MartinLogan Vision Measurements

All measurements were taken in-room at 2m away from the Vision, utilizing an OmniMic measurement system. 1/12^th octave smoothing was employed and a 5ms blended response to help remove room interaction from bass frequencies. 

MartinLogan Vision In-room 2 meter SPL vs Frequency Response (1/12^th octave smoothing)

I moved the Vision around (from right against the wall to 11” inches off the wall), changed the installation option between on-wall and on-shelf, and adjusted the bass trim until I was able to achieve the above graph. It is the flattest response I was able to get from the Vision. This measurement is taken with the Vision set to on-wall mode, -10dB bass level, voice + stereo sound, and normal mode. By dialing in each of the aforementioned settings properly, I was able to achieve a reasonably flat response. The -3dB point is about 53Hz, which is 10Hz higher than MartinLogan’s stated frequency response. It is possible that at a lower volume level, with the bass setting at 0dB, or by taking advantage of boundary gain, that a -3dB point at 43Hz is accurate, but my measurements suggest usable bass drops off around 50Hz. There is a slight boost in the midrange between 400Hz and 1KHz, which may have contributed to vocals and dialogue sounding so strong. And a steady rise over 10KHz up to 18KHz, something I also measured in my review of the Motion 15 speakers, which could explain why I thought the sound was a slightly bright (but never harsh) in voice + mode. 

MartinLogan Vision In-room 2 meter Listening Window Response 

I took a total of 7 measurements (on-axis +-15 deg & +-30 deg horizontal and +-15 deg vertical) and averaged the response for an overall impression of what listeners will hear. By averaging the responses this chart makes the final plot more linear than each of the individual 7 measurements would be. Still, you can notice a dip around 3KHz, followed by a steady rise until about 18Khz. By disabling “Voice +” mode, the steady rise up to 18Khz goes away and is actually replaced with a dip (not shown).

MartinLogan Vision In-room 2 meter SPL vs Frequency Response (1/12th octave smoothed)
Red trace: bass -0dB; blue trace: bass -6dB; green trace: bass -10dB

The graph above shows three different measurements taken from the exact same location, but with the bass setting on the Vision set to 0dB, -6dB, and -10dB. The actual frequency response is not the important part of this comparison (by switching from “On Shelf” installation to “On Wall” installation I could have attenuated the large bass bump), but rather the difference between the three plots. This shows that by adjusting the bass setting on the Vision, you are actually decreasing output below about 1Khz, which is much higher than I expected. It’s also notable that the decrease in bass isn’t consistent or as large as one would expect.

Throughout taking these measurements I discovered that the Vision can achieve a pretty flat frequency response, but that each setting in the menu system can have dramatic effects on overall sound quality and frequency response. I would advise anyone who purchases a Vision to spend a significant amount of time experimenting with the settings until it sounds best. This is especially true for the bass and installation options.