Amazing sound – so glad we bought a pair of these along with the center speaker

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.

These are bespoke. I have been into audio for 40 years and these are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. They are costly but the last speakers you will ever buy. Outstanding music listening experience in stereo and equally realistic in home theater surround system.

Imaging, full range, look great, I have a number of HI-FI speakers. Including Martin Logan Aeons and several B&W bookshelf speakers. The performance of these Motion XT F100’s Image much, much better than anything I have owned. I have read and watched a number of reviews that state you will not need a subwoofer, I have 2 subs because I use this system for stereo music listening and 4.2.6 Atmos movie watching. That said, I feel a subwoofer is a much welcomed addition for the low end.