx for your response. I guess what I’m asking (as you own both) is how you would compare them to each other, especially on their room dependability (how easy or finicky are they to room placement?) as I have a very flawed (acoustically) room and odd shapes, but that’s not changing. However, I have been looking at gryphon as far as amplification. The audiovector seems to be able to work closer to the rear wall, but how much difference as far as placement have you found (if you’ve used the same room for both).

The R1 Arreté, being much smaller, lacks the scale and bass of the Parker Duo, but its presentation is inherently different. Unlike the more polite and sophisticated Parker, the R1 is more forthright in its expression, with greater directness, intensity, and a harder-hitting sound. It has a smaller and narrower soundstage, yet it seems deeper, with a more finely defined and palpable image. Despite the excellence of the Parker Duo’s diamond tweeter, the remarkable AMT of the R1 Arreté is simply more to my liking, consistently impressing visiting friends.

Switching to the Parker Duo, you immediately notice it’s a larger-sounding speaker. It is smoother, with fuller mids, heavier bass, and greater scale and dynamics, creating a taller and bigger soundstage. In my previous listening room, I struggled to achieve the minimum equilateral triangle placement with adequate clearance from the rear and side walls for the Parker Duo. It was only in my current, more spacious residence that the Parker could fully demonstrate its capabilities, proving superior in all aspects and clearly reflecting its higher price point.

Comparing the compact R1 to the much larger Parker Duo seems unfair. A more interesting comparison would be to bring in a bigger model like the R6 Arreté.

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The Oscar series are the most affordable models from Marten. Unfortunately, for this series, Marten used drivers built by SB Acoustics.
In all other series, Marten uses drivers from Accuton, a much, much better company than SB Acoustics…
The Miles 5, along with the Duke 2, are part of Marten’s former Heritage series and are exceptional speakers, using some of the highest quality components for both crossovers and drivers.
The Heritage series is way above the Oscar series - in my opinion.
If you find sh, Miles 5 for sale, don’t hesitate. They are phenomenal speakers…they are actually the Duke 2 on steroids…

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Hi All, I have had Marten Oscar Duo, Parker Duo, and Parker Trio.
The Oscar Duo are the entry level but for their price they are a very strong proposition.
However, when you move up the line to the Parkers you understand that this is more high end, with better clarity, imaging, bass.
The Parker Trio is better than the Duo, BUT it needs a much larger room, otherwise the space becomes over-excited. This is the reason that I have settled to the Duo’s. The Duo as previously mentioned is a magnificent stand-mount speaker with great resolution and in particular tight bass.
In terms of amps the Gryphon Diablo 300 has not matched to my tastes, and now I am driving the Duo’s with a Pass INT-25, pure class A.

I am really interested to listen more your experience with matching them with the Essence please!

Many thanks!
Nikos

ps. Tonight I will visit a friend of mine that has the Parker Quintet driven by Pass X260.8 + XP22.

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The Marten standmounts are quite something and their bass performance is a delight and without interfering with the rest of the spectrum.

Most here might have seen the story at the beginning of this review and how the Dukes 2 “stepped in” for the Coltranes!

@NikosK - great experience! How would you describe the amp requirement differences between the Oscar and the Parker Duo? My Oscar Duo feel so easy to drive…

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The Parker Duo is one of the shortlisted speakers that I’ve been considering as a potential upgrade to my ATC SCM19. However, the rear port on the Parker Duo and the fact that I am limited on how far the speaker can be from the front wall is a concern, especially as this is an almost square room of 27m2 giving the risk of bass boom.

I really don’t want to have the tweeter/speaker front any more than 63cm from the front wall, which would leave just 27cm between the front wall and speaker back. Everything that I’ve read indicates that the Parker Duo needs much more than this distance.

I appreciate that every room is different but does anyone have any comments before I assume that the Parker Duo is likely not an optimum speaker for me?

Oh, one other point is that the listening position is slightly off the central axis.

Hi @garcon , thank you very much! Indeed the Oscar Duo as well as Martens in general are not particularly difficult loads. However, my own limited experience says that the Oscar Duos in my space needed some juice. When I bought them I had a LUXMAN 507uxII. I thought that its solid state 110W per channel would be more than sufficient. In my room it was not the case. When I paired them with an Audia Flight FLS10 (200W per channel and lots of current) the combination was an absolute delight.

Hi @NewNaim16 , although I am a great fun of ATC, going from SMC19 to Parker Duo will be a great step up! I hope you go for it. Please note that the Parker Duo are not back ported. They have a passive radiator which operates differently than the classic port hole. They are not closed box like the ATC, but they are more forgiving compared to back hole ported speakers. 27cm from the wall indeed is not optimal but also not necessarily a showstopper because of the radiator. In case you feel that bass becomes too much, you may consider GIK panels which I have found very helping in the past.

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Much appreciated, just shows how important a home demo is and room interaction! I’ve tried mine with anything from 25wpc and they have so far worked really very easy and well. Good to know you don’t find the Parker Duo too much more demanding (I think consistent with previous views on that here) but looks like only a home demo might really tell how a NC250 would deal with them:)

Hi @NikosK - Thank you for your reply and letting me know that the Parker Duo has a radiator and not a port, which is very helpful. We prefer a standmount speaker so think the next step is to audition the Parker Duo along with probably just one other.

Folks, a short update. After switching back and forth between the Luxman L-590AXII and 282/250DR on the Marten Duke 2 for several years, I can finally confirm that the Naim 282/250DR are no good for the Marten Duke 2.
I’ve made many changes last year - Solid Tech Rack of Silence Reference, new power conditioner, Lumin U2 mini streamer, additional Furutech mains power cables and new interconnects. All these upgrades truly elevated the performance of the Luxman/Marten system. The Luxman and Marten are a great combination.

I then switched from Luxman/Marten to Naim/Graham LS5/9. Surprisingly this is the best sound reproduction I’ve got with the Naim (and Graham). Very lifelike, dynamic and engaging sound. Earlier today I switched from the LS5/9 to Duke 2. I was expecting an improved performance with all the additional upgrades. To my horror the Duke 2 sounded a lot worse than the Graham LS5/9 when driven by the 282/250DR. The overall sound was wooly with reduced clarity and dynamics. Bass sounded odd and weak without power and punch, everything just sounded soft and mushy.

This is truly the last time I’m trying the Naim with the Duke 2. They just don’t match well. The Marten sounded like lo-fi speaker next to the Graham LS5/9 (when driven by Naim) which is shocking.

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Are you happy with the U2 mini? What did you have prior to it?

Seems like the Dukes don’t play well with the 250DR. A bit strange as My Oscars absolutely love Naim and the NC250 works superbly well (as have the SN3 and the Nait 50) but they are different speakers after all.

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The Lumin U2 Mini replaced a laptop.

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Yes, strange. Perhaps the 250DR is the culprit.