By Wayne Garcia, The Perfect Vision
May/June, 2001

Gayle Sanders is a dramatic guy tall, handsome, wears colorful ties, has a sonorous voice, and loves to laugh. He can also be serious. Especially when it comes to his products: the MartinLogan line of electrostatic-hybrid speakers that has evolved over the past 20 years. During that period, MartinLogan has become one of the most important manufacturers of electrostatic loudspeakers (ESLs). And no other ESL has the combined strengths of ultra-clear sound, power handling, and sheer sex appeal that the MartinLogans have.

Although any home-theater mix of MartinLogan speakers can set you back tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, how do you react to the notion that you can have an ML quintet for five thousand dollars? Well, you can. To wit: the MartinLogan Scenario front left and right channels ($1,999/pair), Cinema center channel ($1,295), and Script surrounds ($1,695/pair).

ESL Technology
First, a little history. Electrostatic speakers were first developed in the 1920s by Bell Labs using diaphragms made of pig intestines. The basic technology involves stretching a conductive diaphragm Mylar is today's material of choice between two "stators" (perforated metal frames that are also conductive), and driving the contraption with an amplified signal that's been converted into positive and negative high-voltage signals. These high-voltage signals create an electrostatic field around the stators that interacts with an electrostatic field around the diaphragm's conductive surface, moving it back and forth to create sound. (This is known as "push-pull" operation, where sound is generated from both sides of the polymer membrane, creating a dipolar radiation pattern, with an equal amount of sound radiated to the front and to the rear.)

"MartinLogan has been able to eliminate
or reduce many problems that have plagued ESLs,
while accentuating the positive."

ESLs have well-known strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, the drivers are lightweight, are driven equally over their entire surface (as opposed to the pistonic action of cones driven by a voice coil that is small relative to the cone area), and are exceedingly low-distortion. Electrostatics are fast, open, and almost unbelievably clear, which results in a kind of magical window on the sound that has kept their owners spellbound since the 1950s, when the original Quad ESL appeared.

On the not-so-positive side, electrostatics unless they're the size of a barn door lack bass, can be highly directional, tough to drive, and prone to arcing (potentially damage-causing electrostatic discharge) when driven to high volumes.

But it's the magic that wins out: the high that comes from any transcendental experience. And the cool thing about a great speaker system is that you get to keep having that experience over and over again.

The challenges and rewards listed above were largely what got Gayle Sanders into electrostatics in the first place. They're also one reason why MartinLogan has been so successful. MartinLogan has been able to eliminate or reduce many problems that have plagued ESLs, while accentuating the positive.

The MartinLogan Way
Because the issues of bass and power handling are interrelated, MartinLogan decided early on to go the hybrid route by mating its electrostatic panels with cone woofers (except for the full-range electrostatic CLS model). Letting a cone woofer handle low frequencies is a nifty idea, one that many manufacturers of panel speakers have tried over the years. This way the woofer, a natural bass reproducer, gets to do its job, while the electrostatic panel is relieved of work to which it isn't particularly suited. In addition, the electrostatic panel needn't make such large excursions (which increases power demands and introduces potential reliability problems), leaving it free to do its magic across the majority of the frequency spectrum. The trouble comes in getting these two disparate methods of sound reproduction to harmonize-particularly with woofers larger than ten inches in diameter. Although I'm not willing to say that all ML hybrids have been entirely successful, I do believe that, as cabinet, woofer, and crossover technologies improve, they're getting there.

MartinLogan's most remarkable design innovation, however, is the company's patented CLS (curvilinear electrostatic transducer) technology. A major problem with ESLs before MartinLogan developed its curvilinear panel is directionality: A big, flat panel tends to beam sound in one direction, limiting the listener to a single "sweet spot" (ideal listening zone). By curving its panels, MartinLogan created a far wider (yet still controlled) horizontal dispersion pattern without compromising the sonic purity of the featherweight electrostatic diaphragm.

"The inherent purity of the ESL panel, its wide-band
coherence, dynamic resolution, and lack of cabinet
resonance, reveal the expressive qualities of the
human voice in a remarkably natural way."

This curved diaphragm is also the most striking visual feature of MartinLogan speakers, because-as first-timers are amazed to discover-you can see right through them. This transparent look, along with an unusually elegant industrial design, makes MartinLogans more attractive (and less obtrusive) than most other speakers. To achieve this look, vaporized compounds are electrostatically embedded into the polymer's surface, adding neither mass nor opacity to the polymer film. In addition-and here's a big plus-the conductive surface has a highly uniform resistivity, which controls the electrostatic charge on the diaphragm's surface, eliminating arcing.

Without getting into the details of an electronic parts catalog, let me add that all individual components, materials, and construction are first-rate, as befits any world-class product.

Model Breakdown
The system under review comprises MartinLogan's smallest full-range model, the Scenario, the (nearly identical) Script surrounds, and, as one visitor called it, the "Star Wars" styled Cinema center channel.

The Scenario marries a 22"x 8" curvilinear electrostatic panel to an 8" high-excursion cone woofer that's housed in a rigid asymmetrical enclosure. The crossover point is 500Hz, meaning that the remaining frequencies all 21,500 of them are handled by the electrostatic panel. Talk about coherence! (We will, but not yet.)

For a perfect surround-channel match, the Script uses the same ESL panel found in the Scenario, but teams up with a 6.5" woofer that has been deliberately limited to a 70Hz low-frequency response. A pair of Scripts comes supplied with attractive wall brackets that allow the user to swivel the speakers into different positions, adding further flexibility to side- and rear-wall mounting.

The three-way Cinema center speaker is a departure for MartinLogan, in that the curvilinear electrostatic panel is used only as a midrange driver. Frequencies below 300Hz are fed to a pair of magnetically shielded 5.25" woofers (that straddle the edges of the enclosure), while a 1" soft-dome tweeter handles everything above 3.5kHz. What's remarkable here is how the design crew has voiced these three drivers to speak as one. I was initially skeptical of this approach. But when you think about it allowing the electrostat to cover the midrange (creating a perfect blend with the main and surround channels), a pair of small woofers the upper bass (crossing over at 80Hz to a subwoofer), and the dome to focus things in the center it makes sense. An optional bracket/stand lets you fix the Cinema center to a wall or swivel it up or down if the speaker is placed either below or above your screen.

Being electrostatics, all such speakers must be plugged into wall outlets with the supplied detachable power cords. They should be left on all the time (they draw very little power). Speaker-cable connections are all single-wire jobs, and attach to MartinLogan's terrific oversized wing-nut-like posts.

Performance
I'll first describe the sound of the Scenarios in stereo before moving onto the entire quintet (along with the bass assistance of Folk's PSW-650).

Let me begin by saying that, perhaps especially for vocal lovers, the Scenario is like a dream come true. The inherent purity of the ESL panel, its wide-band coherence, dynamic resolution, and lack of cabinet resonance, reveal the expressive qualities of the human voice in a remarkably natural way. And though this rig has been in my reference system for over a year, even the most frequently played discs remain fresh, revealing, and engaging; whether you love the peerless phrasing of Frank Sinatra, Emmylou Harris' wistful soprano, or the creamy ballads of Ella Fitzgerald.

"...because the sound isn't coming from a
point source but from a line source, there's a freedom
from constriction, a sense of naturalness to the illusion
of space, that can seem spookily real."

And yet because they are so capable of untangling the most complex and interwoven musical threads, prepare to be blown away by something like Coltrane: The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings. The relentless aural assault of some tracks can leave you breathless, and yet the Scenarios' weren't phased a bit by Elvin Jones' tireless drumming; the squeaks, jabs, and grunts of Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet; or the intensity of Coltrane's free-wheeling soprano saxophone. You might also be surprised by the Scenarios' ability to not only distinguish the dual acoustic bass playing of Reggie Workman and Jimmy Garrison, but to reproduce the depth of their sound, its power, and the feeling of weight fat strings, fat wood bodies. And feel free to crank it up; these speakers can handle it.

Finally, a comment on the way these speakers present a soundstage. There are precise instrumental placement and excellent layering of depth; but because the sound isn't coming from a point source but from a line source, there's a freedom from constriction, a sense of naturalness to the illusion of space, that can seem spookily real. Going back to the Village Vanguard for a moment, it is astonishing to hear Coltrane's soprano and tenor saxes occupying different heights in the acoustic space from track to track. Same with neighboring cymbals in the drum kit. Or to practically reach out and touch the curved bodies of each bass instrument or the clanking keys on Dolphy's jumbo clarinet.

Now, film sound may often be spooky, but it's not particularly real. Of course, the job of good sound-effects people is to convince us that it is real. And just as with stereo sound, surround sound benefits from speakers like the MartinLogans that do a fine job of seeming like they aren't there at all. One of my favorite surround tests is the opening of Martin Scorsese's Kundun. No bullets fly. No explosions shake the house. No stealth bombers tear through the room. Instead, you hear the sound of whistling wind that at first appears to be over water, but a few frames later (when the volume level ramps up and the sound begins to engulf us), it's clear that the wind is whistling over snow-capped mountaintops. Suddenly, a cacophonous chorus of deep-throated monks, ringing gongs, and clacking wood blocks jolts us out of our seats. The MartinLogan system presented this powerful cinematic moment with remarkable force, dynamic dexterity, and one of the most completely whole sonic landscapes I've experienced. (Let me interject that my dedicated theater is not large, roughly 12'x15'x9', so large-scale dynamics were no problem. I suspect, based on other reports and experiences, that this system may not be as dynamically free in large rooms.) Clearly, using the same electrostatic panel for the front and rear channels pays huge dividends in situations like this, as does the beautifully voiced Cinema center channel, which allows dialogue to remain easy to hear, even through the most action-packed surround tracks, like Gladiator and Three Kings.

Conclusion
I love this MartinLogan system. It delivers true high-end performance and yet its price is down-to-earth. On top of that, it's beautifully made and beautiful to look at, will fit (and shine) in modest-sized rooms, and provides deep satisfaction on both music and film. After a year of constant use, my joy with this set-up has only deepened.