MartinLogan Motion 35XT Home Theater System
Audiogurus loves to recommend great home theater systems. In particular, we are big fans of MartinLogan Motion 35XT bookshelf speakers, so I thought I’d do a run-down on why this might be one of the best systems you can buy this season. This MartinLogan Motion 35XT Home Theater system is built using very particular components, and I want to take some time to talk about each one and then talk about what makes this a great system for your home theater. For starters, we’re talking about a home theater system that includes a pair of MartinLogan Motion 35XT bookshelf speakers, a MarginLogan Motion 50XT center channel speaker, two MartinLogan Motion FX surround speakers, and a MartinLogan Dynamo 1000W subwoofer. To drive it all, Audiogurus recommends a Yamaha RX-A740 surround receiver. For your source, we love the Oppo BDP-103D Blu-ray Disc player, possibly the very best BD player on the market right now. Let’s look at each component in turn:
MartinLogan Motion 35XT Bookshelf Speakers
What makes these speakers particularly exceptional is, well…everything. From the beautiful finish (you can get them in High Gloss Cherry or Black) to the Folded Motion XT tweeter, this speaker means business. The two-way system uses a low-distortion 6.5-inch high-excursion black-aluminum woofer and low-turbulence rear-firing bass port to generate output down to 50Hz. This is actually the largest bookshelf speaker from MartinLogan and it blends well with any of the Motion Series lineup. Other details we like include the perforated steel grille which attaches using magnets, the 3/4-inch MDF construction, and the use of a solid, black-anodized brushed aluminum baffle. Even the crossovers are a cut above, featuring polypropylene and low-DF electrolytic capacitors, custom wound inductors, and thermal overload protection. The binding posts on the MartinLogan Motion 35XT bookshelf speakers also feature dual custom 5-way binding posts, complete with a custom copper bridge plate.
MartinLogan Motion 35XT speakers
MarginLogan Motion 50XT Center Channel Speaker
The MarginLogan Motion 50XT center channel speaker is the perfect match to any of the XT series speakers. It features a frequency response of 50–25,000 Hz and wide dispersion angle, so sound spreads nearly 80° horizontally and with a 30° vertical spread as well. The MartinLogan Motion 50XT Center Channel is rated at 4-ohms (nominal, but it can be driven by just about any amplifier due to its efficiency. In fact the 50XT Center speaker is a bit more efficient than the 35XT bookshelf speakers, coming in at 94 dB SPL @1W/m. The result is that you get a lot of output from a speaker designed to reproduce most of the content in a feature film, or the primary vocals in a 5.1 audio mix. The crossovers, which are placed at 900 and 2,200 Hz are made with custom air core coil and low DCR steel laminate inductors. MartinLogan also uses polyester film capacitors in series and low DF electrolytic capacitors in parallel—all with thermal/current protection.
As you’d expect, the high frequencies are driven by a 1.25″ × 2.4″ Folded Motion XT Transducer that uses a 4.5″ x 2.75″ diaphragm. Bass and midrange are supplied by two 6.5″ drivers with aluminum cones that use a cast polymer basket and a rigid dust cap to reduce cone break-up modes. Like the 35XT bookshelf speakers, the 50XT Center has custom 5-way binding posts that can be bi-wired. At 30.5 lbs, this center channel speaker is a beast!
MartinLogan Motion 50XT Center
MartinLogan Motion FX Surround Speakers
Capping off the rear surrounds are the MartinLogan Motion FX Surround Speakers. These surrounds are well-designed and blend easily into any room decor. The Motion FX surrounds use twin Folded Motion tweeters to create a nice, wide dispersion pattern. A 5-1/4″ paper cone woofer yields bass down to 74Hz thanks to a folded reflex port. The Motion FX’s fidelity can be largely credited to the Folded Motion technology, which uses a light-weight diaphragm with a large surface area that’s actually eight times that of a typical one-inch dome tweeter. The drivers are fed through a precision Vojtko crossover that uses custom air core coil and low DCR steel laminate inductors as well as polyester film and low DF electrolytic capacitors. In addition to setting them on a shelf or stand, you can install the Motion FX surrounds on-wall, either flat or angled, or in a corner. Connectivity is via push-style binding posts that can accept bare wire or banana plugs.
MartinLogan Motion FX Surrounds
MartinLogan Dynamo 1000W Subwoofer
Bringing the bass in this system is MartinLogan’s Dynamo 1000W Sub, a 12″ model with a 500-watt RMS/1,000-watt peak amplifier. This is a down-firing subwoofer that can actually be converted into a front-firing sub—perfect for installations where you need particular placement (like in a dampened cabinet). The MartinLogan Dynamo 1000W also includes a built-in wireless receiver that can connect to an optional SWT-1 Wireless Transmitter (sold separately). The Dynamo 1000W pairs a high-power magnet structure with a 12-inch diaphragm for a long-throw system that still resists distortion. The cone material does a good job of damping the driver so you get a smooth, non-resonant response.
The 500W amplifier on the MartinLogan Dynamo 1000W is ultra-efficient, using variable audio tracking power supplies to drive its class AB output stage at lower distortion and with less noise than typical Class D switching amps. It allows the amplifier in the Dynamo 1000W to operate at much higher efficiencies than a typical class AB amplifier. In standby, the Dynamo 1000W uses less than 1 watt.
The cabinet on the Dynamo 1000W subwoofer is sealed, exhibiting less transient-blurring group delay. It’s constructed from MDF, and structural cross-bracing is well-placed to baffle the box and add the much-needed rigidity for reducing cabinet-induced resonances.
MartinLogan Dynamo 1000W subwoofer
Rounding out the system are the Oppo BDP-103D Blu-ray player (with Darbee Visual Presence) and the Yamaha RX-A740 AV receiver—two incredibly powerful products that represent the top of their respective classes.
Still on the fence? Don’t be. This is an incredible system that you can build at Audiogurus. My advice? Grab this MartinLogan Motion 35XT recommended home theater system and enjoy your movies in a whole new way!
