MartinLogan Motion 4 Bookshelf Speaker (Piano Black, each)

by Martin

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 5.6 x 12.6 inches ; 6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0035FZ124
• Item model number: Motion 4
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,184 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #21 in Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Stereo Components > Speakers > Bookshelf Speakers

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Built for Audiophiles, Priced for Everyone

Inspired by the clarity and detail of our ultra-high-end electrostatic loudspeakers, the MartinLogan Motion® 4 features an exquisite Folded Motion tweeter and powerful bass technology in a compact and affordable package. Key to Motion 4's performance is the lightning fast response of the tweeter's light-weight diaphragm combined with a large surface area (8-times that of a typical one-inch dome tweeter) which together achieve a smooth, refined sound with stunning dynamic range and jaw-dropping clarity—certain to inspire envy in audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike.

Luxurious Styling, Outstanding Performance

Motion Series speakers are available in floor standing tower and ultra-compact center bookshelf models. Speakers can be mixed-and-matched (along with MartinLogan's high-performance subwoofers) to create a stunning solution for any application—from a spectacular high-performance 2-channel music system to an exhilarating multi-channel home theater system. Voice-matched with MartinLogan electrostatic speakers, Motion Series Speakers also offer a perfect solution for compact rear-channel applications in traditional electrostatic based home theater systems.

Surround Yourself—Without Sacrificing Great Sound

Build a killer home theater that will shame other systems. With a wide selection of MartinLogan Motion models to mix-and-match, you can build the perfect home theater system for your budget in any size room. Add a MartinLogan Dynamo series subwoofer to create a complete 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system. Dynamo 700 & 1000 are wireless ready, simply add a SWT-1 and you can tuck your subwoofer anywhere in the room for maximum versatility.

Meet The Family

Thoughtful Design: We Sweat the Small Stuff

Ultra-Easy Hookups

Get out your stopwatch and prepare to hook up your new speakers. Thanks to convenient high-quality push-style terminals and curved inserts, speaker wire glides effortlessly into place making Motion Series speakers one of the more enjoyable parts of setting up any system. Remove the rubber plugs in the back and the terminals are ready to accept banana plugs for the fastest connection.

Curve Your Perspective

After refining the perfecting the acoustic details our designers and engineers focused on giving the Motion Series an elegant yet understated styling that would complement flat panel TVs and other high-end components found in today's home theaters. To achieve this we gave Motion compact bookshelf and center channel speakers a flawless high-gloss, piano black finish in a slender and compact enclosure. Subtle curves, along with MartinLogan's signature perforated grille, add to the elegant and timeless look.

Versatile Placement

Not only do the curves on the Motion Series look great, they also serve a purpose—allowing Motion compact bookshelves to mount at two different angles with the included wall bracket. This means you can point sound directly toward the desired listening area for high or low wall mounting applications.

On a wall, shelf or stands

Motion 4 speakers don't have to be mounted. In fact, they look and sound great on speaker stands, or simply sitting next to your TV on a shelf.

Folded Motion Tweeter design drastically minimizes distortion and provides a lightning fast response time.

Engineering Genius

What makes the Motion Series sound so amazing? MartinLogan's dedicated in-house engineering and design team started by utilizing and refining the most advanced, compact technologies and combining them with innovative engineering. The result is an emotionally engaging sound that rivals (and most times trounces) traditional loudspeakers of similar size and price. Our 'no compromise' philosophy gives Motion Series a unique sound you won't find anywhere else.

Voice Matched Sound

Our engineers are picky when it comes to how speakers should sound so when setting out to voice the Motion Series they had their sights fixed on some of the best sounding speakers in the world, which happen to be MartinLogan's ultra-high-end electrostatic loudspeakers. And what they produced is amazing alchemy that blends beautifully with the speed, nuance, and openness of MartinLogan electrostats.

Folded Motion™ Tweeter

The Folded Motion Tweeter works by moving air (which creates sound) perpendicular to the folded ridges of the diaphragm, similar to how an accordion works. This extremely low mass diaphragm "squeezes" air and requires almost 90% less excursion than the typical 1" dome tweeter, which drastically minimizes distortion while providing a lightning fast response time. The increased surface area also provides a wide, yet controlled sound dispersion to create a realistic and carefully etched sound stage.

Folded Motion Cascading Bass Port
increases bass output.

Folded Motion™ Cascading Bass Port

MartinLogan engineers were faced with a daunting task—create a compact speaker with low-end bass reproduction found in speakers much, much larger. After many sleepless night and a myriad of prototypes, they created the Folded Motion Cascading Bass Port. This brilliant solution allows a long tuned port which is folded over itself (think of a trombone's tuning arm) to be compacted and squeezed into the Motion 4. The result is amazingly detailed low bass that can play at high volumes with minimum distortion—all thanks to the elegantly simple cascading fold that slows down and controls the air motion of the bass waves.

Product Description

Inspired by MartinLogan's ultra-high-end electrostatic loudspeakers, the Motion Series was created to provide stunning sound for your ultimate-performance home theater or stereo. MartinLogan's dedicated in-house engineers carefully crafted the Motion Series to create an extremely affordable and compact product line that seamlessly blends our exquisite Folded Motion transducers with powerful, compact bass technology. The result is a smooth, refined sound with stunning dynamic range and jaw-dropping clarity. Complementing Motion's sonic accuracy is elegant yet understated styling. Flawless high-gloss, piano black finishes and subtle curves, along with our signature perforated grille, give Motion Series speakers an elegant and timeless look. Tower models feature a real-wood veneer finish and a stylish aesthetic certain to blend with any decor. The curves also serve a purpose; they allow Motion compact bookshelves to mount at two different angles with the included wall bracket. This means you can point sound directly toward the desired listening area for high or low wall mounting applications. Beauty and brains! MartinLogan engineers were faced with a daunting task—create a compact speaker with low-end bass reproduction found in speakers much, much larger. After many sleepless night and a myriad of prototypes, they created the Folded Motion Cascading Bass Port. This brilliant solution allows a long tuned port, which is folded over itself (think of a trombone's tuning arm) to be compacted and squeezed into the Motion 4. The result is amazingly detailed low bass that can play at high volumes with minimum distortion—all thanks to the elegantly simple cascading fold that slows down and controls the air motion of the bass waves. Convenient push-style speaker terminals and curved inserts help guide speaker wire effortlessly into place. The rubber end caps on the terminal are also removable for the use of banana plugs instead of bare wire.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive home theater speaker, October 6, 2010

By 

JB (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MartinLogan Motion 4 Bookshelf Speaker (Piano Black, each) (Electronics)

(What's this?)

The MartinLogan Motion 4 bookshelf speaker has been a pleasant surprise for me. I think it is a very good value and an excellent way to upgrade a home theater system.

Note that during listening sessions I compared the MartinLogan 4's with my current Yamaha HTIB system (similar to the Yamaha NS-SP1600 5.1-Channel Surround Speaker System (Black)). I also compared them in a retail store with similarly priced Definitive Technology ProMonitor 1000 Bookshelf Speaker. When applicable I will note comparisons to these other products.

Features - The ML Motion 4 includes a unique Folded Motion Tweeter, which is a similar to the Heil tweeters used in the highly regarded ESS speakers of the 70's - 90's. These are paired with a 4" paper woofer and a rear bass port. The Motion 4 has a frequency response of 70 - 20 KHz +/- 3 dB and can handle up to 150 watts. The box also includes a wall mount mechanism.

Sound - In listening to the Motion 4s I was immediately impressed by the clarity of the sound. Compared to my previous Yamaha HTIB speakers I immediately heard a clarity in the midrange and treble that blew me away. To me the Motion 4 is a "forward" sounding speaker, and sometimes that might not be my preference, but in this case the overall sound is still natural and balanced, and the forward sound and clarity make these outstanding home theater speakers. (Note that more extended listening may soften the sound a bit as the speakers continue to break in.)

After switching between the Motion 4 and the Definitive 1000s during a store demo, they were both excellent choices, and I expect I'd be happy with either. But in the end the Definitive 1000s sounded just a tiny bit recessed or nasal compared to the Motion 4, and I found myself drawn to the overall tonal balance and clarity of the MLs.

One note on the Motion 4s or any small bookshelf / satellite speakers - to get a full range of sound for home theater or music a subwoofer is essential. The Motion 4 only gets down to 70 Hz, and attempting to turn up the bass controls to artificially pump up the low frequencies will just ruin the sound of these. If buying these for standalone use just accept the fact that you will not get as much bass as you with a set of full sized speakers with 8" or larger woofers.

Build - Very good. I'm used to wood or MDF enclosures on speakers, so the plastic used in the Motion 4s was a bit off-putting at first. But these speakers are very solid, weighing in at six pounds each, and unless the speakers are subject to very rough handling or drops I would not be concerned about their durability. The speakers come with recessed binding posts; I'm not thrilled with these, as they look very nice but make it a bit tricky to hook up speaker wire as the binding posts are hidden behind large push buttons. The overall curved shape of the Motion 4 is appealing, and while not tiny these are still small enough to be unobtrusive if needed.

Conclusion - great home theater speakers, esp. when paired with a highly quality subwoofer.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice speaker, October 17, 2010

By 

D_Strasse "D_Strasse" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: MartinLogan Motion 4 Bookshelf Speaker (Piano Black, each) (Electronics)

(What's this?)

Speaker reviews can be somewhat misleading unless you know what the reviewer is comparing them to and what their setup is. Here are those details.

Listening setup:

Source - Marantz CC4001 connected to Marantz SR7001 via analog cables.
Comparison speakers: B&W 683.

Listening to the Martin Logan at a similar distance and at ear height.

Results:

The Martin Logan delivered amazing clarity making what I initially felt were somewhat sybillant speakers (the B&Ws) feel somewhat veiled. Further listening with a couple different CDs, including the excellently mastered Dire Straits Greatest Hits CD, revealed that that clarity didn't come without a price. With the wrong material the speakers coul easily feel harsh. Even with a great recording, the speakers could a times feel strident. Interestingly I felt the speakers sounded better when standing, putting my ears out of the direct line of fire of the ribbon tweeter.

Not to state the obvious, but for best results these speakers should be paired with a quality subwoofer. They are capable in smaller spaces, but for larger rooms or theater applications, a subwoofer is highly recommended.

Imaging: With only one speaker to review, I can't talk to the imaging abilities of these speakers though I would assume that they are capable of producing a nice soundstage.

Fit and Finish: The gloss black finish of the speaker on the plastic cabinet is beautiful, though possibly a dust and fingerprint magnet. Included in the package are wall mount brackets for those interested in wall maounting. A nice plus. As for connections these come with spring clips only, so no banana clips. The clips are nicer than the cheap ones that you find on budget speakers though should be noted for those wanting to use premade or custom cables.

In summary, as with all speakers, one should listen before purchasing. These are nice speakers with an excellent fit and finish and delivering great clarity that can be unforgiving. Worth a listen for those that desire clarity with those caveats.

17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can feel the quality right out of the box, October 7, 2010

By 

Kristi G., mom of Sage (Rome, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MartinLogan Motion 4 Bookshelf Speaker (Piano Black, each) (Electronics)

(What's this?)

I was very pleased with the packing from the company - the speakers come in a very secure box with lots of padding and a dustcover to prevent cosmetic damage. Out of the box, I was so impressed with the build of these speakers - you can feel the quality and craftsmanship. They are heavy, well designed, well balanced (even with the curving design) and overall, obviously well made.

They don't come with speaker wire, so you might want make sure you have some on hand. This is standard, but I thought I'd mention it. The wire is very easy to install on the back once you figure it out. There's a plus and minus type PLUG, and I thought you took it off and put the wire in there, but you don't, you leave that alone, and simply press the top, and the wire goes underneath. That might save you a bit of fiddling.

You have to burn these speakers in - you don't crank them right out of the box. I just put them in a spare room with the radio on for a couple of days because I was anxious to turn up the volume.

They sound great! Compared to my Sony speakers, which are great for their price range, - WOW. The highs are so incredibly clear and true to life and my overall listening impression is 'precise.' Increasing the volume has no effect on the precision, these speakers stay very true to life. These speakers are awesome.