Martin-Logan
Encyclopedia
MartinLogan is an American company producing a variety of floor-standing hybrid, wall-mounted, and in-wall speakers using electrostatic loudspeaker
and planar magnetic thin film
loudspeaker technology, as well as conventional subwoofer
s.
MartinLogan was founded by Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland who met in the late '70s at a high-end audio store Sanders managed in Lawrence, Kansas
. Despite different backgrounds (Sanders had trained in architecture and advertising, Sutherland in electrical engineering) they shared a passion for music and electrostatic loudspeaker
s.
Discussion of electrostatic speakers and the current available technology led to Sanders and Sutherland to design and build an electrostatic speaker with the goal of producing adequate bass output, provide sound dispersion without arcing, destroying amplifiers, or otherwise offending people not interested in a living-room science project. Sanders organized a small research and development team to transform an original design he had tinkered with for more than a decade into a practical, marketable electrostatic transducer.
The team began a series of experiments with new aerospace materials that led to improved performance. The drivers were made with state-of-the-art conductive coatings, insulation, and adhesives, and an ultra-light Mylar diaphragm between two perforated-steel stators.
Satisfied with the aesthetics, Sanders still struggled with how to achieve satisfactory high-frequency dispersion without compromising sound quality (physically wide transducers radiate high frequencies in a narrow beam rather than fanning them over a wide area.) The solution came in a midnight session when Sutherland sketched a theoretical sound wave to illustrate how sound disperses. Sanders envisioned a horizontally curved panel, the curvilinear line-source (or CLS), transducer central to the design of every MartinLogan electrostat since.
With only a mock-up and some photographs, Sanders and Sutherland exhibited their speaker concept at the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show
(CES) in Chicago. The design was honored with a CES Design and Engineering Award. Excited by the response, they headed home to Kansas to translate their ideas into a working — and saleable — model.
Through a network of high-technology manufacturers, Sanders and Sutherland enlisted the help of other engineers with expertise and interest in the project. The company that fabricated the space shuttle's filtered windows and the people who had created Teflon-coated cookware joined the design team. The final driver panel was patented and used a vapor deposition
process, an optically transparent diaphragm that could support a 5,000-volt charge, and a conformal coating
that uniformly insulated each perforated stator to a charge of up to 10,000 volts.
(CES), they had developed a full-range hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker
they called the Monolith. A renowned high-end audio company used a prototype pair in its room at the show to demonstrate its electronics. Dealers who heard them were impressed by the sound of the visually stunning, see-through Monoliths and, more importantly, eager to sell them. It was at this point that Sanders and Sutherland put their middle names to the venture and set about satisfying the demand they had created. MartinLogan finally took flight.
The first couple of years were touch and go. Working with just one full-time and one part-time employee, they built and shipped the first 10 pairs of Monoliths. Despite specially designed cartons, three pairs were ruined in freight—a near-catastrophic loss for the young company. Undeterred, they rebuilt the speakers and instituted guaranteed-satisfaction policy that remains in effect to this day.
Sales started to surge in 1985, and the company was finally on a firm footing. Sutherland departed to return to his first love, electronics. The next year MartinLogan moved to its current location. At the same time international distribution for the Monolith took off.
Steady growth followed. By 1988 sales had increased tenfold and the plant had expanded to include a large, dedicated production space. In 1989, and again in 1990, Inc. magazine recognized MartinLogan as one of the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States.
In the early 1990s MartinLogan released the world's first electrostatic home cinema
center-channel speaker and on-wall surround channel speakers, establishing the brand in the emerging home theater
market. It was during this time in the early 90's that some of MartinLogan's most popular electrostatic speakers were introduced, including the Aerius, SL3, Quest, and Cinema.
market. Other subwoofer models by MartinLogan include the Descent i, Depth i, Grotto, Abyss and Dynamo.
In 2003 the MartinLogan Design Series was launched aimed at producing a smaller, more affordable line of speakers without sacrificing quality and performance. Speakers in the Design Series include the Clarity, Mosaic, Montage, Fresco, Vignette, as well as the Abyss and Dynamo subwoofers.
Electrostatic loudspeaker
An electrostatic loudspeaker is a loudspeaker design in which sound is generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in an electrostatic field.-Design and functionality:...
and planar magnetic thin film
Thin film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
loudspeaker technology, as well as conventional subwoofer
Subwoofer
A subwoofer is a woofer, or a complete loudspeaker, which is dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies known as the "bass". The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below...
s.
Origins
DB-SPAM {much of this entire article is cut and pasted from the commerical MartinLogan website, and should be deleted} http://www.martinlogan.com/learn/martinlogan-history.phpMartinLogan was founded by Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland who met in the late '70s at a high-end audio store Sanders managed in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. Despite different backgrounds (Sanders had trained in architecture and advertising, Sutherland in electrical engineering) they shared a passion for music and electrostatic loudspeaker
Electrostatic loudspeaker
An electrostatic loudspeaker is a loudspeaker design in which sound is generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in an electrostatic field.-Design and functionality:...
s.
Discussion of electrostatic speakers and the current available technology led to Sanders and Sutherland to design and build an electrostatic speaker with the goal of producing adequate bass output, provide sound dispersion without arcing, destroying amplifiers, or otherwise offending people not interested in a living-room science project. Sanders organized a small research and development team to transform an original design he had tinkered with for more than a decade into a practical, marketable electrostatic transducer.
The first prototype
The first prototype was ready in 1980 and was just that, a flat aluminum panel sprouting wires, struts, transformers, and power supplies, connected to an amplifier in Sanders' living room. The sound quality was more than adequate, but at high volume levels there was considerable arcing within the electrostatic panels.The team began a series of experiments with new aerospace materials that led to improved performance. The drivers were made with state-of-the-art conductive coatings, insulation, and adhesives, and an ultra-light Mylar diaphragm between two perforated-steel stators.
Satisfied with the aesthetics, Sanders still struggled with how to achieve satisfactory high-frequency dispersion without compromising sound quality (physically wide transducers radiate high frequencies in a narrow beam rather than fanning them over a wide area.) The solution came in a midnight session when Sutherland sketched a theoretical sound wave to illustrate how sound disperses. Sanders envisioned a horizontally curved panel, the curvilinear line-source (or CLS), transducer central to the design of every MartinLogan electrostat since.
With only a mock-up and some photographs, Sanders and Sutherland exhibited their speaker concept at the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
(CES) in Chicago. The design was honored with a CES Design and Engineering Award. Excited by the response, they headed home to Kansas to translate their ideas into a working — and saleable — model.
Through a network of high-technology manufacturers, Sanders and Sutherland enlisted the help of other engineers with expertise and interest in the project. The company that fabricated the space shuttle's filtered windows and the people who had created Teflon-coated cookware joined the design team. The final driver panel was patented and used a vapor deposition
Vapor deposition
Vapor deposition can refer to:* Chemical vapor deposition* Physical vapor deposition...
process, an optically transparent diaphragm that could support a 5,000-volt charge, and a conformal coating
Conformal coating
Conformal coating material is applied to electronic circuitry to act as protection against moisture, dust, chemicals, and temperature extremes that, if uncoated , could result in damage or failure of the electronics to function...
that uniformly insulated each perforated stator to a charge of up to 10,000 volts.
Monolith
By the time of the 1983 Consumer Electronics ShowConsumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
(CES), they had developed a full-range hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker
Electrostatic loudspeaker
An electrostatic loudspeaker is a loudspeaker design in which sound is generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in an electrostatic field.-Design and functionality:...
they called the Monolith. A renowned high-end audio company used a prototype pair in its room at the show to demonstrate its electronics. Dealers who heard them were impressed by the sound of the visually stunning, see-through Monoliths and, more importantly, eager to sell them. It was at this point that Sanders and Sutherland put their middle names to the venture and set about satisfying the demand they had created. MartinLogan finally took flight.
The first couple of years were touch and go. Working with just one full-time and one part-time employee, they built and shipped the first 10 pairs of Monoliths. Despite specially designed cartons, three pairs were ruined in freight—a near-catastrophic loss for the young company. Undeterred, they rebuilt the speakers and instituted guaranteed-satisfaction policy that remains in effect to this day.
Sales started to surge in 1985, and the company was finally on a firm footing. Sutherland departed to return to his first love, electronics. The next year MartinLogan moved to its current location. At the same time international distribution for the Monolith took off.
Steady growth followed. By 1988 sales had increased tenfold and the plant had expanded to include a large, dedicated production space. In 1989, and again in 1990, Inc. magazine recognized MartinLogan as one of the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States.
In the early 1990s MartinLogan released the world's first electrostatic home cinema
Home cinema
Home cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
center-channel speaker and on-wall surround channel speakers, establishing the brand in the emerging home theater
Home cinema
Home cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
market. It was during this time in the early 90's that some of MartinLogan's most popular electrostatic speakers were introduced, including the Aerius, SL3, Quest, and Cinema.
The Statement e2 generation
MartinLogan's most ambitious product to date began to take form in 1997. The resulting 2000-pound Statement e2 loudspeaker is still considered by many to be the apex of no-holds-barred loudspeaker design. The design and engineering behind the Statement e2 fueled the next generation of MartinLogan electrostatic speakers (not to mention ML's first non-electrostatic product). Released in 1999, the Prodigy electrostatic loudspeaker incorporated much of the design and engineering knowledge gained during the Statement e2 project. Prodigy in turn inspired an entire new generation of electrostatic products including the Odyssey, Ascent, Aeon and Theater.Subwoofers
What followed was one of the greatest challenges ever faced by MartinLogan engineers - the design of MartinLogan's first non-electrostatic product. In 2001 the original Descent subwoofer (featuring servo-control and BalancedForce technologies) established MartinLogan as a major player in the growing subwooferSubwoofer
A subwoofer is a woofer, or a complete loudspeaker, which is dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies known as the "bass". The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below...
market. Other subwoofer models by MartinLogan include the Descent i, Depth i, Grotto, Abyss and Dynamo.
The Design Series
In 2003 the MartinLogan Design Series was launched aimed at producing a smaller, more affordable line of speakers without sacrificing quality and performance. Speakers in the Design Series include the Clarity, Mosaic, Montage, Fresco, Vignette, as well as the Abyss and Dynamo subwoofers.