Customer Reviews

MartinLogan Preface Black (Single) Floor Standing Loudspeaker

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before buying new speakers I tried to do my homework properly, but since the Preface is such a new prouct there are virtually no reviews out there--none, in fact, by a pro. So this review is just based on my own judgement--which after all I guess is what really matters. I listened to some other brands: ProAc, Linn, ARCAM Muso/Logo, and a couple of B&W models. Some were simply out of my price range; the others were highly recommended by experts, but honestly--no matter the price and the reviews of the others--these Martin-Logan Prefaces blew me away. They were easily the clearest ones I heard at the price, and considering that the next level up meant a huge jump in cost, for perhaps a small incremental jump in quality,it was an easy choice.

They look great, the sound completely fills my medium-sized living room, and on very familiar albums I hear instruments and sounds that I'd never heard before. The "soundstage" (as experts call it) is huge. I can close my eyes and the equipment completely disappears, or maybe I disappear into the music. What a thrill it is to hear such brilliant sounds. I tried it with jazz (which always shows off the timing of a good sound system), with classical, opera, rock with big thumpy bass notes, and my eclectic African collection with its varied percussion sounds. In every way the Prefaces excelled. I'll give it my highest recommendation.

I began my journer into audophile country when my H/K receiver bit the dust. I convinced my wife we needed a serious upgrade (don't ask how but I've got serious dish-pan-hands). So I go into the Magnolia center fully plannnig on getting a set of Klipsch's or Vienna's. After listening to all the speakers in the room I could not get past the Prefaces. They really did sound the best. The store did not have any in stock and honestly I didn't like the cherry models on display. I came home and logged onto Martin Logan and I found the Preface in black. To me it looks a whole lot better. Martin Logan has a warning on the website that only Best Buy and Amazon.com are authorized dealers. So I logged onto Amazon and the speakers were here a few days later.
These babies do require a break-in. They sound a bit bright at first but the woofers have to loosen up. I have been in tears listening to some of the music that is coming out of these bad boys. You will still need a sub for the really low stuff. Understand that they are 4 ohm speakers so your receiver should be of good quality or simply add an amp....now I'm really going to wash dishes a long long time.

I've been watching MartinLogan products for a while trying to learn everything before I buy each piece. Prior to looking at the Preface, I was watching the Vista and Vantage models. I decided the Preface would be best since they would be timbre matched with the rest of my speakers. I bought a pair of Preface to complete my 5.1 setup. I'm using the MartinLogan Fresco i as the center channel, and as the rear right and left speakers. I'm using a Focal Chorus sw800v as the sub. Everything is powered by a Denon AVR587. I must say the receiver is under powering the speakers, but that's not a problem because they all sound great. Beware, if your media is poor quality, these speakers will make it known. For example, I play Mp3's from a usb drive on my PS3. On 128kbps, the mp3 sound flat. The same song encoded at 192kbps sound amazing. Both mp3s were encoded from the same CD, using the same software on the same computer.

When I purchased the Preface, I was also comparing the Paradigm Millenia 200 and the Klipsch XF48. The negative of the Preface is that it has a larger footprint than the others, but the Preface has a deeper sound and a larger sound field. The Paradigm is a great speaker b/c the sound field was as large as the Preface, but you need to have a sub to make it sound full. The Klipsch wasn't as wide in sound imaging as the Preface, but sounded fuller than the Paradigm. Don't get me wrong, you will still want a sub for any setup, but the Preface do a great job on the lower frequencies.

I tested the Preface on a Denon AVR3310. They performed beautifully, and eventually I'll upgrade my receiver. For now, I'll wait on buying a new receiver since there's no point in having 2 receivers. Anyone want to buy a used Denon AVR587?

The Martin Logan Preface speakers are excellent! They produce much clearer sound than our old budget-priced speakers. Also, the use of a heavier gauge speaker wire (as recommended by Martin Logan) did make a noticeable improvement.

Bought the Martin Logan preface speakers, on a friends recomendation, I was looking for good front speakers for my media room. Initially tried the speakers with a sunfire amp, the sound was like concert quality with tremondous bass and depth. I am currently using them with the martin logan matinee center channel and a marantz Sr6004 reciever. The sound is phenomenol. My experience with amazon in terms of ease of ordering and promptness of delivery via audioadvisors was great, my only critique was the speaker shipping box was torn on the side but the speakers were alright (the company sends them double boxed). Highly recommend the product for a great movie experience.

I wasn't going to buy any speakers at all (already had a Polk Audio 5.1 system in place), I was looking for a receiver upgrade, went to the BestBuy - Magnolia inside store and made a mistake of testing the receiver with those speakers. Got hocked on them almost instantly! Bought a pair to replace my front speakers, with the plan to move them back to be my surround sound speakers in the future (once I get more room ;-)

Back to speakers. If you ask me are those the best speakers you can buy for the price? - NO. Are they going to produce the most distinct and accurate sound in vocal, mid and high range? - NO. The reason I bought them is because I'm into heavy music and I never heard base and drums coming out from speakers that would sounds that real, even after comparing Preface's to the $4000.00 ML speakers. Low ends on those speakers produce very broad, live alike sound, and that is important to the type of music I'm listening to. So, if you listen mostly to rock or metal, you own yourself to audition those. If you are into classical, pop or vocal music, you should probably look somewhere else.

They are also really good for the movies, low end is so strong, that you don't really need a subwoofer for the movies.

I have owned Martin Logan SL3's and Aeon i's. I sold them due to their huge size and purchased these gems. I don't miss them at all. These are exceptional speakers. Some have objected to the build quality. I have had no issues whatsoever after a year and I think they look great!

I've had my Preface speakers for about 3 months now, and they are simply outstanding. The highs are very clear, but not fatiguing. Midrange comes through very clean, and bass is tight. I think the best way to describe these speakers are "well balanced". As another reviewer said, they will definitely show you which songs in your library are not recorded well.

I have been extremely pleased with my purchase, and would recommend these highly.

Mine are paired with the Encore TF center channel, and the soundstage across the front is seamless. I'm driving these with an Emotiva UPA-5 amplifier.

Note ****these are 6ohm speakers******

Crystal Clear Highs. Exceptional clarity and definition. Accurate Spacialization. Tight, punchy bass with no need for a woofer. I listened to a lot of speakers of the course of nearly 2 years. These Martin Logan Preface are the best around.

Received these a few weeks ago and I must say I am very happy with the sound quality so far. I am 90/10 split with movies and music with this speakers system. They are powered by a Denon AVR-1911. I auditioned motion 6 speakers in my home for 3 weeks and returned them for these. I found the tweeters to be much less bright than the motions, the midranges with little distortion, recreation of like voices and decent bass. I supplement the system with a 15 inch ported PSB subwoofer. There is no comparison to the motion 6 speakers in my opinion. The packaging was excellent, I had no issues with grills not aligning, and they come with nice dust covers. I am very happy with the purchase and have zero buyers remorse