MartinLogan Motion 8 Center Channel Speaker (Piano Black, each)

by Martin

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 22.5 x 5.6 inches ; 8.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0035FZ13I
• Item model number: Motion 8
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,048 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #76 in Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Stereo Components > Speakers > Center-Channel 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® 8 features an exquisite Folded Motion tweeter and powerful bass technology in a compact and affordable package. Key to Motion 8'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.

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

Engineering, Without Compromises

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.

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! 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. So simple, you'll actually enjoy hooking up these speakers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear and Crisp, but Power Hungry, September 21, 2010

By 

Daniel G. Lebryk (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MartinLogan Motion 8 Center Channel Speaker (Piano Black, each) (Electronics)

The Martin Logan Motion 8 center channel speaker is beautifully built and sounds wonderful. This is a very crisp and clear speaker, just exactly the thing you need for dialog in a center channel.

Martin Logan is well known for their audiophile level electrostatic speakers (there are tall, flat, almost transparent speakers) that start in the two thousand dollar range and rise very rapidly to the price of a new car. The Motion series is an attempt by Martin Logan to bring people into the fold looking for better sound, but not willing to spend a fortune on speakers, not unlike the economy car model.

Martin Logan's Motion speakers are not cheap economy car speakers. The exterior finish and build is stunning, although the piano black gloss finish is a fingerprint magnet. The enclosure shows dust very quickly. The front grill is a nice soft cloth, and gives a hint at the special tweeter dead center in the speaker. The Motion 8 is a heavy big speaker. Its little cousin the Motion 4 is about half the size and weight.

The speaker form is classic center channel, tall, wide and very deep. That shape can pose a lot of problems for installation. Martin Logan has included wall and flat surface mounting hardware. It comes with a unique wall mounting system that is fairly easy to use. The speaker depth is really the issue, given thin flat screen televisions; it can be difficult to figure out the mounting.
The binding posts are very strange. I'm not certain a whole new design over 8 way binding posts was really necessary, why fiddle with something that has worked so well for so many years. The posts are very graphic, it's hard to miss which wire is the + or Red wire and which is the - or Black wire.

These are very power hungry speakers. To match sound levels with several other speakers, this required a good 5 db louder setting on an Onkyo receiver (call that one notch on a normal dial louder). That is pretty typical of Martin Logan, Klipsch speaker efficiency these speakers are not.

The sound from this speaker is very nice. There are a lot of choices in this sweet spot price range. Highs are crystal clear and sharp. Midrange is very nice. Bass is somewhat lacking, but that is to be expected in surround sound system, a subwoofer will fill in that gap. This is a bright, sharp, cold, accurate speaker. Vienna Acoustics, Mirage, and Definitive similarly priced center channel speakers were much warmer speakers. None of these speakers are better than the other; they are simply adjusted to appeal to particular tastes. Some people like bright sharp speakers, and others prefer warmer sound.

Overall this is a wonderful, solid, well built speaker. It would be difficult to pair this speaker with another brand of front channel speakers; the unique tweeter sets the timbre that would be very hard to match. The Motion 4's are not nearly enough speaker to keep up with this lovely center channel. It would be best to invest in the Motion 12 or 10 floor standing models. A subwoofer is virtually a requirement with this front speaker trio. There, a person can go off the farm to their favorite subwoofer.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Class MartinLogan Motion 8 Speaker, November 7, 2010

By 

M. Hill (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: MartinLogan Motion 8 Center Channel Speaker (Piano Black, each) (Electronics)

(What's this?)

I am not an audiophile and when talk turns to impedances and ohms my eyes glaze over. I want a solid system that sounds great. I readily admit that $50,000 worth of speakers would undoubtedly be wasted on me. My ear is simply not fine tuned to differentiate the very pricey sound range captured in speakers designed for those with the desire to invest in that level of quality. But, I do have standards. Speakers that are not subwoofers, yet muddy everything with heavy bass response, or those that have tinny upper ranges because of subpar tweeters are intolerable. No extraordinary sound that breaks the spell should exist.

What sounds good from one person to the next is subjective but I find this center channel speaker to be simply outstanding. I have always carefully researched and considered audio purchases and take them as seriously as buying a car. I would never dispute there are differences between MartinLogan's high end speakers and the Motion group, but that said, this speaker has an amazing sound and meets my needs completely.

The reality is that whether planning a surround sound system or not, the center channel speaker is more important than ever because of the crummy flat speakers and amplifier squeezed into the thin chassis found in flat screen TVs. So, even if additional speakers aren't planned for the future, the severe limitations of the built-in TV speakers add a significant drop in quality of the viewing experience. The flat screen television's jaw dropping crystal clear picture is tempered by the ridiculously inadequate sound. This situation is only made worse by the open floorplan, vaulted ceiling family room/kitchen arrangement that exists in my home. But, adding this center channel speaker has been a revelation. The sound is sharp, voices distinct and various sounds illuminated and the response is quick.

The MartinLogan website notes that center channel speakers carry sixty percent of the sound, so a high quality, responsive speaker is essential. I also have two Motion 12 speakers and I found the Motion 8 was in perfect harmony with the other two speakers and needed no volume adjustment. My plan is to add Motion FX surround sound speakers along with a Dynamo 1000 subwoofer to complete the system, but even in its partial configuration, the sound is terrific.

These are 4 ohm speakers and do require an amplifiers with sufficient power to run them, but the specs note they are compatible with 4, 6 or 8 ohm rated amplifiers. I am using a three year old 100 watt per channel 5.1 surround sound receiver and have no problems powering the 4 ohm speakers.

Regarding the shiny piano black finish -- many flat screen televisions have the same finish so since the center channel speaker is kept in close proximity to the TV it is nice that it matches. Maintenance isn't an issue. Dust and fingerprints disappear with a quick wipe from a microfiber cloth. A lint free cloth is even included with the speaker.

I appreciate the attention to detail that is evident from the protective bag the speaker is enclosed in, the careful packaging along with the instructions and hardware to enable the owner, if desired, to mount the speaker on the wall. The User's Manual which has general information along with egoless instructions on how to remove their logo plate from the front of the speaker.

While registering the warranty, I found the website helpful with information on the proper configuration for a home theater which although I already knew, dispelled any questions or concerns I might have. There was also a method noted to assess the responsiveness of a speaker detailed right down to the particular movie and scene to play for the test.

The fact that MartinLogan has decided to manufacture high quality speakers with a price point accessible to a larger audience does not diminish its higher-end speakers. From the two Motion 12s and the Motion 8, it is clear to me that they are applying their exacting standards to all the product categories they create. This center channel speaker has exceptional sound and I couldn't be more pleased.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sounding center channel, November 2, 2010

By 

Stephen M. Lerch (Elkton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MartinLogan Motion 8 Center Channel Speaker (Piano Black, each) (Electronics)

(What's this?)

The disclaimer. I am part of Amazon Vine and as you will note on this review, and any other that is listed as "Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program," I received this center channel speaker free of charge. I review all items I receive through Vine as though I actually paid for it.

I am not an audiophile. I like music. I like great sound from movies. I do not, however, have the income required to purchase the best equipment available and when I make a purchase I have to really plan it out. It was with some trepidation I approached Amazon Vine offering a new center channel speaker. I have a setup I enjoy though it is aging. Curiosity got the best of me and I requested this item.

I couldn't be happier.

On the basic level, packaging was good. The speaker was well protected from damage by 2 perfectly sized pieces of Styrofoam. It was in a nice bag, not plastic but some softer material. This protected the speaker from Styrofoam dust. Very nice.

From a sound respect, I love it. While it is not perfectly acoustically matched to my current setup, it still fits my sound stage nicely.

Setup. They have given you the ability to easily, very easily, use bare wire or pins. If you want to use banana plugs, it's also easy. For the former you push the contact in, place the wire where need it inside the plug and release. As long as it clamps on, it's connected. For banana plugs there are rubber stoppers in the contact point where you simply pull a rubber piece out and you can easily plug the banana plug in.

Provided in the box are mounting screws and braces to mount to your wall. This is useful if you have a flat panel TV mounted to the wall and have no other space to place the speaker. For me, I'm using a nice sized DLP TV and have enough room to comfortably hold the speaker on top of the TV. All I needed to do was place the provided rubber stopper feet on the speaker and it isn't moving anywhere.

One issue, as others have noted before me, the material used on the speaker itself is a high gloss material. The problem with this is it is a finger print magnet. Of course, once the speaker is mounted properly, you won't touch it again for anything other than cleaning the dust off the top, so it's almost a moot point unless you hate the glossy black.

To test out the capability of the speaker, I tried a variety of material on it. My first test material was an Xbox 360 game called Gears of War 2. There are plenty of explosions and other background sound effects going on, but more importantly and the focus of this review, is the ability of a center channel to discern dialog from these effects. And on this account, this speaker is exemplary. I could hear every word Marcus spoke, along with Dom, Baird and Cole spoke. Dialog with Anya was crisp, clear and perfectly presented.

During this extended gaming session, I played for roughly 2 hours, focusing only on the sound. Audio separation is very good and I believe that helps with keeping the dialog clear on this speaker; and much better than the speaker I had in use (an old kit speaker that came with my surround system). Sound design is always part of the equation and the developers definitely spent time tuning it.

My next stop was Saving Private Ryan (Sapphire Series) [Blu-ray]. I chose this, again, for it's amazing use of sound. I watched the opening Normandy sequence to again, see how well the speaker is capable of discerning dialog through heavy effect laden sequences. Again the Motion 8 passed with flying color. Dialog was crisp, clear and stood out as you would expect.

Another stop I made was Seven Samurai[Blu-ray]. I chose this because of its Mono soundtrack. I wanted to see how the speaker would handle the workload of carrying the audio on its shoulders. It passed this test with flying colors as well. Where my old satellite style center speaker would crackle on the same audio, becoming distorted, this was clear and clean and well separated, even from the same speaker handling all the work.


Based on my experience with this speaker so far, I would not hesitate to recommend this center channel speaker to my friends and family. I am now planning on purchasing the remainder of the speaker set as soon as the finances become available.

Highly recommended.