Customer Reviews

MartinLogan Motion 12 Floorstanding Speaker (Black Ash, each)

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The first impression of these speakers came as I unpacked them. The packaging is excellent as it should be to provide the proper protection. So, no surprise, they were delivered in perfect condition. These speakers are beautiful to look at and come with very classy baffles that connect magnetically to hid the speaker cones. Connecting them was very easy since they come with high quality connections that make it easy to make solidly connect with a variety of different kinds of wire connectors.

These speakers really deliver whether you are listening to Rock and Roll or classical music. My listing choices ranged from ELP's first album to Debussy's La Mer. Both kinds of music, even though wildly different, sounded great. You get the necessary powerful crunch needed to appreciate rock music, and when listening to classical music they very nicely reproduce subtle musical nuances required to fully appreciate the piece. They work very well for watching television or movies. My wife and I found the clarity to be excellent and made understanding vocals, and thus following conversations, easy.

I tested these speakers 3 different ways.

First, I tested them alone as a stereo pair. They seemed to disappear and the sound seems to come from the back wall. This is a great illusion that is a mark of high quality speakers! If you get out of the center sweet spot, the illusion dissipates somewhat but they still sound very good nevertheless. They were lacking a bit in the very lowest bass. For that reason, I would recommend coupling them with a nice sub-woofer for reproduction of frequencies below 60hz. This would probably only be noticeable with certain kinds of music played at fairly high volume levels.

Next, I tested them using a sub-woofer. This really helped get that powerful feeling that comes when these lower frequencies come into play. My subwoofer allows setting the frequency where it takes over and so I chose the 60hz. This worked great and I found that it was basically transparent as far as telling where the sound was coming from - which is a very good thing!

Finally, I tested them along with a center speaker and rear surrounds. All of my speakers were from the same manufacturer and were also of very high quality. When you get all of your speakers from the same vendor in the same speaker family, the good ones are matched with regard to the tone; or overall sound. As a result, properly setup, they can sound almost like a single large speaker that envelopes you. Replacing the two front speakers with these lost that illusion some, but in my opinion, still managed to improve the overall sound quality! The sound seems more accurate, crisp, and powerful! I love it!

That said, from this point on, since the main way I listen to my audio/video system is via a 5.1 surround setup, my remaining comments will be based on that listening experience.

It is very important to understand that the sound that is eventually delivered to your ears is not totally dependent on the speakers themselves. Equally important is the placement of the speakers and the acoustics of the room in which you are doing your listening. Working within the confines and shape of my living room, I placed the speakers 10 inches from the back wall and 7.5 feet apart from each other. My flooring is wood laminate so I didn't use the MiniETC spikes (which are a very nice touch if you are installing on carpet) that were included; instead I chose to use the pre-installed rubber feet. I have absolutely no doubt that these speakers could sound even better of I had different room size and acoustics to work with.

For my listening tests I chose some of my favorite pieces of music and those that I consider to be of the highest quality. Using high a high quality source is extremely important for testing speaker quality. The reason is that if you are testing $5000 speakers using an mp3 recorded at a bit rate of 128kbs, you may as well be listening to a pair of $500 speakers, The more expensive may sound slightly better, but the source itself would limit what the speakers are capable of producing. So, for starters, I have long considered "Emerson, Lake, & Palmer's" first album to be a great way to test any kind of audio gear; partly because of my familiarity with it, and because it is sonically spectacular. I found the experience to be spectacular. In my younger days, I owned Bose 901's, and have always considered them to be the best stereo speakers I have ever heard. These sounded as good and in my humble opinion, that is really saying a lot! Listening is a joy! In all fairness however, the Bose were all by themselves as a speaker pair and I'm listening to these as part of a 5.1 surround system. I can tell you that the sound is definitely an improvement over my previous main speakers. I really wanted to blast these up to ear-shattering levels, but alas, I share walls with 2 neighbors... For a short time however, I did approach that volume and it sounded sweeeeet!

Next up, I chose to listen to an SACD by "Porcupine Tree" titled "In Absentia". This sounded fantastic using my previous speakers. So good in fact that I found it hard to believe it could sound any better but - wow - the Martin Logan's sound even better - amazing.! The power and clarity is almost overwhelming. By the way, I can't recommend this album any more highly. It is one of my favorites in my entire collection.

For one of my classical music listening tests, I chose a piece by Debussy called "La Mer" that was recorded in DTS Surround. Again, I found these speakers to be quite excellent! I could easily hear all kinds of subtleties and make out the individual instruments. Shutting my eyes, I could easily imagine being seated at a live performance. It doesn't get much better than that. Other pieces I listened to were very convincing at reproducing the nuances of the violin and piano.

Not forgetting that an important part of today's home theater system is watching movies and television, I also checked out a few movies and again found that these speakers really deliver. For example, I put in a DVD of "The War of the Worlds" starring Tom Cruise. I jumped to the part where the lightning strikes start happening (close to the beginning of the movie) and was wowed by the awesome power and clarity. Continuing to watch the next 10 minutes of the movie it just sounded great. In fact, everything I've listened to on these sound great. They can definitely deliver crunch and power but still allow voices to be easily heard and understood.

My wife was skeptical about their size but she too has decided she loves these speakers. In most ways she was perfectly happy with our previous setup but what really impressed her the most was how much easier it is to understand dialogs when watching a movie. While she agrees that listening to music sounds even better, that's what really makes her the most happy.

I have listened to other, lesser quality, speakers in the past and find that after an hour or two, I experience what has been called listening fatigue. I think this is because your brain has to work harder to process less than perfect sound. That is clearly not the case with these. I was still immensely enjoying these even after having them on for several hours.

Overall, the words that come to mind to describe the sound these speakers produce are: powerful, controlled, accurate, crisp, tight, solid... For the money, one would be hard pressed to find speakers as good as these. These speakers are well worth considering for anyone who really cares about getting the best sound in the under $3000 price range.

These speakers are GREAT! Please read on to discover just WHY I think so......

First, some background and setup info that might come in handy.....

The Martin Logan Motion 12 Floor-standing Speaker belongs to a family of products comprising Martin Logan's "Motion" line and is at the top tier of the Motion series. A pair of these speakers can be used for stereo listening or matched with other members of the Motion line to assemble a full 5.1 home theater system or even more elaborate configurations. All of the Motion line are 'Voice Matched' to provide a seamless tonal and spacial transition between speakers during 5.1 playback.

The speakers come very well packed and fully protected for shipping and include the miniETC floor spikes and detachable magnetic grills, upper and lower for each speaker, manual and warranty card. I was VERY impressed with the packing method used and they emerged from their boxes in absolute pristine condition, wrapped in their own cloth slip cover. Attaching the grills is literally a snap and foolproof.

The speakers themselves are nicely made and exude an air of quality as you might well expect from something of this price. They are heavy enough at 36 pounds not to tip over accidentally and stylish enough to fit into almost any home decor. The black ash wood veneer is real, not plastic. The speaker connections are handled by a push/pull spring loaded terminal but a small removable plastic cover reveals accommodation for a banana plug connection. Finding a place to safely lift the speakers without damaging the grills or speakers themselves is a bit tricky. I found that putting my hand in the rear port and tipping them into my other hand on the front of the top grill seemed safe and easiest since there are no handles or edges that easily lend themselves to moving these things.

Standing almost 43 inches high with a depth of 14 inches, these speakers are substantial. Thought must be given to their proper placement. They are rear ported and therefore should not be placed directly against a wall. As every room is different, experimenting with a number of positions could be beneficial. The included manual will give you some ideas on this.

The Motion 12's feature Martin Logan's proprietary 'Folded Motion Tweeter' , a dipole style 5.25 inch Mid Range driver that sends out sound both front and back and dual 6.5 inch woofers in a rear ported tuned enclosure.

It also should be said that these speakers (and most others) will benefit greatly from some 'burn in' time. Perhaps 72 hours or so at a volume of 90db using a variety of program material should loosen up the stiffness of the materials and allow the drivers to breathe a bit more effortlessly, thus focusing the sound, increasing the bass response and smoothing over any rough edges that may stick out when first powered up. I would not recommend any critical listening with these speakers until after at least 3 or 4 days of continuous 'burn in' . At that point they will sound wonderful and actually get better over time before reaching their audio peak. Straight from the box they are most impressive but will become so much more so after the burn in. Just something to consider before judging the Motion 12's. The speakers are rated at 150 Watts RMS and have a very respectable 92db sensitivity rating.

Finally, bear in mind that while the Motion 12's are advertised as "8 ohm compatible" the true impedance of these speakers is 4 ohms and as such they will greatly benefit from an amplifier that includes 4 ohms in their power rating specs. While it is true you can use a run of the mill AV receiver to power the Motion 12's, any prolonged use at high volume could put a strain on your amp and could cause overheating. Also, an amp rated for 4 ohm operation will provide much more musical headroom and will give these speakers a chance to truly shine and deliver the goods. I purchased a Harmon Kardon HK 3490 Stereo amp/receiver strictly for use with these speakers and that modest investment has paid off well in allowing the Motion 12's to sound their very best while providing them with 150 watts to both channels driven at 4 ohms. I initially tried the Motion 12's with my mid level Denon AVR and the difference between the two amps for use with these speakers is truly night and day.

I currently use a very nice mid priced 5.1 speaker system with sub that I am quite happy with, but always felt that home theater was that brand of speakers forte and that they were severely lacking for 2 channel music reproduction. I was very excited to burn in the Motion 12's, then get down to some serious testing and listening and see how much improvement I would notice between the Martin Logan's and my current 5.1 setup when playing strictly stereo program material. I used a Marantz CD player with good converters for CD playback and my Oppo BDP-83 for SACD and DVD-A playback.

ON to the testing....

The first difference I noticed between my old speakers and the Martin Logan's was the immense sound stage. I truly felt enveloped by the sound and after 'toeing in' the speakers I found the sweet spot and was really very aware of the superior stereo imaging the 12's provided. Wanting the most from these speakers I actually measured the distance between myself sitting in my preferred listening position and the speakers, sitting the same distance away from the speakers as they were from each other and forming a perfect triangle. This allowed the stereo image to magically appear. The Motion 12's stereo imaging is really a wonderful thing to listen to and enjoy. I was impressed!

The next thing I noticed were the immaculate tightly focused highs, almost crystalline in nature. My other setup relies on a horn type of technology and I had always found that a bit too harsh for music. Not so with the Martin Logan ' Folded Motion Tweeter' . This type of high frequency reproduction really shines and to my ears sounds quite natural. I had been using my Sennheiser 650 HD headphones for critical listening but always disliked the much storied 'sonic veil' that seemed to slightly diminish it's high end. With the Martin Logan Motion 12's that is never a problem. The decidedly non technical term of 'Clear as a Bell' comes to mind. Truly a musical tweeter and very unique to anything I have owned before.

On to the all important mid range.. In a word , BEAUTFUL! Going back again to my Sennheiser phones, I had always wished I could get as lush of a mid range from a speaker as I have got from both my 600's and 650's. That is no longer the case as the Motion 12's deliver this lushness in spades. Again, resorting to non tech terms, it is LUSH, rich and creamy and just dripping with mid ranged goodness. This is absolutely apparent when listening to music that features vocals. For my personal ultimate mid range acid test I used the Beatles Stereo remasters of both 'Revolver' and 'Magical Mystery Tour'. These are two albums I know inside and out and know exactly what they SHOULD sound like, having played them on numerous systems since they were released in the 60's. The vocals are EXACTLY where they should be, along with the electric guitars. My other reference recording to test mids is an obscure Toto album called Mindfields. In my humble opinion , it is one of the best engineered and mixed rock albums in my collection. It is also a record that I am on intimate terms with so I know what I expect to hear from it. Again, the Martin Logan Motion 12's totally satisfied my craving for Lush Mid Range satisfaction. At this point I would be totally impressed even without any bass response which is what I focused on next.

With two 6.5 woofers you are pushing a LOT of air. The depth of the cabinets increase towards the bottom of the enclosures and create a very nice space for the bass to emanate from. Also factor in the rear port and you get much more low end out of this speaker than you would have thought. Now days it seems many people are not satisfied listening to music without a ton of over exaggerated heavy bass. However, for MY musical listening needs, which consist mainly of older Classic rock and Pop rock heavy on vocals, Classical , and Jazz, these speakers are more than adequate for what I need in regard to bass response. The bass is tightly defined and the crossover is pretty much seamless, never stepping on any one part of the audio spectrum. The bass response is fast and with proper room placement you should get similar results. Make sure to try these speakers without using your 'loudness' control or artificially boosting the lows which may result in a smearing of the sound and low end in general.

Because these speakers were designed as part of a total SYSTEM I wondered what would happen if I connected my Klipsch front firing 12 inch powered sub woofer along with the Martin Logan's. Well, you certainly could FEEL it a lot more and yes the extension certainly went lower. And for movie/TV soundtracks it is probably preferable, but for plain old school 2 channel stereo listening to MY types of music, the Motion 12's all by themselves more than hold their own. I really do think a sub is optional and not mandatory! I am also quite sure many folks might disagree with that statement, but to each their own. I know precisely how I want my music to sound and Martin Logan Motion 12's deliver the goods without adding any artificial sounding subsonics to my classic rock recordings.

I am sure that an entire speaker system comprised of Martin Logan components would be simply amazing! I inserted them into my 5.1 system to see what difference they made and it was apparent I could easily replace my current speakers with Martin Logan's and it would be a noticeable upgrade. I am sold on the Motion 12's and plan to wear out my CD player and new Amp going thru my music collection again. The Martin Logan Motion 12's give you true value for money by providing performance rivaling more expensive speakers while providing a stellar signature sound all their own.
Paired with additional Martin Logan speaker components you would have a surround system that will blow you away and make your friends green with envy!

And in conclusion...
To my ears, the Motion 12's are great speakers and I am really happy with them. They shine on many levels and I am sure to enjoy them for many years to come. I will keep my 5.1 system for film and TV sound, but the Motion 12's are now my 'go to' system for music and I am one very happy music fan as a result. Happy Listening!

PRODUCT UPDATE 3-20-2011 After using these speakers for the last 5 months I can honestly say they have opened up in a VERY musical way, sounding better each week and now just reaching what I think may be their peak. Once broken in, these Motion 12's just SING... I thought they were great when I first tried them and the sonic improvements since last year have been nothing short of amazing. I find myself listening to music much more now and enjoying it MUCH more.....

I am not an audiophile, just someone who likes to listen to music. I probably would not be able to differentiate between the nuances that distinguish an $80,000 pair of Avalon Acoustics speakers from a pair that cost a couple thousand, but I also have never been one is satisfied to buy a pre-packaged system of components. I have always shopped at high end audio stores but my purchases are on the lower end of what they have to offer. I have always looked for the best sounding speakers I can get for the best value.

Set up was easy. Install the grill covers and since the speaker will be sitting on carpet, I installed the included MiniETC spikes. These pointed feet screw into the bottom of the speaker, firmly situating it on the floor which improves bass response and imaging. These are sharp feet and may damage a normal floor. Once installed the speakers should not be moved or the spikes may break or the floor harmed. The speakers arrive with rubber feet so if more concerned about flooring damage, than ideal sound, they can be left as they arrive from the factory. Wiring is easy because either bare wire or banana plugs may be used.

For the last three weeks I have been listening to the MartinLogan Motion 12 and am simply blown-away by its quality. The room is a large open style family room and kitchen configuration with a vaulted ceiling. It is easy for sound to get lost in this space. I followed the User Manual guidelines and allowed for a 72 hour break in period which essentially entailed playing the speaker at 90 dB before doing any critical listening, but even at that volume it was impossible not to be impressed.

Once past the break-in period I selected a variety of music to see what the speaker could do. I also disconnected my subwoofer so I could judge the bass response. The clarity is amazing -- I am hearing the plucking of strings, whether orchestral or guitar, with such full dimension that the sound seems to reverberate in the room. The bass response is great although I definitely missed the subwoofer, but was nevertheless surprised at the depth of the lower registers. The folded tweeter is the star of the show and the higher registers are simply superb - rich and natural sounding with a dynamic presence. Everything sounds more realistic like a live performance. It is, powerful yet not overpowering. The speaker has so much juice to spare it would easily blow the roof off the dump.

My plan was to use the MartinLogan 12 speakers solely for music but out of curiosity I hooked up my flat screen and found its performance in a home theater set-up to be undeniably great for movies, too. This is a fabulous speaker and meets all of my needs and then some. I recommend it without reservation.

Martin Logan Motion 12

I bought the M 12 after I realized that the ML Motion 10 cannot be used as a front/stereo speaker if you have some expectations from the sound in its price range. As soon as the double-boxed package containing the M 12 arrived, I set it up, and immediately noticed that the speakers I received - as opposed to the M 10s I had received 12 days before - may have been burnt in. The sound was as good as it gets from the technology employed in the speakers. The dust on the membranes suggested that this time received store display units. As I had a problem with one of the tweeters (the harmonica membrane was disfigured and the panel edges were touching each other at places), I called ML Customer Support. They got back to me in a few hours, and assured me that the speakers had not been used before, and the dust was from storage. The huge difference in sound quality between the M 10 and the M 12 apparently came from the design. Also, they told me they were sending me a replacement for the defective tweeter immediately. Great customer support!

The packaging is the sturdiest and safest I have ever seen in the music industry.

In my testing, I used a Harman-Kardon AVR 240 7.1 home theater receiver (60W/channel continuous in stereo, 50W/ch in 7.1 mode; other manufacturers indicate the peak that would destroy those amps after a second or two), Audioquest Type IV speaker wires, the M 10s for rear speakers, and a specially designed front that sonically happened to match the M 12 nearly perfectly (surprisingly, they were closer to the M 12 than the M 10 to the M 12). The room has next to no echo because of the furniture and the thick curtains. In order to avoid unwanted speared bass reproduction from the rear-firing bass port, I set up the front speakers about 3 ft from the rear wall. I tested the speakers both in 7.1 surround sound (primarily for movies) and in stereo (primarily for music). I use a Klipsch RW-10D as a subwoofer, and I am considering getting another in order to move more air as long as I can get another for the same $200 I paid for the first). After switching from 5.1 to 7.1, I noticed that a 7.1 setup is incomparably better than a 5.1 when it comes to the movie sound enveloping you.

The Motion 12 belongs to an entirely different universe than the Motion 10; in fact, I insist that the designers of the Motion 10 made a few basic irredeemable mistakes, the largest of which being the inclusion of two mid/bass drivers that restricts the Motion 10 to be a rear speaker in a home theater setup. Theoretically, the design could work in a large room from the distance where the midrange dispersion becomes negligible from 10-12 feet, but the membrane surface of the two mid/bass drivers would not work in an area exceeding 350-400 sq. feet. The good news is that I can use the M 10s as rear speakers with the M 12s, because they represent acceptably similar sound characteristics with the exception of less bass and inferior midrange.

One could call the M 12 the near-perfect design for a 3-way tower, but that does not mean the M 12 is without flaws. However, unless one insists on the lowest one and a half octave being present for music listening, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.

The cabinet is solidly built; it widens towards the floor, so its mass center is relatively low, meaning it is not so easy to push over. However, there is a slight (less than 1mm) alignment discrepancy between the top (housing the tweeter and the midrange) and the bottom boxes (with the two woofers) of each of the two speakers, so the tweeter/midrange and the bass drivers are not firing in exactly the same direction. Apparently, a single bolt holds the two boxes together, and the alignment is easy to mess up by the turn of the nut when the two boxes are bolted together. After this experience, I simply cannot believe that the two boxes are properly separated and dampened. (The experience of replacing the damaged tweeter supported my suspicion: there is no dampening material under the tweeters. There is even some glue smeared unevenly on the surface the tweeter is sitting on. The internal wiring probably could not get any cheaper either. The only good part is that no soldering is required; the wires are equipped with slide-on connectors. Indeed, the plastic-housed terminals could not take much heat from the soldering iron.)
The two 6" woofers are placed low; while that, along with the asymmetrical design and the user-installable spikes, keeps resonance low too, I can easily imagine someone stepping into the lower one in the dark. Using the protective front cover can prevent such an accident. It is even fairly attractive. Sadly, at the same time, when they are on, they send my hearing on a wild goose chase looking for the sound. Terrible.

The midrange and the tweeter are in an open box from which the sound radiates in all directions and prevents boxy sound above 300Hz from the midrange/treble box. The lower box with the two woofers does not sound boxy either. Moreover, ML managed to avoid the loudness in the upper bass range that characterizes cheap speakers. Classical orchestral music sounds neutral; the M 12 does not emphasize any notes, although the polished sound and controlled bass of speakers that cost at least twice its price are missing. I still believe you get more than what you pay for if you go for the M 12 (assuming you can get a pair for $600 as I did).
The bass port is in the back, which makes the bass reproduction sensitive to the distance between the speaker and the wall (if you place them close to the wall, you get a bass boost for the price of boominess). The midrange and the tweeter are acceptably close to each other so that their distance does not smudge up the sound image (which happens on the M 10). The cheap-plastic-looking tweeter membrane calls for some distrust, but its only limitation comes from a weakening/uneven performance above 15kHz or so (ML claims its frequency response goes above 20KHz, but the chart I found on the net showed otherwise; besides, +-3dB actually means that the sound pressure (= volume) can vary at different frequencies by four times in intensity!!! ML claims these speakers go down to 40Hz; my hearing at the beginning suggested they started dropping around 60Hz or so. However, after about 150 hours of burn-in time, they perform fine. The 12dB/octave crossover hampers dynamics, but it switches at 300 and at 3000 Hz. 300 is as low as it tends to get, and the lower the better if you don't want to hear smeared human voices from your speakers. 3kHz is okay as long as the midrange does its job and the crossover manages to create an acceptable transition between the drivers. While 3kHz might be a bit high for the midrange (mostly because of its directionality), the folded tweeters of the M 12 (the same tweeter can be found in the M 10) simply cannot go any lower without an embarrassing level of distortion (caused by the cheap material, which is actually remedied by the design). Distortion is not a problem with the paper diaphragms of the midrange. ML placed the midrange and the tweeter in the same evenly perforated box that radiates the sound towards the back too, which opens up the sound stage, and prevents boxy sound above 300Hz. I cannot fathom why anyone would use the dust covers that drastically dampen the sound, but I understand there are people who cannot hear the difference. The upper box is covered with some sort of black nylon mesh that is proving to be an effective dust collector.

Before purchasing, I took the time to compare the sound quality of the M 12 with a number of other speakers at BestBuy, and the M 12 seemed to be a matter of taste in its price range (about $860 per pair after tax). However, the next unquestionable step up, the B&W CM5, cost $1,500 (the CM5 is a large bookshelf speaker that still sounded better in a large room than the tower with the same speaker set retailing for the same price). For nearly three times the price I paid for the M 12, the CM5 offers a more polished sound (although the M12 midrange can occasionally beat the 2-way CM5), more powerful and more controlled bass, After the experience, I did not hesitate long to buy a pair of M 12s for $600 when they went on sale at Newegg. After my exceedingly frustrating experience with the M 10, I was somewhat concerned, but my worries turned out to have been mostly unsubstantiated. After a few months I noticed that the M10 cannot reproduce bass in movies, because some films send too much bass to the side and the rear speakers. Eventually, I had to cut the crossover for the M10 at 120Hz to prevent overloading (membrane damage or coil burnout).

The M 12 creates a large sound stage extending on the sides beyond the space between the speakers, although the treble/midrange drivers still require a slight toe-in. The sound dispersion is quite even, especially compared with the M 10, which I do not consider suitable for a front speaker. As the bass port is in the back, 2-3 feet between the speakers and the wall behind them prevents boomy/unpredictable bass response. Theoretically, the M 12 could work in a relatively large room of about 500 sq. feet. The drivers can take a lot of punishment, but despite the two low mid/bass drivers, the speakers are missing a few notes (at least half an octave) from the low end of FM that eliminates them from the group of speakers I would recommend for music. Using 10 gauge or thicker multithreaded speaker wires can improve on the bass response (the Audioquest Type IV I am using at the moment is solid core, which produces a bit less bass; this bass, however, is more controlled. I am going for the Type VI, which is a compromise between the Type IV and a 10-gauge Monster wire). Of course, a subwoofer can complete bass reproduction for your system even if that seems a ridiculous proposition, considering the size of the M 12 (about 37 lbs.). Once you hear the sound, it turns out that a subwoofer is just about mandatory with the M 12 for music. While you could get "audiophile" speakers in the price range of the M 12, they tend to lack the stage size, the midrange (coming from the fact that the M 12 is a 3-way speaker), and the airiness of the sound stage of the M 12.

Some find the M 12 attractive; I would say it would be a feat to make it any uglier. I am missing the rounded edges that would add $20-40 to the manufacturing costs but $400 to the sound quality. In general, ML seems to have used the cheapest acceptable materials that still look good. While it succeeded to a remarkable extent, the lack of low bass appears to be a fatal mistake, because it foils the listener's hopes for the musical performance one could easily expect from the size and the design of the M 12. Sadly, once the bass drivers are cheap, the bass of the M 12 is only as good as it gets. Although a subwoofer is becoming universal among music-lovers, I must warn them that a low-end subwoofer will not work with the M 12, unless they want to destroy the illusion of listening to live music. Using no subwoofer is not fatal, anyway for music on the M 12. The dual 16.5cm woofers move more air than most likely anything else on the market in this price range.

The M 12 is a good overall performer. The instruments are nearly life-sized, which is rare in this price range. Wide, but not very high stage, quiet positioning, airy and breathing space accompany a solid frequency curve that does not stick out anywhere (perhaps the high midrange could be more), making sure the sound is not exhausting even after hours. Low distortion at all levels, but high directionality. ML built it with the average user in mind, and the 3-way design makes sure that the sound remains pretty much the same irrespective of the amplifier. That is good, if you have a cheap amplifier, and bad, if you have spent $3,000 on it. For the M 12, amplifiers over $1,000 probably do not add much bang for your buck.

Burn-in time is essential with these speakers. Although ML recommends 72 hours, but in my experience with both the M 10 and the M 12 suggests that the drivers need up to two weeks of continuous running at moderate levels to reach their peak. After about 150 hours of listening at moderate volume levels (high volumes during the break-in period can turn the diaphragm edges into mush so that you end up with high distortion), the speakers became remarkably louder, and the sonic balance became stable. Even the upper harmonics showed up with acoustic instruments, which is a nice tint in this price range. Of course, the inherent weaknesses (directionality, somewhat uncontrolled bass) remained, but I still believe that the M 12 is a good choice for the price.

The 3-way design and the bidirectional midrange/treble allow for an acceptable compromise between the directionality of the drivers and keeping the sound stage as large as possible. For the largest and most even stage, it is best if you do not use toe-in at all. Sitting far enough reduces the negative impact of speaker directionality, but the speakers will be a bit close to each other (good thing their stage expands sideways horizontally beyond them). The stage is wide, but not particularly high.

Finally, here is a brief note on centers. As far as I can judge it from my experience with the M 10 and the M 12, for home theater, the ML center speakers do a decent job among stock-of-the-pile choices. In general, size matters: the larger, the better. The center carries up to 70% of movie sound. If you have a relatively new home theater with self-calibrating capabilities, you do not necessarily have to match the speakers, although the same speaker set always helps. Your sound source (analog/digital) along with the DSP can complicate matters further.

As part of the Amazon Vine program, I actually received the MartinLogan Motion 8 Center Channel Speaker (Piano Black, each) and was in the market at the time for new set of speakers for my home theater. The "free" Motion 8 actually provided the impetus for shopping around. Initially I was set on purchasing the Motion 12s to complement this center, but in the end my final decision went to a competitor and I'll explain why.

First, the Motion 12 is, without question, an outstanding speaker for the price, which is why I've given it 5 stars despite ultimately choosing a product from a competitor (B&W).

I personally auditioned these speakers on 4 different occasions, in 3 different locations. Your local big box retailer, the place with the yellow price tag with black lettering for a store sign, sells Martin Logan speakers in their Magnolia section. It was there that I first auditioned the Motion 12s. In fact, I auditioned the Motion 12s in 2 different stores of this chain, followed by auditioning in a local hi-fi shop twice. My audition ran the gamut of material I planned on using on my home theater. I used Moody Blues on CD and SACD to compare the fronts of several vendors, along with some Anthrax (Belladonna and Bush for good measure), some classical via some Mozart CDs I own, followed by several movies on Blu Ray, such as The Matrix (the elevator sequence has great separation) and Saving Private Ryan's opening Normandy sequence. Each time I went from the Martin Logan Motion 10s to the 12s, followed by what I ultimately chose (B&W 683s), then back to the 12s, then the 10s. Each time the difference between the speakers was apparent.

What I originally owned were kit home theater in a box satellite speakers. Anything would be an upgrade. Going from those, to the Motion 10s it was like pulling 2 heavy wool blankets from the satellites I owned. Going from the Motion 10 to the 12s was a similar experience, though not as profound; maybe pulling a fleece throw off the Motion 10s to give the Motion 12s tremendous sound. Then I compared the Motion 12 to the Bowers and Wilkins (also known as B&W amongst audiophiles) 683s. The Motion 12 to the B&W 683s was an even further step into clarity. I'd say it was like pulling two bed sheets from the Motion 12 to the B&W 683s. The clarity was tremendous among each speaker, but ultimately the seeming needle sharpness of the 683 drove me to purchase the B&W 683s over the Motion 12s. Even though the Motion 8 I received was sonically matched to the Motion 10s and 12s, I couldn't leave that extra level of clarity on the showroom floor and went home happy, though saddened that I'd now also have to begin saving money for a different, sonically matched, center speaker for the 683s. And pairing the Motion 8 to the 683s is proving difficult given the boosted performance from the 683s compared the Motion 12s it should be mated with.

For those of you who have the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) to deal with, both the Motion 12s and the B&W 683s passed the FAF (Fiance Acceptance Factor). In fact, my fiance was there during one of the auditions and after stating unequivocally that she would never hear a difference between speakers, she did, in fact, hear the same results I did. We started with unpowered Martin Logan electrostatic speakers. The sound was amazing, but the laser focused, pin point accuracy required for said speakers shot those down instantly. Between the Motion 10 and 12, her reaction was the same as mine; like a layer was removed from in front of the speaker when moving to the Motion 10 to 12. Moving from the Motion 12 to the 683, her eyes lit up and I could see it was an epiphany. At the price she wouldn't allow me to purchase the Motion 12s at all and insisted on the 683s. It's always nice to have the WAF/FAF covered and can never be denied or ignored! Take your significant other with you when shopping, definitely, even if it means making return trips on your own to really put the speakers through their paces.

Sonically, the Motion 12s are fantastic. They hit the high highs and go fairly low. Frequency response, according to the manual and stated specs, is 40 Hz to 25,000Hz which is quite good. It will hit a lot of the bass you're looking for, but for best bass response you will definitely want to look for a subwoofer that will cover the range below 40 Hz.

These speakers, as with most Martin Logans, are power hungry. They are rated for 4 Ohms of power, so make sure your A/V receiver can handle the ultimate draw these things pull. According to correspondence via email with Martin Logan, they are supposed to be efficient enough to work with 8 Ohms output as well and all the testing I heard was using the receiver I own (Denon 3311) and even at higher volumes the receiver didn't seem to struggle nor did the speakers seem to lack power. I'm just putting this in the review as a precaution for potential buyers with older AV receivers. Almost any other manufacturer you look into will state 8 Ohms is the desired input.

Ultimately I chose the Bowers and Wilkins 683s for my front left and right channels because of an added clarity to the speaker and the price was exactly in line with Martin Logan's MSRP of $750 per speaker for the Motion 12s. Had the price of the Motion 12s been $600 (as is currently the case on Amazon due to a sale), I may have made a different decision and used the extra $300 towards the rear channels I purchased. Though thinking back on it and the audible apparent difference, I believe I ultimately would have made the same decision and ended up with the 683s. If you like the Motion 12s sound, don't hesitate to purchase these.




When deciding on what speakers to purchase, there are some steps you should take first.

1) Decide on your budget.

2) Once you know your budget per speaker, look at multiple vendors' offerings (decide on floor standing or bookshelf; PLEASE do not buy cube speakers or speakers from that well known and advertised vendor without comparison shopping, despite the high WAF of said vendor). Look at the specifications on paper and decide not based on brand name, but on how closely the specs match, on what to focus your potential purchase on.

3) Find somewhere that stocks your main choice, and hopefully other choices and AUDITION THE SPEAKERS IN PERSON. This step CANNOT be overlooked. Do NOT purchase on a whim from Amazon. Audition several speakers side by side with exactly the same material, hopefully a broad spectrum of what you plan on using on the speakers. If you like what you hear and Amazon has a better price, THEN buy from Amazon, but please don't deaf buy (kind of like a blind buy, but since it's a speaker, it's deaf) any speakers, ever. You may be happy but you'll likely have a nagging in your head that you may not have made the best sonic decision you could at the price you wanted to pay.

4) Find another location that offers the same speakers and audition there as well.

5) Purchase somewhere that you can return them without much hassle. Even if you love them in the store, depending on the acoustics of your room, you may find they aren't the speakers for you, in which case it is imperative you be allowed to return them for a full refund.

6) Ensure you properly configure your listening room/area and speaker configuration. Many times speaker "problems" are really just the location of the speakers.

7) Enjoy your final purchase for many, many years to come

When updating my entire home theatre system, replacing my center channel was a must. I must state that asthetics were a major factor in this and previous decisions. Based upon my new TV choice, and cabinet layout, I chose the ML Motion 8 center channel. Having made this decision, I then decided to go for true 7.1 audio this time around. Thus, I moved my Klipsch front to the rear as my main surrounds, and added these Motion 12 as my complimentary choice to my new center channel.

Now after reading review after review about ML's tremendous packaging and shipping, I was stunned to find the second of my two boxes I opened, containg an absolutely destroyed speaker. ML forgot to put a small styrofoam piece in this box causing the top of the speaker to knock to pieces in the box. A couple of quick e-mails resolved this problem and I had a new one within days.

I am more than pleased with the sound quality and clarity. I think I have made myself quite a system.

I will not claim to be an audiophile and know very much about sound technicalities. So, I will spare you technical details. The reality is that they sound great. Enough said. A great speaker for a good price. I would definitely buy again.

The Motion 12 speakers can't compete with top-of-the-line floor speakers, but then they aren't really meant to, despite the manufacturer's claims. For all but the most devoted audiophiles, however, these should do nicely, as they have excellent dynamic range and sound good across the spectrum. East to put together, sleek and modern looking, they are easily placed about as discretely as it is possible for standing floor speakers to be, or made the focal point of any modern decor.

A note about room size: these are way too big (both sound and design) for a room much smaller than 12'X12'. If you have a smaller room, smaller speakers would be better, as to get the full benefit you need space. But for a good sized home room, they work like a charm, a great value for the price.

I have been searching for main speakers for my home theater for the last year.
I currently have the BOSE accoustmass setup with the Bose sub wofer. A setup that costs
around 1100 dollars. My son in law, who is a big audiofile told me to goto a local best buy
and listen to these Martin Logan Motin 12 speakers. He said he had never heard such a good reproduction
of sound from speakers even costing 1000 a piece. (He has a setup of BW that retail for 2400 each).
He also told me these sounded as good or better then his BW setup. When I went to listen I was blown away.
Came home immediatly and purchased them.

When they got to my home even the packaging was quality. Set them up and flipped on my Yamaha
reciever and it was like night and day to my old setup. I started to play some of my DTS cd collection
and I heard things I never heard before, absolutley amazing.

I added the Motion 8 center channel to the set andt completed with a cheap powered 12 in sub wofer.
If I took you to my home and played Steeley Dan DTS CD you would think my system costs 5x more than
what I paid for it. Home theatre sounds incredible also. Highs are crystal clear, mids are spot on
and crystal clear, the center makes the vocal reproduction perfect.

Take the challenge, get your best listenening CD and goto your local Best Buy and take a listen.
There is no better speaker out there for under 1000 a piece and rivals speakers in the 2000 range.

After about 100 hours of break in they now sound even better!

Charlie C

The MartinLogan 12 L/R floorstanding tower speakers are an excellent value and more than competent for any mid-range home theater. My current living room setup is an Epik Sentinel (amazing subwoofer brand) plus 5 Definitive Technology mythos speakers (3 center, 1 l/r, gem rears). Swapping out the mythos 1 for the MartinLogan 12 revealed more similarities than differences between these two great tower speakers.

The MartinLogan 12 sets itself apart from most tower speakers with its 'folded motion' ribbon tweeter. MartinLogan promises the folded motion tweeter will produce less distortion than a typical dome tweeter. My perception of clarity in the treble range did favor the MartinLogan, but it was not that noticeable of an improvement from the DefTec mythos 1. Another advantage of the ML 12 is the tapered cabinet design. The roomier base (as in bottom) allows for heftier components on the 2 lower woofers, which seemed to handle everything above 100Hz with depth and clarity. I'd be interested to see how the MartinLogan's Motion C center speaker performs with its folded motion tweeter given the center speaker's primary role in voicing dialogue.

The advantage of the DefTec speaker was an improved soundstage, likely due to the additional height and better placement of speakers. Also, the DefTec speakers have a nice glass base stand that isolates their sound effectively, though the ML 12's simple rubber nubs seem to isolate well enough (note no carpet spikes). Both towers have the tweeter placed at the same height, which should be about ear level for most home theaters.

Overall, I loved the MartinLogan 12. I think a taller cabinet would have improved the soundstage, but otherwise I could find no fault. The aesthetic style of the ML 12 with their heavy-grained black wood is quite different from my mythos line with their 'aircraft grade' aluminum, but I'm sure most people would find either quite attractive, especially compared to most of the competition in this price range. Considering the MartinLogan 12's price undercuts the Mythos 1 significantly, it's easy to recommend the MartinLogan 12. Note that the ML 12 comes packaged with the face plates detached (as do many speakers) so be careful not to press on the woofers when you unwrap. Also, to get the most out of these speakers, you really should have a receiver that is capable at 4 ohms and not just 8 ohms (my Onkyo RC 180 does a fine job).

P.S. Don't be fooled into thinking that tiny form factor speakers, no matter how expensive, can compare to the sound of a decent floorstanding tower speakers.

These MartinLogan's are a good price with a great sound, and good speakers are hard to come by without one totally breaking the bank.

These units are solid, a little over 40" tall, sloping backward from the top and sit on rubber knobs or insertable metal spikes on the bottom corners, which we use on the carpet for stability. There are various ways for plugging in wire or cable; we use high quality, thick gauge, speaker wire through the pull and release buttons.

We love the heavy bass sound on classic rock, really shaking the place but with clarity. And being music lovers of all types, the instrument definition on the classical music is simply beautiful!

Of note: since we have small children running around, we do have to turn things down and also put a plastic, playpen fence around these fairly heavy units so the kiddoes don't pull them over on themselves.

Highly recommended- enjoy and let the music run free!