user’s manual ®
WARNING! Do not use your EM-ESL X loudspeakers outside of the country of original sale—voltage requirements vary by country. Improper voltage can cause damage that will be potentially expensive to repair. The EM-ESL X is shipped to authorized MartinLogan distributors with the correct power supply for use in the country of intended sale. A list of authorized distributors can be accessed at www.martinlogan. com or by e-mailing info@martinlogan.
x1 Serial Number:_____________________________ Record your serial number here for easy reference. You will need this information when filling out your warranty registration. The serial number is located near the binding posts and on the product carton.
WARNING! Do not use your EM-ESL X loudspeakers outside of the country of original sale—voltage requirements vary by country. Improper voltage can cause damage that will be potentially expensive to repair. The EM-ESL X is shipped to authorized MartinLogan distributors with the correct power supply for use in the country of intended sale. A list of authorized distributors can be accessed at www. martinlogan.com or by emailing info@martinlogan.com.
Step 4: Signal Connection Use the best speaker cables you can. Higher and right channels. If bass is nonexistent and you cannot discern a tight, coherent image, you may quality cables, available from your specialty dealer, are recommended and will give you superior performance. Attach your speaker cables to the signal input need to reverse the (+) and (–) leads on one side to bring the system into proper polarity.
CONNECTIONS LOW-VOLTAGE (DC) POWER CONNECTION Your EM-ESL X speakers use external low-voltage power supplies to energize their electrostatic panels. For this reason the proper low-voltage power supplies are provided. A power supply should be firmly inserted into the ‘DC Power In’ receptacle on the rear connection panel of each speaker, then to any convenient AC wall outlet.
JUMPER CLIPS In some countries federal law prohibits BI-WIRE CONNECTION This connection method replaces the jumper clips MartinLogan from supplying jumper clips. If none are found installed under your speakers binding posts, please refer to ‘Bi-Wire Connection’ for connection instructions. installed under the binding posts with individual runs of speaker wire from your amplifier.
This method takes the bi-wiring concept one step further. You will have a dedicated channel of gain so that you can match their gain characteristics. If the amplifiers of choice do not have the amplification directly connected to the high- and low-frequency sections of the crossover. There are two different methods for bi-amping with two stereo amplifiers. The first and most common is referred to as Horizontal Bi-amping. The second same gain characteristics, then a sonic imbalance will occur.
both speakers. Starting with one speaker, connect the right channel to the lower binding posts and ACTIVE BI-AMPLIFICATION We do not recommend active bi-amplification. The the left channel to the upper binding posts. Repeat the same procedure for the other speaker. Connect the left preamplifier outputs to both inputs of the left channel amplifier and the right preamplifier outputs to both inputs of the right channel amplifier (Fig. 5). internal crossover can not be bypassed.
However, MartinLogan’s unique controlled EXPERIMENTATION dispersion electrostatic transducer inherently minimizes side wall reflections—a position as little as two feet from the side walls often proves Toe-in Now you can begin to experiment. First begin adequate. Sometimes, if the system is bright or the imaging is not to your liking, and the side walls are very near, try putting curtains or softening material directly to the edge of each speaker. An ideal side wall, however, is no side wall at all.
when toed-in. This design gives you the flexibility to compensate for a soft or bright room. characteristic and deep tonal registers. This will give you clues on how to get closer to these ideal virtues. Generally it is found that the ideal listening position is with the speakers slightly toed-in so that you are listening to the inner third of the curved transducer section.
1 Distance from the front wall (in front of the listening position) to the center of the curvilinear 2 Distance from the side-walls to the center of the curvilinear transducer: To determine distance transducer: To determine distance from the front wall, measure the ceiling height (inches) and multiply the figure by 0.618 (i.e. ceiling height (inches) x 0.618 = the distance from the front wall to the center of the curvilinear transducer).
ROOM ACOUSTICS YOUR ROOM This is one of those areas that requires both a little background to understand and some time and experimentation to obtain the best performance from your system. Reflective Surfaces (near-field reflections) The hard surfaces of your room, particularly if close to your speaker system, will reflect some waves back into the room over and over again, confusing Your room is actually a component and an important part of your system.
This rule suggests that a little reflection is good. As a matter of fact, some rooms can be so “over damped” with carpeting, drapes and sound absorbers that the music system can sound dull and lifeless. On the other hand, rooms can be so hard that the system can sound like a gymnasium with too much reflection and brightness. The point is that balance is the optimum environment.
DISPERSION INTERACTIONS CONTROLLED HORIZONTAL DISPERSION Your EM-ESL X’s launch a 30 degree horizontal dispersion pattern. This horizontal dispersion field gives a choice of good seats for the performance while minimizing interactions with side walls (see figure 13). Make sure both speakers stand exactly at the same vertical angle, otherwise the image can be skewed or poorly defined. The wave launch of both speakers is extremely accurate in both the time and spectral domain.
HOME THEATER It had long been the practice of stereo buffs to connect their television to a stereo system. The advantage was the use of the larger speakers and more powerful amplifier of the stereo system. Even though the sound was greatly improved, it was still mono and limited by the broadcast signal. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s two new home movie formats became widely available to the public: VCR and laser disc. By 1985, both formats had developed into very high quality audio/video sources.
head. Some may suggest that this is the place to save money and purchase small, inexpensive Subwoofer With any good surround system you will need high- speakers. If you choose to do so, be prepared to upgrade in the future as discrete multi-channel digital encoding is proliferating rapidly and the demands on surround speakers have increased. quality subwoofers (the .1 in a 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 channel surround system).
The resulting electrostatic field, created by the opposing high voltage on the stators, works simultaneously with and against the diaphragm, consequently moving it back and forth, producing music. This technique is known as push-pull operation and is a major contributor to the sonic purity of the electrostatic concept due to its exceptional linearity and low distortion. Since the diaphragm of an electrostatic speaker is uniformly driven over its entire area, it can be extremely light and flexible.
MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESL X Conventional Loudspeaker crossover point (2,000–5,000 Hz) Tweeter EM-EXL Panel Critical Zone: 400 Hz–20 kHz crossover point (400 Hz) Woofer crossover point (100–500 Hz) Figure 18. This diagram illustrates how a conventional speaker system must use multiple crossover networks that have negative effects on the musical performance. complex musical signal into the separate pieces (usually highs, mids, and lows) that each specific driver was designed to handle.
XSTAT™ TRANSDUCER XStat™ transducers incorporate a myriad of spacers are fused into a curved geometry with an aerospace adhesive whose strength exceeds technology and design innovations including CLS™, MicroPerf, Generation 2 Diaphragms, ClearSpars™, and Vacuum Bonding. that of welding. Our proprietary Vacuum Bonding process guarantees uniform diaphragm tensioning and extremely precise construction tolerances, resulting in unequivocal precision, linearity and MICROPERF STATOR Sleek. Compact.
musical playback system consisting of an electronic phonograph and a loudspeaker to take advantage Due to Rice and Kellogg’s enthusiasm, they devoted a considerable amount of time of the new recording medium – the project of two young engineers, C. W. Rice and E. W. Kellogg. Rice and Kellogg had a well equipped laboratory at their disposal. This lab possessed a vacuum researching the electrostatic design.
diaphragm treated with a conductive coating. This model confirmed Janszen’s beliefs, for it exhibited due to its incredible accuracy. However, in actual use, the Quad had a few problems. It could not be remarkable phase and amplitude linearity. played very loud, it had poor bass performance, it presented a difficult load that some amplifiers did not like, its dispersion was very directional and its power handling was limited to around 70 watts.
to the electrostatic concept. They were related to the applications of these concepts. Today, these limitations have been resolved. Advancements in materials due to the U.S. space program give designers the ability to harness the superiority of the electrostatic principle. Today’s electrostats use advanced insulation techniques or provide protection circuitry.
Will my electric bill go ‘sky high’ by leaving my speakers plugged in all the time? No. A pair of MartinLogan’s will draw about 8 watts maximum (idle). There is circuitry to turn off the static charge when not in use; however, actual consumption will remain close to the same. The primary purpose of the sensing circuitry is to prevent dust collection on the electrostatic element.
panels dust free. Humidity will combine with any dust on the panel to make it slightly conductive. This will result in a slight pathway for the charge to leave the membrane of the speaker. The solution is simple. They only require occasional vacuuming with a strong vacuum hose. How do I vacuum my MartinLogan speakers? Vacuuming will be most effective if the speakers have been unplugged for six hours to twelve hours (or overnight).
Lack of Bass, No Bass • Check your speaker wires. Is the polarity correct? • Check the binding posts. Are the dirty? If so clean them with rubbing alcohol. • Check the binding posts. Are the loose? Make sure they are firmly hand-tightened. Poor Imaging • Check placement. Are both speakers the same distance from the walls? Do they have the same amount of toe-in? Try moving the speakers away from the back and sidewalls. • Check the polarity of the speaker wires.
SPECIFICATIONS System Frequency Response 41–22,000 Hz ±3db Recommended Amplifier Power 20–400 watts per channel Dispersion Horizontal: 30 Degrees Vertical: 40” (101.6 cm) line source High-Frequency Driver XStat™ CLS™ electrostatic transducer Panel dimensions: 40” x 8.6”(101.6 x 21.8cm) Radiating area: 344 in2 (2,215 cm2) Woofers Two 8” (20.3 cm) high excursion, high-rigidity paper cone with extended throw driver assembly, non-resonance asymmetrical chamber format, bass reflex Sensitivity 91 dB/2.
pushing an amplifier beyond its capabilities. The flattopped signal has high levels of harmonic distortion ESL. The abbreviation for electrostatic loudspeaker. which creates heat in a loudspeaker and is the major cause of loudspeaker component failure. Headroom. The difference, in decibels, between the peak and RMS levels in program material. CLS. The abbreviation for curvilinear line ESL. Hybrid. A product created by the marriage Crossover.
Passive crossovers consist of capacitors, inductors and resistors. Stator. The fixed part forming the reference for Phase. The amount by which one sine wave leads or lags a second wave of the same frequency. The difference is described by the term phase angle. Sine waves in phase reinforce each THD. The abbreviation for total harmonic distortion. (See Distortion) other; those out of phase cancel. Pink noise. A random noise used in measurements, as it has the same amount of energy in each octave.
DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS ® Lawrence, Kansas, USA tel 785.749.0133 fax 785.749.5320 www.martinlogan.com ©2016 MartinLogan. All rights reserved. Rev.
EM-ESL X Electrostatic Speaker SPECIFICATIONS System Frequency Response 41–22,000 Hz ±3 dB Recommended Amplifier Power 20–400 Watts per channel Dispersion Horizontal: 30 degrees Vertical: 40” (101.6 cm) line source Sensitivity 91 dB / 2.83 volts / meter Impedance 6 ohms (1.6 ohms @ 20 kHz min.). Compatible with 4, 6, or 8 ohm rated amplifiers Crossover Frequency 400 Hz High-Frequency Driver XStat™ CLS™ Electrostatic transducer Panel dimensions: 40” x 8.6” (101.6 cm x 21.
