Marten – Coltrane Series – Supreme 2

Description

Overview

The Coltrane Supreme 2 is the flagship of Marten‘s Coltrane series and one of the most ambitious loudspeakers the Swedish maker has produced. It is a five-way design conceived against the reference of Marten’s own recording studio, and it is built without compromise in materials, drivers or cabinet engineering. For the listener seeking the closest approach to a live performance in the home, it represents the top of the range.

Design & build

Each tower uses a dual-layer cabinet: an inner compartment of laminated wood within an outer shell combining carbon fibre and solid wood, with 25mm carbon-fibre laminate sides and 70mm solid laminated wood on the front, back, top and bottom. A three-part enclosure isolates the treble and midrange from the bass to minimise resonance between drivers. The body is finished in piano-black lacquered carbon fibre with an engineered solid-wood front baffle, and the speaker stands on polished stainless steel with Marten’s own isolators.

Sound & performance

The Coltrane Supreme 2 is voiced for a naturally open, dynamic presentation and a soundstage of unusual scale and stability. Marten quotes a frequency range of 18Hz–100kHz ±2dB, a sensitivity of 91dB (2.83V/1m) and a nominal impedance of 6 ohms, falling to a 3.2-ohm minimum — a demanding but rewarding load that repays high-quality amplification.

Key features

The five-way driver array comprises a 0.75-inch and a 2-inch pure diamond tweeter, a 5-inch ceramic midrange and seven 8-inch aluminium-sandwich woofers on the front baffle, with six 10-inch passive sandwich radiators loading the rear. Power handling is rated at 500W. The result is a full-range design that reaches genuine low-frequency depth without recourse to a separate subwoofer.

Technology

A first-order crossover, chosen for its phase coherence, divides the range at 120, 450, 3500 and 8000Hz, using copper-foil air-core coils, silver/copper-foil capacitors and custom resistors. Internal cabling is Jorma Statement throughout, and connection is by WBT NextGen bi-wiring terminals. The Marten isolators decouple the loudspeaker from the floor to protect fine detail from structure-borne vibration.

Specifications

Type: five-way floorstanding loudspeaker. Drivers: 0.75-inch and 2-inch diamond tweeters, 5-inch ceramic midrange, 7 × 8-inch aluminium-sandwich woofers, 6 × 10-inch passive radiators. Frequency range: 18Hz–100kHz ±2dB. Sensitivity: 91dB (2.83V/1m). Impedance: 6 ohms (3.2-ohm minimum). Power rating: 500W. Crossover: first order, 120/450/3500/8000Hz. Internal wiring: Jorma Statement. Dimensions: 54 × 200 × 59 cm (W × H × D). Weight: 270kg. Made in Sweden.

Who it’s for

The Coltrane Supreme 2 is for the listener building a reference two-channel system in a large, well-treated room, who wants the fullest expression of scale, resolution and tonal truth that a loudspeaker can offer — and the craftsmanship and finish to match. A speaker of this standing rewards a carefully matched amplifier, source and room.

Why buy from Hidden Home Technology

A loudspeaker at this level is only as good as the system and room around it. We can advise on amplification, cabling and acoustics, arrange a demonstration and manage careful delivery, placement and setup across the South. Speak to our team to arrange a listen or to discuss the right configuration for your room.

The Hidden Home view

The Coltrane Supreme 2 is the top of Marten’s range. It is a five-way speaker two metres tall, built in Sweden with diamond drivers for the treble and the upper midrange, and Marten designs it against the sound of its own recording studio.

hi-fi+ spent much of a year with a pair before its review of July 2015. Its two reviewers wrote that it projects “the most natural stereo stage we’ve heard to date” and called it “astonishingly natural and almost perfectly balanced”. They also found it “one of the least overtly impressive or showy loudspeaker systems available today”, which they meant as praise. Marten’s own page records it as the magazine’s “Cost No Object Loudspeaker of the Year 2016”.

It is worth knowing that the review is of the first version and that Marten now builds the speaker as the MK2. Each one weighs about 270 kg, so the room and the floor have to be planned for it and a team installs it.

So it suits a large dedicated room and an owner who wants what is on the recording with nothing added. A system at this level is designed as a whole with its amplifiers and its room, which is work we do. Call us and we will talk through the room and how to hear a pair.

Sources: hi-fi+, “Marten Coltrane Supreme 2 loudspeakers”, 3 July 2015. Marten, “Coltrane Supreme 2”, the maker’s own page.

Read what the critics say about more of our speakers in The Hi-Fi Review Bible.