MartinLogan Vista Hybrid Electrostatic Loudspeaker Reviewed
- By: Andrew Robinson,
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It's rare to see a manufacturer revamp a product line as completely as MartinLogan has done with their latest offerings. Their former flagship, the Summit, showcased not only MartinLogan's newest speaker technology, but highlighted design language as a whole. Now that the Summit is no more, its legacy is alive and well in the Vista reviewed here. With a retail price of around $4,000 per pair, depending on the finish, the Vista is the entry-level speaker in what MartinLogan is calling their ESL series, which also includes the Vantage and Summit-replacing Spire loudspeaker. The Vista, like the Aeon and Aeon i of yore, is a gateway product of sorts, designed to bring consumers into the MartinLogan family and giving them a clear upgrade path should they decide to stick with the brand.• Learn more about the brand MartinLogan here.
• Read a review of the MartinLogan Motion Speakers here.
• Read a review of the MartinLogan Depth i Subwoofer from HomeTheaterReview.com.
The Vista closely resembles the slightly larger Vantage in many respects; it even features its XStat panel, which was derived directly from the Summit. The Vista, like most MartinLogan speakers, is a hybrid design that mates an electrostatic panel to a bass woofer. The Vista features an eight-inch aluminum woofer in a ported enclosure, giving it a frequency response of 43-23,000Hz. Unlike the Vantage, the woofer section of the Vista is not powered, which brings its efficiency down a bit to 90dB into a four-ohm load. The Vista, like the Vantage, uses a Vojtko crossover at 450Hz for seamless integration between the panel and the woofer itself. The Vista has an overall power handling capability of 200 watts per channel and can be powered with a moderately equipped receiver or a mid-fi separates system. I've demoed the Vista personally, using an integrated amplifier with a solid 50 watts at its disposal, with acceptable and enjoyable results, though when I upped the quality of the associated components, I was able to hear a noticeable difference in the speaker's sound and musicality.
The Vista is bi-wireable and features MartinLogan's proprietary binding posts that can accept spade and banana terminations. The Vista comes in two standard finishes, dark cherry and black ash, with light cherry and maple rounding out the two costlier optional finishes. Like all modern MartinLogan speakers, you can fully customize the finish of your Vista, using MartinLogan's own custom shop on their website.
Competition and Comparison
If you want to compare MartinLogan's Vista Hybrid against its competition, read our reviews for the Revel Performa F52 loudspeakers and the Bowers & Wilkins 703 loudspeakers. You can find more reviews in our Floorstanding Speaker section. For more information about the company please see out MartinLogan brand page.
Read the High Points, Low Points and Conclusion on Page 2
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Comment on this article
Very nice review. Martin logan I have always viewed as a very mature company. No nonsense, they make excellent products that perform well, look great, and stand the test of time. I look forward to a review Jerry of the Vista. Review Jerry?
This was one of the most poorly and ill informed articles I think I've ever read. lets see where do I start...One the Vista's are by no means the "entry-level" speaker in there ESL line that would be the source then the purity placing the vista's second to the top of there ESL line. Next...did you listen to the speakers 'cause the only thing you said about the sound was "umm it sounded better when I didn't grossly under power them...) third 200w is not a "moderately equipped receiver" that would be a highly equipped receiver that is unless you feel the pioneer elite SC-09TX is a moderately equipped receiver at $7k. Fourth. the vista's are powered...did you not plug them in? Fifth. you listed the fact that martin logan makes some of the best subs in the business as a low point...see where I'm goin' with this one...Sixth. the XStat panel is "dated" in comparison to what speaker technology? seventh Di-pole speaker are easier to place as well as are all martin logan products I've dealt with. now, if you ever fell like doing a real review please let me know and I'll have my 12 year old niece scratch one up for ya right before lunch.
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