MartinLogan EFX Owner's manual

1 Readtheseinstructions.

2 Keeptheseinstructions.

3 Heedallwarnings.

4 Followallinstructions.

5 Donotusethisapparatusnearwater.

6 Cleanonlywithdrycloth.

7 Donotblockanyventilationopenings.Installinaccor-

dancewiththemanufacturer’sinstructions.

8 Donotinstallnearanyheatsourcessuchasradiators,heat

registers,stoves,orotherapparatus(includingamplifiers)

thatproduceheat.

9 Donotdefeatthesafetypurposeofthe polarized or

grounding-typeplug.Apolarizedplughastwobladeswith

onewiderthantheother.Agroundingtypeplughastwo

bladesandathirdgroundingprong.Thewidebladeorthe

thirdprongareprovidedforyoursafety.Iftheprovided

plugdoesnotfitintoyouroutlet,consultanelectricianfor

replacementoftheobsoleteoutlet.

10 Protectthepowercordfrombeingwalkedonorpinched

particularlyatplugs,conveniencereceptacles,andthe

pointwheretheyexittheapparatus.

11 Onlyuseattachments/accessoriesspecifiedbythemanu-

facturer.

12 Useonlywiththestand,tripod,bracket,or

tablespecifiedbythemanufacturer,orsold

withtheapparatus.

13 Unplugthisapparatusduringlightningstorms

orwhenunusedforlongperiodsoftime.

14 Referallservicingtoqualifiedservicepersonnel.Servicing

isrequiredwhentheapparatushasbeendamagedinany

way,suchaspower-cordorplugisdamaged,liquidhas

beenspilledorobjectshavefallenintotheapparatus,the

apparatushasbeenexposedtorainormoisture,doesnot

operatenormally,orhasbeendropped.

15 Themainsplugofthepowersupplycordshallremain

readilyoperable.

16 Tocompletelydisconnectthisequipmentfromthemains,

disconnectthepowersupplycordplugfromthereceptacle.

17 WARNING! Toreducetheriskoffireorelectricshock,this

apparatusshouldnotbeexposedtorainormoistureand

objectsfiledwithliquids,suchasvases,shouldnotbeplaced

onthisapparatus.

18 Topreventinjury,thisapparatusmustbesecurelyattached

tothewallinaccordancewiththeinstallationinstructions.

19 Thisunitisnotintendedtobefreestandingandistobefas-

tenedtothewallbeforeoperation.

CAUTION!

• Toreduceriskofelectricshock,donoremovecover(orback).

• Nouserserviceablepartsinside.

• Referservicingtoqualifiedservicepersonnel.

Service Information

For service this product should be returned to your authorized

distributor. In the US, please visit www.martinlogan.com for

contact information. Outside the US, please use the distributor

locator at www.martinlogan.com.

InaccordancewiththeEuropeanUnionWEEE(Waste

ElectricalandElectronicEquipment)directiveeffective

August13,2005,wewouldliketonotifyyouthatthis

productmaycontainregulatedmaterialswhichupon

disposal,accordingtotheWEEEdirective,requirespecialreuseand

recyclingprocessing.

ForthisreasonMartinLoganhasarrangedwithourdistributorsin

EuropeanUnionmembernationstocollectandrecyclethisproductat

nocosttoyou.Tofindyourlocaldistributorpleasecontactthedealer

fromwhomyoupurchasedthisproduct,emailinfo@martinlogan.com

orvisitthedistributorlocatoratwww.martinlogan.com.

Pleasenote,onlythisproductitselffallsundertheWEEEdirective.

Whendisposingofpackagingandotherrelatedshippingmaterialswe

encourageyoutorecycletheseitemsthroughthenormalchannels.

EnvertudeladirectiveWEEEdel’Unioneuropéenne

(directivesurlesdéchetsélectriquesetélectroniques)

entréeenvigueurle13août2005,nousvousavi-

sonsqueceproduitpourraitcontenirdesmatériaux

réglementésdontl’éliminationdoitfairel’objetdeprocéduresderéu-

tilisationetderecyclageparticulières.

Àcettefin,MartinLoganademandéàsesdistributeursdanslespays

membresdel’Unioneuropéennedereprendreetderecyclerceproduit

gratuitement.Pourtrouverledistributeurleplusprès,communiquez

aveclerevendeurduproduit,envoyezuncourrielàinfo@martinlogan.

comouconsultezlesiteWebmartinlogan.com.

NotezqueseulleproduitestrégiparladirectiveWEEE.Nousvous

encourageonsàrecyclerlesmatériauxd’emballageetautresmatériaux

d’expéditionselonlesprocéduresnormales.

SerialNumbers: ________________/________________

Record your serial numbers here for easy reference. You will need this in-

formation when filling out your warranty registration. EFX’s serial number

is located near the bottom of the backplate and on the shipping container.

Each individual unit has a unique serial number.

BassSetting: ________________/________________

left channel right channel

Numérosdesérie:_______________/_______________

Veuillez noter les numéros de série afin de pouvoir les consulter facile-

ment. Vous aurez besoin de ces renseignements lorsque vous remplirez

l’inscription à la garantie. Le numéro de série EFX est situé près du bas de

la plaque arrière et sur le carton d’emballage. Chaque appareil possède un

numéro de série unique.

Paramètresdesgraves: ____________/____________

Canal de gauche Canal de droite

Thank you—to you the MartinLogan owner,

for loving what we do,

and for making it possible for us to do what we love.

Merci à vous, propriétaire d’un produit MartinLogan,

d’aimer ce que nous faisons,

et de faire en sorte que nous puissions faire ce que nous aimons.

3

Thisdevicecomplieswithpart15oftheFCCRules.Operationissubject

tothefollowingtwoconditions:(1)Thisdevicemaynotcauseharmful

interference,and(2)thisdevicemustacceptanyinterferencereceived,

includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesiredoperation.

EFX

TestedtoComplywithFCCStandards

FORHOMEOROFFICEUSE

Cetappareilestconformeàlapartie15desrèglesduFCC.L’utilisationest

assujettieauxdeuxconditionssuivantes:(1)cetappareilnedoitpascauser

d’interférencenuisible,et(2)cetappareildoitaccepterl’interférencereçue,

notammentl’interférencequipeutcauserunmauvaisfonctionnement.

Theexclamationpointwithinanequilateraltriangleis

intendedtoalerttheusertothepresenceofimportant

operatingandmaintenance(servicing)instructionsinthe

literatureaccompanyingtheappliance.

Lepointd’exclamationdansuntriangleéquilatéralaver-

titl’utilisateurdelaprésencededirectivesimportantesen

matièredefonctionnementetd’entretien(service)dansles

documentsquiaccompagnentl’appareil.

Thelightningboltflashwitharrowheadsymbol,within

anequilateraltriangle,isintendedtoalerttheusertothe

presenceofuninsulated“dangerousvoltage”withinthe

product’senclosurethatmaybeofsufficientmagnitudeto

constituteariskofelectricshock.

Lesymboledel’éclairavecunepointeenformedeflèche,

dansuntriangleéquilatéral,avertitl’utilisateur dela

présenced’une«tensiondangereuse»potentielleprèsdu

produitquipeutêtresuffisantepourconstituerunrisque

dedéchargeélectrique.

WARNING!DonotuseyourEFXloudspeakersoutsideofthecountryoforiginalsale—voltagerequirementsvarybycoun-

try.Impropervoltagecancausedamagethatwillbepotentiallyexpensivetorepair.TheEFX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.

MISE EN GARDE! N’utilisezpasleshaut-parleursEFXàl’extérieurdupaysoùilsontétéachetés—lesexigencesen

matièredetensionvarientselonlespays.Unetensioninappropriéepeutcauserdesdommagespotentiellementdispend-

ieuxàréparer.LeproduitEFXestenvoyéauxdistributeursMartinLoganautorisésavecleboncordond’alimentationpour

l’utilisationdanslepaysoùilestvendu.UnelistedesdistributeursautorisésestdisponiblesurlesiteWebwww.martinlogan.

comouenécrivantàl’adresse[email protected].

EFX

TestépourêtreconformeauxnormesduFCC

POURUNEUTILISATIONÀLAMAISONOUAUBUREAU

4

NOTE:Thisequipmenthasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywiththe

limitsforaClassBdigitaldevice,pursuanttopart15oftheFCCRules.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against

harmfulinterferenceinaresidentialinstallation.Thisequipmentgener-

atesusesandcanradiateradiofrequencyenergyand,ifnotinstalled

andusedinaccordancewiththeinstructions,maycauseharmfulinter-

ferencetoradiocommunications.However,thereisnoguaranteethat

interferencewillnotoccurinaparticularinstallation.Ifthisequipment

doescauseharmfulinterferencetoradioortelevisionreception,which

canbedeterminedbyturningtheequipmentoffandon,theuseris

encouragedtotrytocorrecttheinterferencebyoneormoreofthe

followingmeasures:

— Reorientorrelocatethereceivingantenna.

— Increasetheseparationbetweentheequipmentandreceiver.

— Connecttheequipmentintoanoutletonacircuitdifferentfromthat

towhichthereceiverisconnected.

— Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TVtechnicianforhelp.

REMARQUE:cetéquipementaététestéetjugéconformeauxlimites

d’unappareilnumériquedeClasseB,envertudelaSection15durègle-

mentdelaFCC.Ceslimitessontconçuespouroffriruneprotectionjugée

raisonnablecontrel’interférencenuisibledansuneinstallationrésidentielle.

Cetéquipementgénèredesutilisationsetpeutémettreuneénergieradio-

fréquenceet,s’iln’estpasinstalléetutiliséconformémentauxinstructions,

peutcauseruneinterférencenuisibleauxradiocommunications.Toutefois,

iln‘existeaucunegarantiequ’uneinterférenceneseproduirapasdansune

installationparticulière.Sicetéquipementcauseuneinterférencenuisible

àlaréceptionradiophoniqueoutélévisuelle,qu’onpeutdétermineren

ouvrantetenfermantl’équipement,l’utilisateurestinvitéàessayerdecor-

rigerl’interférenceàl’aided’unedesmesuressuivantes:

— Réorienterl’antennederéceptionoulachangerdeplace.

— Augmenterladistanceentrel’équipementetlerécepteur.

— Raccorderl’équipementàuneprisesituéesurunautrecircuitque

celuisurlequellerécepteurestraccordé.

— Consulterlerevendeurouuntechnicienradio/TVcompétentpour

obtenirdel’aide.

5

Safety Warnings and Installation in Brief (English)

WARNING/CAUTION!

• Hazardousvoltagesexistinside—donotremove

cover.

• Referservicingtoaqualifiedtechnician.

• Topreventfireorshockhazard,donotexpose

thismoduletomoisture.

• Turnamplifieroffandunplugspeakershouldany

abnormalconditionsoccur.

• Turnamplifieroffbeforemakingorbreakingany

signalconnections!

• Donotoperateifthereisanyvisualdamageto

theelectrostaticpanelelement.

• Donotdrivespeakerbeyonditsratedpower.

• Thepowercordshouldnotbeinstalled,

removed,orleftdetachedfromthespeaker

whiletheotherendisconnectedtoanACpower

source.

• Nocandlesorothersourcesofopenflameshould

beplacedonthespeaker.

• Noliquidseitheringlassesorvasesshouldbe

placedonspeaker.

• Speakershouldnotbeexposedtodrippingor

splashingliquids.

• Theterminalsmarkedwiththelightningboltsym-

bolshouldbeconnectedbyaninstructedperson

orbywayofreadymadeterminals.

• Thepowercordshouldremainreadilyoperable

shouldanyabnormalconditionsoccur.

WeknowyouareeagertohearyournewMartinLoganloud-

speakers,sothissectionisprovidedtoallowfastandeasysetup.

Onceyouhavethemoperational,pleasetakethetimetoread,

indepth,therestoftheinformationintheenclosedmanual.It

willgiveyouperspectiveonhowtoattainthegreatestpossible

performancefromthismostexactingtransducer.

If you should experience any difficulties in the setup or

operationofyourMartinLoganspeakers,pleaserefertothe

RoomAcoustics,Placement or Operation sectionsof the

enclosedowner’smanual.Shouldyouencounterapersis-

tentproblemthatcannotberesolved,pleasecontactyour

authorizedMartinLogandealer.Theywillprovideyouwith

theappropriatetechnicalanalysistoalleviatethesituation.

Step 1: Unpacking

RemoveyournewMartinLoganspeakersfromtheirpacking.

Step 2: Placement

Placespeakersatthedesiredlocationandanglethemslightly

towardyourprimarylisteningarea.Thisisagoodplacetostart.

PleaseseethePlacementsectionoftheenclosedmanualfor

moredetails.

Step 3: Power Connection (AC) (see warning)

MartinLoganspeakersrequireACpowertoenergizetheir

electrostaticcells.UsingtheACpowercordsprovided,plug

theminfirsttotheACpowerreceptacleontherearpanel

of the speaker, making sure that you have made a firm

connection, and then to the wall outlet. Please see the

Operationssectionoftheenclosedmanualformoredetails.

Step 4: Signal Connection

Usethebestspeakercablesyoucan.Higherqualitycable,avail-

ablefromyourspecialtydealer,isrecommendedandwillgive

yousuperiorperformance.Spadeconnectorsaresuggestedfor

optimumcontactandeaseofinstallation.

AttachyourspeakercablestotheSignalInputsectiononthe

rearpanel.Beconsistentwhenconnectingspeakerleadstothe

terminalsonthebackofthespeaker:takegreatcaretoassign

thesamecolortothe(+)terminalonboththeleftandright

channels.Ifbassisnonexistentandyoucannotdiscernatight,

coherentimage,youmayneedtoreversethe(+)and(–)leads

ononesidetobringthesystemintoproperpolarity.

IfyourspeakerisequippedforBi-wiring/PassiveBi-amping,turn

totheOperationssectionoftheenclosedmanualforproper

setupofyourMartinLoganspeakers.

Step 5: Listen and Enjoy

Sikkerhedsanvisninger og gode råd om instal-

lationen (Dansk)

ADVARSEL!

• Undgåatfjernecoveret.

• Overladalleformerforserviceogreparationtil

enkvalificerettekniker.

• Foratundgåelektriskestødogrisikoforildeb-

randbørdetteproduktikkeudsættesforfugt.

• Afbrydforstærkerennåranlæggetikkeeribrugi

længereperioder.

• Afbrydaltidforstærkerenførdutilsluttereller

afbryderforbindelsentildinehøjttalere!

• Undgåatbelastehøjttalerenmedhøjereeffekter

endangivet.

• Undgåatanvendehøjttalerenhvisderersynlige

skaderpådetelektrostatiskepanel.

• Lysnetkabletbørikketilsluttes,fjernesellerefter-

ladespågulvet,hvisstikketidenandenendeer

tilsluttetenlysnetkontakt.

• Undgåbrugenafåbenildogstearinlyspåelleri

nærhedenafhøjttalerne.

• Undgåkonsekventatstillevæskefyldtevaserog

glaspåhøjttalerne.

ContentsandIntroduction19

Contents and IntroduCtIon

Contents and Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

LowVoltage(DC)PowerConnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

 SpeakerLevelConnection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

 Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Mounting the EFX On A Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

 ChangingtheDirectionofRotation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

 YourRoom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

 Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

 RulesofThumb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

 DipolarSpeakersandYourRoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Dispersion Interactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

 ControlledHorizontalDispersion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

 ControlledVerticalDispersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

 ThreeMajorTypesofDispersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Home Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Electrostatic Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

FullRangeOperation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

MartinLogan Exclusives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

XStat™Transducer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

 CLS™(CurvilinearLineSource). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

 Generation2Diaphragm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

 MicroPerfStator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

 VacuumBonding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

 AirFrame™Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Electrostatic Loudspeaker History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Frequently Asked Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

 Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

 WarrantyandRegistration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

 SerialNumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

 Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Glossary of Audio Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Dimensional Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Congratulations! You have invested in one of the world’s

premier loudspeaker systems.

TheMartinLoganEFXrepresentsanadvancedcombination

ofsonictechnologiesestablishinganunprecedenteddirection

foraudiophiledesign.Theresultofyearsofresearch,thenew

EFX™hybridelectrostaticloudspeakerfeaturesXStat™tech-

nology,dramaticallyreducingcabinetsize,yetestablishing

newstandardsforefficiency,dynamicsandprecision.

Housedwithinaradical,ultra-rigidextrudedaluminum

AirFrame™,theEFX’snewCLSXStat™transducerbuildsupon

thelegacyofMartinLogan’selectrostaticheritagewiththe

incorporationofadvancedvacuumbondingandMicroPerf

statpanels,providingevengreaterefficiencyandprecision.

Theintegrationelectricalinterfacetechnologydeveloped

byMartinLogan’sCLX™engineeringteamextendseffortless

dynamicsandpurity,resultinginevenhighersonicstandards

ofefficiencyandprecision.

Featuringanadvancedcrossovertopologyderivedfromthe

CLX™loudspeaker,eachEFX™crossoverutilizesprecision

audiophile-gradepolypropylenecapacitorsandhigh-purity

air-corecoils.Thisadvancedcrossovertopologyflawlesslypre-

servesmicroscopicsubtletieswhileeffortlesslyhandlingthe

broadestrangeofdynamicscontainedwithineventhemost

demandingsonicsource.

ThematerialsinyournewEFXspeakersareofthehighest

qualityandwillprovideyearsofenduringenjoymentand

deepeningrespect.Thecabinetryisconstructedfromthehigh-

estqualitycompositematerialforacousticalintegrityand

featuresrealwoodveneers.

Throughrigoroustesting,thecurvilinearelectrostaticpanel

hasprovenitselftobeoneofthemostdurableandreliable

transducersavailabletoday.Fabricatedfromacustomtool

punchedhigh-gradesteel,thepatentedpanelisthencoated

withaspecialpolymerthatisappliedviaaproprietaryelec-

trostaticbondingprocess. Thispanelassemblyhouses a

membranejust0.0005ofaninchthick.Ruggedlyconstructed

andinsulated,thepanelisratedtoeasilyhandle20–300watts

ofpowerwithnodeleteriouseffects.

TheothersectionsofyourUser’sManualexplainindetailthe

operationofyourEFXspeakersandthephilosophyappliedto

theirdesign.Aclearunderstandingofyourspeakerswillinsure

thatyouobtainmaximumperformanceandpleasurefromthis

mostexactingtransducer.Ithasbeendesignedandconstructed

togiveyouyearsoftrouble-freelisteningenjoyment.

English

20Connections

ConneCtIons

Low-Voltage (DC) Power Connection

YourEFX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conve-

nientACwalloutlet.YourEFXspeakersintegrateasignalsensing

circuitwhichwillswitchtheEFXoffafterafewminutesofno

musicsignal,andrequireslessthantwosecondstorechargethe

panelswhenamusicsignalispresent.

YourEFXspeakersareprovidedwithapowersupplyforthe

powerservicesuppliedinthecountryoforiginalconsumersale.

TheACpowerrequirementsapplicabletoaparticularunitis

specifiedbothonthepackingcartonandontheDCpowersup-

ply.

IfyouremoveyourEFXspeakersfromthecountryoforiginal

sale,becertainthattheACpowersuppliedinanysubsequent

locationissuitablebeforeconnectingthelow-voltagepower

supply.Substantiallyimpairedperformanceorseveredamage

mayoccurtoaEFXspeakerifoperationisattemptedfroman

incorrectACpowersource.

WARNING! TheDCpower supplyshouldnot

beinstalled,removed,orleftdetachedfromthe

speakerwhileconnectedtoanACpowersource.

Speaker Level Connection

Usethebestspeakercablesyoucan.Thelengthandtypeof

speakercableusedinyoursystemwillhaveanaudibleeffect.

Undernocircumstanceshouldawireofgaugehigher(thinner)

than#16beused.Ingeneral,thelongerthelengthused,the

greaterthenecessityofalowergauge,andthelowerthegauge,

thebetterthesound,withdiminishingreturnssettinginaround

#8to#12.

Avarietyofcablesareavailablewhose

manufacturersclaim

betterperformancethanstandardheavygaugewire.Wehave

verifiedthisinmanycases,andtheimprovementsavailableare

oftenmorenoticeablethanthedifferencesbetweenwiresofdif-

ferentgauge.Theeffectsofcablesmaybemaskedifequipment

isnotofthehighestquality.

Connectionsaredoneatthesignalinputsectionontherear

electronicspaneloftheEFX.Usespadeconnectorsforoptimum

contactandeaseofinstallation.Handtightenthebindingposts,

butdonotovertighten—donotuseatooltotightenthebinding

posts.

Beconsistentwhenconnectingthespeakercablestothesignal

inputterminals.Takecaretoassignthesamecolorcablelead

tothe(+)terminalonboththeleftandrightchannelspeakers.

Ifbassisnonexistentandyoucannotdiscernatight,coherent

image,youmayneedtoreversethe(+)and(–)leadsonone

speakertobringthesystemintoproperpolarity.

WARNING! Turnyouramplifieroffbeforemaking

orbreakinganysignalconnections!

Break-In

WhenyoufirstbegintoplayyourEFXspeakers,theywillsound

abitbassshy.Thisisduetothehighquality,long-lifecompo-

nentsusedinourwoofer.Ourcustommade,butylsurround

wooferrequiresapproximately72hoursofbreak-inat90dB

(moderatelisteninglevels)beforeanycriticallistening.The

break-inrequirementsofthecrossovercomponents(and,toa

lesserdegree,thestator)areequivalent.WARNING!Installing

theEFXonawallrequiresonly1person,butanassistantwill

behelpful.

English

Figure 1.Single-wireconnection.Onechannelshown.

MountingtheEFXOnAWall21

ThebracketshippedwiththeMartinLoganEFXloud-

speakerisdesignedforuseonlywiththeEFX.Use

withotherappliancesmayresultininstabilitycaus-

ingpossibleinjury.

Topreventinjury,thisapparatusmustbesecurely

attachedtothewallinaccordancewiththeinstalla-

tioninstructions.

Thisunitisnotintendedtobefreestandingandisto

befastenedtothewallbeforeoperation.

NOTE:TheseinstructionsdescribehowtomounttheEFXtoa

wall.MartinLoganrecommendsusing4wallanchorstosecure

eachEFXtothewall.Ifanyofthescrewshitastud,itisrecom-

mendedtoscrewdirectlyintothestud.

NOTE:ToassurethatyourEFXsaresafelywallmounted,these

instructionsmustbecarefullyfollowed.Studythemthoroughly

beforebeginningtoinstallyourEFX’s.

NOTE:Thefollowinginstructionsassumethemountingsurface

isofstandardwoodframeandstandardsheetrockconstruction.

IfyouwishtomounttheEFXtoanothertypeofmaterial,you

shouldconsultabondedcontractor.

Required hardware (included):

(4)wallanchors

(4)1.5”Allenscrews

(4)flatwashers

2mmAllentool

3mmAllentool

6.5mmAllentool

Required hardware (not included):

(4)1.5”woodscrews

Required tools (not supplied):

Alevel

Anelectricdrilland

/4”and

/8”drillbits

1 YourEFXloudspeakersshipfromthefactorywiththewall

mountingbracketsinthesameorientation.Youmayneedto

adjustthebracketssothatonespeakerpivotsclockwiseand

theothercounterclockwise.Beforebeginningyourinstal-

lation,placeaEFXnearthedesiredinstallationlocationand

checkthatthedirectionofrotationwillallowyoutopivotthe

EFXtowardsyourlisteninglocation.Ifthedirectionofrota-

tioncausesyourEFXtopivotawayfromthelisteninglocation,

pleaserefertothefollowingsection“ChangingtheDirection

ofRotation”.

2 Usinga6mmAllentoolremovethe2capnutsandwashers

locatedontopofthecylindricalhingesandplacethemaside

(donotreinstallthecapnuts).

3 Atthedesiredinstallationlocation,markapointonyourwall

16inches(40.6cm)abovethefloor(seefigure3).

4 Usingalevel,squarethewallbracketandholditflushagainst

thewallwiththewallbracket’scenterholeoverthecenter

pointyoujustmarked.Thecylindricalhingesonthewall

bracketshouldpointawayfromthewallandthehingepins

shouldpointupwardstowardstheceiling.Markfourpoints

(twoeachatthetopandbottomofthebracket)insideofthe

wallbracket’sarcshapedcutouts(seefigure4).

English

Figure 2. Steps1–2

Figure 3.Step3

MountIng the eFX on a Wall

Figure 4.Step4

22MountingtheEFXOnAWall

5 Setthewallbracketaside.Usinga

/8”bit,drillapilothole

atallfourpoints.Ifanyofthepilotholeshitastudduringthis

step,DONOTwidenthepilotholeandinstallawallanchorat

thatlocation.Ifapilotholedoesnothitastud,usea

/2”bitto

widenthepilothole.

 InstallTOGGLER®SNAPTOGGLE®toggleboltsatallloca-

tionswitha1/2-inchhole(seefigure5).Todothis:

A) Holdthetoggleboltmetalchannelflatalongsidetheplastic

straps.Slidethemetalchannelthroughthe1/2-inchhole.

B) Holdtheendsofthestrapsbetweenthumbandforefinger

andeventhemout.Pulltheentiretogglebolttowardyou

untilthechannelrestsflushbehindthewall.Slidetheplastic

capalongthestrapswiththeotherhanduntiltheflangeof

thecapisflushwiththewall.

C) Placeathumbbetweenthestrapsatthewall.Pushthethumb

sidetoside,snappingoffthestrapslevelwiththeflange.

6 Usingalevelanda3mmAllentool,squarethebracketanddrive

thefour1.5”Allenheadscrewsandflatwashersintotheupper

andlowerwallanchors.Usearegularwoodscrewinanylocation

thathitsastud.Donotfullytightenthescrews(seefigure6).

7 Usingalevel,makesurethebracketislevelandtightenall

fourscrews(seefigure6).

English

Figure 7.Steps8–10

Figure 8.Step12

®

Figure 5.Step5.

Figure 6.Steps6–7

MountingtheEFXOnAWall23

English

8 InstallthecabinetbrackethingesontheEFXcabinet.See

“ChangingtheDirectionofRotation”below.

9 PlacetheEFXontothewallbracketaligningthecylindrical

partsofthecabinetbrackethingeswiththeupwardpointing

pinsonthewallbracket.CarefullylowertheEFXintoplace

(seefigure7).

10Usinga6mmAllentool,attachacapnutandwasherontopof

eachpin,butdonotfullytightenthecapnuts(seefigure7).

11MakesignalconnectionsfromtheamplifierandtheAC

powerconnection(seeConnectionssection,page20).

12RotatetheEFXtopointatthelisteningpositionandtighten

thecapnuts(seefigure8).

Changing the Direction of Rotation

NOTE: YourEFXloudspeakersshipfromthefactorywiththewall

mountingbracketsinstalledonthesamesideofeachspeaker.

Youmayneedtoadjustthebracketssothatonespeakerpivots

clockwiseandtheothercounterclockwise.

NOTE:TheseinstructionsdescribehowtochangetheEFX’swall

andcabinetbracketssothatthespeakerwillrotateintheoppo-

sitedirection.

Required tools (included): 2.5mm,3mm,&6mmAllentools

1 Prepareaflatsurfacewithpaddingandsheetstoprotect

thespeakerasyouworkonit.CarefullyplacetheEFXface

downontheworksurface,usingbooksorpiecesofcard-

boardtokeepthespeakerfromrocking.Usinga6mmAllen

toolremovethetwocapnutslocatedontopofthecylindri-

calhingesandplacethemaside.Carefullyremovethewall

bracketfromthecabinetbyslidingittowardsthebottomof

thespeaker(seefigure2).

2 Usinga2.5mmAllentoolcarefullyloosenthetwosetscrews

thatholdthetwohingepinsinplace(seefigure9,stepA).

3 Removethe2hingepins(seefigure9,stepB).

4 Rotatethewallbracket180degrees(seefigure9,stepC).

5 Reinstallthetwohingepins(seefigure9,stepD).

6 Usinga2.5mmAllentool,reinstallthetwosetscrewstolock

thehingepinsinplace.Makesurethesetscrewtightens

againsttheflatsurfaceofthepin(seefigure9,stepE).

7 Usinga3mmAllentool,removefourscrews(twoeach)from

thecabinetbrackets(seefigure10).

8 Rotatethecabinetbrackets180degreesandinstallthemon

theoppositesideofthecabinet(seefigure11).

Figure 9. ChangingthepivotdirectionoftheEFXwallbracket.

Figure 10. RemovingtheEFXcabinetbrackets.

Figure 11. ReinstallingtheEFXcabinetbrackets.

24RoomAcoustics

English

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.Yourroomisactually

acomponentandanimportantpartofyoursystem.Thiscom-

ponentisaverylargevariableandcandramaticallyaddto,or

subtractfrom,agreatmusicalexperience.

Allsoundiscomposedofwaves.Eachnotehasitsownwave

size,withthelowerbassnotesliterallyencompassingfrom10’

feettoasmuchas40’feet.Yourroomparticipatesinthiswave

experiencelikeathreedimensionalpoolwithwavesreflecting

andbecomingenhanceddependingonthesizeoftheroom

andthetypesofsurfacesintheroom.

Remember,yoursystemcanliterallygeneratealloftheinfor-

mationrequiredtorecreateamusicaleventintime,space,and

tonalbalance.Ideally,yourroomshouldnotcontributetothat

information.However,everyroomcontributestothesoundto

somedegree.FortunatelyMartinLoganhaddesignedtheEFXto

minimizetheseanomalies

Terminology

Standing Waves

Theparallelwallsinyourroomwillreinforcecertainnotesto

thepointthattheywillsoundlouderthantherestoftheaudio

spectrumandcause“onenotebass”,“boomybass”or“bloated

bass”.Forinstance,100Hzrepresentsa10feetwavelength.Your

roomwillreinforcethatspecificfrequencyifoneofthedominant

dimensionsis10feet.Largeobjectsintheroomsuchascabinetry

orfurniturecanhelptominimizethispotentialproblem.Some

serious“audiophiles”willliterallybuildaspecialroomwithno

parallelwallsjusttohelpeliminatethisphenomenon.

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theclarityandimagingofyoursystem.

Thesmallersoundwavesaremostlyaffectedhere,andoccurin

themidandhighfrequencies.Thisiswherevoiceandfrequen-

ciesashighasthecymbalsoccur.

Resonant Surfaces and Objects

Allofthesurfacesandobjectsinyourroomaresubjectto

thefrequencies generatedby your system.Much like an

instrument, they will vibrate and “carry on” in syncopa-

tionwiththemusic,andcontributeinanegativewaytothe

music.Ringing,boominess,andevenbrightnesscanoccur

simplybecausetheyare“singingalong”withyourmusic.

Resonant Cavities

Smallalcovesorclosettypeareasinyourroomcanbechambers

thatcreatetheirown“standingwaves”andcandrumtheirown

“onenote”sounds.

Clapyourhands.Canyouhearaninstantechorespondback?

Youhavenear-fieldreflections.Stompyourfootonthefloor.

Canyouheara“boom”?Youhavestandingwavesorlargepanel

resonancessuchasapoorlysupportedwall.Putyourheadin

asmallcavityareaandtalkloudly.Canyouhearabooming?

You’vejustexperiencedacavityresonance.

Rules of Thumb

Hard vs. Soft Surfaces

Ifthefrontorbackwallofyourlisteningroomissoft,itmight

benefityoutohaveahardorreflectivewallinopposition.The

ceilingandfloorshouldfollowthesamebasicguidelineaswell.

However,thesidewallsshouldberoughlythesameinorderto

deliverafocusedimage.

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life-

less.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.

Breakup Objects

Objectswithcomplexshapes,suchasbookshelves,cabinetry

andmultipleshapedwallscanhelpbreakupthosesonicgrem-

linsanddiffuseanydominantfrequencies.

Dipolar Speakers and Your Room

MartinLoganelectrostaticloudspeakersareknownasdipolarradi-

ators.Thismeansthattheyproducesoundfromboththeirfronts

andtheirbacks.Consequently,musicalinformationisreflectedby

thewallbehindthemandmayarrive,eitherinoroutofstep,with

theinformationproducedbythefrontofthespeaker.

Nowthatyouknowaboutreflectivesurfacesandresonant

objects,youcanseehowthemidrangeandhighfrequencies

canbeaffected.Thetimingoftheinitialwaveasitradiatesto

yourears,andthenthereflectedinformationasitarrivesatyour

earslaterintime,canresultinconfusionoftheprecioustim-

inginformationthatcarriesthecluestoimaging.Consequently

theresultisblurredimagingandexcessivebrightness.Softwalls,

curtains,wallhangings,orsounddampeners(yourdealercan

giveyougoodinformationhere)canbeeffectiveifthesenega-

tiveconditionsoccur.

rooM aCoustICs

DispersionInteractions25

dIspersIon InteraCtIons

Controlled Horizontal Dispersion

YourEFX’slauncha30degreehorizontaldispersionpattern.This

horizontaldispersionfieldgivesachoiceofgoodseatsfortheper-

formancewhileminimizinginteractionswithsidewalls(seefigure

16).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.Consequently,smallrefinedadjust-

mentscanresultinnoticeablesonicimprovements.

Controlled Vertical Dispersion

Asyoucanseefromtheillustrations,yourEFXspeakersproject

acontrolleddispersionpattern(seefigure17).EachEFXisa28

inchlinesource.Thisverticaldispersionprofileminimizesinter-

actionswiththefloorandtheceiling.

Three Major Types of Dispersion

Itisaknownfactthatasthesoundwavebecomesprogres-

sivelysmallerthanthetransducerproducingit,thedispersion

ofthatwavebecomesmoreandmorenarrow,ordirectional.

Thisfactoccursaslongasthetransducerisaflatsurface.Large

flatpanelspeakersexhibitvenetianblindeffectsduetothis

phenomenon.Thisisonereasonwhymanymanufacturersopt

forsmalldrivers(i.e.tweetersandmidrange)toapproximate

whatisknownasapointsourcewavelaunch.

Historically,mostattemptstoachievesmoothdispersionfrom

largeflatpaneltransducersresultedintrade-offs.Afterexhaus-

tivetestingof manydifferentmethods,weconceivedan

elegantlysimple,yetintenselyhandcraftedprocess.Bycurving

theradiatingsurface,wecreatetheeffectofahorizontalarc.

ThisallowstheengineersatMartinLogantocontrolthehighfre-

quencydispersionpatternofourtransducers.

Figure 12– 13. As canbeseenhere,point

sourceconceptsinviteagreatdealofroom

interaction.Whiledeliveringgoodfrequency

responsetoalargelisteningaudience,imaging

isconsequentlyconfusedandblurred.

Figure 14–15. Eventhoughtheysufferfrom

“venetianblind”effect,angledmultiplepanel

speakerscandelivergoodimaging,butonly

tospecificspotsinthelisteningarea.

Figure 16–17. Acontrolled30degreecylindri-

calwave-front,aMartinLoganexclusive,offers

optimalsounddistributionwithminimalroom

interaction.Theresultissolidimagingwitha

widelisteningarea.

English

26HomeTheater

Ithadlongbeenthepracticeofstereobuffstoconnecttheirtele-

vision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lim-

itedbythebroadcastsignal.

Inthelate1970’sandearly1980’stwonewhomemoviefor-

matsbecamewidelyavailabletothepublic:VCRandlaserdisc.

By1985,bothformatshaddevelopedintoveryhighqual-

ityaudio/videosources.Infact,thesonicperformanceofsome

videoformatsexceededaudio-onlyformats.Now,withtheater-

qualitysoundavailableathome,theonlyelementmissingwas

the"surroundsound"presentationfoundinmoviehouses.

Fortunately,DolbyandDTSencodedmovies(includingalmost

allfilms)havethesamesurroundsoundinformationencoded

onhomereleasesasthetheatricalrelease.Allthatisrequired

toretrievethisinformationisadecoderandadditionalspeakers

andampstoreproduceit.

Hometheaterisacomplexpurchaseandwerecommendthat

youconsultyourlocalMartinLogandealer,astheyarewell

versedinthissubject.

Eachpieceofasurroundsystemcanbepurchasedseparately.

Takeyourtimeandbuyquality.Noonehasevercomplained

thatthemoviewastooreal.Thefollowinglistanddescrip-

tionswillgiveyouonlyabriefoutlineoftheresponsibilitiesand

demandsplacedoneachspeaker.

Front Left and Front Right

Ifthesespeakerswillbethesametwousedforyourstereoplay-

back,theyshouldbeofveryhighqualityandabletoplayloudly

(over102dB)andreproducebassbelow80Hz.

Center Channel

This is the most important speaker in a home theater

system,asalmostallofthedialogueandalargeportionofthe

frontspeakerinformationisreproducedbythecenterchannel.

Itisimportantthatthecenterspeakerbeextremelyaccurateand

matewellthefrontspeakers,andthatitisrecommendedforuse

asacenterspeaker.Thisisnottheplacetocutcorners.

Surround Speakers

Werecommend(alongwiththefilmindustry)thatthesur-

roundspeakersplaydowntoatleast80Hz.Surroundspeakers

containtheinformationthatmakesitappearthatplanesarefly-

ingoveryourhead.Somemaysuggestthatthisistheplaceto

savemoneyandpurchaseasmall,inexpensivespeaker.Ifyou

choosetodoso,bepreparedtoupgradeinthefutureasdis-

cretemulti-channeldigitalencodingisproliferatingrapidlyand

thedemandsonsurroundspeakershaveincreased.

Subwoofer

Withanygoodsurroundsystemyouwillneedoneormorehigh-

qualitysubwoofers(the.1ina5.1channelsurroundsystem).

Mostmoviesoundtrackscontainlargeamountsofbassinforma-

tionaspartofthespecialeffects.Goodsubwooferswillprovide

afoundationfortherestofthesystem.

hoMe theater

Figure 18.MartinLoganelectrostaticspeakersasfrontandcenterchannels,

EFXspeakersassurround(effects)channels,andMartinLogansubwoofersas

0.1(effects)channel.

English

ElectrostaticAdvantages27

eleCtrostatIC advantages

Howcansoundbereproducedbysomethingthatyouare

abletoseethrough?Electrostaticenergymakesthispossible.

Wheretheworldoftraditionalloudspeakertechnologydeals

withcones,domes,diaphragmsandribbonsthataremoved

withmagnetism,theworldofelectrostaticloudspeakersdeals

withchargedelectronsattractingandrepellingeachother.

Tofullyunderstandtheelectrostaticconcept,someback-

groundinformationwillbehelpful.Rememberwhenyou

learnedinascienceorphysicsclassthatlikechargesrepel

eachotherandoppositechargesattracteachother?Well,

thisprincipleisthefoundationoftheelectrostaticconcept.

Anelectrostatictransducerconsistsofthreepieces:stators,the

diaphragmandspacers(seefigure19).Thediaphragmiswhat

actuallymovestoexcitetheairandcreatemusic.Thestator’s

jobistoremainstationary,hencethewordstator,andtopro-

videareferencepointforthemovingdiaphragm.Thespacers

providethediaphragmwithafixeddistanceinwhichtomove

betweenthestators.

Asyouramplifiersendsmusicsignalstoanelectrostaticspeaker,

thesesignalsarechangedintotwohigh-voltagesignalsthatare

equalinstrengthbutoppositeinpolarity.Thesehighvoltagesig-

nalsarethenappliedtothestators.Theresultingelectrostaticfield,

createdbytheopposinghighvoltageonthestators,workssimul-

taneously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.

Thisallowsittobeveryresponsivetotransients,thusperfectly

tracingthemusicsignal.Asaresult,greatdelicacy,nuanceand

clarityispossible.Whenyoulookattheproblemsoftraditional

electromagneticdrivers,youcaneasilyseewhythisissoben-

eficial.Theconesanddomeswhichareusedintraditional

electromagneticdriverscannotbedrivenuniformlybecauseof

theirdesign.Conesaredrivenonlyattheapex.Domesaredriv-

enattheirperimeter.Asaresult,therestoftheconeordome

is just “along for the ride”. The very concept of these

driversrequiresthatthecone ordomebeperfectlyrigid,

dampedandmassless.Unfortunately,theseconditionsarenot

availableinourworldtoday.

Tomaketheseconesanddomesmove,allelectromagneticdriv-

ersmustusevoicecoilswoundonformers,spiderassemblies,

andsurroundstokeeptheconeordomeinposition(seefig-

ure20).Thesepieces,whencombinedwiththehighmassof

theconeordomematerialsused,makeitanextremelycom-

plexunitwithmanyweaknessesandpotentialforfailure.These

faultscontributetothehighdistortionproductsfoundinthese

driversandisatremendousdisadvantagewhenyouaretrying

tochangemotionasquicklyandasaccuratelyasaloudspeaker

must(40,000timespersecond!).

Figure 19.CutawayviewofanXStat™electrostatictransducer.Notice

thesimplicityduetominimalpartsusage.

Figure 20.Cutawayviewofatypicalmovingcoildriver.Noticethecom-

plexityduetothehighnumberofparts.

English

28ElectrostaticAdvantages

Full Range Operation

Anothersignificant advantageofMartinLogan’sexclusive

transducertechnologyrevealsitselfwhenyoulookatexamples

ofotherloudspeakerproductsonthemarkettoday.TheEFX

usesnocrossovernetworksabove530Hzbecausetheyare

notneeded.TheEFXconsistsofasingle,seamlesselectrostatic

membranereproducingallfrequenciesabove530Hzsimulta-

neously.Howisthispossible?

Firstwemustunderstandthatmusicisnotcomposedofseparate

high,midandlowfrequencies.Infact,musiciscomprisedofa

singlewaveformwithallfrequenciesinteractingsimultaneously.

TheelectrostatictransduceroftheEFXessentiallyactsasan

exactoppositeofthemicrophonesusedtorecordtheorigi-

nalevent.Amicrophone,whichisasingleworkingelement,

transformsacousticenergyintoanelectricalsignalthatcanbe

amplifiedorpreservedbysometypeofstoragemedia.The

EFX’selectrostatictransducertransformselectricalenergyfrom

youramplifierbackintoacousticalenergy.

Duetothelimitationsofelectromagneticdrivers,nosingle

unitcanreproducethefullrangeoffrequencies.Instead,these

driversmustbedesignedtooperatewithinanarrow,fixed

bandwidthofthefrequencyrange,andthencombinedelectri-

callysothatthesumofthepartsequalsthetotalsignal.While

niceintheory,wemustdealwithreal-worldconditions.

Inordertousemultipledrivers,acrossovernetworkisenlisted

toattemptadivisionofthecomplexmusicalsignalintothesep-

aratepieces(usuallyhighs,mids,andlows)thateachspecific

driverwasdesignedtohandle.Unfortunately,duetothephase

relationshipsthatoccurwithinallcrossovernetworksandduring

theacousticalrecombinationprocess,nonlinearitiesandsevere

degradationofthemusicsignaltakeplaceintheear’smostcriti-

calzone(seefigure21).

TheEFX’selectrostatictransducercansingle-handedlyrepro-

duceallfrequenciesabove530Hzsimultaneously.Youhave

inonetransducertheabilitytohandleinelegantsimplicitythe

criticalfrequenciesabove5305Hz.

Thecrossoverphaseaberrationsthatareassociatedwithtradi-

tionaltweeter,midrange,andwoofersystemsareeliminated.

Theresultisadramaticimprovementinimagingandstaging

performanceduetotheminutelyaccuratephaserelationshipof

thefull-rangepanelwavelaunch.

Figure 21.Thisdiagramillustrateshowaconventional

speakersystemmustusemultiplecrossovernetworks

thathavenegativeeffectsonthemusicalperformance.

English

MartinLoganExclusives29

MartInlogan eXClusIves

XStat™ Transducer

XStat™transducersincorporateamyriadoftechnologyand

designinnovationsincludingCLS™,MicroPerf,Generation2

Diaphragms,ClearSpars™,andVacuumBonding.

CLS™ (Curvilinear Line Source)

Sincethebeginningofaudio,achievingsmoothdispersionhas

beenaproblemforalldesigners.Largepaneltransducerspres-

entuniquechallengebecausethelargerthepanel,themore

directionalthedispersionpatternbecomes.

Widerange electrostats havelong been one of the most

problematictransducersbecausetheyattaintheirfullrange

capabilitiesviaalargesurfacearea.Itlookedasiftheywerein

directconflicttosmoothdispersionandalmosteveryattemptto

correctthisresultedineitherpoordispersionoraseriouscom-

promiseinsoundquality.

Afterextensiveresearch,MartinLoganengineersdiscoveredan

elegantlysimplesolutiontoachieveasmoothpatternofdisper-

sionwithoutdegradingsoundquality.Bycurvingthehorizontal

planeoftheelectrostatictransducer,acontrolledhorizontaldis-

persionpatterncouldbeachieved,yetthepurityofthealmost

masslesselectrostaticdiaphragmremaineduncompromised.

Aftercreatingthistechnology,MartinLogandevelopedthepro-

ductioncapabilitytobringitoutofthelaboratoryandintothe

marketplace.YouwillfindthisproprietaryMartinLogantech-

nologyusedinallofourelectrostaticproducts.Itisoneofthe

manyreasonsbehindourreputationforhighqualitysound

withpracticalusability.Thisisalsowhyyouseetheunique“see

through”cylindricalshapeofMartinLoganproducts.

Generation 2 Diaphragm

EFX’sdiaphragmemploysanextremelysophisticatedcon-

ductive coating applied to the polymer surface at an

atomiclevelusingaplasmabondingprocess.Aproprietary

compoundisdrivenintothesurfaceofthepolymerfilminan

oxygenfreeargonchamber.Thisprocessallowsextremelyuni-

formsurfaceresistivitycharacteristics,anopticallytransparent

surface,andanearlymasslessdiaphragm.Thisuniformsurface

resistivitycontrolstheelectrostaticchargeonthediaphragmsur-

faceandregulatesitsmigration.Asaresult,nodischargingor

“arcing”canoccur.

MicroPerf Stator

Sleek.Compact.MicroPerfstatortechnology,featuredinall

XStat™transducers,revealsmoreopenplayableareaineach

panel,offeringincreasedperformancefromevenmorecompact

statpanels.ItissignificanttonotethattheXStat™transducerin

theradicalnewEFXloudspeakersupportsthebandwidthand

dynamicsassociatedwithtraditionalelectrostaticpanelsnearly

twiceitssize.

Vacuum Bonding

Toachievethepower,precision,andstrengthoftheXStat™

transducer,twoinsulatedhigh-puritycarbonsteelstatorsalong

withaproprietaryplasmabondeddiaphragmandClearSpar™

spacersarefusedintoacurvedgeometrywithanaerospace

adhesivewhosestrengthexceedsthatofwelding.Ourpropri-

etaryVacuumBondingprocessguaranteesuniformdiaphragm

tensioningandextremelypreciseconstructiontolerances,result-

inginunequivocalprecision,linearityandefficiency.

AirFrame™ Technology

Ultra-rigid extruded aerospace grade aluminum alloy

AirFrame™technologyrigidifiesandsecurestheXStat™elec-

trostaticpaneltothewoofercabinetwhileatthesametime

providingsonicandelectricalisolation.AdvancedAirFrame™

technologymaximizestheelectrostaticpanelsplayablesurface

areaanddipoledispersionpatternwhileminimizingpotentially

acousticallydestructiveintermodulateddistortioncausedby

spuriousvibrationsandresonance.Theresult?Ultimateimaging

capability,low-leveldetailresolution,improvedefficiencyand

overallaccuracy.

English

30ElectrostaticHistory

Inthelate1800’s,anyloudspeakerwasconsideredexotic.Today,

mostofustakethewondersofsoundreproductionforgranted.

It was 1880 before Thomas Edison had invented the

first phonograph. This was a horn-loaded diaphragm

thatwasexcitedbyaplaybackstylus.In1898,SirOliver

Lodgeinventedaconeloudspeaker,whichhereferredto

asa“bellowingtelephone”,thatwasverysimilartothecon-

ventionalcone loudspeaker drivers that weknow today.

However,Lodgehadnointentionforhisdevicetoreproduce

musicbecausein1898therewasnowaytoamplifyanelec-

tricalsignal!Asaresult,hisspeakerhad

nothingtoofferovertheacousticalgram-

ophonesoftheperiod.Itwasnotuntil

1906thatDr.LeeDeForrestinvented

thetriodevacuumtube.Beforethis,an

electricalsignalcouldnotbeamplified.

Theloudspeaker,asweknowittoday,

shouldhaveensuedthen,butitdidnot.

Amazingly,itwasalmosttwentyyears

beforethiswouldoccur.

In 1921, theelectrically cut phonograph record became

areality.Thismethodofrecordingwasfarsuperiortothe

mechanicallycutrecordandpossessedalmost30dBofdynamic

range.Theacousticalgramophonecouldn’tbegintoreproduce

alloftheinformationonthisnewdisc.Asaresult,further

developmentsinloudspeakerswereneededtocopewiththis

amazingnewrecordingmedium.

By1923,thedecisionwasmadetodevelopacompletemusical

playbacksystemconsistingofanelectronicphonographandaloud-

speakertotake

advantageofthenewrecordingmedium.T

he

projecttotwoyoungengineers,C.W.RiceandE.W.Kellogg.

RiceandKellogghadawellequippedlaboratoryattheirdispos-

al.Thislabpossessedavacuumtubeamplifierwith

anunheard

of200watts,alargeselectionofthenew

electricallycutpho-

nographrecordsandavarietyofloudspeakerprototypesthat

hadbeencollectingover

thepastdecade.Amongthesewere

Lodge’scone,aspeaker

thatusedcompressedair,acoronadis-

charge(plasma)speaker,andanelectrostaticspeaker.

Afterashorttime,RiceandKellogghadnarrowedthefieldof

“contestants”downtotheconeandtheelectrostat.Theout-

comewoulddictatethewaythatfuturegenerationswouldrefer

toloudspeakersasbeingeither“conventional”or“exotic”.

Theirelectrostatwassomethingtobehold.Thisenormousbipo-

larspeakerwasasbigasadoor.Thediaphragm,whichwas

beginningtorot,wasmadeofapigintestinethatwascovered

withfinegoldleaftoconducttheaudiosignal.

WhenRiceandKelloggbeganplayingthenewelectrically

cutrecordsthroughtheelectrostat,theywerestunnedand

impressed.Theelectrostatperformedsplendidly.Theyhad

neverheardinstrumentaltimbresreproducedwithsuchrealism.

Thissystemsoundedlikerealmusicratherthanthehonking,

squawkingrenditionoftheacousticgramophone.Immediately,

theyknewtheywereontosomethingbig.Theacousticgramo-

phonewasdestinedtobecomeobsolete.

DuetoRiceandKellogg’senthusiasm,

theydevotedaconsiderableamountof

timeresearchingtheelectrostaticdesign.

However,theysoonencounteredthesame

difficultiesthatevenpresentdesignersface;

planarspeakersrequireaverylargesurface

areatoreproducethelowerfrequencies

oftheaudiospectrum.Becausetheman-

agementconsideredlargespeakers

unacceptable,Riceand

Kellogg’s

workonelectrostaticswouldneverbeputtousefora

commercialproduct.Reluctantly,theyadvised

managementto

gowiththecone.Forthenext30years,

theelectrostaticdesign

laydormant.

DuringtheGreatDepressionofthe1930’s,consumeraudio



almostdied.Thenewelectricallyamplifiedloudspeakernever

gainedacceptance,asmostpeoplecontinuedtousetheirold

Victrola-styleacousticgramophones.PriortotheendofWorld

WarII,consumeraudiosawlittle,ifany,progress.However,dur-

ingthelate1940’s,audioexperiencedagreatrebirth.Suddenly

therewastremendousinterestinaudioproducts,andwiththat,

agreatdemandforimprovedaudiocomponents.Nosoonerhad

theconebecomeestablishedthanitwaschallengedbyproducts

developedduringthisnewrebirth.

In1947,ArthurJanszen,ayoungNavalengineer,tookpart



ina

researchprojectfortheNavy.TheNavywasinterested

indevel-

opingabetterinstrumentfortestingmicrophonearrays.Thetest

instrumentneededanextremelyaccuratespeaker,butJanszen

foundthattheconespeakersofthe

periodweretoononlinear

inphaseandamplituderesponse

tomeethiscriteria.Janszen

believedthatelectrostatswereinherentlymorelinearthancones,

sohebuilta

model

usingathinplasticdiaphragmtreatedwitha

conductivecoating.ThismodelconfirmedJanszen’sbeliefs,forit

exhibitedremarkablephaseandamplitudelinearity.

Janszenwassoexcitedwith the resultsthathecontinued

researchontheelectrostaticspeakeronhisowntime.Hesoon

eleCtrostatIC hIstory

Rice and Kellogg had

narrowed the field of

“contestants down” to the

cone and the electrostat.

English

ElectrostaticHistory31

thoughtofinsulatingthestatorstopreventthedestructiveeffects

ofarcing.By1952,hehadanelectrostatictweeterelement

readyforcommercialproduction.Thisnewtweetersooncreat-

edasensationamongAmericanaudiohobbyists.SinceJanszen’s

tweeterelementwaslimitedtohighfrequencyreproduction,it

oftenfounditselfusedinconjunctionwithwoofers—mostnota-

bly,thosefromAcousticResearch.Thesesystemswerehighly

regardedbyallaudioenthusiasts.

Asgoodasthesesystemswere,theywouldsoonbesurpassedby

anotherelectrostaticspeaker.

In1955,PeterWalkerpublishedthree

articlesregardingelectrostaticloudspeak-

erdesigninWireless World,aBritish

magazine.Inthesearticles,Walkerdem-

onstratedthebenefitsoftheelectrostatic

loudspeaker.Heexplainedthatelectro-

staticspermittheuseofdiaphragmsthat

arelowinmass,largeinareaanduni-

formlydrivenovertheirsurfacesbyelectrostaticforces.Due

tothesecharacteristics,electrostatshavetheinherentabilityto

produceawidebandwidth,flatfrequencyresponsewithdistor-

tionproductsbeingnogreaterthantheelectronicsdrivingthem.

By1956,Walkerbackeduphisarticlesbyintroducingacon-

sumerproduct, thenow famousQuad ESL. Thisspeaker

immediatelysetastandardofperformancefortheaudioindus-

tryduetoitsincredibleaccuracy.However,inactualuse,the

Quadhadafewproblems.Itcouldnotbe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.Asa

result,manypeoplecontinuedtouseboxspeakerswithcones.

Intheearly1960’sArthurJanszenjoinedforceswiththeKLHloud-

speakercompany,andtogethertheyintroducedtheKLH9.Dueto

thelargesizeoftheKLH9,itdidnothaveasmanysoniclimitations

astheQuad.TheKLH9couldplaymarkedlylouderandlowerin

frequencythantheQuadESL.Thusarivalrywasborn.

Janszen continued to develop electrostatic designs. He

wasinstrumentalinthedesignoftheKossModelOne,the

AcoustechandtheDennesenspeakers.RogerWest,thechief

designeroftheJanszenCorporation,becamethepresidentof

SoundLab.

WhenJanszenCorporationwas

sold,theRTR

loudspeakercompanyboughthalfoftheproductiontooling.

Thistoolingwasusedtomakethe

electrostaticpanelsforthe

Servostatic,ahybridelectrostatic

systemthatwasInfinity’sfirst

speakerproduct.Othercompaniessoonfollowed;eachwith

theirownuniqueapplicationsofthetechnology.Theseinclude

Acoustat,Audiostatic,Beverage,DaytonWright,SoundLaband

Stax,tonameafew.

Electrostaticspeakershaveprogressedandprospered

because

theyactuallydowhatPeterWalkerclaimedtheywould.The

limitationsandproblemsexperiencedinthepastwerenot

inherenttotheelectrostaticconcept.Theywererelatedtothe

applicationsoftheseconcepts.

Today, these limitations have been

resolved. Advancements in materi-

alsduetotheU.S.spaceprogramgive

designerstheabilitytoharnessthesuperi-

orityoftheelectrostaticprinciple.Today’s

electrostatsuseadvancedinsulationtech-

niquesorprovideprotectioncircuitry.

Thepoordispersionpropertiesofearly

modelshavebeenaddressedbyusing

delaylines,acousticallenses,multiplepanelarraysor,asinour

ownproducts,bycurvingthediaphragm.Powerhandlingand

sensitivityhavealsobeenincreased.

Thesedevelopmentsallowtheconsumertheopportunityto

ownthehighestperformanceloudspeakerproductseverbuilt.

It’stoobadRiceandKelloggwereneverabletoseejusthowfar

thetechnologywouldbetaken.

These developments allow

the consumer to own the

highest performance loud-

speaker products ever built.

English

32FrequentlyAskedQuestions

How do I clean my speakers?

Useadustfreeclothorasoftbrushtoremovethedustfrom

yourspeakers.Wealsorecommendaspecialtycloth(avail-

ableattheXtaticshopatwww.martinlogan.com)thatcleans

yourspeakersbetterthananythingelsewehavetried.For

thewoodsurfacesitisacceptabletoslightlydampenthe

cloth.Do not spray any kind of cleaning agent on or in

close proximity to the electrostatic element. Avoid the

use of ammonia based products or silicone oil on the

wood parts.

What is the advantage of ESL?

Sincethediaphragmisuniformlydrivenoveritsentiresur-

face—unlikeatweeterthatisonlydrivenatitsedges—itis

theonlytechnologythatcanbemadelargeenoughtoplay

bass,yetisstilllightenoughforhighfrequencies.Thisunique

propertyallowsfortheeliminationofhighfrequencycross-

overpointsandtheirassociateddistortions.

What size amplifier should I use?

Werecommendanamplifierwith20to400wattsperchan-

nelformostapplications.Probablylesswouldbeadequate

foroursmallerhybridsorwhenusedinhometheaterwhere

asubwooferisemployed.Ourhybriddesignswillper-

formwellwitheitheratubeortransistorizedamplifier,and

willrevealthesoniccharacterofeithertype.However,itis

importantthattheamplifierbestableoperatingintovarying

impedanceloads:anideallystableamplifierwilltypicallybe

abletodelivernearlytwiceitsratedwattageinto4Ohms

andshouldagainincreaseinto2Ohms.

Could you suggest a list of suitable electronics and cables

that would be ideal for MartinLogan speakers?

Theareaofelectronicsandcablechoiceisprobablythe

mostcommontypeofquestionthatwereceive.Itisalso

themostsubjective.Wehaverepeatedlyfoundthatbrands

thatworkwellinonesetupwilldrivesomeoneelsenutsin

another.Weusemanybrandswithgreatsuccess.Again,

wehavenofavorites;weuseelectronicsandcablesquite

interchangeably.Wewouldsuggestlisteningtoanumber

ofbrands—andaboveallelse—trustyourears.Dealersare

alwaysthebestsourceforinformationwhenpurchasing

additionalaudioequipment.

Is there likely to be any interaction between my speakers

and the television in my Audio/Video system?

Actually,thereislessinteractionbetweenatelevisionand

anelectrostaticspeakerthanbetweenatelevisionanda

conventionalsystem.However,wedorecommendthatyou

keepyourspeakersatleastonefootawayfromthetelevision

becauseofthedynamicwoofertheyemploy.Inthecaseof

ourcenterchannelspeakers,however,theyarefullyshielded

andcangoanywhere.

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maxi-

mum(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circuit-

ryistopreventdustcollectionontheelectrostaticelement.

If the diaphragm is punctured with a pencil or similar item,

how extensive would the damage to the speaker be?

Ourresearchdepartmenthasliterallypuncturedhundreds

ofholesinadiaphragm,neitheraffectingthequalityofthe

soundnorcausingthediaphragmtorip.However,youwill

beabletoseetheactualpunctureanditcanbeaphysical

nuisance.Ifthisisthecase,replacingtheelectrostatictrans-

ducerwillbetheonlysolution.

Will exposure to sunlight affect the life or performance of my

speakers?

Werecommendthatyounotplaceanyloudspeakerindirect

sunlight.Theultraviolet(UV)raysfromthesuncancause

deteriorationofgrillcloth,speakercones,etc.Smallexpo-

surestoUVwillnotcauseaproblem.Ingeneral,thefiltering

ofUVraysthroughglasswillgreatlyreducethenegative

effectsontheelectrostaticmembraneitself.

Will excessive smoke or dust cause any problems with my

electrostatic speakers?

Exposure to excessive contaminants such as smoke

or dustmay potentially affect the performanceof the

electrostatic membrane, and may cause discoloration

ofthediaphragmmembrane.Whennotinuseforextended

periods,youshouldunplugthespeakersandcoverthem

withtheplasticbagsinwhichthespeakerswereoriginally

packed.Itisagoodideatovacuumtheelectrostaticportion

ofeachspeakerthreeorfourtimesayear.Seethevacuum-

ingFAQ.

A problem has recently developed with my MartinLogan

speakers. The right speaker seems to be hissing even when

the amplifier and such are not connected. I was wondering

if this sounds like any problem you have encountered previ-

ously and have a simple solution for or might it be something

which will need to be looked into more carefully.

Yourspeakersaredusty.SeethevacuumingFAQ.Theelec-

trostaticchargeontheelementhasattractedairbornedustor

pollen.Since1993,allofourspeakershavebeenbuiltwitha

chargingcircuitboardthatonlychargestheelectrostaticele-

Frequently asked questIons

English

FrequentlyAskedQuestions33

mentwhenmusicplays.Atothertimestheyarenotcharged

andcannotcollectdust.Youcangetthesamebenefitbysim-

plyunpluggingthemwhenevertheyarenotinuse.Apower

stripisaneasywaytodothat.

Could my children, pets, or myself be shocked by the high-

voltage present in the electrostatic panel?

No.Highvoltagewithlowcurrentisnotdangerous.Asa

matteroffact,thevoltageinourspeakersis10timesless

thanthestaticelectricitythatbuildsuponthesurfaceofyour

televisionscreen.

How do MartinLogan speakers hold up over a long term in

the humidity of tropical climates?

WeshouldtellyouthatMartinLoganindeedhasaverysub-

stantialnumberofcustomersintropicalregionsoftheworld.

Ourspeakershavebeenservingthemnicelyformanyyears.

Thisconcernmayhavecomefromourearlierdesignof

speakers,whichwerechargedcontinuously.Since1993,all

ofourspeakershavebeendesignedsothattheyonlycharge

thepanelwhilemusicisbeingplayed.Thisimprovementhas

madeatremendousdifferenceintheconsistentperformance

ofourproduct.Theremaybealittlemoremaintenance

involvedinhumidregionswhennotinanairconditioned

environment.Simplyenough,theconcernistokeepthe

electrostatic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).You

neednotworryaboutthevacuumpressuredamagingthe

"delicate"membrane.Itisextraordinarilydurable.Dirtand

dustmaybevacuumedoffwithabrushattachmentconnect-

edtoyourvacuumcleaner,oryoumayblowthemoffwith

compressedair.Whenvacuumingorblowingoffyourpanels

dosotobothsides,butfocusthemajorityofyourattention

onthefrontofthepanels.

Should I unplug my speakers during a thunderstorm?

Yes,orbefore.It’sagoodideatodisconnectallofyour

audio/videocomponentsduringstormyweather.

English

34Troubleshooting

No Output

• Checkthatallyoursystemcomponentsareturnedon.

• Checkyourspeakerwiresandconnections.

• Checkallinterconnectingcables.

• Tryhookingupadifferentsetofspeakers.Thelackofoutput

couldpointtoaproblemwithotherequipmentinyoursys-

tem(amp,pre-amp,processor,etc.)

Weak or no Output from Electrostatic Panel, Loss of Highs

• Checkthepowercord.Isitproperlyconnectedtothespeak-

erandtothewall?

• Isthepowercordconnectedtoaswitchedoutlet?

• Dirtanddustmayneedtobevacuumedoff.Pleaseseethe

FAQregardingvacuuming.

• Ifusingasingle-wireconnection,checktomakesurethatthe

jumperclipsareinplaceandthatthebindingpostsarefirmly

hand-tightened.

• 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.

• Hasaforeignsubstance(suchasahouseholdcleaningchem-

icalorsoap)beenappliedtothepanel?Ifsothespeakerwill

requireservicing.

Popping and Ticking Sounds, Funny Noises

• Theseoccasionalnoisesareharmlessandwillnothurt

youraudiosystemoryourspeakers.Allelectrostaticspeak-

ersareguiltyofmakingoddnoisesatonetimeoranother.

Itistheresultofairbornecontaminates(mostnotablydust).

Vacuumingisrecommended.

• Thesenoisesmaybecausedbydirtanddustparticlescollect-

ingonthespeaker,byhighhumidity.

• Dirtanddustmayneedtobevacuumedoff.Pleaseseethe

FAQregardingvacuuming.

Exaggerated Highs, Brightness

• Checkthetoe-inofthespeakers.ReadthePlacementsection

ofthismanualformoreinformation.

Muddy Bass

• Checkplacement.Trymovingthespeakersclosertothefront

andsidewalls.

• Checkthetypeoffeetthatarebeingused.Tryattachingthe

couplingspikes.

• Possiblymeanslowelectrostaticpaneloutput.See'Weak

OutputfromElectrostaticPanel,LossofHighs’.

Lack of Bass, No Bass

• Checkyourspeakerwires.Isthepolaritycorrect?

• Checkyourspeakerwiresifbi-wiring.

• Ifusingasingle-wireconnection,checktomakesurethatthe

jumperclipsareinplaceandthatthebindingpostsarefirmly

hand-tightened.

• 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mov-

ingthespeakersawayfromthebackandsidewalls.

• Checkthepolarityofthespeakerwires.Aretheyconnected

properly?

• Tryswitchingtheleftspeakerwiththeright.

• AreyourspeakerssetupinanL-shapedroom?Ifso,youmay

experienceoff-centerimaging.Talktoyourdealerabout

acousticalroomtreatmentoptions.

troubleshootIng

English

MartinLogan EFX, EFXBK Owner's manual

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