By Ian White
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MartinLogan’s loudspeakers are all about transparency and detail; see-through clarity with airy extension that extends beyond the capabilities of most loudspeakers. Their ability to reproduce the human voice is quite frightening; as close as you can get to having a real breathing person in the room with you (you can put away your RealDoll now). You can hear everything through an electrostatic loudspeaker; which can also be a bad thing if the recording is terrible. Over the years, MartinLogan was forced to meld their electrostatic panels with conventional woofers; because people do want to hear and feel bass when they listen to music. The problem is that electrostatic panels are much quicker than conventional drivers. It has taken years and countless changes to drivers and crossovers to get the timing exactly right.
The Motion series are not “poor man’s electrostatic loudspeakers.” Not by any stretch of the imagination. Conventional drivers are not going to sound like an ESL panel; not even the most expensive drivers that you can buy from companies like Scanspeak, Morel, or Focal. What the Motion series can offer you is a taste of that breathtaking clarity, along with superb resolution and well-integrated bass response.
The Porterhouse of Loudspeakers…
The Motion 12 floor-standers are the heart of this 7.1 system and offer a ridiculous level of performance. At 42.8″H x 7″W x 14.1″D, they might seem large for your media room, but their footprint is really quite small. When I lifted them out of their packaging, I was immediately struck by the solidity of the design. They weigh 36 pounds and are clearly built to last a long time. The real black ash wood veneer would not be my first choice (it’s your only choice so deal with it) if I could select some exotic wood finish for these speakers, but I’m sure it was selected to keep the the speaker affordable. I just had a Martha moment. Won’t happen again. The black ash finish does look rather contemporary, so perhaps I’m being a tad unfair.
The Motion 12 utilizes four drivers; the aforementioned 1.4″ Folded Motion tweeter, a 5.25″ paper cone midrange driver that is in an open-back dipole arrangement, and two 6.5″ paper cone drivers that handle the lowest frequencies. The Motion 12 are ported so they really do need some space behind them to sound their best.
Their frequency response is rated at 40Hz – 25,000Hz +/- 3dB, but I would contend that their bass response extends ever lower. They are also very easy to drive; 92dB sensitivity and 4 ohm nominal impedance, which means that you may not need the mega-buck receiver to make them sing in a medium-large sized home theater room. But please do get something respectable that can hold up to the 4 ohm load.
Boom Boom Pow
The Dynamo 1000 subwoofer is at the top end of the Dynamo line-up and it genuinely surprised me. I have been a REL user for many years and consider their subwoofers to be the best of the best — certainly for the money. NHT makes really good subwoofers as well, but the REL are very special products. MartinLogan’s Dynamo 1000 looks small, but it packs a wallop. Its 12-inch high excursion poly cone woofer can shake, rattle, and roll. In a small room, it may be too powerful; but it will work perfectly in a living room, media room, or dedicated home theater. It is powered by a 500 watt amplifier and I felt the need to keep its volume level fairly low because it can output a lot of bass. Taut, resolute, and very quick.
It is a relatively compact 14″ x 13″ x 14″ and weighs in at a hearty 36 pounds. Place it correctly and leave it there. I ran one length of interconnect from my Denon receiver to the LFE input, but there is a wireless option for those who may find that appealing. I am not a fan of wireless loudspeakers, but it does exist as a connection option. One really cool feature; you can change the orientation of the 12″ driver depending on what sounds best in your listening environment. Want a downward firing driver? Leave the Dynamo 100 as is. Prefer the sound of a forward-facing driver? Take off the legs, flip the cabinet, reinsert the legs/spikes and you’re golden. Impressive. Most impressive.
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http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/MartinLogan-Motion-12-7-1-Loudspeaker-System.shtml