MartinLogan Motion 35XTi Bookshelf Speaker Review

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Rick330

Junior Audioholic
And if you do hear a pair, don't be surprised if the tell-tale sign of that upper midrange, lower treble bump isn't a kind of murky sound that obscures detail, rather than a steely edge to strings. I've modded many speakers to get rid of a hump in that range (including an Emotiva B1), and if anything you have to be careful that you don't end up with too much bite if the modded Xover gives too much prominence to the upper harmonics now that the midrange bump is out of the way.
Ok let's hear it... So this speaker is being ripped on here. If you only had to shop at best buy are there any speakers that would do better? Yeah I know there are all these other choices people prefer.
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
Yeah I just meant are the demand d11's as bad as these also? I just thought for the price the detail in the treble was the best with these. I'm a big gamer I like hearing every light detail.
From $899 to $1399 you have some very revealing speakers from Salk Sound.
Example

But this conversation is probably for another thread..
 
R

Rick330

Junior Audioholic
From $899 to $1399 you have some very revealing speakers from Salk Sound.
Example

But this conversation is probably for another thread..
Yeah. I have to stick with these two manufacturers. I figured someone would point out other brand. They always do when someone asks to compare two brands lol.
 
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ExoPolitics

Audiophyte
The 35XTi has more presence in the midrange than a flat response, but given the context of the rest of the response, it didn't really stand out to me too much. I actually ended up using these as my desktop speakers for sometime after the review was finished. They didn't bother me at all, and I thought they sounded fine. It could be that they could sound harsh in a recording with a lot of energy in that range.
WHat amp did you use on a desk? I’m using them mostly nearfield with a Yamaha wxa-50 right now but need to move it back to the tv. I’m all over the place with smaller amps, NAD M10 and D3045, Peachtree Nova 150 or maybe a powernode 2i.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
WHat amp did you use on a desk? I’m using them mostly nearfield with a Yamaha wxa-50 right now but need to move it back to the tv. I’m all over the place with smaller amps, NAD M10 and D3045, Peachtree Nova 150 or maybe a powernode 2i.
Any of those amps should suffice. The 35XTi speakers are not hard to drive, so they aren't partial to a particular amplifier type.
 
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ExoPolitics

Audiophyte
Any of those amps should suffice. The 35XTi speakers are not hard to drive, so they aren't partial to a particular amplifier type.
Yeah I have had a couple places tell me I should be getting something with 200-300W to match the speakers with headroom but it feels crazy. The Yamaha doesn't really fill the full living space downstairs the few times I really want it too, but it seems good nearfield.
 
S

Schmenge

Audiophyte
Since 2019 have owned KEF LS50's, Martin Logan 35 XTi's and now Goldenear BRX's. The BRX's sound more like music than the others and are a breath of fresh air.. Larson's midrange harshness critique of the ML's was understated. GE's are non-fatiguing and recreate accurate musical timbres.
 
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tonyE

Junior Audioholic
How do these speakers sound at "low levels"?

As the late HP over at TAS used to write... devices with low static resistance can get up and move and stop without having to stop.... it's related to static friction, which is much lower than dynamic friction.

Lately I've been playing with very low power amplifiers with very little distortion, low power (under 20wpc) and an extremely low noise floor. The end result is that you can hear the music and the soundstage at much lower levels than we're used to. This is a hard thing to do, but if you think about it, if you lower the noise floor by 20 db, then you don't need to crank it to 110db, because 90 db is all you will need. And, yes, you will have bass at 90db as well, without need of a subwoofer.

So, how do these speakers sound at 90 db with an amp that has a very low noise floor? I have noticed the 93 db efficiency, so this speaker seems to be a widebander with a supertweeter.
 
F

floptop

Audiophyte
How do these speakers sound at "low levels"?

As the late HP over at TAS used to write... devices with low static resistance can get up and move and stop without having to stop.... it's related to static friction, which is much lower than dynamic friction.

Lately I've been playing with very low power amplifiers with very little distortion, low power (under 20wpc) and an extremely low noise floor. The end result is that you can hear the music and the soundstage at much lower levels than we're used to. This is a hard thing to do, but if you think about it, if you lower the noise floor by 20 db, then you don't need to crank it to 110db, because 90 db is all you will need. And, yes, you will have bass at 90db as well, without need of a subwoofer.

So, how do these speakers sound at 90 db with an amp that has a very low noise floor? I have noticed the 93 db efficiency, so this speaker seems to be a widebander with a supertweeter.
Personally I think they need a subwoofer and I'm not as impressed when listening at low levels as they sound a little thin. I think with a subwoofer they sound great. I like the detail out of the tweeter as it is accurate but not harsh.

These will do best in a room/space where you can position yourself in between the speakers. You have limited dispersion with these models so they don't sound best if you are off-axis.

I have a pair of the 35s about 6' from me right now and I just swapped them for my Focal 806s bookshelves.
 
T

tonyE

Junior Audioholic
Personally I think they need a subwoofer and I'm not as impressed when listening at low levels as they sound a little thin. I think with a subwoofer they sound great. I like the detail out of the tweeter as it is accurate but not harsh.
...

I have a pair of the 35s about 6' from me right now and I just swapped them for my Focal 806s bookshelves.

Thanks.... I've ended up buying a pair of used Audio Note AN-K/LX speakers.... hopefully I'll have them here next week.

When I listen at low levels, I don't look for bass that will punch me on the chest, but for the attack and decay of the bass notes. IMHO, your brain then fills the rest.

My secondary speakers (these ones) are about 10 feet away from each other and 11 feet from my head on the couch. I have primary speakers inside of them as well ( my main two channel setup uses two pairs of speakers/amps driven by the same preamp ).

BTW- I read the review... IMHO, ML is pushing the woofer to have both too much excursion (dynamic range) and bandwidth.... and this is likely causing the elevation between 800 and 2000 Hz ( at which point we are pushing past midrange...) and beaming. Perhaps, if they want to keep the dynamic range and efficiency, they ought to use a larger AMT driver that can drive lower and then cross the woofer at a lower frequency.
 
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