AEON i

u s e r ’ s
TM

m a n u a l

c l s e l e c t r o s t a t i c

MA R T I N LOGA N
CONTENTS AND INTRODUCTION

Contents Introduction
Contents And Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Congratulations! You have invested in one of the world’s
Installation in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 premier loudspeaker systems.
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
AC Power Connection The MartinLogan Aeon i represents the culmination of an
Signal Connection intensive, dedicated group research program directed toward
Break-In establishing a world class reference monitor utilizing leading-
Jumper Clips edge technology, without compromising durability, reliability,
Single-Wire Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 craftsmanship or aesthetic design.
Bi-Wire Connection
Passive Bi-Amplification The result of cumulative technology gleaned from previous
Active Bi-Amplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 research and development projects, the Aeon i represents
Turning the NAC On/Off the latest developments in electrostatic and hybrid loud-
Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 speaker technology.
Listening Position
The Wall Behind the Listener Combining our proprietary curvilinear electrostatic transduc-
The Wall Behind the Speakers er with a compact, but powerful woofer, we have designed
The Side Walls a product, in one package, that reproduces music with
Experimentation uncompromised electrostatic clarity and extended bass,
Final Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 yet takes up little more than one square foot of floor space.
The Extra “Tweak”
Enjoy Yourself The materials in your new Aeon i speakers are of the highest
Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 quality and will provide years of enduring enjoyment and
Your Room deepening respect. All trim pieces are constructed from
Terminology selected hardwoods. They are grain and color matched and
Rules of Thumb finally hand finished. The cabinetry is constructed from the
Dipolar Speakers and Your Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 highest quality composite material for acoustical integrity
Solid Footing and is finished with our attractive custom matte finish.
Dispersion Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Controlled Horizontal Dispersion Through rigorous testing, the curvilinear electrostatic panel
Controlled Vertical Dispersion has proven itself to be one of the most durable and reliable
NAC Dispersion transducers available today. Fabricated from a custom tool
Three Major Types of Dispersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 punched high-grade steel, the patented panel is then coated
Home Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 with a special polymer that is applied via a proprietary plasma
Electrostatic Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 bonding process. This panel assembly houses a membrane
Full Range Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 just 0.0005 of an inch thick. Ruggedly constructed and
MartinLogan Exclusives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 insulated, as much as 200 watts of continuous power has
Curvilinear Line Source driven the Aeon i’s energized diaphragm into massive
NAC excursions with no deleterious effects.
Plasma Deposited Diaphragm
Transducer Integrity The other sections of your User’s Manual will explain
Electrostatic Loudspeaker History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 in detail the operation of your Aeon i speakers and the
Frequently Asked Questions And Troubleshooting . .19 philosophy applied to their design. A clear understanding
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 of your speakers will insure that you obtain maximum per-
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 formance and pleasure from this most exacting transducer.
Specifications It has been designed and constructed to give you years of
Warranty and Registration trouble-free listening enjoyment.
Service
Glossary of Audio Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

2 Contents And Introduction

 INSTALLATION IN BRIEF

Installation In Brief
We know you’re eager to hear your new Aeon i loudpeakers, Step 1: Unpacking
so this section is provided to allow fast and easy set up. Remove your new Aeon i speakers from their packing.
Once you have them operational, please take the time to
read, in depth, the rest of the information in this manual. Step 2: Placement
It will give you perspective on how to attain the greatest Place each Aeon i at least two feet from any wall and angle
possible performance from this most exacting transducer. them slightly toward your listening area. This is a good
place to start. Please see the Placement section (pages 7–8)
If you should experience any difficulties in the setup or of this manual for more details.
operation of your Aeon i speakers, please refer to the Room
Acoustics, Placement or Operation sections of this manual. Step 3: Power Connection (AC) (see warning)
Your Aeon i speakers require AC power to energize their
Should you encounter a persistent problem that cannot be electrostatic cells. Using the AC power cords provided, plug
resolved, please contact your authorized MartinLogan dealer. them in first to the AC power receptacle on the rear panel of
They will provide you with the appropriate technical analysis the speaker, making sure that you have made a firm con-
to alleviate the situation. nection, and then to the wall outlet. Please see the Operation
section (pages 4–6) of this manual for more details.
WARNING!
•Hazardous voltages exist inside—do not Step 4: Signal Connection
remove cover Use the best speaker cables you can. Higher quality cables,
•Refer servicing to a qualified technician available from your specialty dealer, are recommended
•To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not and will give you superior performance. Spade connectors
expose this module to moisture are suggested for optimum contact and ease of installation.
•Turn amplifier off and unplug speaker
should any abnormal conditions occur Attach your speaker cables to the signal input section on
•Do not operate if there is any visual the rear panel. Be consistent when connecting speaker
damage to the electrostatic panel element leads to the terminals on the back of the Aeon i. Take great
•Do not over drive speaker beyond rated power care to assign the same color to the (+) terminal on both
the left and right channels. If bass is nonexistent and you
cannot discern a tight, coherent image, you may need
to reverse the (+) and (–) leads on one side to bring the
The lightning bolt flash with arrowhead symbol, within system into proper polarity.
an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to
the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the For Bi-wiring/Passive Bi-amping instructions, turn to the
product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude Operation section (pages 4–6) of this manual for proper
to constitute a risk of electric shock. setup of the Aeon i system.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is Step 5: Listen and Enjoy
intended to alert the user to the presence of important Now, you may turn on your system and enjoy!
operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in
the literature accompanying the appliance.

Installation in Brief 3
OPERATION

AC Power Connection
Because your Aeon i speakers use an internal power supply power amplifiers being close to the speakers, which may
to energize their electrostatic cells with high-voltage DC, they be practically or cosmetically difficult, but if the length of
must be connected to an AC power source. For this reason the speaker cables can be reduced to a few meters, sonic
they are provided with the proper IEC standard power cords. advantages may be obtained.
These cords should be firmly inserted into the AC power
receptacles on the rear connection panel of the speakers, Connections are made at the signal input section on the
then to any convenient AC wall outlet. The Aeon i’s integrate rear electronics panel of the Aeon i. Use spade connectors
a signal-sensing power supply which will switch off after a few for optimum contact and ease of installation. Make certain
minutes of no music signal and requires less than two sec- that all of your connections are tight.
onds to recharge the panels when a music signal is present.
Be consistent when connecting the speaker cables to the
Your Aeon i speakers are wired for the power service supplied signal input terminals. Take care to assign the same color
in the country of original consumer sale. The AC power rating cable lead to the (+) terminal on both the left and right
applicable to a particular unit is specified on the packing channel speakers. If bass is nonexistent and you cannot
carton and on the serial number plate attached to the speaker. discern a tight, coherent image, you may need to reverse
the (+) and (–) leads on one speaker to bring the system
If you remove your Aeon i speakers from the country of into proper polarity.
original sale, be certain that the AC power supplied in any
subsequent location is suitable before connecting and oper- WARNING! Turn your amplifier off before making
ating the speakers. Substantially impaired performance or or breaking any signal connections!
severe damage may occur to an Aeon i speaker if opera-
tion is attempted from an incorrect AC power source.

WARNING! The power cord should not be installed, Break-In

removed, or left detached from the speaker while
the other end is connected to an AC power source. When you first play your Aeon i speakers, they will sound a
bit bass shy, due to the high-quality, long-life components
used in our woofer. Our custom-made, butyl surround woofer
Signal Connection requires 30 hours of break-in at 90 dB (moderate listening
levels) before critical listening. Break-in of the crossover com-
Use the best speaker cables you can. The length and type of ponents (and, to a lesser degree, the stator) are equivalent.
speaker cable used in your system will have an audible
effect. Under no circumstance should a wire of gauge higher The pressure compensation panels on the back of the stator
(thinner) than #16 be used. In general, the longer the length panel are passive tone-shaping devices that improve tonal
used, the greater the necessity of a lower gauge, and the balance and increase dispersion without sacrificing efficiency.
lower the gauge, the better the sound, with diminishing Please do not remove or reposition these panels in pursuit of
returns setting in around #8 to #12. higher hi-fi as their size and placement are crucial to the
Aeon i’s performance.
A variety of speaker cables are available whose manufac-
turers claim better performance than standard heavy gauge
wire. We have verified this in many cases, and the improve- Jumper Clips
ments are often more noticeable than the differences
between wires of different gauge. The effects of cables may In some countries federal law prohibits MartinLogan from
be masked if the equipment is not of the highest quality. supplying jumper clips. If none are found installed under your
speakers binding posts, please refer to Bi-Wire Connection
We also recommend, if possible, that short runs of speaker (page 6) for connection instructions. If jumper clips are
cable connect the power amplifier(s) and speakers and that installed please refer to Single-Wire Connection (page 5)
high-quality long interconnect cables be used to connect for connection instructions.
the preamplifier and power amplifier. This results in the

4 Operation
Single-Wire Connection
Please take note of the jumper clips installed under the WARNING! Only after the jumper clips are removed
binding posts. These clips attach the high and low frequency may you connect individual runs of speaker cable
sections of the crossover together. Leaving these in place, from your amplifiers to the high pass (ESL) and
connect the (+) wire from your amplifier to either red low pass (WOOFER) signal input binding posts.
binding post and the (–) wire from your amplifier to either Damage will occur to your amplifiers if the
black binding post (see figure 1). jumper clips are not removed.

This method takes the bi-wiring concept one step further.

Bi-Wire Connection Now you will have a dedicated channel of amplification
directly connected to the high and low pass sections of the
This method of connection replaces the jumper clips installed Aeon i crossover. There are two different methods for bi-
under the binding posts with individual runs of speaker amping with two stereo amplifiers. The first and most
wire from your amplifier. This doubles the signal-carrying common is referred to as horizontal bi-amping. The second
conductors from the amplifier to the speaker, thus direct- method is referred to as vertical bi-amping. With either
coupling each portion of the crossover to the amplifier. method you may use two stereo amplifiers or four mono
amplifiers, or two mono amplifiers and one stereo amplifi-
To bi-wire you must first loosen the binding posts and er. Get the idea? With either form of passive bi-amplification,
remove the jumper clips. Connect one set of wires to the your preamplifier must have dual outputs. If your preamplifier is
upper set of binding posts which connect to the panel of not so equipped, you must either purchase or construct a
the Aeon i. Then connect a second set of wires to the lower “Y” adapter.
binding posts which connect to the woofer. Next, connect
both sets of wires to the appropriate terminals on your Horizontal Passive Bi-Amplification
amplifier. Please take care to connect both (+) wires to Horizontal bi-amping allows you to use two different types,
the (+) amplifier terminals and both (–) wires to the (–) models or brands of amplifiers (i.e., tubes on top, transis-
amplifier terminals. This is known as a parallel connection tor on the bottom). However, we recommend that you
(see figure 2). use two identical amplifiers (i.e., same brand and model).
If you must use two different amplifiers, it is essential that
they have the same gain or that one of the two have
Passive Bi-Amplification adjustable gain so that you can match their gain character-
istics. If the amplifiers of choice do not have the same gain
For those who desire ultimate performance, the Aeon i may characteristics, then a sonic imbalance will occur.
be passively bi-amplified using the existing internal passive
crossover elements.

Jumper clips
Amplifier removed Amplifier
right speaker output left speaker output right speaker output left speaker output
Jumper clips
in place,
full-range

AEON i TM
AEON i TM

ESL ESL

Woofer Woofer
Figure 1. Single-wire connection. One channel shown. Figure 2. Bi-wire connection. One channel shown.

Operation 5
 Active Bi-Amplification
With horizontal bi-amping, one amplifier drives the high We do not recommend active bi-amplification of the Aeon i.
pass (ESL) section while the second amplifier drives the The internal crossover can not be bypassed. This connection
low pass (WOOFER) section. To horizontally bi-amp your method seriously degrades the Aeon i’s performance.
Aeon i’s you must loosen the binding posts and remove the
jumper clips. Connect the low frequency amplifier to the
lower set of binding posts of both speakers. Connect the Turning the NACTM On/Off
high frequency amplifier to the upper set of binding posts.
Next, connect the left and right preamplifier outputs to the Your Aeon i loudspeakers are equipped with a NAC (natural
appropriate left and right inputs of both amplifiers (see ambience compensation) driver located on the back of the
figure 3). Aeon i’s cabinet. To turn the NAC on or off, gently insert a
narrow object such as a pen or pencil into the small hole
Vertical Passive Bi-Amplification located beneath the NAC’s perforated screen (see figure
The very nature of vertical bi-amping dictates that both 4) For more information on the NAC please see the
amplifiers be identical. With vertical bi-amping, each of ‘MartinLogan Exclusives’ section of this manual (page 17).
the stereo amplifiers is dedicated to one speaker. For
instance, the left channel of each amplifier drives the low
pass (WOOFER) section while the right channel drives the
high pass (ESL) section. To vertically bi-amp your Aeon i’s
you must loosen the binding posts and remove the jumper
clips from both speakers. Starting with one speaker, connect
the right channel to the lower binding posts and the left
channel to the upper binding posts. Repeat the same pro-
cedure for the other speaker. Connect the left preamplifier
outputs to both inputs of the left channel amplifier and the
right preamplifier outputs to both inputs of the right chan-
nel speaker (see figure 5).

Figure 4. Turning the NAC on/off.

Low Amplifier Left Amplifier Right Amplifier

right speaker output left speaker output speaker output speaker output

Jumper clips Jumper clips

removed High Amplifier removed
right speaker output left speaker output

AEON i TM
AEON i TM

ESL ESL

Woofer Woofer
Figure 5. Vertical passive bi-amplification. One channel shown.
Figure 3. Horizontal passive bi-amplification. One channel shown.

6 Operation
 PLACEMENT

Listening Position
By now your speakers should be placed approximately sheet rock or textured wall is generally an adequate
two to three feet from the front wall, the wall in front of surface if the rest of the room is not too bright and hard.
the listening position, and at least one to two feet from the Sometimes walls can be too soft. If the entire front wall
side walls. Your sitting distance should be farther than the consists of only heavy drapery, your system can sound too
distance between the speakers themselves. What you are soft or dull. You may hear dull, muted music with little
trying to attain is the impression of good center imaging ambience. Harder room surfaces will actually help in this case.
and stage width.
The front surface should, optimally, be one long wall
There is no exact distance between speakers and listener, without any doors or openings. If you have openings, the
but there is a relationship. In long rooms, naturally, that reflection and bass characteristics from one channel to the
relationship changes. The distance between the speakers other can be different.
will be far less than the distance from you to the speaker
system. However, in a wide room, you will still find that if
the distance from the listener to the speakers becomes The Side Walls
smaller than the distance between the speakers themselves,
the image will no longer focus in the center. The same requirements exist for side walls. Additionally, a
good rule of thumb is to have the side walls as far away
Now that you have positioned your speaker system, spend from the speaker sides as possible, minimizing near-field
some time listening. Wait to make any major changes in side wall reflections. Sometimes, if the system is bright or
your initial setup for the next few days as the speaker the imaging is not to your liking, and the side walls are
system itself will change subtly in its sound. Over the first very near, try putting curtains or softening material directly
40 hours of play the actual tonal quality will change slightly to the edge of each speaker. An ideal side wall, however,
with deeper bass and more spacious highs resulting. is no side wall at all.

After a few days of listening you can begin to make refine-

ments and hear the differences of those refinements. Experimentation
Toe-in
The Wall Behind the Listener Now you can begin to experiment. First begin by toeing your
speakers in towards the listening area and then facing them
Near-field reflections can occur from your back wall, the straight into the room. You will notice that the tonal balance
wall behind the listening position. If your listening position changes slightly. You will also notice the imaging changing.
is close to the back wall, these reflections can cause problems Generally it is found that the ideal listening position is with
and confuse the quality of imaging. Actually it is better for the speakers slightly toed-in so that you are listening to the
the wall behind you to be soft than to be bright. If you inner third of the curved transducer section.
have a hard back wall and your listening position is close
to it, experiment with devices that will soften and absorb Experimenting with the toe-in will help in terms of tonal
information (i.e., wall hangings and possibly even sound balance. You will notice that as the speakers are toed-out,
absorbing panels). the system becomes slightly brighter than when toed-in.
This design gives you the flexibility to compensate for a
soft or bright room.
The Wall Behind the Speakers
Tilting the Speakers Backwards and Forwards
The front surface, the wall behind your speakers, should not As the diagrams show in the Dispersion Interactions section
be extremely hard or soft. For instance, a pane of glass of this manual (pages 11–12), the vertical dispersion is direc-
will cause reflections, brightness and confused imaging. tional above and below the stator panel itself. In some
Curtains, drapery and objects such as bookshelves can instances, if you are sitting close to the floor, slight forward
be placed along the wall to soften a hard surface. A standard tilting of the speakers can enhance clarity and precision.

Placement 7
Imaging Your ideal listening position and speaker position will
In their final location, your Aeon i’s should have a stage width be determined by:
somewhat wider than the speakers themselves. On well- •Tightness and extension of bass response
recorded music, the instruments should extend beyond •Width of the stage
the edges of each speaker to the left and to the right, yet a •Pinpoint focusing of imaging
vocalist should appear directly in the middle. The size of Once you have determined the best of all three of these
the instruments should be neither too large nor too considerations, you will have your best speaker location.
small. Additionally, you should find good clues as to stage
depth. Make sure that the vertical alignment, distance
from the front wall, and toe-in, is exactly the same from The Extra “Tweak”
one speaker to the other. This will greatly enhance the
quality of your imaging. A major cable company developed the following procedure
for speaker placement. As a final test of exact placement,
Bass Response use these measurements for your speakers placement, and
Your bass response should neither be one note nor too see what can happen to the ultimate enhancement of
heavy. It should extend to even the deepest organ pas- your system’s performance. These two basic formulas will
sages, yet it should be tight and well defined. Kick-drums determine optimum placement of your speakers to minimize
should be tight and percussive—string bass notes should standing waves.
be uniform and consistent throughout the entirety of the
run without any booming or thudding. 1. Distance from the front wall (the wall in front of the listening
position) to the center of the curvilinear transducer. To
Tonal Balance determine distance from the front wall, measure the height
Voices should be natural and full, cymbals should be of your ceiling (inches) and multiply the figure by 0.618
detailed and articulate yet not bright and piercing, pianos (i.e., ceiling height in inches x 0.618 = the distance from
should have a nice transient characteristic and deep tonal the front wall to the center of the curvilinear transducer).
registers as well. If you cannot attain these virtues, read the
section on Room Acoustics (pages 10–11). This will give 2. Distance from the side-walls to the center of the curvilinear
you clues on how to get closer to those ideal virtues. transducer. To determine distance from the side walls,
measure the width of your room (inches) and divide by
18. Next, multiply the quotient by 5 (i.e., room width in
Final Placement inches/18 x 5 = the distance from the side-walls to the
center of the curvilinear transducer).
After obtaining good wall treatments and the proper angle,
begin to experiment with the distance from the wall behind
the speakers. Move your speaker slightly forward into the Enjoy Yourself
room. What happened to the bass response? What hap-
pened to the imaging? If the imaging is more open and The Aeon i is a very refined speaker and benefits from care
spacious and the bass response is tightened, that is a supe- in setup. With these tips in mind you will find, over your
rior position. Move the speakers back six inches from the months of listening, that small changes can result in
initial setup position and again listen to the imaging and measurable differences. As you live with your speakers, do
bass response. There will be a position where you will have not be afraid to experiment with their positioning until
pinpoint imaging and good bass response. That position is you find the optimal relationship between your room and
the point of the optimal placement from the front wall. speaker system that gives to you the best results. Your efforts
will be rewarded.
Now experiment with placing the speakers farther apart.
As the speakers are positioned farther apart, listen again, You are now armed with the fundamental knowledge of
not so much for bass response but for stage width and room acoustics and the specific fundamentals of the Aeon i
good pinpoint focusing. loudspeaker. Happy listening!

8 Placement
 ROOM ACOUSTICS

Your Room
This is one of those areas that requires both a little back- Resonant Surfaces and Objects
ground to understand and some time and experimentation All of the surfaces and objects in your room are subject to
to obtain the best performance from your system. the frequencies generated by your system. Much like an
instrument, they will vibrate and “carry on” in syncopation
Your room is actually a component and an important part with the music, and contribute in a negative way to the
of your system. This component is a very large variable music. Ringing, boominess, and even brightness can occur
and can dramatically add to, or subtract from, a great simply because they are “singing along” with your music.
musical experience.
Resonant Cavities
All sound is composed of waves. Each note has its own Small alcoves or closet type areas in your room can be
wave size, with the lower bass notes literally encompassing chambers that create their own “standing waves” and can
from 10 feet to as much as 40 feet. Your room participates drum their own “one-note” sounds.
in this wave experience like a three-dimensional pool with
waves reflecting and becoming enhanced depending on Clap your hands. Can you hear an instant echo respond
the size of the room and the types of surfaces in the room. back? You have near-field reflections. Stomp your foot on
the floor. Can you hear a “boom”? You have standing
Remember, your audio system can literally generate all of waves or large panel resonances such as a poorly support-
the information required to recreate a musical event in ed wall. Put your head in a small cavity area and talk
time, space and tonal balance. The purpose of your room, loudly. Can you hear a booming? You’ve just experienced
ideally, is to not contribute to that information. However, a cavity resonance.
every room does contribute to the sound, and the better
speaker manufacturers have designed their systems to
accommodate this phenomenon. Rules of Thumb
Let’s talk about a few important terms before we begin. Hard vs. Soft Surfaces
If the front or back wall of your listening room is soft, it
might benefit you to have a hard or reflective wall in
Terminology opposition. The ceiling and floor should follow the same
basic guideline as well. However, the side walls should be
Standing Waves roughly the same in order to deliver a focused image.
The parallel walls in your room will reinforce certain notes
to the point that they will sound louder than the rest of the This rule suggests that a little reflection is good. As a matter
audio spectrum and cause “one-note bass”, “boomy bass” of fact, some rooms can be so “over damped” with carpeting,
or “tubby bass”. For instance, 100Hz represents a 10 feet drapes and sound absorbers that the music system can
wavelength. Your room will reinforce that specific fre- sound dull and lifeless. On the other hand, rooms can be
quency if one of the dominant dimensions is 10 feet. Large so hard that the system can sound like a gymnasium with
objects in the room such as cabinetry or furniture can help to too much reflection and brightness. The point is that balance
minimize this potential problem. Some serious “audiophiles” is the optimum environment.
will literally build a special room with no parallel walls just
to help eliminate this phenomenon. Breakup Objects
Objects with complex shapes, such as bookshelves, cabi-
Reflective Surfaces (near-field reflections) netry and multiple-shaped walls can help break up those
The hard surfaces of your room, particularly if close to your sonic gremlins and diffuse any dominant frequencies.
speaker system, will reflect some waves back into the room
over and over again, confusing the clarity and imaging of Solid Coupling
your system. The smaller sound waves are mostly affected Your loudspeaker system generates frequency vibrations or
here, and occur in the mid and high frequencies. This is waves into the room. This is how it creates sound. These
where voice and frequencies as high as the cymbals occur. vibrations vary from 20 per second to 20,000 per second.

Room Acoustics 9
 Solid Footing
If your speaker system is not securely planted on the floor After living and experimenting with your Aeon i’s, you
or solid surface, it can shake as it produces sound and, may want to use ETC (energy transfer coupler) Spikes (see
consequently, the sound can be compromised. If your figure 6), which are available from your local MartinLogan
speaker is sitting on the carpet and only foot gliders are dealer or from the Xtatic shop at www.martinlogan.com.
used, the bass can be ill defined and even boomy. The use With the use of these spikes, the Aeon i will become firmly
of spikes is recommended to insure secured footing for planted on the floor and, consequently, bass will tighten
your speakers. (See Solid Footing, this page, for spike infor- and imaging will become more coherent and detailed. It is
mation and installation instructions). best not to implement the spikes, however, until you are
secure in the positioning, as the spikes can damage the
floor if the speaker is moved. MartinLogan ETC spikes will
Dipolar Speakers and Your Room fit any common 1/4 inch thread insert that may be found
on your other audio equipment (racks, speakers, etc.).
MartinLogan electrostatic loudspeakers are known as dipolar
radiators. This means that they produce sound from both Spike Installation Instructions:
their fronts and their backs. Consequently, musical infor- 1 Carefully lay your speaker on its side to gain access to
mation is reflected by the wall behind them and may arrive the bottom.
either in or out of step with the information produced by
the front of the speaker. 2 Remove existing feet or spikes. Thread new spikes into
holes and screw them in all of the way. If the speaker
The low frequencies can either be enhanced or nulled by does not sit level loosen one spike until level is achieved.
the position from the front wall. Your Aeon i’s have been
designed to be placed two to three feet from the front wall 3 Tighten the jam nut snugly by hand. Do not over tighten
(the wall in front of the listening position) to obtain the the nut.
best results; however, your room may see things differently.
So listening to the difference of the bass response as a 4 Right the speaker.
result of the changes in distance from the front wall can Caution: Make sure your hands and any cabling are clear
allow you to get the best combination of depth of bass and of the spikes. Do not slide speaker as spikes are sharp and
tonal balance. can damage your floor or carpet.

Now that you know about reflective surfaces and resonant 5 Adjust to level by rotating spikes. Tighten the jam nut
objects, you can see how the midrange and high frequencies securely when satisfied that speaker is level.
can be affected. The timing of the initial wave as it radiates Caution: Walking the speaker may result in a broken spike.
to your ears, and then the reflected information as it arrives
at your ears later in time, can result in confusion of the pre-
cious timing information that carries the clues to imaging.
Consequently the result is blurred imaging and excessive
brightness. Soft walls, curtains, wall hangings, or sound
dampeners (your dealer can give you good information
here) can be effective if these negative conditions occur.

Figure 6. The ETC Spike.

10 Room Acoustics
 DISPERSION INTERACTIONS

Controlled Horizontal Dispersion

Your Aeon i’s launch a 30-degree dispersion pattern when This vertical dispersion profile minimizes interactions with
viewed from above. This horizontal dispersion field gives a the floor and the ceiling (see figure 8).
choice of good seats for the performance while minimizing
interactions with side walls (see figure 7). Make sure both
speakers stand exactly at the same vertical angle, otherwise NACTM Dispersion
the image can be skewed or poorly defined. The wave
launch of both speakers is extremely accurate in both the Due to the dispersion limitations of small electrostatic panels,
time and the spectral domain. Consequently, small refined your Aeon i loudspeakers are equipped with NAC (natural
adjustments can result in noticeable sonic improvements. ambience compensation) circuit to fill in off-axis high-fre-
quencies. When the NAC is active, listeners sitting on-axis in
the listening window will find the effects of the NAC virtually
Controlled Vertical Dispersion unnoticable. Listeners sitting off-axis outside of the listening
window will find high frequencies accurately rendered and
As you can see from the illustrations, your Aeon i speakers comparable to those provided on-axis by the Aeon i’s ultra-
project a controlled dispersion pattern. Each Aeon i is a 37- precise electrostatic driver (see figures 9 and 10).
inch line source beginning 17.5 inches above the base.

Figure 7. MartinLogan Aeon i’s deliver a 30-degree wave launch dispersion Figure 8. Your Aeon i speaker system is a 37 inch line source when viewed
pattern distributed horizontally. vertically. Actual height above the base is from 17.5 inches to 55.5 inches.

Figure 9. Horizontal dispersion effects of the NAC driver. Figure 10. Vertical dispersion effects of the NAC driver.

Dispersion Interactions 11
Three Major Types of Dispersion
In the field of loudspeaker design, it is a known fact that as Historically, most attempts to achieve smooth dispersion
the sound wave becomes progressively smaller than the from large flat-panel transducers resulted in trade-offs.
transducer producing it, the dispersion of that wave After exhaustive testing of these different solution attempts,
becomes more and more narrow, or directional. This fact we found an elegantly simple, yet very difficult to execute
occurs as long as the transducer is a flat surface. Large flat- solution. By curving the radiating surface, we create the
panel speakers exhibit venetian blind effects due to this effect of a horizontal arc. This allows the engineers at
phenomenon. This is why most manufacturers opt for MartinLogan to control the high frequency dispersion
small drivers (i.e., tweeters and midrange) to approximate pattern of our transducers. That is why you see the gentle
what is known as a point source wave launch. curve on our products.

Figure 11–12. As can be seen here, point source

concepts invite a great deal of room interaction.
While delivering good frequency response to a
large listening audience, imaging is consequently
confused and blurred.

Figure 13–14. Even though they suffer from

“venetian blind” effect, angled multiple panel
speakers can deliver good imaging, but only
to specific spots in the listening area.

Figure 15–16. A controlled 30-degree cylindrical

wave-front, which is a MartinLogan exclusive,
offers optimal sound distribution with minimal
room interaction. The result is solid imaging with
a wide listening area.

12 Dispersion Interactions
 HOME THEATER

Home Theater
It had long been the practice of stereo buffs to connect their Surround Speakers
television to the stereo system. The advantage was the use We recommend that the surround speakers play down
of the larger speakers and more powerful amplifier of the to 80 Hz or below. The surround speakers contain the
stereo system. Even though the sound was greatly improved, it information that makes it appear that planes are flying over
was still mono and limited by the broadcast signal. your head. Some may suggest that this is the place to save
money and purchase a small, inexpensive speaker. If you
In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s two new home movie choose to do so, be prepared to upgrade in the future as
formats became widely available to the public: VCR and discrete six-channel digital encoding becomes available
laser disc. and the demands on the surround speakers increase.

By 1985, both formats had developed into very high quality Subwoofer
audio/video sources. In fact, the sonic performance of some With any good surround system you will need a high-quality
video formats exceeded audio-only formats. Now, with subwoofer (the .1, in a 5.1 channel surround system). Most
theater-quality sound available at home, the only element movie soundtracks contain large amounts of bass informa-
missing was the "surround sound" presentation found in tion as part of the special effects. Good subwoofers will
movie houses. provide a foundation for the rest of the system.

Fortunately, Dolby and DTS-encoded movies (which include

almost all movies) have the same surround sound informa-
tion encoded on home releases as the theater films. All that
is required to retrieve this information is a decoder and
additional speakers and amps to reproduce it.

Home theater is a complex purchase and we recommend

that you consult your local MartinLogan dealer, as they are
well versed in this subject.

Each piece of a surround system can be purchased

separately. Take your time and buy quality. No one has
ever complained that the movie was too real. The following
list and descriptions will give you only a brief outline of the
responsibilities and demands placed on each speaker.

Front Left and Front Right

If these speakers will be the same two used for your
stereo playback, they should be of very high quality and
able to play loudly (over 102 dB) and reproduce bass
below 80 Hz.

Center Channel
This is the most important speaker in a video system, as
almost all of the dialogue and a large portion of the front
speaker information is reproduced by the center channel.
It is important that the center speaker be designed by
the same manufacturer as the front speakers, and that it is
recommended for use as a center speaker. This is not the Figure 17. Aeon i speakers as front channels, Cinema i as the center channel,
place to cut corners. Script i speakers as side surround (effects) channels, and Depth subwoofers
as 0.1 (effects) channel.

Home Theater 13
ELECTROSTATIC ADVANTAGES

Electrostatic Advantages
How can sound be reproduced by something that you are purity of the electrostatic concept due to its exceptional
able to see through? Electrostatic energy makes this possible. linearity and low distortion.

Where the world of traditional loudspeaker technology deals Since the diaphragm of an electrostatic speaker is uniformly
with cones, domes, diaphragms and ribbons that are moved driven over its entire area, it can be extremely light and
with magnetism, the world of electrostatic loudspeakers deals flexible. This allows it to be very responsive to transients,
with charged electrons attracting and repelling each other. thus perfectly tracing the music signal. As a result, great
delicacy, nuance and clarity are possible. When you look
To fully understand the electrostatic concept, some back- at the problems of traditional electromagnetic drivers, you
ground information will be helpful. Remember when you can easily see why this is so beneficial. The cones and
learned in a science or physics class that like charges repel domes which are used in traditional electromagnetic
each other and opposite charges attract each other? Well, drivers cannot be driven uniformly because of their design.
this principle is the foundation of the electrostatic concept. Cones are driven only at the apex. Domes are driven at
their perimeter. As a result, the rest of the cone or dome
An electrostatic transducer consists of three pieces: the is just “along for the ride”. The very concept of these
stators, the diaphragm and the spacers (see figure 18). The drivers requires that the cone or dome be perfectly rigid,
diaphragm is what actually moves to excite the air and damped and massless. Unfortunately, these conditions are
create music. The stator’s job is to remain stationary, hence not available in our world today.
the word stator, and to provide a reference point for the
moving diaphragm. The spacers provide the diaphragm To make these cones and domes move, all electromagnetic
with a fixed distance in which to move between the stators. drivers must use voice coils wound on formers, spider
assemblies and surrounds to keep the cone or dome in
As your amplifier sends music signals to an electrostatic position (see figure 19). These pieces, when combined
speaker, these signals are changed into two high-voltage with the high mass of the cone or dome materials used,
signals that are equal in strength but opposite in polarity. make it an extremely complex unit with many weaknesses
These high voltage signals are then applied to the stators. and potential for failure. These faults contribute to the
The resulting electrostatic field, created by the opposing high distortion products found in these drivers and is a
high voltage on the stators, works simultaneously with tremendous disadvantage when you are trying to change
and against the diaphragm, consequently moving it back motion as quickly and as accurately as a loudspeaker
and forth, producing music. This technique is known as must (40,000 times per second!).
push-pull operation and is a major contributor to the sonic

Figure 18. Cut-away view of an electrostatic transducer. Notice the sim- Figure 19. Cut-away view of a typical moving coil driver. Notice the com-
plicity due to minimal parts usage. plexity due to the high number of parts.

14 Electrostatic Advantages
Full Range Operation
The most significant advantage of MartinLogan’s exclusive a narrow, fixed bandwidth of the frequency range, and then
transducer technology reveals itself when you look at combined electrically so that the sum of the parts equals
examples of other loudspeaker products on the market today. the total signal. While nice in theory, we must deal with
real-world conditions.
The Aeon i uses no crossover networks above 450 Hz
because they are not needed. The Aeon i consists of a single, In order to use multiple drivers, a crossover network is
seamless electrostatic membrane reproducing all frequen- enlisted to attempt a division of the complex musical signal
cies above 450 Hz simultaneously. How is this possible? into the separate pieces (usually highs, mids, and lows) that
each specific driver was designed to handle. Unfortunately,
First we must understand that music is not composed of due to the phase relationships that occur within all crossover
separate high, mid and low frequency pieces. In fact, networks and during the acoustical recombination process,
music is comprised of a single complex waveform with all nonlinearities and severe degradation of the music signal
frequencies interacting simultaneously. take place in the ear’s most critical zone (see figure 20).

The electrostatic transducer of the Aeon i essentially acts as The Aeon i’s electrostatic transducer can single-handedly
an exact opposite of the microphones used to record the reproduce all frequencies above 450 Hz simultaneously.
original event. A microphone, which is a single working You have in one transducer the ability to handle in elegant
element, transforms acoustic energy into an electrical signal simplicity the critical frequencies above 450 Hz.
that can be amplified or preserved by some type of storage
media. The Aeon i’s electrostatic transducer transforms The crossover phase aberrations that are associated with
electrical energy from your amplifier into acoustical energy. traditional tweeter, midrange, and woofer systems are
eliminated. The result is a dramatic improvement in imaging
Due to the limitations of electromagnetic drivers, no and staging performance due to the minutely accurate phase
single unit can reproduce the full range of frequencies. relationship of the full-range panel wave launch.
Instead, these drivers must be designed to operate within

Conventional Loudspeaker MartinLogan Aeon i

Tweeter
crossover point (2–5kHz)

Critical Zone: 450Hz–20kHz ESL

Panel

Midrange

crossover point (100–500Hz) crossover point (450Hz)

Figure 20. This diagram illustrates how a conventional

Woofer speaker system must use multiple crossover networks Woofer
that have negative effects on the musical performance.

Electrostatic Advantages 15
MARTINLOGAN EXCLUSIVES

Curvilinear Line Source (CLSTM) Generation 2 Diaphragm

Since the beginning of audio, achieving smooth dispersion The diaphragm in the Aeon i employs an extremely sophisti-
has been a problem for all loudspeaker designers. Large cated conductive surface that has been applied to the
panel transducers present even more of a challenge because polymer surface at an atomic level using a plasma bonding
the larger the panel, the more directional the dispersion process. A proprietary compound is driven into the surface
pattern becomes. of the polymer film in an oxygen free argon chamber. This
process allows extremely uniform surface resistivity character-
Full range electrostats have long been one of the most prob- istics, an optically transparent surface and adds no mass to
lematic transducers because they attain their full range the diaphragm. This uniform surface resistivity controls the
capabilities via a large surface area. It looked as if they were electrostatic charge on the diaphragm surface and regulates
in direct conflict to smooth dispersion and almost every its migration. As a result, no discharging or “arcing” can occur.
attempt to correct this resulted in either poor dispersion or
a serious compromise in sound quality.
Transducer Integrity
After extensive research, MartinLogan engineers discovered
an elegantly simple solution to achieve a smooth pattern All MartinLogan transducers begin with two pieces of high-
of dispersion without degrading sound quality. By curving grade, cold rolled steel. These steel pieces are then custom
the horizontal plane of the electrostatic transducer, a perforated and insulated with a unique composite coating.
controlled horizontal dispersion pattern could be achieved, This proprietary coating insulates the stator to three times
yet the purity of the almost massless electrostatic diaphragm its actual needed working voltage and gives the Aeon i a
remained uncompromised. After creating this technology, wide margin of safe operation. In addition to the electrical
MartinLogan developed the production capability to bring it insulation properties, this coating also provides the Aeon i
out of the laboratory and into the market place. with a durable, attractive finish that dampens the steel to
prevent ringing. These pieces then sandwich a proprietary
You will find this proprietary MartinLogan technology used diaphragm and spacers into a curved geometry, and bond
in all of our products. It is one of the many reasons behind together with aerospace adhesives whose strength exceeds
our reputation for high quality sound with practical usability. that of welding.The result of these advanced technologies
This is also why you see the unique “see through” cylindrical is a transducer that is attractive, durable, highly rigid, well
shape of all MartinLogan products. dampened, and neutral.

NACTM
NAC (natural ambience compensation) reveals larger-than-
life sound by eliminating dispersion problems inherent to
small electrostatic transducers. By expanding off-axis high-
frequency dispersion, Aeon i assures listeners of a perfect
performance no matter where they’re seated or standing.
A true audiophile solution, the NAC is parallel to the signal
path and features an on/off switch to adjust for listener
preference.

16 MartinLogan Exclusives
 ELECTROSTATIC LOUDSPEAKER HISTORY

ESL History
In the late 1800s, any loudspeaker was considered exotic. would refer to loudspeakers as being either “conventional”
Today, most of us take the wonders of sound reproduction or “exotic”.
for granted.
Bell Laboratory’s electrostat was something to behold.
It was 1880 before Thomas Edison had invented the first This enormous bipolar speaker was as big as a door. The
phonograph. This was a horn-loaded diaphragm that was diaphragm, which was beginning to rot, was made of a
excited by a playback stylus. In 1898, Sir Oliver Lodge pig intestine that was covered with fine gold leaf to con-
invented a cone loudspeaker, which he referred to duct the audio signal.
as a “bellowing telephone”, that was very similar to the
conventional cone loudspeaker drivers that we know When Rice and Kellogg began playing the new electrically
today. However, Lodge had no intention for his device to cut records through the electrostat, they were shocked
reproduce music because in 1898 there was no way to and impressed. The electrostat performed splendidly.
amplify an electrical signal! As a result, his speaker had They had never heard instrumental timbres reproduced
nothing to offer over the acoustical gramophones of the with such realism. This system sounded like real music
period. It was not until 1906 that Dr. Lee DeForrest invent- rather than the honking, squawking rendition of the
ed the triode vacuum tube. Before this, an electrical signal acoustic gramophone. Immediately, they knew they were
could not be amplified. The loudspeaker, as we know it on to something big. The acoustic gramophone was des-
today, should have ensued then, but it did not. Amazingly, tined to become obsolete.
it was almost twenty years before this would occur.
Due to Rice and Kellogg’s enthusiasm, they devoted a
In 1921, the electrically cut phonograph record became a considerable amount of time researching the electrostatic
reality. This method of recording was far superior to the design. However, they soon encountered the same diffi-
mechanically cut record and possessed almost 30 dB of culties that even present designers face; planar speakers
dynamic range. The acoustical gramo- require a very large surface area to
phone couldn’t begin to reproduce all Rice and Kellogg had reproduce the lower frequencies of
of the information on this new disc. As narrowed the field of the audio spectrum. Because the
a result, further developments in loud- management at Bell Labs considered
speakers were needed to cope with “contestants” down to the large speakers unacceptable, Rice
this amazing new recording medium. cone and the electrostat. and Kellogg’s work on electrostatics
would never be put to use for a com-
By 1923, Bell Telephone Laboratories made the decision to mercial product. Reluctantly, they advised the Bell
develop a complete musical playback system consisting of an management to go with the cone. For the next 30 years,
electronic phonograph and a loudspeaker to take advantage the electrostatic design lay dormant.
of the new recording medium. Bell Labs assigned the pro-
ject to two young engineers, C.W. Rice and E.W. Kellogg. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, consumer audio
almost died. The new electrically amplified loudspeaker
Rice and Kellogg had a well equipped laboratory at their never gained acceptance, as most people continued to use
disposal. This lab possessed a vacuum tube amplifier with their old Victrola-style acoustic gramophones. Prior to the
an unheard of 200 watts, a large selection of the new end of World War II, consumer audio saw little, if any,
electrically cut phonograph records and a variety of progress. However, during the late 1940s, audio experi-
loudspeaker prototypes that Bell Labs had been collecting enced a great rebirth. Suddenly there was tremendous
over the past decade. Among these were Lodge’s cone, a interest in audio products, and with that, a great demand
speaker that used compressed air, a corona discharge for improved audio components. No sooner had the cone
(plasma) speaker, and an electrostatic speaker. become established than it was challenged by products
developed during this new rebirth.
After a short time, Rice and Kellogg had narrowed the field
of “contestants” down to the cone and the electrostat. The In 1947, Arthur Janszen, a young Naval engineer, took part in
outcome would dictate the way that future generations a research project for the Navy. The Navy was interested in

Electrostatic Loudspeaker History 17

 developing a better instrument for testing microphone In the early 1960s Arthur Janszen joined forces with the
arrays. The test instrument needed an extremely accurate KLH loudspeaker company, and together they introduced
speaker, but Janszen found that the cone speakers of the the KLH 9. Due to the large size of the KLH 9, it did not
period were too nonlinear in phase and amplitude response have as many limitations as the Quad. The KLH 9 could
to meet his criteria. Janszen believed that electrostats were play markedly louder and lower in frequency than the
inherently more linear than cones, so he built a model using Quad ESL. Thus a rivalry was born.
a thin plastic diaphragm treated with a conductive coating.
This model confirmed Janszen’s beliefs, for it exhibited Janszen continued to develop electro-static designs. He
remarkable phase and amplitude linearity. was instrumental in the design of the Koss Model One, the
Acoustech and the Dennesen speak-
Janszen was so excited with the results ers. Roger West, the chief designer
that he continued research on the elec- These developments allow of the JansZen Corporation, became
trostatic speaker on his own time. He the consumer to own the the president of Sound Lab. When
soon thought of insulating the stators to highest performance loud- JansZen Corporation was sold, the
prevent the destructive effects of arcing. RTR loudspeaker company bought
By 1952, he had an electrostatic tweeter speaker products ever built. half of the production tooling. This
element ready for commercial produc- tooling was used to make the elec-
tion. This new tweeter soon created a sensation among trostatic panels for the Servostatic, a hybrid electrostatic
American audio hobbyists. Since Janszen’s tweeter element system that was Infinity’s first speaker product. Other
was limited to high frequency reproduction, it often found companies soon followed; each with their own unique
itself used in conjunction with woofers—most notably, applications of the technology. These include Acoustat,
those from Acoustic Research. These systems were highly Audiostatic, Beverage, Dayton Wright, Sound Lab and Stax,
regarded by all audio enthusiasts. to name a few.

As good as these systems were, they would soon be sur- Electrostatic speakers have progressed and prospered
passed by another electrostatic speaker. because they actually do what Peter Walker claimed they
would. The limitations and problems experienced in the
In 1955, Peter Walker published three articles on electrosta- past were not inherent to the electrostatic concept. They
tic loudspeaker design in Wireless World, a British electronics were related to the applications of these concepts.
magazine. In these articles, Walker demonstrated the benefits
of the electrostatic loudspeaker. He explained that electro- Today, these limitations have been addressed. Advancements
statics permit the use of diaphragms that are low in mass, in materials due to the U.S. space program give designers
large in area and uniformly driven over their surfaces by the ability to harness the superiority of the electrostatic
electrostatic forces. Due to these characteristics, electrostats principle. Today’s electrostats use advanced insulation
have the inherent ability to produce a wide bandwidth, techniques or provide protection circuitry. The poor disper-
flat frequency response with distortion products being no sion properties of early models have been addressed by
greater than the electronics driving them. using delay lines, acoustical lenses, multiple panel arrays
or, as in our own products, by curving the diaphragm.
By 1956, Walker backed up his articles by introducing a Power handling and sensitivity have also been increased.
consumer product, the now famous Quad ESL. This
speaker immediately set a standard of performance for the These developments allow the consumer the opportunity
audio industry due to its incredible accuracy. However, in to own the highest performance loudspeaker products ever
actual use, the Quad had a few problems. It could not be built. It’s too bad Rice and Kellogg were never able to see
played very loud, it had poor bass performance, it pre- just how far the technology would be taken.
sented a difficult load that some amplifiers did not like, its
dispersion was very directional and its power handling
was limited to around 70 watts. As a result, many people
continued to use box speakers with cones.

18 Electrostatic Loudspeaker History

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND TROUBLESHOOTING

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I clean my speakers? In the case of our center channel speakers, however, they
Just use a dust free cloth or a soft brush to remove the dust are fully shielded and can go anywhere.
from your speakers. We recommend a specialty cloth
(available at the XStatic shop at www.martinlogan.com) Will my electric bill go ‘sky high’ by leaving my speakers
that cleans your speakers better than anything else we plugged in all the time?
have tried. Do not spray any kind of cleaning agent No. A pair of MartinLogans will draw about 5 watts max-
on or in close proximity to the electrostatic element. imum. There is circuitry to turn off the static charge when
not in use; however, actual consumption will remain close
What is the advantage of ESL? to the same. The primary purpose of the sensing circuitry
Since the diaphragm is uniformly driven over its entire is to prevent dust collection on the electrostatic element.
surface—unlike a tweeter that is only driven at its edges—
it is the only technology that can be made large enough to If the diaphragm is punctured with a pencil or similar
play bass, yet is still light enough for high frequencies. This item, how extensive would the damage to the speaker be?
unique property allows for the elimination of high fre- Our research department has literally punctured hundreds
quency crossover points and their associated distortions. of holes in a diaphragm, neither affecting the quality of
the sound nor causing the diaphragm to rip. However,
What size amplifier should I use? you will be able to see the actual puncture and it can
We recommend an amplifier with 100 to 200 watts per be a physical nuisance. If this is the case, replacing the
channel for most applications. Probably less would be electrostatic transducer will be the only solution.
adequate for our smaller hybrids or when used in home
theater where a subwoofer is employed. Our hybrid Will exposure to sunlight affect the life or performance
designs will perform well with either a tube or transistorized of my speakers?
amplifier, and will reveal the sonic character of either We recommend that you not place any loudspeaker in
type. However, it is important that the amplifier be stable direct sunlight. The ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can
operating into varying impedance loads: a stable amplifier cause deterioration of grill cloth, speaker cones, etc. Small
will be able to deliver twice its rated wattage into 4 Ohms exposures to UV will not cause a problem. In general,
and should again double into 2 Ohms. the filtering of UV rays through glass will greatly reduce
the negative effects on the electrostatic membrane itself.
Could you suggest a list of suitable electronics and
cables that would be ideal for MartinLogan speakers? Will excessive smoke or dust cause any problems with
The area of electronics and cable choice is probably my electrostatic speakers?
the most common type of question that we receive. It is Exposure to excessive contaminants such as smoke
also the most subjective. We have repeatedly found or dust may potentially affect the performance of the
that brands that work well in one setup will drive someone electrostatic membrane, and may cause discoloration
else nuts in another. We use many brands with great of the diaphragm membrane. When not in use for
success. Again, we have no favorites; we use electronics extended periods, you should unplug the speakers and
and cables quite interchangeably. We would suggest cover them with the plastic bags in which the speakers
listening to a number of brands—and above all else— were originally packed. It is a good idea to vacuum the
trust your ears. Dealers are always the best source for electrostatic portion of each speaker once or twice a
information when purchasing additional audio equipment. year. See the vacuuming FAQ.

Is there likely to be any interaction between my speakers A problem has recently developed with my MartinLogan
and the television in my Audio/Video system? speakers. The right speaker seems to be hissing even
Actually, there is less interaction between a television when the amplifier and such are not connected. I was
and an electrostatic speaker than between a television wondering if this sounds like any problem you have
and a conventional system. However, we do recommend encountered previously and have a simple solution for
that you keep your speakers at least one foot away from or might it be something which will need to be looked
the television because of the dynamic woofer they employ. into more carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting 19

 Troubleshooting
Your speakers are dusty. See the vacuuming FAQ. The No Output
electrostatic charge on the element has attracted airborne • Check that all your system components are turned on.
dust or pollen. Since 1993, all of our speakers have been • Check your speaker wires and connections.
built with a charging circuit board that only charges the • Check all interconnecting cables.
electrostatic element when music plays. At other times
they are not charged and cannot collect dust. You can get Weak Output from Electrostatic Panel, Loss of Highs
the same benefit by simply unplugging them whenever • Check the power cord. Is it properly connected to the
they are not in use. A power strip is an easy way to do that. speaker and to the wall?
• Is the power cord connected to a switched outlet?
Could my children, pets, or myself be shocked by the • Dirt and dust may need to be vacuumed off. Please see
high-voltage present in the electrostatic panel? the FAQ regarding vacuuming.
No. High voltage with low current is not dangerous. As a
matter of fact, the voltage in our speakers is 10 times Popping and Ticking Sounds, Funny Noises
less than the static electricity that builds up on the surface • These occasional noises are harmless and will not hurt
of your television screen. your audio system or your speakers. All electrostatic
speakers are guilty of making odd noises at one time or
How do MartinLogan speakers hold up over a long term another. It is the result of airborne contaminates (most
in the humidity of tropical climates? notably dust). Vacuuming is recommended.
We should tell you that MartinLogan indeed has a very • These noises may be caused by dirt and dust particles
substantial number of customers in tropical regions of collecting on the speaker, by high humidity.
the world. Our speakers have been serving them nicely for • Dirt and dust may need to be vacuumed off. Please see
many years. This concern may have come from our earlier the FAQ regarding vacuuming.
design of speakers, which were charged continuously.
Since 1993, all of our speakers have been designed so that Exaggerated Highs, Brightness
they only charge the panel while music is being played. • Check the toe-in of the speakers. Read the Placement
This improvement has made a tremendous difference section of this manual for more information.
in the consistent performance of our product. There may
be a little more maintenance involved in humid regions Muddy Bass
when not in an air conditioned environment. Simply • Check placement. Try moving the speakers closer to
enough, the concern is to keep the electrostatic panels the front and sidewalls.
dust free. Humidity will combine with any dust on the • Check the type of feet that are being used. Try attaching
panel to make it slightly conductive. This will result in a the coupling spikes.
slight pathway for the charge to leave the membrane of • Possibly means low electrostatic panel output. See 'Weak
the speaker. The solution is simple. They only require Output from Electrostatic Panel, Loss of Highs’.
occasional vacuuming with a strong vacuum hose.
Lack of Bass, No Bass
How do I vacuum my MartinLogan speakers? • Check your speaker wires. Is the polarity correct?
Vacuuming will be most effective if the speakers have • Check your speaker wires. Are both woofers working?
been unplugged for six hours or overnight. You need • Check your speaker wires if bi-wiring.
not worry about the vacuum pressure damaging the
"delicate" membrane. It is extraordinarily durable Poor Imaging
Dirt and dust may be vacuumed off with a brush attach- • Check placement. Are both speakers the same distance
ment connected to your vacuum cleaner, or you may from the walls? Do they have the same amount of toe-
blow them off with compressed air. . in? Try moving the speakers away from the back and
sidewalls.
Should I unplug my speakers during a thunderstorm? • Check the polarity of the speaker wires. Are they con-
Yes, or before. It’s a good idea to disconnect all of your nected properly?
audio/video components during stormy weather.

20 Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting

 GENERAL INFORMATION

Specifications Warranty and Registration

The Aeon i hybrid speaker system consists of a broad-range Your Aeon i speakers are provided with an automatic Limited
single-element electrostatic transducer integrated with a 90-Day Warranty coverage.
quick-response woofer. This approach takes advantage of
the benefits that both technologies have to offer. Dispersion You have the option, at no additional charge, to receive a
is a controlled 30 degrees, achieved by curving the electro- Limited 5-Year Warranty coverage. To obtain the Limited
static transducer element—an elegantly simple solution. 5-Year Warranty coverage you need to complete and return
the Certificate of Registration, included with your speakers,
System Frequency Response and provide a copy of your dealer receipt, to MartinLogan
43–22,000 Hz ± 3 dB within 30 days of purchase.

Dispersion For your convenience MartinLogan also offers online warranty

Horizontal: 30 Degrees registration at www.martinlogan.com.
Vertical: 37 inch (94 cm) line source
NAC™ enhanced sound field MartinLogan may not honor warranty service claims unless
we have a completed Warranty Registration card on file!
Sensitivity
90 dB/2.83 volts/meter If you did not receive a Certificate of Registration with
your new Aeon i speakers you cannot be assured of having
Impedance received new units. If this is the case, please contact your
Nominal: 4 ohms authorized MartinLogan dealer.
Minimum: 1.1 ohms @ 20 kHz

Crossover Frequency Service

450 Hz
Should you be using your MartinLogan product in a country
Components other than the one in which it was originally purchased,
Custom-wound audio transformer, air core coils, we ask that you note the following:
polypropylene capacitors
1 The appointed MartinLogan distributor for any given
NAC Driver country is responsible for warranty servicing only on
1” (2.5cm) silk dome units distributed by or through it in that country in
accordance with its applicable warranty.
Woofer Type
8" high excursion, aluminum cone with extended 2 Should a MartinLogan product require servicing in a
throw driver assembly, non-resonance chamber format country other than the one in which it was originally
purchased, the end user may seek to have repairs performed
Power Handling by the nearest MartinLogan distributor, subject to that
200 watts per channel distributor’s local servicing policies, but all cost of
repairs (parts, labor, transportation) must be born by
Recommended Amplifier Power the owner of the MartinLogan product.
80 –200 watts per channel
3 If, after owning your speakers for six months, you
Weight relocate to a country other than the one in which
55.5 lbs. each (25.2 kg) you purchased your speakers, your warranty may be
transferable. Contact MartinLogan for details.
Size
10.25 inches W × 15.5 inches D × 57.4 inches H
(26 cm W × 39.4 cm D × 145.8 cm H)

General Information 21
GLOSSARY OF AUDIO TERMS

Glossary of Audio Terms

AC. Abbreviation for alternating current. DC. Abbreviation for direct current.

Active crossover. Uses active devices (transistors, ICs, tubes) Diffraction. The breaking up of a sound wave caused by
and some form of power supply to operate. some type of mechanical interference such as a cabinet
edge, grill frame or other similar object.
Amplitude. The extreme range of a signal. Usually measured
from the average to the extreme. Diaphragm. A thin flexible membrane or cone that vibrates
in response to electrical signals to produce sound waves.
Arc. The visible sparks generated by an electrical discharge.
Distortion. Usually referred to in terms of total harmonic
Bass. The lowest frequencies of sound. distortion (THD) which is the percentage of unwanted
harmonics of the drive signal present with the wanted signal.
Bi-Amplification. Uses an electronic crossover, or line-level Generally used to mean any unwanted change introduced
passive crossover, and separate power amplifiers for the by the device under question.
high and low frequency loudspeaker drivers.
Driver. See transducer.
Capacitance. That property of a capacitor which determines
how much charge can be stored in it for a given potential Dynamic Range. The range between the quietest and the
difference between its terminals, measured in farads, by loudest sounds a device can handle (often quoted in dB).
the ratio of the charge stored to the potential difference.
Efficiency. The acoustic power delivered for a given electrical
Capacitor. A device consisting of two or more conducting input. Often expressed as decibels/watt/meter (dB/w/m).
plates separated from one another by an insulating material
and used for storing an electrical charge. Sometimes called ESL. The abbreviation for electrostatic loudspeaker.
a condenser.
Headroom. The difference, in decibels, between the peak
Clipping. Distortion of a signal by its being chopped off. An and RMS levels in program material.
overload problem caused by pushing an amplifier beyond its
capabilities. The flat-topped signal has high levels of harmon- Hybrid. A product created by the marriage of two different
ic distortion which creates heat in a loudspeaker and is the technologies. Meant here as the combination of a dynamic
major cause of loudspeaker component failure. woofer with an electrostatic transducer.

CLS. The abbreviation for curvilinear linesource. Hz (Hertz). Unit of frequency equivalent to the number of
cycles per second.
Crossover. An electrical circuit that divides a full bandwidth
signal into the desired frequency bands for the loudspeaker Imaging. To make a representation or imitation of the original
components. sonic event.

dB (decibel). A numerical expression of the relative loud- Impedance. The total opposition offered by an electric circuit
ness of a sound. The difference in decibels between two to the flow of an alternating current of a single frequency. It
sounds is ten times the Base 10 logarithm of the ratio of is a combination of resistance and reactance and is measured
their power levels. in ohms. Remember that a speaker’s impedance changes
with frequency, it is not a constant value.

22 Glossary of Audio Terms

Inductance. The property of an electrical circuit by which a Resistor. A device used in a circuit to provide resistance.
varying current in it produces a varying magnetic field that
introduces voltages in the same circuit or in a nearby circuit. Resonance. The effect produced when the natural vibra-
It is measured in henrys. tion frequency of a body is greatly amplified by reinforcing
vibrations at the same or nearly the same frequency from
Inductor. A device designed primarily to introduce inductance another body.
into an electrical circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil.
Sensitivity. The volume of sound delivered for a given elec-
Linearity. The extent to which any signal handling process trical input.
is accomplished without amplitude distortion.
Stator. The fixed part forming the reference for the moving
Midrange. The middle frequencies where the ear is the diaphragm in a planar speaker.
most sensitive.
THD. The abbreviation for total harmonic distortion. (See
NAC. The abbreviation for natural ambience compensation. Distortion)

Passive crossover. Uses no active components (transistors, TIM. The abbreviation for transient intermodulation distortion.
ICs, tubes) and needs no power supply (AC, DC, battery)
to operate. The crossover in a typical loudspeaker is of the Transducer. Any of various devices that transmit energy from
passive variety. Passive crossovers consist of capacitors, one system to another, sometimes one that converts the
inductors and resistors. energy in form. Loudspeaker transducers convert electrical
energy into mechanical motion.
Phase. The amount by which one sine wave leads or lags a
second wave of the same frequency. The difference is Transient. Applies to that which lasts or stays but a short
described by the term phase angle. Sine waves in phase time. A change from one steady-state condition to another.
reinforce each other; those out of phase cancel.
Tweeter. A small drive unit designed to reproduce only
Pink noise. A random noise used in measurements, as it high frequencies.
has the same amount of energy in each octave.
Wavelength. The distance measured in the direction of
Polarity. The condition of being positive or negative with progression of a wave, from any given point characterized
respect to some reference point or object. by the same phase.

RMS. Abbreviation for root mean square. The effective value White noise. A random noise used in measurements, as it
of a given waveform is its RMS value. Acoustic power is has the same amount of energy at each frequency.
proportional to the square of the RMS sound pressure.
Woofer. A drive unit operating in the bass frequencies only.
Resistance. That property of a conductor by which it opposes Drive units in two-way systems are not true woofers but
the flow of electric current, resulting in the generation of are more accurately described as being mid/bass drivers.
heat in the conducting material, usually expressed in ohms.

Glossary of Audio Terms 23

c l s e l e c t r o s t a t i c

MA R T I N LOGA N

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