MartinLogan Monolith III manual

The Monolith III Speaker System User's Manual[...]

Page2 Monolith III User's Manual Introduction Installation in Brief Monolith III Specifications History Connection IIIp Connection IIIx Connection IIIx Operation IIIx Technical Description Room Acoustics Placement General Information The Electrostatic Concept Martin-Logan Exclusives Questions Troubleshooting Glossary Contents Your Martin-Logan[...]

Page3 Monolith III User's Manual Introduction Congratulations, you have invested in one of the world’s premier loudspeaker systems! The Martin-Logan MONOLITH III repre- sents the culmination of an intensive, dedicated group research program directed toward establishing a world class reference monitor utilizing leading-edge technology, withou[...]

Page4 Monolith III User's Manual We know you are eager to hear your new MONOLITH III loudspeak- ers, 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 obtain the best possible perfo[...]

Page5 Monolith III User's Manual Monolith III Specifications The MONOLITH III hybrid speaker system consists of a broad-range single element electrostatic transducer integrated with a quick-response woofer. This approach takes maximum advantage of the positive aspects that both technologies have to offer. Dispersion is a controlled 30 degrees.[...]

Page6 Monolith III User's Manual In the late 1800’s, any loudspeaker was considered exotic. Today, most of us take the wonders of sound reproduction for granted. It was 1880 before Thomas Edison had invented the first phonograph. This was a horn-loaded diaphragm that was excited by a playback stylus. In 1898, Sir Oliver Lodge invented a cone[...]

Page7 Monolith III User's Manual extremely accurate speaker, but Janszen found that the cone speakers of the period were too nonlinear in phase and amplitude response to meet his criteria. Janszen believed that electrostats were inherently more linear than cones, so he built a model using a thin plastic diaphragm treated with a conductive coat[...]

Page8 Monolith III User's Manual AC Power Connection AC Power Connection AC Power Connection AC Power Connection AC Power Connection Electrostatic speakers use an internal power supply to energize their electrostatic elements with high-voltage DC (low current). As such, they must be connected to an AC wall outlet. For this reason we have provi[...]

Page9 Monolith III User's Manual Please take note of the jumpers installed across the binding posts of the IIIp INTER- FACE . . . . . These jumpers attach the high-pass and the low-pass sections of the interface together. Leaving these in place, connect the (+) wire from your amplifier to either of the red AMPLIFIER SIGNAL binding posts of the[...]

Page10 Monolith III User's Manual THREE: Passive Bi-amplification. THREE: Passive Bi-amplification. THREE: Passive Bi-amplification. THREE: Passive Bi-amplification. THREE: Passive Bi-amplification. The MONOLITH III may be passively bi- amplified using the IIIp INTERFACE . You cannot use an external electronic crossover with the MONOLITH III ([...]

Page11 Monolith III User's Manual eliminate the negative effects of time delay (also referred to as group delay) that occurs when a signal passes through two dissimilar amplifiers. The very nature of vertical bi-amping dictates that both amplifiers be identical. With horizontal bi-amping horizontal bi-amping horizontal bi-amping horizontal bi-[...]

Page12 Monolith III User's Manual Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction The MONOLITH IIIx system utilizes the electronic IIIx CROSSOVER which incorporates technology developed for our STATEMENT SYSTEM CROSSOVER . Use of the MONOLITH IIIx CROSSOVER will result in substantial improvements in all aspects of your system&[...]

Page13 Monolith III User's Manual A A A A A C P C P C P C P C P ower Connection ower Connection ower Connection ower Connection ower Connection Plug in AC mains only after all Plug in AC mains only after all Plug in AC mains only after all Plug in AC mains only after all Plug in AC mains only after all signal connections have been signal conne[...]

Page14 Monolith III User's Manual Crossover Settings Crossover Settings Crossover Settings Crossover Settings Crossover Settings Before you do any formal listening, you must set a pair of switches in the crossover. However, if you are using identical amplifiers (i.e. same make and model) for the high and low-pass sections of the Monolith, you [...]

Page15 Monolith III User's Manual +4dB 35 Hz 45 Hz 40 Hz 30 Hz 50 Hz -2dB 0dB -4dB +2dB f r e q u e n c y b o o s t / c u t Figure 6 Figure 6 Figure 6 Figure 6 Figure 6: MONOLITH IIIx CROSSOVER Bass Contour controls. room equalizer, designed to neutral- ize the specific problem areas of your room, thus helping you optimize the performance of t[...]

Page16 Monolith III User's Manual Musical Tastes Musical Tastes Musical Tastes Musical Tastes Musical Tastes An added benefit of the contour controls on the IIIx CROSSOVER, is the ability to adjust your speaker's personality to your style of listening. It is well known that an “audiophile” listening priority is different from that of [...]

Page17 Monolith III User's Manual To prevent subsonic energy from taxing the listener, room, and driver, a sub- sonic high-pass filter is necessary. A third filter is reserved for low-pass filter operation. The characteristics of frequency and “Q” of each filter is affected by component value selection within each filter section. The woofe[...]

Page18 Monolith III User's Manual Your Room Your Room Your Room Your Room Your Room This is one of those areas that requires a little background to understand and some time and experimentation to obtain the best performance from your system. Your room is actually a component and an important part of your system. This component is a very large [...]

Page19 Monolith III User's Manual Rules of Thumb Rules of Thumb Rules of Thumb Rules of Thumb Rules of Thumb Hard vs. Soft Surfaces Hard vs. Soft Surfaces Hard vs. Soft Surfaces Hard vs. Soft Surfaces Hard vs. Soft Surfaces. If one surface of your room (wall, floor, ceiling) is hard, a good rule of thumb suggests to try to have the opposing su[...]

Page20 Monolith III User's Manual Dispersion Concepts Dispersion Concepts Dispersion Concepts Dispersion Concepts Dispersion Concepts In the field of loudspeaker design, it is common knowledge that as the wave becomes progressively smaller than the transducer producing it, the dispersion of that wave becomes more and more narrow, or directiona[...]

Page21 Monolith III User's Manual General Placement General Placement General Placement General Placement General Placement Start by making certain that both speakers are the same distance from the walls behind or beside them and that their “toe-in” angle is the same. At this time you may want to enlist the help of a friend or family membe[...]

Page22 Monolith III User's Manual Experimentation Experimentation Experimentation Experimentation Experimentation Toe-in Toe-in Toe-in Toe-in Toe-in. Now you can begin to experiment. First begin by toeing your speakers in towards the listening area and then toeing them out. You will notice that the tonal balance changes ever so slightly. You w[...]

Page23 Monolith III User's Manual Associated Equipment Associated Equipment Associated Equipment Associated Equipment Associated Equipment Your Martin-Logan Dealer was carefully selected by our company because they are knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated to musical excellence and customer satisfaction. They have the ability to help you ac[...]

Page24 Monolith III User's Manual How is it that music can be recreated by something that you are able to see through? Electrostatic energy makes this possible. Where the world of traditional loud- speaker technology deals with cones, domes, diaphrams, and ribbons that are moved with magnetism, the world of electrostatic loudspeakers deals wit[...]

Page25 Monolith III User's Manual major contributor to the sonic purity of the electrostatic concept due to its exceptional linearity and low distortion. Since the diaphragm of an electrostatic speaker is uniformly driven over its entire area, it can be extremely light and flexible. This allows it to be very responsive to transients, thus perf[...]

Page26 Monolith III User's Manual 1. Full Range Operation 1. Full Range Operation 1. Full Range Operation 1. Full Range Operation 1. Full Range Operation The most significant advantage of Martin-Logan's exclusive transducer technology reveals itself when you look at examples of other loudspeaker products on the market today. The MONOLITH [...]

Page27 Monolith III User's Manual 2. Curvilinear Line 2. Curvilinear Line 2. Curvilinear Line 2. Curvilinear Line 2. Curvilinear Line Source Source Source Source Source Since the beginning of Audio, achieving smooth dispersion has long been a problem for all loudspeaker designers. Large panel transducers present even more of a challenge becaus[...]

Page28 Monolith III User's Manual Questions Could my children, pets, or myself Could my children, pets, or myself Could my children, pets, or myself Could my children, pets, or myself Could my children, pets, or myself be shocked by the high-voltage be shocked by the high-voltage be shocked by the high-voltage be shocked by the high-voltage be[...]

Page29 Monolith III User's Manual Lack of Bass Lack of Bass Lack of Bass Lack of Bass Lack of Bass Check your speaker wires. Is the polarity correct? Poor Imaging Poor Imaging Poor Imaging Poor Imaging Poor Imaging Check placement. Are both speakers the same dis- tance from the walls? Do they have the same amount of toe-in? Try moving the spea[...]

Page30 Monolith III User's Manual AC AC AC AC AC. Abbreviation for alternating current. Active crossover Active crossover Active crossover Active crossover Active crossover. Uses active devices (transistors, IC’s, tubes) and some form of power supply to operate. Amplitude Amplitude Amplitude Amplitude Amplitude. The extreme range of a signal[...]

Page31 Monolith III User's Manual value. Inductance Inductance Inductance Inductance Inductance. The property of an electric circuit by which a varying current in it produces a varying magnetic field that introduces voltages in the same circuit or in a nearby circuit. It is measured in henrys. Inductor Inductor Inductor Inductor Inductor. A de[...]

$ 3.00 2001 delaware street, p.o. box 741, lawrence, kansas 66044, phone: 913.749.0133, fax: 913.749.5320 © 1989 Martin-Logan Ltd. All rights reserved.[...]