MartinLogan – Motion XT Series 3-Way Floorstanding Speaker with 6.5” Midrange and Triple 8” Bass Drivers (Each) – Gloss Black

Customer Reviews (4)

1. 

   BIGASN – March 7, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   The XTF200 sits at the top of Martin Logan’s Motion XT speaker series with three 8” bass drivers setting it apart from the rest. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised with how strong and low they can go, but it’s been a while since I encountered speakers that truly did not need a subwoofer. The thunderous basslines in The Weeknd’s “Starboy” was an eye opening experience, as was the clarity and soulful tone in Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey”. As LR speakers in a home theater setup, they blend in exceptionally well as part of a 7.1 surround setup, offering balanced, lifelike sound with a wide soundstage. It’s hard to find much fault with these speakers outside of being large and heavy, but keep in mind that they’re rated at 4 ohms, so be sure your amp or AVR can handle them before connecting. They’re absolutely terrific in true 2 speaker stereo mode for music, and make an outstanding front stage in a home theater setup. If these are within your realm, I highly recommend them. The build quality and sound are all top notch. There’s a kind of Rolls Royce aura to these speakers, and I love it.

   SOUND
   Outstanding full range, with a wide and detailed sound stage. You can tell by the three 8” woofers that the XTF200 speakers are serious about bass and they absolutely deliver. Not only is the bass melodic, but in tracks like “Starboy” and “Pray for Me” by the Weeknd, the bass is downright thunderous. I honestly was not expecting that, and those tracks alone demonstrated to me how much these speakers do not need a sub. But bass can be easy. The inarguable star of the show is the gen2 XT folded motion tweeter. It produces sound by essentially squeezing air like an accordian, which is supposed to help smoothen out the high notes while offering a wide dispersion of sound. And it works. The clarity and detail are outstanding, with a wide soundstage reminiscent of horns, but slightly more focused. I went through a diverse library of music in true stereo mode (no sub) and almost kind of fell in love with music again. Everything from Wu-Tang, DPG, Kendrick, Chris Stapleton, Prince, Michael Jackson, Metallica, Ariana Grande, John Fogerty, B.B. King, to Beethovan. No matter what I threw at it, the XTF200’s did not miss a beat, while keeping an impressive level of detail and clarity at even obnoxiously loud levels. Guitars have a certain lifelike detail that’s almost surreal with the soundstage these speakers offer. Which also helps make them great LR speakers in a home theater setup. I have these paired with a Definitive Technology CLR2300 center speaker in a 7.1 surround setup, and they blend in seamlessly together while offering an impressively powerful front soundstage. Beware that these are 4 ohm speakers, so check your amp or AVR’s minimum ohm rating beforehand.

   DESIGN
   While fairly large tower speakers, the XTF200 balances out their physical presence with an elegant and slightly understated design. The main body is gloss black which transitions to a matte black finish at the front of the speakers. Each driver is outlined with an individual grill that lifts off and magically press fits back in place. Three 8” bass drivers line up from the bottom, leading to a 6.5” midrange and is topped off by a flaring that draws out from the elegant gen2 Folded Motion XT tweeter. It’s almost a little too simple, but finishing touches like the gorgeous adjustable feet and jewel-like speaker posts offer hints that these speakers are on another level. I can’t believe I’m about to write about speaker feet, but there’s 2 genuine bits of engineering here. 1 is the obvious rubber bottom to dampen vibrations on hard flooring. The second is how you adjust the height of the feet by turning the body like a knob from the top. It’s a ton easier to adjust than the conventional bottom design, plus it’s a lot safer, considering these speakers are almost 100 lbs each! Which reminds me, bring another person to help you move, unbox, and set them up. These speakers are very heavy, which is great for sound, but a pain to move. Thankfully, they sound so good, they won’t be moving any time soon.

   PROS
   – Outstanding presence and sound quality
   – Smooth vocals and highs
   – Deep bass extension
   – True full range speakers
   – Can play extremely loud before losing detail
   – XT tweeter offers a wide and detailed sound stage
   – Subwoofer not needed (though always helps)
   – Plays all genres of music well
   – Excellent front stage for home theater
   – Blends well with other speakers in 7.1 surround setup
   – Beautiful fit and finish
   – Feet are easy to adjust and look fantastic
   – Bi-ampable

   CONS
   – Big and tall
   – Heavy
   – 4 ohm (check the min. load your amp can handle)

2. 

   BestbuyGuy210 – March 12, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   If you are reading this, you most likely already own a pair of Martin Logan’s either entry level or mid range tower/book shelf speakers and you are considering going deep into the audiophile world. And that’s ok so long as you know what you are getting into beforehand. Because this game can get expensive very quickly. But if you love music and movies then you know it’s worth it for your happiness. I personally love music so much that I listen to it every night when I lay down for the night. I also love the watching movies and tv shows in my bedroom with my wife and kids. I have a large master bedroom and while these speakers are very very large, they fit almost perfectly sitting next to my 75 inch tv. Tho I recommend an 85 inch if you care about proportions(look of tv/speaker set-up).
   These F200s are visually appealing and high end looking. If you like a dark piano finish then these will fit the bill. Me personally I like them a lot but I have 2 younger children and worry about them getting scratched up easily and also fingerprints and dust will show easily. So keep that in mind. They are also very heavy which shows the quality materials and weight of the drivers but man you will need 2 strong people to lift them and/or move them. They were shipped VIA a freight company and arrived in a pair on a small pallet. I was surprised to say the least. Sound is the main selling point to most but I wanted to mention those previousl comments to help you with this purchase. I have these speakers paired to a Sonos amp rated @ 250watts at 4ohms or 125×2. this is plenty of solid and stable power for anyone. Tho a nice tube amp would be ideal in A perfect world. Martin Logan definitely has their own signature sound and imo I would say it’s a great sounding signature. With deep accurate bass and very rich and solid mid range with a crisp higher end range. I love the mid range and bass 100% the highs are sometimes a bit too high and too sharp for me with certain songs. But that is how a lot of martinlogans sound from my experience. And many love that sound. That’s perfectly fine. I notice while playing music like rock or metal or the like can be a bit harsh for my ears. And less enjoyable. But while playing acoustic music, soul music, R&B, jazz and some hip hop/rap, these will sound beautiful and clean at almost any volume. Bass is perfectly matched with the mid bass driver and tweeter. I’d even argue that the 3 8 inch drivers sound better than my standalone 8 inch powered subwoofer. But if you have a mid to high end 10-12inch powered subwoofer than the built in 3-8inch woofers won’t compete very well. you don’t absolutely need a sub unless you love bass that much. Overall these towers are almost perfect minus what I have previously mentioned(all ears are different tho). While watching movies these work great when the source is mixed with a great soundtrack. Action movies feel like you are in a small theater even if you only have a 2.1 speaker set up. Speech and actor dialogue comes through clear as well. Well suited for movies which was a surprise because most people buy these for their music rooms. Very happy overall with both movies and music.
   Speaker feet are very easy to install and adjust. They come with both carpet spikes and tile feet as well and I really appreciate that. My other towers only include the carpet spikes. Martinlogan includes speaker covers too. You will need these if you ever move them To another room or another house. Speaker grills are easy to remove and replace and add a simple touch of style and some protection against someone accidentally damaging the drivers themselves. Great thought and consideration on their part. I definitely recommend if your budget allows and if you have the space to fit them and most importantly, if you have a semi powerful amp with clean power that can handle a 4ohm passive speaker. All in all I am more than happy to own these and I’m sure you will as well.

3. 

   Slugger – April 13, 2023

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Only reason why im not giving them 5 stars is because they are very expensive but the sound quality is great. Theres no need for a subwoofer in my opinion. I can bump the volume up really high and never get fatigue.

4. 

   Jeffrey – October 6, 2023

   Rated 5 out of 5

   I had initially thought to buy a model with somewhat smaller woofers. My major reason for going with ML, after listening at Best Buy’s demo studio, was that the treble on their speakers was really superior to most every other brand I listened to. However, my one concern was that the speakers did seem to not cover bass ranges quite as well, and even with a subwoofer this would only fill the ultra-low frequencies while omitting more traditional bass ranges. At the end of the day, this speaker seemed to fix that problem, providing beautiful coverage of all major frequencies and really sounds exceptional. I haven’t installed a subwoofer yet, though this would certainly enhance the sound even more – an added advantage is that these can be built on over time; I had looked at Definitive Technology speakers with built in subwoofers as a close second, but feel that though this would have gotten the whole package for cheaper, the MLs would offer a better experience ultimately with added subwoofer.

   I’m using them almost exclusive for music listening in stereo for now and have paired them with a Marantz PM7000N amplifier which, though only capable of stereo, seems to be a great option if you want to go this route (obviously can be switched for a surround amplifier if desired later).

   Highly recommend, though they are obviously pricey and a major purchase.