ProSoundWeb Community

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Martin Speakers  (Read 10834 times)

Nate Armstrong

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 228
Martin Speakers
« on: August 10, 2011, 09:16:35 AM »

I have came across 8 Martin Mach m154i  & 2 Martin Mach m151i subs ( possibly more )

can anyone tell me about these speakers ?  Approximate value per box, sound quality, build quality, approx date of the line or discontinue date. Could these be used as floor monitors ( m154i )  ?  Must these be flown to get a good sound out of them. 

From what I understand, These are made by martin lighting and not Martin Audio .

http://www.martin.com/product/product.asp?product=m154i
http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/STARINMANUALS/Martin%20Lighting/Mach%20M151I.pdf

thank you
« Last Edit: August 10, 2011, 09:27:04 AM by Nate Armstrong »
Logged

Mike Reilly

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 68
  • Cleveland, OH
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2011, 11:18:16 AM »

I have came across 8 Martin Mach m154i  & 2 Martin Mach m151i subs ( possibly more )

can anyone tell me about these speakers ?  Approximate value per box, sound quality, build quality, approx date of the line or discontinue date. Could these be used as floor monitors ( m154i )  ?  Must these be flown to get a good sound out of them. 

From what I understand, These are made by martin lighting and not Martin Audio .

http://www.martin.com/product/product.asp?product=m154i
http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/STARINMANUALS/Martin%20Lighting/Mach%20M151I.pdf

thank you

Yup, they're made by the lighting company.

A small production company in my area owned some Martin stuff for a while - not these particular boxes, I don't think.  I only saw/heard their stuff in action once.  They were "real" boxes - good build quality, sounded pretty good AFAICT, any deficiencies could have been the band and/or engineer.

IIRC from some Googling I did when that company bought the speakers, Martin Lighting speakers are fairly well known in Europe, especially in DJ/dance club/electronica world.  Hardly anybody in the U.S. even knows they exist, so it'd be hard to put a value on them, and I wouldn't expect them to be rider-acceptable.

Looking at the spec sheet & manual (both available from the product page you linked to, BTW), the angle of the M154i box is wrong for floor monitors, unless you're planning on putting a pile of broken B***inger DI's under the front edge . . . .  ;D.  As is the horn angle, and I don't see that the horn is rotatable.

The manual calls the M154i "medium throw" boxes, up to 65 feet, so flying or not would depend more on the circumstances of where you're using them, rather than any absolute "sound quality" considerations.  Since Martin made an adapter to allow them to be pole/stand mounted, I assume they figured they sounded good without needing to be flown.

Definitely a "try before you buy" situation, IMO, and keep in mind that there are a bunch of comparable products put out by companies more well-known here in the U.S.  Also, what about replacement parts ? From their current website & other Googling it's not entirely clear that Martin's even in the speaker business anymore. 
Logged

Nate Armstrong

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 228
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2011, 12:01:27 PM »

thank you for the info.  any more info Anyone else  has would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would  listen to these box's before I buy, I would just like to get an idea before i travel a long distance to check them out.

for the tops, they have 2 spare compression drivers and one spare 15"

Martin is no longer in the speaker business
"we can still supply recone kits & replacement drivers on request
www.mach-support.com "

I also saw a post were it said they used bayerr drivers ( wrong spelling ) ( or something like that I cant find it now ) It was said it was a common driver among mid to high end speaker manufacturers


These would be for mobile sound reinforcement, for mid to small sized events. ( I currently have a k series rig ) I do a lot of electronic music events but am also wanting to get more into band events. With my current rig I can only do small indoor events.  I would not be apposed to using a block of wood / berhinger DI to angle the tops for floor wedges..  I am in need of more floor monitors.  Im just not sure if this is the best fit..  The price seems good to me.    I think i may be able to get these for less than Yamaha BR15M  monitors. ( appear to be entry level )  these box's on paper seem to be a lot better than entry level.  something like jbl srx range or better, I am not sure , hence the questioning


Logged

Jay Barracato

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2025
  • Solomons, MD
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2011, 12:16:10 PM »

thank you for the info.  any more info Anyone else  has would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would  listen to these box's before I buy, I would just like to get an idea before i travel a long distance to check them out.

for the tops, they have 2 spare compression drivers and one spare 15"

Martin is no longer in the speaker business
"we can still supply recone kits & replacement drivers on request
www.mach-support.com "

I also saw a post were it said they used bayerr drivers ( wrong spelling ) ( or something like that I cant find it now ) It was said it was a common driver among mid to high end speaker manufacturers


These would be for mobile sound reinforcement, for mid to small sized events. ( I currently have a k series rig ) I do a lot of electronic music events but am also wanting to get more into band events. With my current rig I can only do small indoor events.  I would not be apposed to using a block of wood / berhinger DI to angle the tops for floor wedges..  I am in need of more floor monitors.  Im just not sure if this is the best fit..  The price seems good to me.    I think i may be able to get these for less than Yamaha BR15M  monitors. ( appear to be entry level )  these box's on paper seem to be a lot better than entry level.  something like jbl srx range or better, I am not sure , hence the questioning

I am really not sure what use you would have for 8 100 x 40 boxes in a mobile setting. If you mean these for dedicated monitors, I would just get a box designed for monitors, if they are for FOH duty, I don't see how 8 would  be used.
Logged
Jay Barracato

Nate Armstrong

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 228
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2011, 12:23:53 PM »

I am really not sure what use you would have for 8 100 x 40 boxes in a mobile setting. If you mean these for dedicated monitors, I would just get a box designed for monitors, if they are for FOH duty, I don't see how 8 would  be used.

I honestly do not need all 8,  I was thinking at most 6,   2 on each side foh and 2 for monitors.   but really a total of   4 would probably be enough for my needs
I am not sure if he is willing to split them up at this point.  I need to get more details from the seller, I was just trying to get an idea / knowledge before i speak to him.
Logged

Jay Barracato

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2025
  • Solomons, MD
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2011, 12:34:47 PM »

I honestly do not need all 8,  I was thinking at most 6,   2 on each side foh and 2 for monitors.   but really a total of   4 would probably be enough for my needs
I am not sure if he is willing to split them up at this point.  I need to get more details from the seller, I was just trying to get an idea / knowledge before i speak to him.

I see nothing in the specs to show that they were designed to be used 2 a side. A side by side configuration would be basically useless, while if you were to stack one on top of the other with the horn of the top on inverted that would work better. Still a 100 degree box is going to throw a lot of sound off of the walls indoors, and not project as deeply into the crowd.

Indoors for a trap system, I would be looking for a 40 degree box to be set 2 a side. Outdoors, a third box can be added. I think that gives the most flexibility if you are looking to go beyond 1 top box per side.
Logged
Jay Barracato

Iain.Macdonald

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 213
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2011, 12:52:28 PM »

I have came across 8 Martin Mach m154i  & 2 Martin Mach m151i subs ( possibly more )

can anyone tell me about these speakers ?  Approximate value per box, sound quality, build quality, approx date of the line or discontinue date. Could these be used as floor monitors ( m154i )  ?  Must these be flown to get a good sound out of them. 

From what I understand, These are made by martin lighting and not Martin Audio .

http://www.martin.com/product/product.asp?product=m154i
http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/STARINMANUALS/Martin%20Lighting/Mach%20M151I.pdf

thank you

Nate,

They were built here in Europe. One of the designers was ex JBL Europe. Most of the cone and CDs were stock Beyma. Usually Ferrite magnets. So check to see what's inside. You linked to the i version, and these were chipboard, whilst the non i version was birch ply. When built, they were well made, and reasonable value, for the price. I suspect that they come from an installation, so they will might have been hammered for years. So probably not worth very much. Check for cabinet damage, looking for evidence of been dropped. Refurb folks, often treat the old kit badly.

Iain.
Logged

Mike Reilly

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 68
  • Cleveland, OH
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #7 on: August 10, 2011, 02:23:55 PM »

Martin is no longer in the speaker business
"we can still supply recone kits & replacement drivers on request
www.mach-support.com "

Your profile doesn't note your location, but I'd point out that the company you linked to is in Scotland, and while Beyma supposedly has some kind of distribution in the U.S., their website doesn't fill me with confidence that parts will be affordable or easy to come by.


Quote
These would be for mobile sound reinforcement, for mid to small sized events. ( I currently have a k series rig )

No experience with the K series personally, but they seem to have a lot of enthusiasts on this forum. Not at all sure that the Martin would be a step up.

Also, the Martins are unpowered, so you'll need amps & a crossover, too.

Quote
I would not be apposed to using a block of wood / berhinger DI to angle the tops for floor wedges..  I am in need of more floor monitors.  Im just not sure if this is the best fit..


Ermmm . . . .that was kind of a joke on my part.  Not to say that I haven't DONE this, but usually out of sheer desperation.  I wouldn't do it on any kind of regular basis. Either get some dedicated wedges or ones that are shaped to genuinely pull double-duty (ex. EV QRX series.)


Quote
The price seems good to me.    I think i may be able to get these for less than Yamaha BR15M  monitors. ( appear to be entry level )  these box's on paper seem to be a lot better than entry level.  something like jbl srx range or better, I am not sure , hence the questioning

The Yammies are definitely entry level, and "street price" is about $300 US. 

Overall, given Jay's excellent points about the actual use of these boxes & Iain's excellent points about the chipboard construction & likely abuse, plus made overseas by a company that isn't in the speaker business anymore . . . . I'd pass, unless you're talking some kind of ridiculous price like $50/box mint condition.

IMO, these aren't really what you're looking for to expand your system.  I'd save your $$$ for something else.

Logged

Nate Armstrong

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 228
Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2011, 02:56:43 PM »

I spoke to the seller prior to seeing this post.  ( very useful by the way, all of you )
I passed on it.  for a lot of the reasons you posted, There really was not a way it fit any of my needs let alone all of them, but the definite deal breaker was the weight.

Logged

ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Martin Speakers
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2011, 02:56:43 PM »


Pages: [1]   Go Up
 



Site Hosted By Ashdown Technologies, Inc.

Page created in 0.025 seconds with 25 queries.