Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)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.
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Product Description:
Inspired by MartinLogan's ultra-high-end electrostatic loudspeakers, the Motion Series was created to provide stunning sound for your ultimate-performance home theater or stereo. MartinLogan's dedicated in-house engineers carefully crafted the Motion Series to create an extremely affordable and compact product line that seamlessly blends our exquisite Folded Motion transducers with powerful, compact bass technology. The result is a smooth, refined sound with stunning dynamic range and jaw-dropping clarity. Complementing Motion's sonic accuracy is elegant yet understated styling. Flawless high-gloss, piano black finishes and subtle curves, along with our signature perforated grille, give Motion Series speakers an elegant and timeless look. Tower models feature a real-wood veneer finish and a stylish aesthetic certain to blend with any decor. The curves also serve a purpose; they allow Motion compact bookshelves to mount at two different angles with the included wall bracket. This means you can point sound directly toward the desired listening area for high or low wall mounting applications. Beauty and brains! Convenient push-style speaker terminals and curved inserts help guide speaker wire effortlessly into place. The rubber end caps on the terminal are also removable for the use of banana plugs instead of bare wire. So simple, you'll actually enjoy hooking up these speakers.
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