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TM
CLARITY
user ’s manual
c l s e l e c t r o s t a t i c
MARTIN LOGAN
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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 Low-Voltage (DC) Power Connection The MartinLogan Clarity represents the culmination of an Signal Connection intensive, dedicat
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INSTALLATION IN BRIEF Installation in Brief We know you are eager to hear your new Clarity loud- Step 1: Unpacking speakers, so this section is provided to allow fast and easy set Remove your new Clarity speakers from their packing. up. 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 Clarity at least two feet from any wall and angle possible
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OPERATION Low-Voltage (DC) Power Connection Your Clarity speakers use external low-voltage power sup- high quality long interconnect cables be used to connect the plies to energize their electrostatic panels. For this reason the preamplifier and power amplifier. This results in the power proper low-voltage power supplies are provided. A power amplifiers being close to the speakers, which may be prac- supply should be firmly inserted into the ‘DC Power In’ tically or cosmetically difficult, but i
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TM Turning the NAC On/Off Break-In Your Clarity loudspeakers are equipped with a NAC (natural When you first begin to play your Clarity speakers, they will ambience compensation) driver located on top of Clarity’s sound a bit bass shy. This is due to the high-quality, long-life cabinet. To turn the NAC on or off gently insert a narrow components used in our woofer. Our custom made woofers object such as a pen or pencil into the small hole located requires 30 hours of break-in at 90 dB (moderate
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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 Sometimes walls can be too soft. If the entire front wall the side walls. Your sitting distance should be farther than consists of only heavy drapery, your system can sound too the distan
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Your ideal listening position and speaker position will Imaging be determined by: In their final location, the Clarity’s should have a stage width •Tightness and extension of bass response somewhat wider than the speakers themselves. On well- •Width of the stage recorded music, the instruments should extend beyond •Pinpoint focusing of imaging the edges of each speaker to the left and to the right, yet a Once you have determined the best of all three of these vocalist should appear directly in t
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ROOM ACOUSTICS Your Room Resonant Surfaces and Objects This is one of those areas that requires both a little back- All of the surfaces and objects in your room are subject to ground to understand and some time and experimentation the frequencies generated by your system. Much like an to obtain the best performance from your system. instrument, they will vibrate and “carry on” in syncopation with the music, and contribute in a negative way to the Your room is actually a component and an importan
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Solid Footing If your speaker system is not securely planted on the floor After living and experimenting with your Clarity’s, you may or solid surface, it can shake as it produces sound and, want to use Clarity ETC (energy transfer coupler) Spikes (see consequently, the sound can be compromised. If your figure 4), 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
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DISPERSION INTERACTIONS Controlled Horizontal Dispersion Your Clarity launches 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 6). choice of good seats for the performance while minimizing interactions with side walls (see figure 5). Make sure both TM speakers stand exactly at the same vertical angle, otherwise NAC Dispersion the image can be skewed o
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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 occu
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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
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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. The world of traditional loudspeaker technology deals with Since the diaphragm of an electrostatic speaker is uniformly cones, domes, diaphragms and ribbons that are moved with driven over its entire area, it can be extremely light and magneti
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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 exam- combined electrically so that the sum of the parts equals ples of other loudspeaker products on the market today. the total signal. While nice in theory, we must deal with real-world conditions. The Clarity uses no crossover networks above 450 Hz because they are not needed. The Clarity consists of a
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MARTINLOGAN EXCLUSIVES TM Curvilinear Line Source (CLS ) Plasma Bonded Diaphragm Since the beginning of audio, achieving smooth dispersion The diaphragm in the Clarity employs an extremely sophis- has been a problem for all loudspeaker designers. Large ticated conductive coating 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 involvin
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ELECTROSTATIC LOUDSPEAKER HISTORY ESL History would refer to loudspeakers as being either “conventional” In the late 1800s, any loudspeaker was considered exotic. or “exotic”. Today, most of us take the wonders of sound reproduction for granted. Bell Laboratory’s electrostat was something to behold. This enormous bipolar speaker was as big as a door. The It was 1880 before Thomas Edison had invented the first diaphragm, which was beginning to rot, was made of a phonograph. This was a horn-loade
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In the early 1960s Arthur Janszen joined forces with the developing a better instrument for testing microphone KLH loudspeaker company, and together they introduced arrays. The test instrument needed an extremely accurate the KLH 9. Due to the large size of the KLH 9, it did not speaker, but Janszen found that the cone speakers of the 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 electro
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Frequently Asked Questions How do I clean my speakers? Is there likely to be any interaction between my speakers Just use a dust free cloth or a soft brush to remove the dust and the television in my Audio/Video system? from your speakers. We recommend a specialty cloth Actually, there is less interaction between a television (available at the XStatic shop at www.martinlogan.com) and an electrostatic speaker than between a television that cleans your speakers better t
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Will excessive smoke or dust cause any problems with How do MartinLogan speakers hold up over a long term my electrostatic speakers? in the humidity of tropical climates? Exposure to excessive contaminants such as smoke We should tell you that MartinLogan indeed has a very or dust may potentially affect the performance of the substantial number of customers in tropical regions of electrostatic membrane, and may cause discoloration the world. Our speakers have been serving them nicely for of the
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TROUBLESHOOTING Troubleshooting No Output Muddy Bass • Check that all your system components are turned on. • Check placement. Try moving the speakers closer to • Check your speaker wires and connections. the front and sidewalls. • Check all interconnecting cables. • Check the type of feet that are being used. Try attaching the coupling spikes. Weak Output from Electrostatic Panel, Loss of Highs • Possibly means low electrostatic panel output. See 'Weak • Check the power cord. Is it properly con
