MartinLogan Summit X manual

S ummit X user’s manual tm[...]

Serial Numbers: ________________ / ________________ Record your serial numbers here for easy reference. You will need this information when filling out your warranty registration. Summit X’s serial number is located near the bottom of the backplate and on the shipping container. Each individual unit has a unique serial number. 25Hz Setting: _____[...]

Thank you—the MartinLogan owner, for loving what we do, and making it possible for us to do what we love.[...]

C o n t e n t s ......................................4 I n s t a l l a t i o n i n B r i e f .............................5 I n t r o d u c t i o n ...................................6 Controls and Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A C P o w e r C o n n e c t i o n ...........................8 Signal Connection Break-In 2[...]

Installation in Brief 5 We know you are eager to hear your Summit X speakers, so this section is provided to allow fast and easy set up. Once you have them operational, please take the time to read, in depth, the rest of the information in this manual. It will give you perspective on how to attain the greatest possible performance from this most ex[...]

6 Introduction Co ng ra t u l at io ns ! Yo u ha ve i nv es te d in on e of t he w or ld ’s premier loudspeaker systems. The MartinLogan Summit X™ represents an advanced combination of sonic technologi es establi shing an unprec- edented direction for audiophile design. The result of years of research, the new Summit X™ hybrid electro- static[...]

Controls and Connections 7 C ontrols and C onneCtIons 25Hz Level Knobs The 25Hz Level knob sig- nificantly adjusts the level between 20 and 30Hz by ±10dB. This is an area where peaks and dips of different amplitudes often manifest in real environments. This set- ting is dependent on room size and construction, system configuration and personal pre[...]

AC Power Connection 8 Controls and Connection Your Summit X speakers use an internal power sup- ply to energize their electrostatic cells and the amplified PoweredForce™ woofer system, and must be connected to an AC po wer sour ce. For this reason t hey are provided with the proper IEC standard power cords. These cords should be firmly inserted i[...]

Controls and Connection 9 drum or a pipe organ). When adjusting the 25Hz and 50Hz levels we recommend doing so with two or three people—one located at the listening position and one or two people at the controls. 1 Start with the 25Hz and 50Hz level knobs set to 0dB. The person at the listening position needs to become familiar with the sound at [...]

10 Controls and Connection By now your speakers should be placed approximately two to three feet from the front wall (the wall in front of the listening position) and at least two feet from the side walls. Your sitting distance should be further than the dis- tance between the speakers themselves. You are trying to attain the impression of good cen[...]

Placement 11 Toe-in— Now you can begin to experiment. First begin by toeing your speakers in towards the listening area and then facing them straight into the room. You will notice the tonal balance and imaging changing. You will notice that as the speakers are toed-in, the system becomes slightly brighter than when toe d-out. This desi gn gives [...]

12 Placement good pinpoint focusing. Your ideal listening position and speaker position will be determined by: • Tightnessandextensionofbassresponse • Widthofthestage • Pinpointfocusingofimaging Once you have determined the best of all three of these considerations, you will have your best speaker loc[...]

Room Acoustics 13 the frequencies generated by your system. Much like an instrum ent, they will vibrat e an d “ca rry on” in sy ncopat ion with the music, and contribute in a negative way to the music. Rin ging, boomi ness, and even bri ghtness c an occu r simply because they are “singing along” with your music. Resonant Cavities Small alco[...]

The Summi X’s feet can be configured to adjust the rake of the speaker from –1° to 11° allowing precise control of the speaker’s vertical dispersion (figure 4). Spike Installation Instructions: 1 Carefully lay your speaker on its side. 2 Remove existing feet. Thread the spikes into the holes and screw them in all of the way. If the speaker [...]

Your Summit X’s launch a 30 degree horizontal disper- sion patte rn. This horizontal dispersion field gives a choice of good seats for the performance while minimiz- ing interactions with side walls (see figure 9). Make sure b ot h s p ea ke r s sta n d exa c tl y at t h e sam e v er t ic al a n gl e, other wise the image can be skewed or poorly [...]

16 Home Theater It h ad lon g be en t he p ra ctic e of ste reo b uf fs to co nnec t th eir tele visi on t o a st ereo sys tem. The a dva ntag e was the use of the larger speakers and more powerful amplifier of the st ere o s yst em. Ev en th oug h t he so un d wa s g rea tly im pro ved , it was still mono and limited by the broadcast signal. In th[...]

Electrostatic Advantages 17 How can sound be reproduced by something tha t you are ab le to see th ro ugh? Ele ctro stat ic e nerg y ma kes this p os sibl e. Where the world of traditional loudspeaker technology deals with cones, domes, diaphragms and ribbons that are moved with magnetism, the world of electrostatic loudspeakers deals with charged [...]

18 Electrostatic Advantages Another significant advantage of MartinLogan’s exclusive tra nsdu ce r tec hno logy reve al s its el f whe n you look at exam- ples of other loudspeaker products on the market today. The Summit X uses no crossover networks above 270 Hz because they are not needed. The Summit X consists of a single, seamless electrostat[...]

XStat™ Transducer X S t at ™ t r a ns du c er s i n co r po ra te a m y ri ad o f t e c hn ol o gi ca l a n d de si gn inn ov ati on s i ncl ud ing CL S™ , M icr oP erf , G en era ti on 2 D i ap hr ag ms , Cl e a r Sp ar s™ , an d V a cu um B on di ng . AirFrame™ T echnology Ultra-rigid extruded aerospace grade aluminum alloy AirFrame™ [...]

20 Electrostatic History In th e lat e 18 00’s , any lou dspe aker was cons ider ed e xoti c. Toda y, m ost o f us take the won ders of s ound rep rodu cti on for gr anted . It was 1880 before Thomas Edison had invented the f i r s t p h o n o g r a p h . T h i s w a s a h o r n - l o a d e d d i a p h r a g m that was excited by a playback stylu[...]

Electrostatic History 21 In 1947 , Arth ur Jans zen, a y oung Na val en ginee r, took part in a re sear ch pro ject for t he Nav y. Th e Navy was i ntere sted in developing a better instrument for testing microphone arrays. The test instrument needed an extremely accurate speaker, but Janszen found that the cone speakers of the per iod wer e t oo n[...]

22 Frequently Asked Questions How do I clean my speakers? Use a dust free cloth or a soft brus h to remov e the dust from your speakers. We also recommend a specialty cloth (available at the Xtatic shop at www.martinlogan. com) that cleans your speakers better than anything else we have tried. For the wood surfaces it is accept- able to slightly da[...]

Frequently Asked Questions 23 Will excessive smoke or dust cause any problems with my electrostatic speakers? Exposure to excessive contaminants such as smoke or dust may potentially affect the performance of the electrostatic membrane, and may cause discoloration of the diaphragm membrane. When not in use for extended periods, you should unplug th[...]

24 Troubleshooting No Output • Checkthatallyoursystemcomponentsareturnedon. • Checkyourspeakerwiresandconnections. • Checkallinterconnectingcables. • Tryhooking upa differentset ofspeakers. Thelack of output could point to a problem with other equip[...]

General Information 25 System Frequency Response: 24–23,000 Hz ± 3db Dispersion Horizontal: 30 Degrees Vertical: 44” (112 cm) line source Sensitivity 91 dB/2.83 volts/meter Impedance Nominal: 4 ohms Minimum: 0.8 ohms @ 20 kHz Crossover Frequency 270 Hz Components Custom-wound audio transformer, air core coils, poly- propylene capacitors Woofer[...]

26 Dimensional Drawings d ImensIonal d rawIngs 56.9” (144.4cm) 21.3” (54cm) 12.7“ (32.2cm) 60.9” (154.8cm) 15.3” (38.9cm) 4.1” (10.4cm) 19.2” (48.7cm) 10.9” (27.6cm) 6.4” (16.2cm) 12.7“ (32.2cm) 5°[...]

AC. Abbreviation for alternating current. Active crossover. Uses active devices (transistors, IC’s, tubes) and some form of power supply to operate. Am pl it ud e. Th e extr em e rang e of a sign al . Usua lly meas ur ed from the average to the extreme. Arc. The visible sparks generated by an electrical discharge. Bass. The lowest frequencies of [...]

Lawrence, Kansas, USA tel 785.749.0133 fax 785.749.5320 www.martinlogan.com info@martinlogan.com ©2009 MartinLogan. All rights reserved. Rev. #121908 ® WARNING! Do not use your Summit X loudspeakers outside of the country of original sale—voltage requirements vary by country. Improper voltage can cause damage that will be potentially expensive [...]