MartinLogan – Motion XT F100 3-Way Floorstanding Speaker with 6.5” Midrange and Triple 6.5” Bass Drivers (Each) – Gloss Black

Customer Reviews (9)

1. 

   Veganrichy – March 7, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   The Martin Logan Motion XT F100 series floor speakers were not just reinvented from the motion line, but rather, they were brought back from the dead in a new, powerful speaker that audiophiles and cinema fans can get behind.

   The F100s have an updated Gen2 Folded tweeter, which produces a wavelengh of sound that provides a clear, concise sound, followed by a midrange which reduces reduction to provide the best clarity for music, films, and television listening.

   Setup:
   The setup was easy; each floor speaker had to be tipped (upside down) to install the new and improved feet. Regarding the new and improved feet, Martin Logan gives users the option to us spikes (for carpeting) or rubber feet (for hardwood flooring). Additionally, the feet can be leveled on your floor without the use of tools (granted, you will need to install the feet on the bottom with a provided allen wrench key). All the user needs to do is twist the feet to level them. Also, the feet include anti-vibration technology to reduce floor vibrations.

   After installing the feet, I carefully tipped them up-right) and placed them into my listening position (approximately 10 feet from the speaker placement). Additionally, I have the F100s towed into my seating position for approximate sound.

   It is recommended to provide these speakers with a powered amplifier; they are 4ohm rated, which means they will require some power to give you the absolute best sound possible. I chose to plug them into a dedicated powered amplifier that provides 400 watts per channel at two channels driven.

   Note: I did not bi-wire or bi-amp the F100s.

   Sound test:

   Martin Logan suggests breaking these speakers in for seventy-two hours before you raise some hairs with these. Considerably, my first test was Boston’s self-titled album via a 180 gram vinyl.

   Immediately, the track “More than a feeling” began, and I could not believe how incredible the F100s sounded. With a rated 31 hz – 25khz frequency response and a paired up twelve inch subwoofer I could distinguish the highs and lows while listening. With crystal clear vocals and instruments, the subwoofer took care of the LFE signals, while the bass was not muddy but rather precise and punchy. The crossover frequency rating of 280hz provides a clear, productive bass that does not drown out the high frequency driver, providing a clearer distinguished sound. Additionally, while sitting at my listening position, I have to hand it to Martin Logan for providing us with a 1.25″ x 2.4″ tweeter. No matter where I sat on my couch (whether it was, centered, left or right), I heard everything accurately and precisely, thanks to their waveguide technology. Additionally, the F100s include three 6.5″ subwoofers, that do not drown out the tweeter/midrange by any means. Also, note that the F100s are bottom ported, so the sound fires down rather than back (like some speakers I have owned in the past). Users with limited space do not have to worry about being “too close to their wall” when placing the F100s around their room.

   Next, I went to one of my “go-to” films for audio demonstration on the F100s. I chose to watch Blade Runner 2049 in 4K. More specifically, I played several scenes to hear how the F100s lined up with the front-stage sound and playback. I was not disappointed when a “spinner” hovered on screen, or the specifics of the dialogue between characters, paired with background effects through the F100s; everything was as clear, consistent, and distinguished as it was while playing music without a trace of audio clipping. All of this is possible with Martin Logan’s Nomex Reinforced Kevlar Midrange, which is paired up with the Gen2 FM XT; vocals are better than ever (as well as background effects); sound accuracy is on-point at all volumes (I comfortably listened at -15 db).

   The F100s are sleek qnd modernized. The F100s are covered with beautiful speaker grilles. The only con I saw with the F100s were the removable grill plates; they hook into the aluminum housing on the speakers. I would like to have seen a magnetic removable cover for a premium speaker, but that is literally all I can find that I dislike about these speakers.

   Simply put, the Martin Logan Motion XT F100 floor speakers are the best I have heard. Quite frankly, the F100s are in a class of their own and will compete with other higher-end brand floor speakers.

   The updated tweeter design paired with the mid range provides the cleanest, concise vocals and effects in any film and music I have heard. The F100s are elegant, classy, and dare I say, the perfect speaker for home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles.

   Bravo, Martin Logan (:: slow clap::)

2. 

   elitegangsta – March 11, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   I was absolutely ecstatic when I got the opportunity to review the new MartinLogan Motion XTs. I am a cinephile, audiophile, technophile type person, and have been a long time fan of MartinLogan’s products.

   I’d like to first start off by outlining the equipment I used to test these speakers. I’d like to note, none of the equipment I own is what I’d consider to be “optimal” to get the absolute best performance out of these speakers in all situations. For my listening/theatre room, the equipment I used is more than ample to produce a stellar listening experience none the less. I simply want to also point out this is an area of extreme subjectivity and one that is argued over by experts (and otherwise) in the industry. What “sounds good” to one audiophile does not always sound “good” to another. This is even more disparaging between casual listeners and casual consumers:

   Denon AVR-X4700H without a separate amp, single wired with bridge (125 watts RMS in 2 ch modes)
   iPhone 14 Pro via Airplay 2 (CD quality 24-bit/48kHz) and via Thunderbolt to USB with DragonFly DAC for mid-lossless audio (24-bit/96kHz
   Epson Cinema 3200 4k Projector w/ grey 100″ static screen

   I’d like to also point out that the impedance on the F100s are 4ohms (lower the better) which essentially means, it requires more power to deliver optimal sound but the result is less distortion and better sound. Your standard speakers are typically 8ohms, so at 50% greater impedance, these are truly special/high end speakers. My Denon AVR-X4700H claims to be 4ohms capable, however, what this really means (for anyone else looking for a similar setup) is the power draw changes, which technically speaking will register a 4 ohms certification, but in reality, it’s just making the receiver work harder, get hotter, and risk burning out the receiver. This receiver is NOT a true 4ohms amp and should be used in it’s 8ohms configuration (which is how I operated it). Anyone wanting to learn more should do their own ample research on this topic. Optimal amp to get a true 4ohms at clean, stable power should be used to maximize these speakers. The F100s has no issues what so ever operating at the 8ohms delivered via my Denon. I never have to turn the volume up much over 50% for these to blow the roof off my basement, so for my purposes, additional amplification is not necessarily needed.

   I started off listening to some of my favorite tracks via Apple Music over AirPlay 2, which I love the convenience of, and AirPlay 2 supports 24-bit 48kHz :CD Quality” stream when using “lossless” audio, and since this is likely a typical setup for folks, either via CD Player, or perhaps even a “streaming” box, I chose to start here. I played a variety of songs from Aerosmith, X-Ambassadors, De la Soul, Busta Rhymes, Slipknot, Garth Brooks, and one of my all time favorites, Metallica’s black album (enter sand man, the unforgiven, etc) which when eyes closed, heavily focused on every details of the track, I could almost swear Larz and the gang were giving me a private show in a sound studio. I have almost 0 echo in my theatre room, so any vibration experience has always come from the cabinets of the speakers or something loose, such as a cover, or the base. MartinLogan has not only build a bomb shelter equivalent of a speaker cabinet, which is tight, expertly crafted, and my unit, glossy black, added an extra layer of “candy coating” that results in the impossibility of any added noise. MartinLogan also design the most amazing “F.A.S.T.” feet for the F100s. Taking the feat out of the box was a luxurious experience all in itself. They are heavy, made of metal and rubber, and connected to the speaker bottoms with each. Once installed, a simple twist of the circular tops either raise or lower each side which results in effortless balancing. This is crucial to ensure all the hard work on these stellar cabinets don’t go to waste by something like floor vibration due to unevenness. Outside of vibration, the clarity and “true to life” sound I heard was nothing short of life changing. Minor details such as fingerprints sliding up and down guitar strings, to the vibrations of the wooden drumsticks on taught drum skin, to the heart stopping, goosebump educing bass. These thing have RANGE and at a clarity I’ve never experienced before listening to speakers. As a kid who grew up with an architect as a father, who would often design theatre rooms that would rival sundance, and getting invited to watch movies and enjoy some of the most premium environments money can buy, these speakers still stand out. As someone who often avoids horn tweeters as they tend to over exaggerate the highs of most sounds, these are different. There was a “warmth” about these that was so soothing yet detailed and crisp enough to not feel degraded in any way. I am also someone who does not pretend they can hear “lossless” over “CD Quality” or even see “4k over 8k” from 15 feet back. I seriously doubt most who claim this, and in my group of audiophile/cinephile friends (whom we spend far too much time making the simplest tweaks to equipment just to see if we can tell a difference) cannot and never in blind test tell the difference. That is, until now… I had no shortage of eager friends jumping at the bit to come over and listen to these with me. We played tons of various tracks in both AirPlay 2 and then connected to my DAC to get a higher tier lossless. While I don’t believe any more “detail” was necessarily heard by any of us, all 3 of us identified when the DAC/Lossless tracks were playing and when the AirPlay 2 CD quality was playing. (to also note, it is impossible NOT to tell the difference between a direct non lossless stream via something like Apple TV and the CD quality over AirPlay 2, this is starkly different and anything less than CD is easily identified as lossy and muddy). The sound was simply “louder” and “clearer” if that makes any sense. More details is coming through, and while audibly that “detail” couldn’t be heard by any of us, the volume differences and faint added clarity made the 2 options apparent in a way I’ve never been able to identify, even with other high end speaker setups, ever before.

   Turning to home theatre I sampled a number of my favorite flicks. I started with Alita Battle Angel for one reason. There is a scene where there are a number of mechanical arms assembling the robot. There is a ton of detail in this scene and most of which is lost on lesser systems. The MartinLogans reproduced this with a clarity and details I’ve never experienced in the dozens of times I’ve watched this scene. I could hear 30 or so of the little arms all working together. It was actually a level of creepiness to it as well. Switching to Jurassic Park, the roars of the T-Rex as he chased the jeep in that infamous scene placed me in the jeep along with the gang. The bass response that comes out of these do not even require a sub. It is marvelous how much sound is produced by a singular speaker… wrapping up with the demo of all demos, Mad Max fury road. This is a masterpiece of cinema demo as everything in this film is reference grade material. The detail in the sand storms, wind, exhaust from the cars, metal chains, all while allowing the vocal tracks to shine through without fail. This film was almost like watching it for the first time, which is another nothing short of a miracle experience given how many times I’ve seen this movie, demoed it on new equipment and would make the argument that watching it in the theatre the first time, was a total waste as nothing the theatres have outshine these Motion XT F100s in a proper environment.

   I know at least 2 of my 3 friends are considering buying these after our experimentation and demo sessions. I also cannot get the point across enough, about how much of a bang for the buck these are. I understand to a lot of people that $2000+ each of a lot of money, and I agree. But if you look at the market, understand what is out there at this price point and producing what these produce, you won’t find it, At least I haven’t. Using a mediocre receiver, in a non sound isolated room, and experiencing audio nirvana in a literal, life changing way to someone who has seen and heard it all, in hundreds of different environments, and is “never happy” with anything, regardless of how much money was spent (part of the reason I don’t go overboard) MartinLogan has done something there I think will shock the industry. Anyone who even remotely cares about audio/theatre and has the funds to swing these, absolutely needs to give these a try. They will blow you away, change your life, or at the least, show you something you’ve never seen or heard before with this type of a setup.

   Thank you MartinLogan for the opportunity and experience. I will be raving about these for a very, very long time. You’ve made a new super fan out of me, and I am so very grateful.

3. 

   Nate34 – March 14, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Combined with the XTB bookshelf, and XTC center, the XTF floor standing speakers are the bext audio I have ever heard…period!

   Making room for these monsters is well worth it. They are very heavy and very tall and there is a very good reason for both. They sound simply amazing. But you can tell they put a lot into the design as well. They look awesome as well.

   But these are all about the audio experience and although its difficult to put into writing what someone hears Ill give it a shot. First tested was some of my favorite music. And a lot of these songs I had listened to for the most part with high end head phones. And I thought that was the best they could sound. I was wrong. It was like a completely different experience through the Martin Logan set up. And specifically the bass coming from the 6.5” drivers. When I was younger and into car audio I use to think all that mattered was volume, specifically BOOM. Older now I like my bass to be crisp, tight, and have accuracy over increased noise. But dont get me wrong. Im not saying these cant slam, they most definitely can and will if you want them to.

   But where I was most impressed was with the movie experience. Like most Marvel blockbusters. Its as close to a movie theater experience you can get without forking over $20. Rewatching movies I had seen several times was like watching them for the first time with audio the way the sound and music composers meant for their creations to sound. Extremely clear dialogue, amazing surround, and perfect bass deliver sound that has to be heard to believed. Martin Logan knocked it out of the park with the XT100 series.

4. 

   gonzaloejimenez – March 14, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   For a long time I heard about Martin Logan brand spearkers, but to be honest, I wasnt sure how good they were until I got the 2 Floorstanding F100 model speakers. They are amazing. Even the packaging reflects the level of quality and care Martin Logan invests on their products. They are really well packaged, it took me some quite time to unpackage them, but I realized that I was in front of a really high end product and I was feeling more curious about the sound quality they can deliver.
   The Speakers are heavy, no doubt, 76 pounds. Which tells me that the engineers have spared no efforts in the design of a robust enclosure (and this is very important because you want to isolate the negative sound that comes naturally from the back of the speaker efficiently without affecting the displacing performance of the speaker movement), and big magnets. My old man used to say, about high end sound equipment, “the heavier, the better.” Even if nowadays many designers have reduce significantly the size and weight of the components like transformers, magnets and big capacitors, that statement is still valid today. When I was in university, my teacher told us that everything about speakers, formulas, enclosure design, etc, was written in a book that I still have from the 1950’s. However Martin Logan has proved that there is still much more to offer.
   Starting by the look, they are good looking set of speakers that you will feel proud to have in your living room as part of the rest of the furniture. Mine are Gloss Black, shiny, stylish. Setup is simple, each speaker comes with an accessory box that includes the “leg support”, in 2 different ways, spikes for carpeting or rubber feet for hardwood flooring, which are easy to install with the provided allen wrench tool. A very nice and useful black soft bag to cover them, and the QR code to download the instruction manual, which I always recommend to read it in order to familiarize better with any product you get. In this case, just go to page 13. There you will see the specifications which will help you to understand what kind of amplifier and cables you might need depending on the power that you amp is capable to deliver. The overall design is up to date, elegant with nice speaker grilles.
   So, basically, you want to focus on the RMS value, not the PMPo or any peak Power sound concept that many brands invented years ago in order to mask the lack of power of their speakers and Amps. These speakers are rated to reach a max of 225 rms watts at 4 ohms, which is high, but will they deliver the same high fidelity, balanced, clarity harmonious at high or low power sound, while you are increasing or decreasing the knob volume?. You are looking for a consistence quality sound, that is exactly what I have found these speakers are capable to deliver.
   You have to understand that with a Power of 225watts at 4ohms, if you do the formula, at the maximum volume level with a Powerful amp, these speaker will be running 8amps each one, considering that you have an amplifier capable to deliver that amount of power, only half way you still have 4amps running on each speaker, which is a lot. So that tells you that you need a good set of quality, thick, stranded speaker wire cables. The thicker they are, the better, because will offer less resistance and therefore will be more efficient. At the back you will see that there is an impressive high quality speaker audio connectors, with a metal bridge, for 2 kind of connectivity configuration, single wire connection and bi wire connection. Just use the single wire connection, which means, leave the metal bridge in place and connect your negative and positive output of your amp in the corresponding speaker connector.
   I have an old school Yamaha 200watts at 4 ohms per channel amplifier, signal noise ratio of 97db, 0,008THD that was stored in my garage waiting for a set of speakers like these ones to prove its value. Since my old set of Polk Speakers got ruined by a flood some time ago, and I was just surviving with a soundbar.
   So my configuration is as follows, 200 watts Yamaha Amplifier, 200watts 12in Klipsch Subwoofer, 10 gauge speaker cables, and a Technics Turntable with Grado Cartridge and stylus, and a Bluetooth audio converter. On page 8 of the manual Martin Logan recommends to break-in the speakers for 72 hours at 90 dB, before you start to seriously consider the listening. I found this very interesting, but it really makes a lot of sense.
   So, I was ready to start with what I consider is a challenging symphony for any Sound equipment, 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, and the reason I choose this symphony is because of the sound variations, low and high frequencies will be put in test, and also by the canons at the end. I started just with the 25% of the sound power volume, and the clarity and definition of the violins were amazing, then I increased until the 50%, and was holding the balance between instruments, clarity, colorful sound without any distortion. And I forget to decrease the volume and while I was thinking that the canons will ruin the good moment I was having, I was surprised, the epic final of the symphony, which I am pretty sure it easily reached peaks of 8amps, was perfectly clear, like being in the actual music hall listening live.

   So, my next candidate was the Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven, because I want to hear the chorus, and the end of the 4th Movement. These speakers are capable to really differentiate very well the voices and instruments, I was very impressed. Again, I tested between 50% and 65% of the sound volume, and all the way the speakers were able to hold the clarity and definition for every instrument.

   Finally I tried a couple of songs, the John Lennon’s Starting Over in Vinyl, because I want to hear the beginning dreamy solo section, and John’s beautiful voice. And then I tested the mp3 song Royals by Lorde, to see how performs the BASS. Both songs sounded fantastic. Then I tried the many 4 phases and quad Vinyl records I have, just to recall how much I used to enjoy to listen how the songs should sound.

   Martin Logan has resurrected the right way to listen, appreciate and enjoy the music, if you are a music lover like me, the listening from these speakers, the quality and power they are capable to deliver is a very pleasant experience, not to mention that they look great!

5. 

   masc360 – March 17, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Let me start off these are hefty boys coming in at about 76 pounds they were loads of fun to unpack. After getting them set up if was fun to test these out. Started off with some different music tracks and was instantly amazed with the separation of the instruments and the amount of bass the speakers had on their own.
   While they are no means subwoofer replacements they definitely hold their own and for smaller places you could slip the sub and still have an incredibly enjoyable experience with music or movies.
   The look of the speaker is absolutely amazing the craftsmanship on them is second to none and the fact they ship with a dust cover is a huge plus because they are glossy and can easily attract dust and fingerprints.
   Watching movies with these was an experience unto itself, the detail and separation of sounds was incredible and you were able to hear all these details at low volume or even at high volume.
   I cannot recommend these speakers more I’ve tried speakers from plenty of the other brands and these are by far the best I have tried.

6. 

   Slugger – April 13, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   These are by far the best speakers ive ever heard. The midrange is perfect and the bass can be felt. The highs are very clean they make me smile everytime i listen to them

7. 

   TonyT – June 25, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   These speakers are nice. They make just the right amount of noise for that room. Movies and music sounds great with these speakers. I returned the B&W 704s3 for these, Glad I did, Great speakers. Worth the price.

8. 

   BrianZ – November 26, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Replaced my 20year old Klipsch with the Martin Logan’s and what a difference

9. 

   Wade – December 2, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   These speakers have transformed my 2 channel Vinyl Playback system by leaps and bounds. I swapped out my Tannoy Revolution XT 6F for these F100’s. Tonight I listened to the UK 1st Press of Radiohead’s OK Computer, Chris Bellman’s cut of Love’s Forever Changes, and MOFIs One Step of Bill Evans Sunday at the Village Vanguard. I am perplexed on how these speakers are able to give such low end extension while putting a holographic mid range and top end out there. There are times when it sounds like the sound is behind me. The weight of the drums, guitars, and especially the vocals is crazy. The only way I can describe the sound is it’s like I’m in the control room listening to the final mix. With these speakers you get a deep, tall, and wide sound stage with bass extension that absolutely rivals speaker twice the price. I honestly don’t think at this point I need to think about ever upgrading my speakers. These are end game for me. I used a Rega RP8 with a LOMC Dynavector 20X2 cartridge, Aria Phono Preamp, Rogue Audio 99 Super Magnum Pre, and Rogue Audio ST 90 Super Magnum Power Amp. My power amp in Triode Mode puts out about 50 Watts per channel with the KT120 Tubes and easily drives these speaker on the 4ohm tap. Seriously, don’t hesitate on these speakers,