Martin Logan ElectroMotion C2 and FX2 Center and Surround Speakers Preview

Hot on the heels of our interview with David Janszen on Electrostatic speakers, Martin Logan has announced a few new players in their bid to move their speakers out of dedicated two channel listening rooms to the home theater. Back at CEDIA, they announced their new XStat Electrostatic Panel which serve as the main speakers for the system. Now, they've introduced a center and surround speaker.

First, the ElectroMotion C2, which is the center channel in the system. A non-traditional (for Martin Logan) boxy design, the C2 is designed to fit into a typical home theater with ease. It has two 5.25" woofers flanking one of Martin Logan's new Folded Motion XT thin film radiating tweeters (measuring 1.25" by 2.4" with a 4.5 by 2.75" diaphragm). The woofers have high-excursion, "doped" fiber-cones and cast aluminum baskets. The C2 is rated down to 55Hz which is likely due to its ported design. The ports are front firing which should help with in-cabinet placements.

The ElectroMotion C2 center channel is rated up to 250 watts per channel with an efficient 94dB sensitivity. While their nominal impedance is 4-ohms, Martin Logan as specified that they are compatible with amplifiers rated a 4-, 6-, or 8-ohms (likely due to the high sensitivity). The C2 is a hefty 24.5 pounds an measures 6.4" x 18.9" x 14.3" (HxWxD). The depth and height should be fine for most installations though the width might be problematic.

The ElectroMotion FX2 shares the same tweeter with the C2 center. Instead of one, however, it has two facing out on two of the trapezoidal edges. Also on these same sides are ports for the single 6.5" woofer (also with a high-excursion, doped fiber-cone and cast aluminum basket). The woofer faces directly out into the room and the ports on the angled sides should help disperse the bass and spaciousness of the sound.

The ElectroMotion FX2 surround speakers are rated at 93dB efficient and a nominal impedance of 5-ohms (again, compatible with amps rated at 8-ohms). Like the C2 center, the FX2 surround is rated down to 55Hz. The FX2 speakers are 16 lbs and 14.9" x 14" x 6.8" (HxWxD).

Martin Logan says in their press materials that the ElectroMotion Series speakers feature "convenient push-style speaker terminals." We've used push-style terminals and we've found them anything but convenient, except to say that they make it easy to use smaller diameter speaker wire. Luckily Martin Logan saw fit to include a rubber end cap on the terminals for banana plugs. This is a nice solution though we still would prefer the traditional recessed 5-way binding posts on the C2 center.

Conclusion

The ElectronMotion ESL speakers, designed as the mains in this system, run just under $2k a pair. The price tags on the C2 ($800) and FX2 ($650) line right up. For just under $4100, you can have a 5.0 system that will reach down to 42Hz (if the Martin Logan specs are to be believed). That's not a bad deal considering this is Martin-Logan and electrostatic speakers often cost considerably more. We'd love to get our hands on a set of these to see how well they do in a real listening environment. Of course, since electrostats have such a specific reputation, Martin Logan lists their dispersion. With the C2 it is 80° x 30° (WxH) and the FX2 it is 160° x 30°. If that is true (and that dispersion is fairly uniform across that range), there is no reason to believe that the ESLs, C2, and FX2 wouldn't perform very well in a home theater environment. We look forward to reading and hearing more about these speakers.

For more information, please visit www.martinlogan.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.