The Martin Logan Motion 60xt Review That You’ll Love

Martin Logan is undoubtedly one of the most universally recognized names in audio for a variety of different scenarios. Not the least of which of those, though, is in a home theater. The popular audio brand is a theater mainstay, for both residential and commercial purposes.

The Motion line of speakers strikes a balance between the two worlds, offering up exceptional performance for residential prices. While certainly not inexpensive, the amount of value is immense. These speakers sound like they should cost far above the price tag.

The 60XT is the top of the line in the Motion series, a floorstanding speaker that promises great performance at a reasonable price. Don’t be fooled, though, Martin Logan has some seriously special technology that makes it worthy of a second glance.

MartinLogan Motion 60XT Gloss Black Floorstanding Speakers
$3,999.99


Check Price
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
03/15/2024 11:25 am GMT

Specifications

Frequency Response  35–25,000 Hz ±3dB 
Sensitivity  94 dB/2.83 volts/meter 
Impedance  4 Ohms 
Recommended Amplifier Power  20—400 watts per channel` 
Crossover Frequency  400 & 2,200 Hz 
Weight  66 lbs 
Price  $1299.99 (each)  

Design and Build

The 60XT is the largest and most expensive of the Motion line. It’s a four-foot tall, 66 pound behemoth, sporting three large woofers across its face. Even with the bold look, Martin Logan manages elegance with beautiful finishes in black and mahogany.

It’s a slender, tall-standing floor speaker that blends into nearly any room its put into. The slightly darker hue of the mahogany doesn’t draw too much attention, and the gloss finish on the black doesn’t make it look too plain. Overall, the speaker can be appreciated, but doesn’t call too much attention to itself when integrated into a setup.

The bottom of the speaker is quite interesting. Martin Logan includes some pegs for driving the speaker into thick carpet, keeping it anchored with all the vibration. Those anchor points are mounted onto two horizontal brackets that keep the speaker lifted off the floor. This helps reduce vibrations being sent through the floor and leads to an overall clearer sound.

The actual build of the speakers is impressive to say the least. The cabinets feel very solid, coming in at nearly 70 pounds per speaker. Sure, they’re a bit difficult to move, but that also means they’re incredibly ridgid. After the initial sweat of moving the speakers in, they will look the same as when you bought for quite a long time.

On the back of the speaker, everything is pretty simple. You have a custom-MArtin Logan 5-way binding post for bi-wire/bi-amp capabilities, with a large rear-firing bass port. This combined with the stability brackets and floor spikes tightens up the bass immensely on the speaker.

The build alone showcases the quality of this speaker. It’s not flashy, no, but it certainly doesn’t need to be. Martin Logan has created a speaker that can stand the test of time, with a beautiful finish that should be appreciated, but doesn’t call attention to itself. That coupled with the stability brackets and floor spikes makes this area an easy win.

Features

The 60xts are completely passive, floor-standing speaker, so there aren’t many features to note. Many, the features come in the form of intelligent design, a keen eye for engineering that shows through with the sound. Martin Logan has some designs going on internally to make this speaker truly shine.

Most notably is the Folded Motion XT tweeter, where the line of speakers gets its name from. This tweeter design isn’t exclusive to Martin Logan, but it’s rarely seen on speakers intended for entertainment purposes. For example, Adam audio also has a folded tweeter, but produces primarily studio reference monitors.

The basic premise is that a thin ribbon is folded in on itself dozens of times and crammed into the tweeter area. The vibrations between the folds is what creates the sound. However, since there is so much surface area and because the material is so light, it drastically reduces the strain on the tweeter when reproducing high frequencies.

In practice, this helps reduce the distortion that ultimately comes from a normal soft-dome tweeter while still keeping incredibly fast response time. We’ll talk more about how it impacts the sound in the section below, but this technology certainly goes a long way in increasing the longevity of the tweeter while improving the overall sound quality.

Really, there aren’t many features on the 60xts. The only thing of note is the tweeter, with a few design choices, like the stabilization bars and floor spikes, to add a little extra flair to the speaker. Even so, it certainly doesn’t feel like anything is lacking from the speaker, which is something that these speakers should be commended for.

Sound Quality

Above all, the sound quality of these speakers is what truly shines. Martin Logan has a clear attention to detail in this department that makes these speakers go over the edge. If you want excellent sound, this is the place to look.

It starts, of course, with the Folded Motion XT tweeter. This ribbon does help clear of the distortion and increase the longevity of the speaker, but goes a long way in helping the sound. The top-end of the speaker opens up quite a bit, with a pristine quality to the sound without any harshness.

You get a very wide stereo space with an attention to detail in the top end. This includes the nuances of all your favorite movies and music. It seems that Martin Logan is able to create a sound that’s exciting while not being harsh, and that’s all due to the Folded Motion tweeter. It’s a sweet top-end that’s very noticeable without ice-picking your ears.

However, that’s not the only area of the speaker that shines. The two 8-inch drivers do some serious work with the rest of the frequency spectrum, churning out sound that’s hairraising to say the least.

The midrange is particularly impressive. The Motion 60xts have plenty of nuance in this area without becoming too bombastic. It’s a sculpted sound that doesn’t become too much in any area. Often, speakers fail miserably in the midrange, with unpleasant frequencies shining through due to too many cuts. These speakers, however, feel natural throughout.

The bass is quite impressive too. The two drivers can pump out some serious low-end, with rear porting to exhaust all that extra energy. The stability brackets help a lot here, separating the speaker from the floor. What results is a clean low-end that packs plenty of punch without becoming overbearing.

In fact, you may not want to add a sub. Sure, bass heads love shaking the foundation, but the Motion 60xts prove sufficient enough in the majority of cases. The bass is quite powerful and, for most, will be plenty for movies and music.

These speakers sound great all across the board. The highs are beautiful and pristine, the midrange is perfectly sculpted, and the low-end packs serious punch without being overbearing. It’s hard to go wrong with these speakers and they cover all the bases on their own. Even when integrated into another setup, there’s little to complain about here.

Alternatives to Consider

Fluance Signature Series Floorstanding Tower Speakers

Fluance makes some of the better speakers out there, and these two come in relatively inexpensive. You still get the dual 8-inch woofers that provide excellent low-end with a great midrange response. You’re not getting the engineering of the folded tweeter, which does impact that top-end, but it’s a worthy trade off considering the price.

Klipsch R-24F Reference Floorstanding Speakers

If you want to save quite a bit of money, Klipsch is probably your best bet. These are among the best you can get for the money, with a beautifully crafted midrange and low-end. As an extra plug, you get the beautiful copper drivers which are among the best looking in the speaker world.

Q Acoustics 3050

If you want a more unique look, these speakers are for you. Q Acoustics sticks out in its design and the 3050s sport that. The subtled curving on the edges is excellent, with beautiful gloss finishes that demand attention. On top of that, the speakers sound pretty great too.

Conclusion

MartinLogan Motion 60XT Gloss Black Floorstanding Speakers
$3,999.99


Check Price
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
03/15/2024 11:25 am GMT

The Martin Logan Motion 60xts are among the best floorstanding speakers you can buy, under any sort of egregious budget. The sound is top-notch, with a fit and finish that should be noticed, but doesn’t call attention to itself.

If you just need a pair of floorstanding speakers to start your setup, there are a lot of options and among the best are the Motion 60xts. Even when coupled with an existing one, you’re likely to find something you enjoy.

What do you think, though? Let us know in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top