Martin Audio
Encyclopedia
Martin Audio is a Loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...

 company

About Martin Audio

Martin Audio was founded by Australian audio engineer David Martin in 1971 to manufacture and supply touring sound reinforcement system
Sound reinforcement system
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...

s for the supergroups of the day that included Pink Floyd and Supertramp.

Martin's early folded horn bass cabinet design (known as Martin Bins) are typical of the industry standard in the 1970s. Today, Martin Audio supplies systems across the spectrum of sound reinforcement applications from the high power levels demanded by large touring acts to classical ballet or small theme bars, for example.

Design Approach

Martin audio designs aim for flat frequency response in the acoustic design in preference to electronic equalisation. Martin use horn loading in large cabinets, preferring hyperbolic
Hyperbolic
Hyperbolic refers to something related to or in shape of hyperbola , or to something employing the literary device of hyperbole .The following topics are based on the hyperbola etymology:...

 profiles in bass horns and exponential
Exponential
Exponential may refer to any of several mathematical topics related to exponentiation, including:*Exponential function, also:**Matrix exponential, the matrix analogue to the above*Exponential decay, decrease at a rate proportional to value...

 horns driven by cone drivers for mid-range.

Smaller systems use a more conventional approach using reflex
Reflex
A reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus. A true reflex is a behavior which is mediated via the reflex arc; this does not apply to casual uses of the term 'reflex'.-See also:...

-loaded cone drivers and bandpass 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...

 designs.

Wavefront Series

Martin released the Wavefront series of loudspeaker systems in 1995.

The large format W8 cabinets use two horn-loaded 12-inch and one 6.5-inch cone driver for low-mid and high-mid respectively and a 1-inch compression driver
Compression driver
A compression driver is a type of loudspeaker driver which uses the technique of "compression" to achieve high efficiencies. In this context compression refers to the fact that the area of the loudspeaker diaphragm is significantly larger than the aperture through which the sound is radiated....

/horn assembly for high frequencies. The more popular W8C reduces cabinet size and weight by omitting one of the 12-inch drivers.

The original Wavefront subwoofer (W8S) used an unconventional design based on a horn-loaded 15-inch driver and a reflex loaded 18-inch driver in separate acoustic chambers within a single cabinet with identical dimensions to the W8. These devices operate over the same frequency range, yet for best results one driver needs to be delayed relative to the other. The W8S has largely been superseded by the larger WSX subwoofer, which is a folded horn S-bin design based on a single 18-inch driver.

The Wavefront series includes a number of smaller cabinets, some of which borrow technology from the larger units, and are otherwise based on conventional reflex-loading techniques. The series also includes a single bandpass subwoofer which uses a 6th order parallel-tuned topology based on two 10-inch drivers.

MLA Series

Martin Audio released the MLA (Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array) series in 2010.

The MLA series represents significant advances in line array
Line array
A line array is a loudspeaker system that is made up of a number of loudspeaker elements coupled together in a line segment to create a near-line source of sound...

 technology, specifically in array resolution and numerical optimisation. Each MLA component has six individually configurable acoustic cells with discrete amplification, in addition to FIR
Finite impulse response
A finite impulse response filter is a type of a signal processing filter whose impulse response is of finite duration, because it settles to zero in finite time. This is in contrast to infinite impulse response filters, which have internal feedback and may continue to respond indefinitely...

 and IIR
Infinite impulse response
Infinite impulse response is a property of signal processing systems. Systems with this property are known as IIR systems or, when dealing with filter systems, as IIR filters. IIR systems have an impulse response function that is non-zero over an infinite length of time...

 processing. A networked array of MLA components may contain over 100 acoustic cells. This quantity of individually configurable cells gives the MLA a resolution that is an order of magnitude greater than previous line array systems. The array is optimised by advanced computer modelling.

History

Martin Audio was acquired in 1990 by TGI, a holding company that also owns the Tannoy
Tannoy
Tannoy Ltd is a Scottish-based manufacturer of loudspeakers and public-address systems. The company was founded in London, England as Tulsemere Manufacturing Company in 1926, but has been based in Coatbridge, Scotland, since the 1970s...

and Goodman
loudspeaker companies. However, though David Martin stayed on under the new management, he went missing
in late 1992 after a confrontation with his partner in a non-audio business venture. David Martin's
body was never found, but his former partner was arrested and convicted for his murder.

In 2007, Martin Audio was acquired by Loud Technologies, owner of the EAW and Mackie brands.
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