Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I got those at Amazon and paired them up with 2 MartinLogan Motion 12's and an old Onkyo Receiver. I am not an audiophile but I am very satisfied with the set up. Very clear sound, powerful, they work great for music and movies. Now I am just waiting for the four Helos 20 I bought on sale at Amazon to complete the set up. No regrets!

I am an audio-fan and have heard most high end speakers on the market. I also build speakers as a hobby. I've recently put together a home theater system and had evaluated this center channel speaker along with the complete Martin Logan set up. Although I received this speaker free from the Vine program, this review is based on previous and independent evaluation when I was shopping for my personal system. I didn't chose this Martin Logan system and went with a system costing much more. Here's my recollection of the Martin Logan audition:

1. Well priced - you want to buy this along with the matching system. As a whole, you get a lot of speaker for the money from this system.
2. Generally well constructed and looks great. The piano gloss black finish is flawless. The slight curve looks great on the wall. The speakers feels solid, but I'll be a bit picky here, the case walls are not as solid as they should be. A tap on the wall and you can hear resonance. This is not good. The push in speaker terminals look nice, but is a bit loose and is made of plastic. Aluminum would be nice, but I guess considering the price it's ok.
3. Nice midrange. Conversations have a natural tone. Not overly bright considering the tweeter.
4. Decent mid-bass
5. Works well as a system, but would recommend a different subwoofer brand.
6. Works best with a high quality and high power system. These are power hungry. I demo'ed it with a high end Denon system and it sounded great.

Overall this is a good mid-price speaker that is part of a great looking and good sounding surround sound system. The surrounds are reasonably priced as well. For $1200 plus around $500 for a decent sub, you get a very nice sounding option. I didn't chose it for my system because I didn't think this was the most dynamic system that I'd heard and that, as a speaker builder, I don't like speakers with thin construction that does not pass the rap test.

These are the scores I gave it during my audition:

5 stars for appearance
4 stars for sound
4 stars for sound as a system with matching surrounds (-1 star for the subwoofer)
3 stars for construction

I own just the Motion 8 Center Channel Speaker, although there are other speakers available from MartinLogan for those that want a complete system.

The center speaker arrived perfectly packaged, and was easy to set up. There are screws included for those that want to mount the speaker on a wall, but I placed it on one of the entertainment center shelves. It looks very sleek and attractive, although it's a dust magnet as most speakers are.

I'm not a sound whiz, but I could tell the difference with this speaker. The sound was very crisp and powerful, and I had no issue with using it with my existing surround sound speaker system. I don't know if the sound would be even better with an entire MartinLogan system, but I'm pleased with it as is. I think it's great that MartinLogan makes great quality affordable speakers for those that want to enjoy a surround sound effect.

Though it's not the first place you'd want to spend a lot of money in a home-theater system, this center channel is, to put it simply, a great unit. It's a terrific addition to any home theater system no matter whether the primary purpose is movies or music. It's located at the value sweet spot in the middle of MartinLogan's home-theater Motion range. Here's how their center-channel range breaks down:

* The Motion 6, a smaller unit, has the same heavy black plastic enclosure with a pair of 3.5" drivers around a Folded Motion tweeter (the same drivers as the Motion 2 surround speaker, which I reviewed and found pleasant but uninspiring): this compact center is adequate for a small room, but lacking on the low end. Though the unit is more compact, which will mean it fits more easily in a small room, it seems a bit undervoiced, considering the price; but it's still very much worth considering when assembling a MartinLogan system, as front L/R speakers may be a better place to spend extra.

* This unit, the Motion 8, is larger and uses a pair of 4" drivers around a Folded Motion tweeter (the same drivers as the Motion 4 bookshelf speaker). The 4" drivers and slim, ultra-solid enclosure provide crisp and clear voicing all the way down to low-mid levels, where a home-theater system's subwoofer will take over. Even for some music listening and all but action-movie sound, this unit will provide quite adequate voicing by itself, and the Folded Motion tweeter's high-end clarity is exceptional in this price range. As part of a system it shines where it's meant to, in the mid-high range of sound.

* The Motion C, a more expensive center channel, apparently uses the exact same drivers as this unit, but moves up to a big, bass-ported wooden enclosure rather than the curved, shiny, heavy plastic of the rest of the Motion range. This enclosure should deliver somewhat better bass, but the cumbersomely large speaker seems like overkill in size and weight (and price) for most home-theater center-channel uses. Investing the extra cost elsewhere in the system seems preferable. It's beyond me why MartinLogan used the same drivers in their top-end Motion center channel; given the great quality of the 6/8 speakers' molded enclosure, most buyers would prefer to invest the extra cost in drivers.

* Above that, MartinLogan leaves the Motion range behind and heads for the stratosphere, with high-end speakers like the Matinee. I'm sure these are excellent, but they're intended for a whole different audiophile/enthusiast market.

The only downsides to this unit are the way fingerprints show up, almost ineradicably, on its high-gloss enclosure, and the fact that other very good center channels can be had from competitors for less. Other models to consider include Polk's excellent CSi 3 and A4 models, which are bigger, bass-heavier, but sometimes discounted to much lower prices than the MartinLogan. Sometimes even higher-end units from manufacturers like KEF are also discounted to the point where they're price-competitive with this Motion unit. But the Motion 8 still offers a unique and valuable combination of construction quality, relatively compact size (and, importantly, fairly slender depth compared to competitors), and reasonable (if not exactly cheap) mid-range pricing.

For reference, I have been using a set of NHT speakers since 1998 in a 5.1 set up - two pairs of 1.5 bookshelf speakers along with a AudioCenter-1. The AudioCenter-1 has about the same frequency response and sensitivity as the Motion 8 and is also a sealed design, but it's larger and heavier.

Overall, I'd say this is worthy of consideration. Because of my perception of the quality of materials used in the construction, I'm not sold on this being a standout at it's price and a clear winner - but it is certainly worth checking out if you're in the market. Below are more details.

Sound Quality:
I am quite pleased with the sound from this speaker. I could coo about the chocolatey midrange and the angelic highs, but even I wouldn't believe me. :) Subjective descriptions of speakers don't have a lot of value to me, but I'll say a few things. I like the sound because it seems crisp and clean to me (not muffled at all), and it can handle frequencies as high as I can hear quite well. I direct all frequencies below 80Hz to a subwoofer, so I haven't tested the lower end of this speaker. In short, I'd say this speaker is capable of producing the frequencies in it's range and is a great blank slate to blend into a system as described below.

This speaker blended into my system just fine thanks to something that I think is awesome - the auto-equalizing systems found on a number of modern receivers. A brief aside, but it's related to why I like this speaker. I use the MCACC system on my Pioneer Elite and absolutely love it. Without equalization, the Motion 8 certainly has a different sound quality than my NHTs, but that's no surprise. Heck, my NHT center channel has a different sound quality than my 1.5s, and it was the matching center channel for those bookshelves. Speakers sound different from each other. Even speakers that inherently sound the same can sound different depending on where you put in the room. Something that isn't always considered by people are the acoustic properties of the room that the speakers are in (the room itself, furniture, etc.) - which is an important factor. So, if you get speakers like this one that can produce the frequencies well and pair them with electronics that can contour the sound for your room, you're in good shape. I'm not a fan of room treatments because of the extra work and often large panels required, so I really like the auto-equalizing function.

I would put the Motion 8 on par with my NHT center channel. The NHT retailed for a bit more back in 1998 than the Motion 8 does now, so I didn't expect it to be outclassed by the Motion 8 - and it wasn't. However, and here's why I'd recommend the Motion 8, it sounds as good as the NHT while being significantly lower in weight and depth. This speaker is perfect for wall mounting, which is exactly what I did with it (described below).


Wall Mounting:
I choose to add this as a rear center channel and upgrade to a 6.1 system, and wall mounting couldn't have been much easier. It comes with all the required materials: two small brackets, four screws (two per bracket), four drywall screw inserts (if needed), and (which was especially appreciated) a true-size paper template to help place the screw holes. The inclusion of the template was awesome! I just taped it to the wall, made sure it was where I wanted the speaker, leveled it, poked holes through the marked screw locations on the paper and into the drywall, removed the template, and mounted the brackets.

I did have to loosen the screws on one of the brackets to nudge it over so that the speaker mounting posts would line up, but that wasn't difficult. It would have been nice if there was more play in the design, but not a big complaint. The instructions recommend attaching two (included) adhesive pads to the lower two corners to keep the speaker from touching the wall - I recommend using all four included pads on all four rear corners. When I attached mine the wall, the top two corners (which I didn't put pads on) are also up against the wall.


Aesthetics/Build Quality:
Hmmm. There are pros and cons for me on this, but aesthetics are very subjective. The piano black finish looks very nice, but I'm not a huge fan of the curved design. The metal grill is press fit and, as far as I can tell, not easily removed. I like being able to take grills off to see the drivers, at least when I first buy a speaker, so this was a bit of a disappointment. For those with kids, though, the metal grill will be excellent. My biggest gripe on the grill is that it is a b***h to clean, and I have a white dog whose hair gets caught in there a lot. I was a bit concerned about the build quality given the light weight and the cabinet material, but the sound is fine and it makes wall mounting a LOT easier. The speaker feels cheap to me because it's so light, but it doesn't sound cheap. I'm not mentally a fan of the paper cone drivers with stamped steel baskets, but I've got no real reason to think that they won't hold up.


Other Notes:
- This speaker isn't magnetically shielded. That's not an issue unless your using it next to a CRT television, though.
- The nominal 4-ohm rating is something that caught my attention, but it might be a non-issue as MartinLogan states on their website that it's "compatible with 4, 6 or 8 ohm rated amplifiers." Lower impedance (i.e. a lower ohm rating) means a higher current draw on the amps in the receiver. That shouldn't be an issue for most mid-range or higher receivers, but it might trigger the self-protection circuitry on some models if you crank up the volume and the current draw gets to high. Just something to consider.

Length:: 3:06 Mins

Although I don't have the full set, this center speaker alone brought theater-quality feel to my TV. I can't imagine how incredible it must be to have the full set with this.

The range is very nice, considering the speakers are wide for just the center alone. The audio is very clear, especially in dialogues, yet produces some very deep bass in explosions.

The setup is as simple as it can get. The speaker wires can be attached just be pushing down on the terminal. For me, I just removed the rubber pads and inserted banana plugs to it.

The piano black finish and the curve design makes it look elegant and sexy. This thing is quite a dust magnet, though. It does come with a micro-fiber cloth.

Just trying out this center speaker alone makes me want to have the rest of the MartinLogan speaker line-ups.

I'm definitely impressed and would recommend it as well.

I really don't have anything bad to say about it.

It's Simple. Great design. Amazing sound. Reasonable price.

Would be audio heaven to have the full set.

Martin Logan - once a very high end speaker company - has now entered the market of mere mortals. These are for those who want an upgrade from the standard fare Cambridge Soundworks, Boston Accoustics, etc. speakers.

This is the center channel speaker for a home theater package. At a minimum, you will also need two front speakers, two surrounds and a sub. The ML Motion line-up has all of these options - or you can try to match from other manufacturers. HOWEVER, be forewarned that these are 4 ohm speakers. You will need to be very careful to match these with others to be sure you are not missing parts of the register, and are still timber matched.

I found this center channel to be very crisp, clear and tight. Since the center channel is mostly for dialogue, I really focused on watching tv and movies with this - and not music. Both male and female voices were crisp and clear. I did not notice any muddled dialogue.

The speaker itself is beautiful. It is a very shiny high gloss black. It is a fingerprint magnet, but comes with a wipe cloth. The posts are a bit different than you are used to seeing, but they work well for both bare wire and bannana clips. The speaker uses two 4" paper cone drivers and a tweeter. The tweeter is really the key to these speakers, as the cone drivers are fairly standard fare.

The speakers come with ample mounting hardware for either wall/surface vertical/horizontal mounting. The MartinLogan plaque comes attached to the side for vertical mounting, but can be pulled off and reattached to the bottom for (more common) horizontal mounting (or it can be removed alltogether). I don't think the grill can be removed, and mine came with an extremely small white mark on the grill that could not be wiped off - not sure what it is, but I couldn't wipe or scrape it off.

One downside is that this is not a very efficient speaker. I haven't measured it myself, but it seems to be published at 89 dB @ 4 Ohms.

It is tough to tell for sure, but I don't think the second 4" cone is a slave. It seems to be wired.

If I were in the market for a 5.1 system of these, I would suggest the MartinLogan Motion 4 Bookshelf Speaker (Piano Black, each) for fronts, MartinLogan Motion 2 Bookshelf Speaker (Piano Black, each) for surrounds, and a MartinLogan Dynamo 1000 12-inch Wireless Ready Subwoofer (Single, Black). In my opinion, going with floorstanding speakers at this level is not necessary. You really won't see (er, hear) much of an improvement over the bookshelf models. (Of course, I'm speaking in generalities here, since I have not reviewed these specific bookshelf vs. floorstanding speakers.)