Martin Logan ElectroMotion XStat Electrostatic Loudspeaker First Look

MartinLogan introduced their all new ElectroMotion Loudspeaker Series at CEDIA featuring their thin film transducer technologies—electrostatic and compact Folded Motion. This new series is said to establish a new benchmark for price verses performance. Pushing thin film transducer technology to its limit, Martin Logan showcased their ElectroMotion Series floorstanding loudspeaker, voice-matched center and surround speakers, all of which will feature the next evolution of Folded Motion technology—MartinLogan's new larger, low distortion Folded Motion™ XT tweeter.

Starting under $2,000 per pair (US), the EM-ESL represents a bold new direction for electrostatic loudspeaker design. Featuring a full-sized 34-inch tall curvilinear XStat electrostatic transducer, the new EM-ESL performs more like a mini-flagship than an entry level audiophile speaker.  A superbly integrated and authoritative bass performance, along with sensitivity rated at 91dB into 6 Ohms, assure the EM-ESL is capable of effortless integration with both receivers and high-end amplifiers.

EM-ESL’s XStat MicroPerf electrostatic panel is housed within a radical aluminum and composite AirFrame™ similar to those found on MartinLogan’s flagship products. AirFrame technology rigidifies the electrostatic panel without obstructing playable surface area or interfering with ambience enriching dipole sound radiation.

A unique XStat™ electrostatic transducer was developed for the EM-ESL reducing the gauge thickness of the panel’s steel stators which makes the panel is so visually transparent it nearly vanishes when you're sitting and listening. Proprietary Vojtko™ filtering technology seamlessly blends audio output from the high- and mid-frequency electrostatic panel to the low-frequency woofer for a flawless performance..

Precise and powerful, EM-ESL features an  8-inch high-excursion, audiophile grade, doped fiber cone woofer custom designed by MartinLogan’s in-house design and engineering team. This woofer optimizes cone suspension and magnetic flux field to produce high levels of bass output with  low distortion. Rigid and light-weight, the custom woofer’s diaphragm is said to eliminate cone flexure and maximizes response time to achieve levels of performance approaching that of MartinLogan’s award-winning electrostatic panel design.

The ElectroMotion Series features convenient push-style speaker terminals, adopted from MartinLogan’s award-winning Motion® Series, with curved inserts that help guide speaker wire effortlessly into place. The terminal’s rubber end caps are removable to accommodate banana plugs. The EM-ESL is supplied with sturdy spikes, which can be used to fine tune vertical wave launch, enhance stability on thick carpets, and create tighter coupling between speaker and floor to provide a tight, detailed low-frequency performance.

Our Initial Impressions
We had a chance to demo this speaker system first hand powered by  McIntosh amplifiers.  We listened to various music clips but the most notable were from the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms CD which is a superbly recorded album regardless of age.  The Martin Logans did a great job of delivering every nuance in the recording even with the rather high noise floor from the trade show.  It was a pleasure to hear such an impressive affordable system that a true die-hard ELS lover would surely appreciate.

Priced at $1,995 per pair (US), the ElectroMotion ESL is scheduled to ship in March 2011 and will be available at high-performance audio retailers worldwide. Matching center and surround channels featuring Folded Motion XT technology will debut shortly thereafter.

For more information, Visit Martin Logan

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