MartinLogan Motion 12 Home Theater Front/Surround Speaker Each

Pros: These sound great. The sound is very clear, covers the room well and the sound seems to not put any strain my ears. They seem to be better suited for classical/Jazz over hard rock. I haven't turned these up yet, so I can't comment on the higher volume performance. I am extremely pleased with this purchase. They have decent bass, but I would highly recommend a sub. They are packaged well.

Cons: The shape of these speakers can make then look "tilted" when viewed at an angle when they are next to the television. These cannot be backed up to a wall due the lower rear bass ports, they sounded a bit "muddy" to me but a little separation from the wall corrected this.

Pros: Not bright or harsh
Detailed high end
Very smooth sound
Solid bass
Sound stage
Build Quality and design
Price

Cons: Length of break in? Manual says approx 72 hours at 90db before critical listening.

As others have stated they are tippy (like they will fall forward easily) out of the box on carpet. But that is because the feet they arrive with are for non-carpeted floors. Switching the front feet with the spikes provided and adjusting the height a bit they become just as solid as other speakers.

Just good but not great with hard rock.

Other Thoughts: I had older Def Tech DR7 towers as my fronts but they were too bright so I've been looking for new speakers. After research I decided to give these a try. I have Mirage M490's as well and like their warmer non bright sound so I was hoping these would be a better version of the Mirage sound. The Motion 12's have exactly the sound I was looking for. Very smooth, detailed and accurate with great mids and a very nice sound stage. The first time I played them the wife was sitting next to me and asked if the center channel was on. It wasn't. The room is open with a slanted vaulted ceiling and these still fill the area just fine. Great speakers, the thought they are only going to get better as they break in is very exciting as I really like them already. I won't be looking for new speakers for years to come. If I could afford it right now I'd buy another pair for my basement setup. If you are looking for new speakers and have been considering these but afraid to pull the trigger, just do it, you won't be sorry.

Pros: as in my previous review, plus
what a steal! fantastic sound on a world-class amplifier

Cons: as in my previous review, plus
takes up a lot of room

Other Thoughts: I must correct one of my previous statements. I have been using these with a HK 7559HD in the last two weeks. The difference is heaven and hell; the sound brought tears in my eyes. The only reason why I am not using them for side and rear speakers as well is because they would take up too much space even in my middle-sized living room.

Do not skimp on the interconnect cables; for me, Audioquest Type II have been fine (you can use two for each channel if you want to improve the sound further at an affordable price).

Pros: Wow, if these sound this good now, I can't wait to hear them after they're broken in!

- The resolution and clarity on these speakers is fantastic (and I've listened to A LOT of speakers).*

*This has been edited from my earlier review. In that review I mistakenly typed imaging and clarity when I had meant to say resolution and clarity, while stating imaging/soundstage in the following paragraph.

- Very good imaging/soundstage. If these speakers are positioned right, you will not be able to tell the sound is coming from speakers (which is a sign of a great speaker).

- Not overly bright or boomy like most speakers in this price range. Like I’ve said, I’ve listened to a lot of speakers, particularly in this price-range and almost all that I’ve heard from Klipsch, Polk, Energy, etc. all have a very artificial sound to them. The Motion 12s are very natural sounding!

- Exceptional detail in the midrange and a smooth natural top-end that let you hear details in your music and movies that you simply can’t achieve with most speakers in this price-range. I’m completely sold on Martin Logan’s Folded Motion tweeters.

- They take up a lot less room than my old speakers, ie smaller footprint.

- The quality of the speakers looks much better in-person. I was concerned when seeing them online that the cabinets might be that cheap wanna-be wood. It is not! It's definitely a real wood cabinet.

- Got them for an absolute steal - on sale for $240 per speaker with free shipping!

- Bar-none, this is the unequivocal ‘bang-for-the-buck’ speaker at this price!

Cons: - The Motion 12s will most likely not sound as great as speakers priced in the several thousands, like B&W, PSB, Revel, and Martin Logan's own ElectroMotion, but I think you'll be hard-pressed to find anything that sounds nearly this good in this price-range

- Larger rooms will need a sub-woofer! While the Motion 12s bass (yes that's bass, not base as some keep writing) is more than adequate for smaller rooms, you will probably want a sub to accompany the Motion 12s in larger rooms.

- The Motion 12s are a bit tippy and could probably use a bit better support at their base. My kid is a bit older now, so it's not a huge deal; however, I wouldn't want to have these around toddlers.

- May take a bit of positioning to find the sweet spot (although, due to a decent-sized soundstage, they are not nearly as fussy as a lot of other speakers I've listened to).

- Would have preferred them in a cherry finish.

- They are discontinued* :(

*These speakers are being replaced by the Motion 40s.

Other Thoughts: I believe in regards to speakers, I may have just found my soulmate and I'm about as fussy an audiophile as they come.

I bought these to replace a pair of 20+ year old Infinity Studio Monitor 152s. The reason why I had those speakers for so long? Simply put, I couldn't find anything with sound qualities good enough to match them without spending the equivalent to what it would cost to buy a nice sedan or SUV.

I like my music and movies to sound natural, as the artists intended. And, while my Infinity SMs had incredible bass, they were quite accurate and their immense soundstage and presence was so enveloping.

Unfortunately however, due to their age, they've started to show signs of wear. And, do to their amazing qualities, I've had an extremely hard time finding a replacement for them. Until now!

Granted, the Motion 12s don't quite have the same enormous soundstage and certainly lack the bass that the Infinity's 15" woofers provided, but I would argue that the mid-range and Folded Motion tweeters make up for it with a clarity that my Infinitys simply did not possess. As others have stated in their reviews, I'm hearing details in my music and movie collections that I have not heard before. I can't believe I found this level of transparency in a speaker at this price after failing to do so listening to speakers that were four-times the price.

In conclusion, I'm quite fussy when it comes to sound quality and I've been looking at finding a replacement for 20+ year-old speakers for perhaps the last 3-5 years now.

I've finally reached the end of my quest and have found the treasure I've so desperately sought! :)

Pros: Wow, if these sound this good now, I can't wait to hear them after they're broken in!

- The imaging and clarity on these speakers is fantastic (and I've listened to A LOT of speakers).

- Very good soundstage. If these speakers are positioned right, you will not be able to tell the sound is coming from speakers (which is a sign of a great speaker).

- Not overly bright or boomy like most speakers in this price range. Like I’ve said, I’ve listened to a lot of speakers, particularly in this price-range and almost all that I’ve heard from Klipsch, Polk, Energy, etc. all have a very artificial sound to them. The Motion 12s are very natural sounding!

- Exceptional detail in the midrange and a smooth natural top-end that let you hear details in your music and movies that you simply can’t achieve with most speakers in this price-range. I’m completely sold on Martin Logan’s Folded Motion tweeters.

- They take up a lot less room than my old speakers, ie smaller footprint.

- The quality of the speakers looks much better in-person. I was concerned when seeing them online that the cabinets might be that cheap wanna-be wood. It is not! It's definitely a real wood cabinet.

- Got them for an absolute steal - on sale for $240 per speaker with free shipping!

- Bar-none, this is the unequivocal ‘bang-for-the-buck’ speaker at this price!

Cons: - The Motion 12s will most likely not sound as great as speakers priced in the several thousands, like B&W, PSB, Revel, and Martin Logan's own ElectroMotion, but I think you'll be hard-pressed to find anything that sounds nearly this good in this price-range

- Larger rooms will need a sub-woofer! While the Motion 12s bass (yes that's bass, not base as some keep writing) is more than adequate for smaller rooms, you will probably want a sub to accompany the Motion 12s in larger rooms.

- The Motion 12s are a bit tippy and could probably use a bit better support at their base. My kid is a bit older now, so it's not a huge deal; however, I wouldn't want to have these around toddlers.

- May take a bit of positioning to find the sweet spot (although, due to a decent-sized soundstage, they are not nearly as fussy as a lot of other speakers I've listened to).

- Would have preferred them in a cherry finish.

- They are discontinued* :(

*These speakers are being replaced by the Motion 40s.

Other Thoughts: I believe in regards to speakers, I may have just found my soulmate and I'm about as fussy an audiophile as they come.

I bought these to replace a pair of 20+ year old Infinity Studio Monitor 152s. The reason why I had those speakers for so long? Simply put, I couldn't find anything with sound qualities good enough to match them without spending the equivalent to what it would cost to buy a nice sedan or SUV.

I like my music and movies to sound natural, as the artists intended. And, while my Infinity SMs had incredible bass, they were quite accurate and their immense soundstage and presence was so enveloping.

Unfortunately however, due to their age, they've started to show signs of wear. And, do to their amazing qualities, I've had an extremely hard time finding a replacement for them. Until now!

Granted, the Motion 12s don't quite have the same enormous soundstage and certainly lack the bass that the Infinity's 15" woofers provided, but I would argue that the mid-range and Folded Motion tweeters make up for it with a clarity that my Infinitys simply did not possess. As others have stated in their reviews, I'm hearing details in my music and movie collections that I have not heard before. I can't believe I found this level of transparency in a speaker at this price after failing to do so listening to speakers that were four-times the price.

In conclusion, I'm quite fussy when it comes to sound quality and I've been looking at finding a replacement for 20+ year-old speakers for perhaps the last 3-5 years now.

I've finally reached the end of my quest and have found the treasure I've so desperately sought! :)

Pros: I recently purchased 2 more of these now totally 4 Motion 12 speakers. For the money, nothing comes close to the sound that these can put out. I love the clarity and how easy they are to listen too. they can easily fill a house with clear loud sound.

Cons: I do not like how unstable the speakers can be, but it is not really an issue. ML supplies spikes for carpeted rooms.

Other Thoughts: You CAN use banana plugs with these speakers!! Read the instructions! Pairing a center channel was a little hard. I managed to track down a Motion C center channel. I believe these were the proper centers for these speakers.
I used these speakers in a 5.1 setup. My amp is a Pioneer sc-1222-k. Make sure your amp is up to the challenge.

Pros: These ML speakers have super clean sound produced by a combination of gorgeous mid-range dipole + clean high-range ML tweeter + 2 powerful subwoofers. I bought my first pair for my bedroom. After I set them up, I immediately sense the beautiful sound and the reputation of Martin Logan. So I ordered my SECOND set for my living room. Now I have 4 of these speakers. Trust me, they outperformed most speakers in this price range. They were originally sold at BB for almost $1500 a pair. BUY THEM. Also NEWEGG shipping is TOP-RATED. Again, I LOVE NEWEGG.

Cons: NONE

Other Thoughts: Well-made in EVERY part of the built structure. EXCELLENT!

Pros: Clarity! These speakers are everything I was hoping they were. They match real well with a motion 6 center channel and Motion 2's for side surrounds. Run a 7.1 True HD movie like Transformers:Dark of the Moon, go to highway battle scene, and you will be blown away by the clarity! Every little zing-ding is picked up by these speakers. I was surprised at the bass level these are able to put out too as I have shut my subwoofer off on a few movies. Folded motion Tweeter makes a world of difference. I will not go with another brand of speaker after being through Bose(yeah I got sucked in) polk, and pioneer.

Cons: None. Don't hesitate. I had been watching these speakers since August last year waiting for the perfect time to pick them up! Thats now at under $230 guys/gals! Get'em as they are a discontinued item, replaced by the motion 40's. (motion 20's replace the 10's).

Other Thoughts: You will love them. I didn't put the floor spikes in as it seemed to make them more tippable.

Pros: Awesome Martin Logan sound
Highs are smooth
Bass is deep and tight
No sub needed in a smaller space (<15x15)
Vocals are very realistic
Very detailed

Cons: None- except some really minor issues – I’d prefer the grill to be lighter or in one piece.

Other Thoughts: No bi-amp, due to excellent crossover inside
I have heard a range of good speakers, Bose, Polk Audio, and none sound this good.
I also own the ML electrostatic Purity speakers. I am addicted to its clarity and tight bass. Most of all, I’m hooked its ability to “project” the sound between the speakers. If you position these speakers correctly, toe-in, then some how, almost like magic, the singer will sound like singing live between the speakers. These speakers cost a quarter of the Purity’s price, yet I get about 80% of that ML sound; and most importantly, that 3D sound effect with just the stereo speakers.

Pros: these things are absolutely wonderful. Thus far, I haven't even put many hours into them in order to break them in. If they get better as substantially as the Motion 10's did when they broke in...then I must say I'm in for a treat.

The folded motion tweeters that are used in the Motion-series lineup is a work of art. It really puts out a sound that creates a wonderfully broad soundstage, with angelic highs that are not too bright at all. They're very crisp and sharp, but they're not overbearing whatsoever. These tweeters are wonderful for simple music listening or home theater. They bring bullet ricochets to LIFE, and are very defined.
The motion 12's also have a dipole midrange that gives off a very open-aired sound just like their dipole design would suggest. The midrange is a little strong at the moment with these speakers, but as I said earlier these babies must be broken in, so I'm sure everything will even out. Nonetheless, the midrange is crystal clear and puts off excellent vocal tones.

Though these things don't pack huge woofers, don't let them fool you...these things have very good bass extension in the low-end. I'm sure when they're further broken in, it will get even better once I turn em up. Still, for the time being I was left very impressed. The Motion 12's pick up the low end that the motion 10's lack.

These speakers are NOT FORGIVING to low-quality tracks, just a warning. IF there are flaws in the tracks, the motion 12's won't hesitate to let you know they're there. They have VERY high clarity. Things that you never heard before in your tracks will come right out and say hello with these speakers. Unfortunately, this includes static noise in low quality mp3's aswell. If your tracks are all high bitrate, you won't hear anything but the music exactly how it's meant to sound, with amazing definition..

These motion 12's are fairly tall, bear in mind. Being rear-ported, they sound best placed about a foot away from any walls behind them. I've found that adjusting the feet to tilt them slightly forward gives a more proper, linear soundstage in my home. They have a very nice design, and look much more expensive than they really are. At 250 each, these are a steal. In comparison to other stereos I have heard, these dwarf most others in their tonal quality.

Cons: These are not very stable speakers, so make sure you dont let animals get around them. Easy to knock over, and I imagine the dipole assembly on the top of the speaker would break right off if they fell.

Other Thoughts: My current setup is a Denon AVR-891 receiver, with motion C center-channel, Motion 12 fronts, Motion 10 rears, Motion 4 side-surrounds and a Dynamo 300 subwoofer

I've previously owned a set of northridge JBLs, which were bass monsters. I never used a sub with these due to the output that the front ND310's were capable of. Overall my current setup blows it away, as it can play much clearer at high volumes and never skip a beat throughout the whole sound spectrum..whereas the JBL's fell on their face when turned up in the mids and highs.

My neighbor has a system w/ the motion 40's in all 4 corners, motion 8 center, motion 4's as front height speakers, and a REL t9 sub powered by a marantz receiver. The motion 40's don't have the same warm low-end that the motion 12's do(probably due to the poly cabinets) but everything else sounds fairly similar to mine. the new-era martin logan motion series doesn't sound like a worthy upgrade for their high price over the discontinued models that I own..


These martin logans like lots of power, be sure to feed it to them! I'm giving them 135 watts/ch and they truly love it.