Martin Logan Electromotion ESL X speakers
The concept of the ‘marmite product’; a device that appeals hugely to a subset of people while repelling roughly the same number, is one with which the audio industry is both familiar and fairly comfortable with. While I am pretty confident that the good people of Martin Logan won’t see their offerings this way, their trademark hybrid electrostatics that combine an electrostatic panel for the upper registers, augmented by a dynamic driver for lower frequencies are for reasons of configuration alone, something of an acquired taste.
I need to confess at this point that, for many years, I was no more enthused by Martin Logan speakers than I was the aforementioned yeast extract. I could admire the engineering and at points, enjoy what they did but not so consistently that I would wish to live with them all the time. Interestingly, this changed when I heard the original Electromotion; the most affordable Martin Logan hybrid speaker. This harnessed the notional engineering benefits of the design in a way that gelled with what I’m looking for in a speaker and I liked it a great deal. Given that the ESL X takes the principles embodied in the Electromotion and increases the size, the omens were good that it would appeal too.
The Electromotion models differ from larger Martin Logan hybrids principally over how the dynamic cone driver section operates. On the larger models, this is powered by an internal amplifier but on the Electromotions, it is passive and relies on the connected amplifier for power. The ESL X has a pair of 203mm (eight inches in old money) drivers arranged in a counterfiring arrangement at the base of the speaker and further augmented by a lower bass port.
For this latest version, Martin Logan has beefed up the crossover arrangement between the dynamic drivers and panel. The company describes the current set up as a ‘Vojtko topology’ filter which uses custom air core coil and low DCR steel laminate inductors, polyester film capacitors in series, and low DF electrolytic capacitors in parallel. It hands over to the panel at 400Hz and supports bi-wiring.
The panel that the crossover hands off to is a 102 x 22cm sized electrostatic device made of the company’s XStat material which is sufficiently thin that the panel is transparent. Like all electrostatic devices, the panel requires an electric current in addition to power from an amplifier so each ESL X must be plugged in to a wall socket. Something that regrettably hasn’t changed in this iteration of Electromotion is that the UK spec PSU exits the plug at 90 degrees to one side, effectively precluding them from being connected side by side in a normal twin mains outlet which I can see being irksome for some.
The most interesting aspect of the Electromotion is that, even though any amplifier connected is responsible for driving the complete speaker, it is not a particularly difficult device to drive. Martin Logan quotes the sensitivity at 91dB/w and this doesn’t feel wide of the mark in use. While I suspect that something towards the 20 watt end of the suggested power output might limit the headroom, the Naim Supernait 3 that was on hand for testing was barely stretched by the ESL X and most owners shouldn’t find themselves too limited in their electronics choices.
Anyone looking to buy the ESL X will need to grant them a fair amount of room though. What seems to be a general rule of thumb for Martin Logan hybrids is they need at least as much clearance from a boundary as the length of the bass cabinet; in this case a whisker over 50cm. I’d be inclined to suggest this is a starting point however and some rooms will need them further out than this. Every other aspect of the ESL X is rather more manageable though. You might think that the 150cm total height is going to be pretty significant but, when half the speaker is transparent, it matters rather less. The speaker itself is well made and details like the spiked feet with integral floor protectors speak to a certain level of fastidiousness in their design and construction.
Sound quality
Key to what the original Electromotion did to charm me was deliver a performance that felt cohesive, consistent and fundamentally entertaining. I found myself choosing music I wanted to play rather than sifting through things I thought they would do well. The experience wasn’t perfect but it was very compelling. The ESL X doesn’t alter this fundamental premise and usefully augments it in a few ways.
And ‘augment’ is precisely the word that springs to mind when discussing the bass response. All Martin Logan Hybrids quote exceptionally modest lower roll off figures and the 41Hz figure of the ESL X is no exception. The reality is that in-room this is a speaker that exhibits little in the way of perceivable roll off until the low thirties and this lends Telephasic Workshop by Boards of Canada a seriously impressive heft. This is not the sort of material that is generally a happy hunting ground for an electrostatic but the ESL X is genuinely proficient at it.
What’s also noticeable is that the speed and articulation of this low end has been tightened up significantly. This a more agile and engaging speaker than older Electromotions and it benefits everything you play on it. As the fabulous State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U) by Jim James builds from its simple vocal opener, a single drum is struck at slow but decreasing intervals. Here, each stroke is swift, deep and utterly convincing.
This means that the electrostatic panel can get on with working its magic and it does so to brilliant effect. James himself sounds sensational; free of anything that remotely resembles a cabinet but possessed of a tangible realism that allows you to stop listening to the electronics and focus instead on the music. This is one of the most tonally compelling speakers I have heard under ten thousand pounds and it has the means of making most conventional box speakers sound a little constrictive.
What I found interesting about my time with the ESL X is that this goes hand in hand with improvements to how it handles scale that are a genuine step forward. I’m in no doubt, this is still a speaker that can recreate large scale material in a way that is largely peerless. The supporting strings in The Cinematic Orchestra’s Burn Out are almost immersive, such is the way they extend around the listening position and it’s a longstanding Martin Logan party piece. Where the ESL X is arguably more interesting is with smaller scale material. Hayden Thorpe’s beautiful Impossible Object is not a large scale track and doesn’t benefit from Thorpe being given the sort of dimensions that suggests he has lungs the size of phone boxes. Where some older Martin Logan designs added extra scale whether you wanted it or not, here the ESL X keeps the intimacy and proportion the track needs and simply creates a space around it that allows you to focus on just how good a piece of music it is.
The final refinement and flourish that Martin Logan seems to have worked into the ESL X is a further development of what so endeared its predecessor to me. This is a speaker that is plain and simple good fun. I’ve found myself revisiting the Beastie Boys back catalogue a great deal of late and the way that the Martin Logan tackles An Open Letter to NYC is a thing of utter joy. Every high speed syllable is delivered with near perfect clarity and the (superbly mastered) supporting track expands around your head, but more than any technical proficiency it is head nodding, foot tapping and emotionally engaging in a way I have always needed a speaker to be.
Conclusion
What results is a speaker that takes Martin Logan further from the marmite product category than anything I’ve heard from the company so far. What is especially interesting is that- stretching this metaphor to breaking point; the marmite is still there, it’s simply been used in a recipe that is going to appeal to a great many people, even if they aren’t always keen on the raw ingredient alone. This is the most interesting, proficient and enjoyable speaker I have yet to test from Martin Logan and anyone with the space to let it sing should be interested in auditioning it.