Oneness

It depends on what electronics were being used. Martin Logan are panel speakers and they don't have the same inherent problems that cone speakers have in that when you listen to them panel speakers usually have a wide spatial sound to them, but they are finicky on speaker placement and you have to have amps that handle large amounts of power at low ohm ratings. some people love the type of sound coming from them, some don't, but they are generally considered nice speakers. They typically are more well suited to classical, acoustic jazz, and not rock music per se, but it also depends on what you want. If you are looking for tht boom/sizzle that the average consumer is expecting, then other brands might be better.

300DTurbo

Thanks for the $0.02

I purchased a set of paradigms and martin logans for in home comparisson, the martin logans were disgusting & they were returned.

Oneness

Well, wht electronics were being used? If the amps aren't meant to handle low ohm levels, then that might the problem, also panel speakers are very finicky on how they are placed in the room. Personally, I've heard them sound great, but I wouldn't buy them for my own system, but that's just me. Paradigms make nice speakers, especially their top end models can be quite good and since they are made in Canada, the cost to mfg them is lower than products made in the US or Europe, so you did get some very nice speakers. I've even compared their cheapest book shelf speakers to Bose and they were less expensive than Bose and sounded way better than Bose.

Oneness

I would be interested to find out how a Meridian M80 sounds compared to your system. see if you can get one to try out at home. I've heard stories that they pleasantly surprise people with bigger systems. it would an interesting comparison.

tjg0024

Yes, same CD with the same setting. My point was only that the HK system in the 2012 ML sounds far better to me than the HK system in the 2012 E class. I was not impressed with the E class Harman. When I finally got back in my 2012 ML, the Harman sounded fantastic. I have had many high end systems in my cars, both factory and aftermarket and I really think this new one in the ML is great all things considered (price, convenience, quality).

Oneness

Do you know if the driver count and the size of the drivers are the same or different? If they put in a larger sub, that might be the difference of if they made any changes to the quality of the drivers might make a difference. Plus there is the amp section. if they are both supposed to be the same system, there has to be some logical explanation. I am about a month away from getting a C350 and I am hoping at least the sound system is going to be a decent one since I don't have much choice in the matter.

300DTurbo

x2 on the HK in the ML

The Martins would make a good conversation piece, they could be part of the dash, I don't know about durability though. Also, from what I understand the Martins are the original design of how speakers were supposed to create sound.

Oneness

Panel speakers are probably impossible to be used in a car stereo, usually the panels have to be placed away from the wall, in the case of a car, they probably couldn't be placed inside the doors. Martin Logan makes on wall speakers, but the panel has to stick out away from the wall and I don't they can make in wall speakers. Plus the shear size of the panel would have to be fairly large in order to have the dispersion required and to develope the frequencies from high to mid frequencies. dispersion in panel speakers is a problem which is why they have tall and fairly wide panels with a curve to them, otherwise they are too directional.

tjg0024

The E has the same amount of drivers that the ML does, 14. The woofer in the E is 200 x 270, roughly 8in x over 10in oval, compared to the MLs 200mm round. Total output in the E is 610 watts while the ML has 830 watts. The ML sounds much more forceful.


Check this site out.
http://mercedes.harmankardon.com/en/index.aspx

Oneness

Yeah, that would make a HUGE difffence. About the only thing to improve the bass response out of the cars is to figure out a way to replace or add a bigger sub/amp in the E class other models that lack bass response and have it have it match the rest of the drivers. I'll ask around to see if there are others that have done something to improve the bass response in these other systems.

rush1169

No it wouldn't

Oneness

What do you mean, it wouldn't? A different sized woofer and several hundred hundred watts difference? An undersized and underpowered woofer makes a huge difference. I am trying to understand your logic and reasoning.