marten bird - a star performer that can fly high

issue 229 of taiwan's audio art magazine gives a resounding rave to marten bird, rewarding it with a sonic score of 99/100. trust me, the is definitely not reviewer's hyperbole.

indeed, i could share the excitement with the reviewer, having listened to martin miles twice during the CNY.

enjoying great success worldwide, even in malaysia and singapore, marten, now without the word "design" (i.e. no longer called marten design) builds the bird by building upon experience directly derived from the award winning coltrane and coltrane supreme. the materials and components employed in the bird stretch from traditional high gloss veneer on bird’s 26mm MDF cabinet, to the newly developed ceramic midrange, the ceramic woofer drivers and the ultra modern diamond tweeter.

to me, marten's signature sound is unmistakable - lively, explosive, ultra faithful and plenty of details, details and details. if you are looking for the warmth and thickness of ATC, please look elsewhere. marten's sound is modern and shockingly direct.

of particular interest to me is how the reviewer mentioned the details in the backstage of the soundstage where a lot of speakers fail to reveal but in the case of marten bird, there are just so much more sonic cues and finer details in backstage that lend realism to the whole musical soundscape. i fully concur with the reviewer as this is my experience with the lower-ranked marten miles as well.

the coolest statement from the review is in the ending segment where the reviewer coined the phrase - "heaven is in the details".

[local dealers]
KL - audiomatic (012-3222698)
IPOH - audio art (012-5201066)

note: the only pair of marten bird in malaysia is sold to an audiophile in kampar, perak.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maggie,

Kampar,as the sleepy town,in perak ,No kidding?

Anonymous said...

Maggie,
From what I hear at the AV show the sound is superfast.Do you think it prefers a more sleepy sounding electronics?

Anonymous said...

Having heard the Big Bird partnered with Bladelius high-end components a few times at Swedish Statement's Singapore, it sure sounds fast and detail.
Only if I strike 1st prize lottery can I afford this Bird.
Maybe I should aim for the Miles.

Side track a bit...
Anybody knows the price of Focal Electra 1027Be in M'sia?

Anonymous said...

Dear maggie,
I think part of the charm lies in the fact that the sound is very different.

Audiophiles are always on the llokout for something different.

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi chiam,
kampar used to be happening in the 70s when tin mining was hot. but somehow, like ipoh, it has lost a bit of commercial attractiveness in the last 2 decades. yes, there are many rich audiophiles in kampar!

hi allan,
not really. it sound good with bladelius gear (better than audionet) and ARC.

hi anonymous,
it is not easy to come out with a new speaker brand and compete with the likes of jm lab, avalon, wilson. marten has definitely found a niche and a place in the audiophiles' hearts.

Anonymous said...

Heard the sound in recent hi fi show. Perhaps it was the source, the electronics or the ceramic drivers themselves - too cool and hi fi-ish to my ears.

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

km,
possible cos marten is so detailed. if partnered with a cool amp, it can sound quite hi-fi-sh.

Anonymous said...

Hi Maggie,

Any idea who the owner ? I'm also from Kampar but I didn't received any news on this.

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

his name is ah choi, audio art's customer ;-)