Audiophilepure

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“Electrostatic speakers in general and MartinLogan speakers in particular are known for their incredible midrange clarity. The Classic ESL 9 exhibited amazing transparency with Pidgeon’s overdubbed voice in “Spanish Harlem,” but sounded a little more crisp and ever so slightly less smooth and effortless than the Persona B. Both pairs of speakers produced very large soundstages with exceptional image specificity, but the Paradigm was better able to reproduce tiny changes in the placement and sound of the shaker in this track. With the ESL 9s I could easily sense changes in the speed with which the shaker was shaken, but it sounded slightly recessed in comparison. With the Persona B, not only could I hear the changes in speed, I could also more clearly make out the shaker’s position on the soundstage. I was even able to hear minute changes in the shaker’s pitch as its distance from and orientation toward the recording mike changed slightly each time it was shaken. I couldn’t do this with the ESL 9s. For its price, the MartinLogan Masterpiece Classic ESL 9 is an amazing, nearly full-range loudspeaker — but it couldn’t match the Persona B’s precise, ultrasmooth, grain-free sound through the midrange and up through the highs, or its seemingly infinite resolution.”