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Receiver to run ML Motion 12 and dynamo 500

2315 Views 17 Replies 10 Participants Last post by kscrazy, Apr 24, 2013

medatom

Discussion Starter · Aug 23, 2011

2

I am a noob here. So please be nice

Just bought 2 Martinlogan Motion 12 speakers and dynamo 500 sub. Right now want to run it as 2.1 but later on down the road would like to get a center speaker (motion 8) and ELS line speakers as fronts (that time the motion 12 will move to rear).

Long story short, i am looking for a future proof (but not breaking the bank!) receiver about $800 (my budget is limited) to run these speakers. Looked at Denon AVR-28xx/9xxx, pioneer sc35/37, onkyo 809 receivers. I am all confused as to which is better if not good.

Thanks a lot.

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1 - 18 of 18 Posts

JOHNnDENVER

· #2 · Aug 23, 2011

Dang.. Back in the day nothing but extreme rated amps would run ML speakers.

I'd almost ask the question in speakers instead.

bakerzdosen

· #3 · Aug 23, 2011

Honestly, I don't know that anyone is really going to "know" the answer to your question as I doubt many people actually have those speakers in their possession yet and haven't been able to audition them.

With that said, any of the ones you listed should do fine actually powering the speakers (they supposedly aren't as difficult to drive as ML's higher end speakers.)

However, if you have a very discerning ear, then you might like the sound of one of the listed receivers better than the others. And the problem is that only you can know what kind of sound you like. (Lousy answer, but true.)

I bought an sc-35 based on price (as they are really discounted at the moment until they're all gone) but the same could be said for numerous receivers out there right now. There are certainly a LOT of 809 fans (as well as Denon and Yamaha in this space.)

Personally, in the $600-$900 range, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

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Irrivirsible

· #4 · Aug 23, 2011

Sensitivity is 92 dB @ 2.83 V/m

Recommended amplifier power 20-300 watts per channel

Nominal impedance 4 ohms. Compatible with 4, 6 or 8 ohm rated amplifiers

Audiodork

· #5 · Aug 23, 2011

Hello,

The Motion Series are an entirely different beast than traditional ESL based Martin Logans. They use a Folded Paper Tweeter that is actually an expired Heil Patent and a conventional Woofer.

While not as easy to drive as Klipschs, they were definitely designed with AVR in mind as the primary Amplification. No worries about 1 Ohm dips like with the ESL's. Something like the SC-35 from Costco would work great.

Cheers,

AD

JOHNnDENVER

· #6 · Aug 23, 2011

It's good others chimed in... You know I just assumed they were electrostats.

tedolap

· #7 · Aug 24, 2011

Just a warning. I found a Motion 12 review from a German magazine (Google translate worked well enough) which has an impedance chart showing the speakers in the 2-3 ohm area for some of the lower frequency ranges. I don't know how reliable they are. Unfortunately, I don't have the link with me now.

What would that do to an AVR?

tygger

· #8 · Aug 24, 2011

I wonder if it would be better to find a cheaper AVR w/preouts to pair with a separate amp?

JOHNnDENVER

· #9 · Aug 24, 2011

Interesting they still dip so low. ML's in general are probably best served by external amplification. Of course electrostats go to effectively close to zero at times.

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medatom

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 24, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by JOHNnDENVER /forum/post/20861604

Interesting they still dip so low. ML's in general are probably best served by external amplification. Of course electrostats go to effectively close to zero at times.

If it needs an external amp, then what would be an ideal setup like the receiver and the amp? Could you guys name different combinations?.

Can i go with a low/mid level receiver and best amp like emotiva?

Thanks.

Audiodork

· #11 · Aug 24, 2011

Hello,

If it does dip that low in the lower octaves, this can be easily overcome by setting the Crossover to 60 or 80hz. Even though I use very powerful Amplifiers that are quite capable of driving my ESL Martin Logans, I still have the XO at 80hz on All Channels. Much of this being the best place for the Speakers is seldom the best for a Subwoofer and the Subwoofers I use (Descent i./Depth) are excellent for both Music and HT.

AD

tygger

· #12 · Aug 26, 2011

Have you decided on a receiver?

Auditor55

· #13 · Aug 26, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by medatom /forum/post/20857672

I am a noob here. So please be nice

Just bought 2 Martinlogan Motion 12 speakers and dynamo 500 sub. Right now want to run it as 2.1 but later on down the road would like to get a center speaker (motion 8) and ELS line speakers as fronts (that time the motion 12 will move to rear).

Long story short, i am looking for a future proof (but not breaking the bank!) receiver about $800 (my budget is limited) to run these speakers. Looked at Denon AVR-28xx/9xxx, pioneer sc35/37, onkyo 809 receivers. I am all confused as to which is better if not good.

Thanks a lot.

no such thing as a future proof receiver.

medatom

Discussion Starter · #14 · Aug 26, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by tygger /forum/post/20870086

Have you decided on a receiver?

No Not yet

. My delicious (!) motion 12 and dynamo 500 sub are already unboxed and waiting to be tested.

Hope i can come to a conclusion soon as i really want a receiver to support the ESL speakers as well when i upgrade in the future.

Thanks again

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JOHNnDENVER

· #15 · Aug 26, 2011

AMP for sure then.... I would pay attention to amps you can budget that others with electrostats are running....

walbert

· #16 · Aug 26, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by JOHNnDENVER /forum/post/20871158

AMP for sure then.... I would pay attention to amps you can budget that others with electrostats are running....

This +1.

Generically I would look at the Emotiva XPA-5 as a starting point, but I don't know what it does dramatically below 4 ohms (it is 4ohm stable though, which is more than most receivers can say). You can use something like the Yamaha RX-A700 or RX-V867 as the pre-amplifier (Emotiva makes their own pre-amplifier as well, the UMC-1, which is on sale right now).

Rotel's RMB-1575 might be another consideration, but again, it may fall off a cliff at 1 ohm. Parasound's Halo amplifiers would probably work as well, the JC1 actually provides 2ohm numbers. I've seen the Denon POA-A1HDCI driving ESLs in a few threads, but I have no idea how how they actually get, and personally I think they're a tad overpriced for what they offer (ignoring size/performance).

MartinLogan claims on both the ESL FAQ, and the ATF FAQ, that big amplifiers are "absolutely not" required:
http://www.martinlogan.com/learn/faq-atf.php#7
http://www.martinlogan.com/learn/faq...rostatic.php#7

Might be worth an e-mail to MartinLogan CS, ask them about a specific receiver (or maybe two or three), see what they have to say. At the very worst you'll get that FAQ repasted in the e-mail, at best you'll get some form of meaningful information.

Do that here:
http://www.martinlogan.com/support/contact.php

Alternately, e-mail an amplifier manufacturer (like Emotiva or Parasound) and ask.

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medatom

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 27, 2011

Thanks for the feedback. If i buy the parasound multichannel amp A51 or A52 ,it has only 5 channel. Do i need another amp if i want to do 7.1 or 7.2 in the future?. Sorry for the noob question.

Thanks

kscrazy

· #18 · Apr 24, 2013

most avr amps will push two of these speakers bun not a sinle one can realy handle driving a whole motion line setup....I have run an impedence sweep on the motion 12 as have a pair of them. I used a dayton audio woofer tester for this...the motion 12 stay above 4 ohms around 50hz and drop pretty hard just below 48hz..just set your crossover somewhere around 50-60hz and let the sub do the rest....i would try for 50 though because the motion 12s really do have a fantastic bass responce...I have a yamaha aventage RX-A 2010 driving my motion 12's and a motion C center, I have the center channel set to small and im running the 12's full range and the yamaha seems to be doing ok with that load...it gets a little warm but never too hot...my old Onkyo gets way warmer driving 8ohm speakers so I think it will do just fine... I talked to a Yamaha Rep. and he said the yamaha RX-A 1xxx and above will drive a speaker no problem with dips down to 2ohms but only on the main channels ( front Left and Right)....all receivers can handle a 4ohm load but the reason they post 6ohm and above is because most 6ohm speakers will drop to 4ohms and sometimes a little lower....I have a pair of swans speakers for instance that are 8ohm rated and they dip down to 4.8 ohms....Hope this helps

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