A Special Listening Session Marten vs Bowers and Wilkins
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rning A Negative Into a Big Positive
Its no secret I have an Excellent Relationship with Nintronics the HiFi and AV Dealership whom I bought my KEF Reference Speakers from. Adam one of the owners text me to congratulate me for the You Tube Channel growing as quickly as it has is. I commented to him that my recent experience with the Naim Atom had got me very interested in Reviewing more Naim Kit. He Suggested that I come and have a Listen to the Naim Uniti Nova - the new top of the range all in one from Naim. Well that was more than enough to motivate me so we arranged it for the very next day at their showroom in the afternoon following a customer booked demo.
Well I arrived the next day on time and started speaking to the guys, Adam wasn't there, the main demo room was being used as expected. After 20 minutes of just general chat the reason I was there came up and I was given the sad news that the Naim Uniti Nova had been sold the day before, Adam hadn't been there so he hadn't realised, dismay.
Luckily the system was still on from the demo before - some very lucky individual had been demoing the B&W 800 D3 and the Marten Bird 2 Speakers with a serious front end from Chord Electronics
Well I thought - I will just have to slum it with this system and make a video about it instead.
So I set up the Camera, the Mic, the lights and took some initial video footage that I knew I would use to cut into the recorded video - the 800 D3 looked amazing and I wish I had some more space around them to capture those curves, they are as sexy as you like. So once I was all setup I had a little listen and play with Roon, the system was setup to stream Tidal from Roon via the Mac Mini. It took me a while to get my brain in gear and figure out what songs I was going to use for the demo videos. I had taken a memory stick with me with some tracks on I wanted to use, so now I had to think fast and work it out as these songs were not on Tidal. One of the biggest challenges with You Tube is using Music content that is allowed to be streamed on all devices, some songs are blocked on phones, some are blocked full stop. Its no good getting home and finding all your work is useless as no one can watch it. I had to take a gamble on 2 out of the 3 songs, I hoped that 1 out of the 2 would work - luckily they have all been fine.
Using Roon for the first time was also a pain. I like it, it looks lovely and seems pretty slick but like any new system it takes some time getting used to it. Even the way you create a playlist is very nice but seems a bit OTT, I will definitely revisit Roon but for now I still like the simplicity of BubbleDS Next on Android.
On To the Demos
As with everything in my life at the minute there is just not enough time to do what I want and need to do. It would have been lovely to have a 2-3 hour listening session then do all the recordings after. In reality it all had to be squeezed into an hour which meant me doing the main listening session sitting behind the camera while it was recording. That obviously is not ideal as I couldn't sit comfortably and because I was working not relaxing and listening. So my Impressions are not conclusive far from it, but I was able to start getting a grip on what these two Exceptional speakers and the system overall was doing.
Its no secret I have an Excellent Relationship with Nintronics the HiFi and AV Dealership whom I bought my KEF Reference Speakers from. Adam one of the owners text me to congratulate me for the You Tube Channel growing as quickly as it has is. I commented to him that my recent experience with the Naim Atom had got me very interested in Reviewing more Naim Kit. He Suggested that I come and have a Listen to the Naim Uniti Nova - the new top of the range all in one from Naim. Well that was more than enough to motivate me so we arranged it for the very next day at their showroom in the afternoon following a customer booked demo.
Well I arrived the next day on time and started speaking to the guys, Adam wasn't there, the main demo room was being used as expected. After 20 minutes of just general chat the reason I was there came up and I was given the sad news that the Naim Uniti Nova had been sold the day before, Adam hadn't been there so he hadn't realised, dismay.
Luckily the system was still on from the demo before - some very lucky individual had been demoing the B&W 800 D3 and the Marten Bird 2 Speakers with a serious front end from Chord Electronics
Well I thought - I will just have to slum it with this system and make a video about it instead.
So I set up the Camera, the Mic, the lights and took some initial video footage that I knew I would use to cut into the recorded video - the 800 D3 looked amazing and I wish I had some more space around them to capture those curves, they are as sexy as you like. So once I was all setup I had a little listen and play with Roon, the system was setup to stream Tidal from Roon via the Mac Mini. It took me a while to get my brain in gear and figure out what songs I was going to use for the demo videos. I had taken a memory stick with me with some tracks on I wanted to use, so now I had to think fast and work it out as these songs were not on Tidal. One of the biggest challenges with You Tube is using Music content that is allowed to be streamed on all devices, some songs are blocked on phones, some are blocked full stop. Its no good getting home and finding all your work is useless as no one can watch it. I had to take a gamble on 2 out of the 3 songs, I hoped that 1 out of the 2 would work - luckily they have all been fine.
Using Roon for the first time was also a pain. I like it, it looks lovely and seems pretty slick but like any new system it takes some time getting used to it. Even the way you create a playlist is very nice but seems a bit OTT, I will definitely revisit Roon but for now I still like the simplicity of BubbleDS Next on Android.
On To the Demos
As with everything in my life at the minute there is just not enough time to do what I want and need to do. It would have been lovely to have a 2-3 hour listening session then do all the recordings after. In reality it all had to be squeezed into an hour which meant me doing the main listening session sitting behind the camera while it was recording. That obviously is not ideal as I couldn't sit comfortably and because I was working not relaxing and listening. So my Impressions are not conclusive far from it, but I was able to start getting a grip on what these two Exceptional speakers and the system overall was doing.
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Marten Bird 2 was up first
I had already been listening to the Marten Bird 2 as I was setting everything up and I got to sit and listen to them while I was getting to grips with Roon and working out what songs I was going to use. My initial impressions were very strong for these speakers - Transparency was the first thing I noticed, the sound was completely free of the speakers and the sound was ultra clean with lovely precision, clarity and balance. A great balance between detail and transient attack and yet smooth and full at the same time. I didn't know the price of them at this stage and you know something has impressed you when you are thinking to yourself I would like to buy these. That sensation didn't last long after l discovered the price - my pockets sadly are not deep enough.
As I played through the 3 demo songs I was extremely impressed with the "rightness" of the presentation - normally I am listening to a system for the first time and thinking of all the things I want to change to get it to sound "right," however I wasn't thinking that at all. I was actually telling myself all the positives of the presentation and there were many positives - good bass, good clarity and resolution, good attack and a very musical vibe. I have been lucky enough and active enough to go and listen to a lot of very ultra premium systems. Just because they are expensive doesn't guarantee a level of performance in my experience, it just guarantees a level of increased expectation in line with the overall cost. This system with the Marten speakers was delivering that little something extra, if I tried to describe it I would likely just waffle using many descriptive words that wouldn't get the message across - but there was a little something "special" about the sound, the "special" something that separates True High End Sound from the rest. It was also the most positive and rewarding experience I have had so far with Chord Electronics equipment and this demo had me wanting a Dave and Blu Mk2 UpSampler, I cant say that about every Chord demo I have had.
I had already been listening to the Marten Bird 2 as I was setting everything up and I got to sit and listen to them while I was getting to grips with Roon and working out what songs I was going to use. My initial impressions were very strong for these speakers - Transparency was the first thing I noticed, the sound was completely free of the speakers and the sound was ultra clean with lovely precision, clarity and balance. A great balance between detail and transient attack and yet smooth and full at the same time. I didn't know the price of them at this stage and you know something has impressed you when you are thinking to yourself I would like to buy these. That sensation didn't last long after l discovered the price - my pockets sadly are not deep enough.
As I played through the 3 demo songs I was extremely impressed with the "rightness" of the presentation - normally I am listening to a system for the first time and thinking of all the things I want to change to get it to sound "right," however I wasn't thinking that at all. I was actually telling myself all the positives of the presentation and there were many positives - good bass, good clarity and resolution, good attack and a very musical vibe. I have been lucky enough and active enough to go and listen to a lot of very ultra premium systems. Just because they are expensive doesn't guarantee a level of performance in my experience, it just guarantees a level of increased expectation in line with the overall cost. This system with the Marten speakers was delivering that little something extra, if I tried to describe it I would likely just waffle using many descriptive words that wouldn't get the message across - but there was a little something "special" about the sound, the "special" something that separates True High End Sound from the rest. It was also the most positive and rewarding experience I have had so far with Chord Electronics equipment and this demo had me wanting a Dave and Blu Mk2 UpSampler, I cant say that about every Chord demo I have had.
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The sonic presentation from the 800 D3 was completely different to the Bird 2, it was actually more familiar, I commented straight away that these sounded like British designed speakers.
The sound presentation was far more forward than the Marten with a lot more activity in the upper mids and treble and not as much fullness and richness to the bass notes. The Sound stage was noticeably larger with sound completely filling the space between the speakers and the vocal was large and very energetic. The sound also very much had that "Special" something about it that is difficult to describe but audibly stands out immediately.
The sound presentation was far more forward than the Marten with a lot more activity in the upper mids and treble and not as much fullness and richness to the bass notes. The Sound stage was noticeably larger with sound completely filling the space between the speakers and the vocal was large and very energetic. The sound also very much had that "Special" something about it that is difficult to describe but audibly stands out immediately.
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So which one did I prefer?
Going into this demo I would have said for certain the B&W would have been the better speaker having always been in admiration for the legacy of the 800 series, especially the flagship model of that range with the new driver materials
Amazingly after the demo's I felt the opposite, it was the Marten speaker that made the bigger impression on me and was the speakers I wanted to take home.
They struck a perfect balance for me between the focus of their imaging and their transient attack and detail, after hearing them and just how together the overall presentation was it made the 800's sound messy and unbalanced; like they need placing in a better position in the room or different toe in, maybe even other partnering equipment. They didnt sound quite right, too forward in the upper mids with not enough foundation to support that part of its performance. The second demo of Gregory Porter Musical Genocide really highlighted this to me and you can clearly hear it in the recordings.
I am super impressed with the Marten speakers, they gave the sound space, space around each element of the music, a true level of clarity that is extremely difficult to achieve, I have only heard a few speakers do this well and I have been personally chasing this clarity in my own system since hearing it.
On Looks alone I would buy the B&W all day long, the Marten are beautiful speakers in their own right but I have adored the sexy curves of the 800 series for as long as I can remember. For some reason they just make me smile and make me want to hug them, not quite sure why they just do.
It was a short but very memorable listening session, one I hope and I am sure is just the start of listening sessions like this for me and Pursuit Perfect System.
I am hoping to get some more affordable Marten Speakers in for Review so that I can hear them in my own room with my own system to see how good they. Good times and Good Articles ahead ..!!
Going into this demo I would have said for certain the B&W would have been the better speaker having always been in admiration for the legacy of the 800 series, especially the flagship model of that range with the new driver materials
Amazingly after the demo's I felt the opposite, it was the Marten speaker that made the bigger impression on me and was the speakers I wanted to take home.
They struck a perfect balance for me between the focus of their imaging and their transient attack and detail, after hearing them and just how together the overall presentation was it made the 800's sound messy and unbalanced; like they need placing in a better position in the room or different toe in, maybe even other partnering equipment. They didnt sound quite right, too forward in the upper mids with not enough foundation to support that part of its performance. The second demo of Gregory Porter Musical Genocide really highlighted this to me and you can clearly hear it in the recordings.
I am super impressed with the Marten speakers, they gave the sound space, space around each element of the music, a true level of clarity that is extremely difficult to achieve, I have only heard a few speakers do this well and I have been personally chasing this clarity in my own system since hearing it.
On Looks alone I would buy the B&W all day long, the Marten are beautiful speakers in their own right but I have adored the sexy curves of the 800 series for as long as I can remember. For some reason they just make me smile and make me want to hug them, not quite sure why they just do.
It was a short but very memorable listening session, one I hope and I am sure is just the start of listening sessions like this for me and Pursuit Perfect System.
I am hoping to get some more affordable Marten Speakers in for Review so that I can hear them in my own room with my own system to see how good they. Good times and Good Articles ahead ..!!
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