CL ARITY u s e r ’ s c l TM m a n u a l s e l e c t r MA R T I N LOGA N o s t a t i c
CONTENTS AND INTRODUCTION Contents Contents and Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Installation in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Low-Voltage (DC) Power Connection Signal Connection Turning the NAC On/Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Using Only One Power Supply Break-In Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INSTALLATION IN BRIEF Installation in Brief We know you are eager to hear your new Clarity loudspeakers, 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 exacting transducer.
OPERATION Low-Voltage (DC) Power Connection Your Clarity speakers use external low-voltage power supplies to energize their electrostatic panels. For this reason the proper low-voltage power supplies are provided. A power supply should be firmly inserted into the ‘DC Power In’ receptacle on the rear connection panel of each speaker, then to any convenient AC wall outlet.
Turning the NACTM On/Off Your Clarity loudspeakers are equipped with a NAC (natural ambience compensation) driver located on top of Clarity’s cabinet. To turn the NAC on or off gently insert a narrow object such as a pen or pencil into the small hole located above the NAC’s perforated screen (see figure 2). For more information on the NAC see the ‘MartinLogan Exclusives’ section (page 15) and the ‘Dispersion Interactions’ section of this manual (page 10).
PLACEMENT Listening Position 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 one to two feet from the side walls. Your sitting distance should be farther than the distance between the speakers themselves. What you are trying to attain is the impression of good center imaging and stage width. There is no exact distance between speakers and listener, but there is a relationship.
Imaging In their final location, the Clarity’s should have a stage width somewhat wider than the speakers themselves. On wellrecorded music, the instruments should extend beyond the edges of each speaker to the left and to the right, yet a vocalist should appear directly in the middle. The size of the instruments should be neither too large nor too small. Additionally, you should find good clues as to stage depth.
ROOM ACOUSTICS Your Room This is one of those areas that requires both 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 variable and can dramatically add to, or subtract from, a great musical experience. All sound is composed of waves.
Solid Footing If your speaker system is not securely planted on the floor or solid surface, it can shake as it produces sound and, consequently, the sound can be compromised. If your speaker is sitting on the carpet and only foot gliders are used, the bass can be ill defined and even boomy. The use of spikes is recommended to insure secured footing for your speakers. (See Solid Footing, this page, for spike information and installation instructions).
DISPERSION INTERACTIONS Controlled Horizontal Dispersion Your Clarity launches a 30 degree dispersion pattern when viewed from above. This horizontal dispersion field gives a choice of good seats for the performance while minimizing interactions with side walls (see figure 5). Make sure both speakers stand exactly at the same vertical angle, otherwise the image can be skewed or poorly defined. The wave launch of both speakers is extremely accurate in both the time and spectral domain.
Three Major Types of Dispersion In the field of loudspeaker design, it is a known fact that as the sound wave becomes progressively smaller than the transducer producing it, the dispersion of that wave becomes more and more narrow, or directional. This fact occurs as long as the transducer is a flat surface. Large flatpanel speakers exhibit venetian blind effects due to this phenomenon. This is why most manufacturers opt for small drivers (i.e.
HOME THEATER Home Theater It had long been the practice of stereo buffs to connect their television to the stereo system. The advantage was the use of the larger speakers and more powerful amplifier of the stereo system. Even though the sound was greatly improved, it was still mono and limited by the broadcast signal. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s two new home movie formats became widely available to the public: VCR and laser disc.
ELECTROSTATIC ADVANTAGES Electrostatic Advantages How can sound be reproduced by something that you are able to see through? Electrostatic energy makes this possible. purity of the electrostatic concept due to its exceptional linearity and low distortion. 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 electrons attracting and repelling each other.
Full Range Operation The most significant advantage of MartinLogan’s exclusive transducer technology reveals itself when you look at examples of other loudspeaker products on the market today. The Clarity uses no crossover networks above 450 Hz because they are not needed. The Clarity consists of a single, seamless electrostatic membrane reproducing all frequencies above 450 Hz simultaneously.
MARTINLOGAN EXCLUSIVES Curvilinear Line Source (CLSTM) Since the beginning of audio, achieving smooth dispersion has been a problem for all loudspeaker designers. Large panel transducers present even more of a challenge because the larger the panel, the more directional the dispersion pattern becomes. Full range electrostats have long been one of the most problematic transducers because they attain their full range capabilities via a large surface area.
ELECTROSTATIC LOUDSPEAKER HISTORY ESL History In the late 1800s, 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 loudspeaker, which he referred to as a “bellowing telephone”, that was very similar to the conventional cone loudspeaker drivers that we know today.
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 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 coating. This model confirmed Janszen’s beliefs, for it exhibited remarkable phase and amplitude linearity.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Frequently Asked Questions How do I clean my speakers? Just use a dust free cloth or a soft brush to remove the dust from your speakers. We recommend a specialty cloth (available at the XStatic shop at www.martinlogan.com) that cleans your speakers better than anything else we have tried. Do not spray any kind of cleaning agent on or in close proximity to the electrostatic element.
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 the speakers and cover them with the plastic bags in which the speakers were originally packed. It is a good idea to vacuum the electrostatic portion of each speaker once or twice a year.
TROUBLESHOOTING Troubleshooting No Output • Check that all your system components are turned on. • Check your speaker wires and connections. • Check all interconnecting cables. Weak Output from Electrostatic Panel, Loss of Highs • Check the power cord. Is it properly connected to the speaker and to the wall? • Is the power cord connected to a switched outlet? • Dirt and dust may need to be vacuumed off. Please see the FAQ regarding vacuuming.
GENERAL INFORMATION Specifications The Clarity hybrid speaker system consists of a broad-range single element electrostatic transducer integrated with a quickresponse woofer. This approach takes advantage of the benefits that both technologies have to offer. Dispersion is a controlled 30 degrees. This was achieved by curving the electrostatic transducer element itself, an elegantly simple solution.
GLOSSARY OF AUDIO TERMS Glossary of Audio Terms AC. Abbreviation for alternating current. DC. Abbreviation for direct current. Active crossover. Uses active devices (transistors, ICs, tubes) and some form of power supply to operate. Diffraction. The breaking up of a sound wave caused by some type of mechanical interference such as a cabinet edge, grill frame or other similar object. Amplitude. The extreme range of a signal. Usually measured from the average to the extreme. Arc.
Inductance. The property of an electrical 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. A device designed primarily to introduce inductance into an electrical circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil. Linearity. The extent to which any signal handling process is accomplished without amplitude distortion. Midrange. The middle frequencies where the ear is the most sensitive.
c l s e l e c t r o s t a t i c MA R T I N LOGA N 2101 Delaware Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66046, USA tel 785.749.0133 fax 785.749.5320 ©2003 MartinLogan, All rights reserved www.martinlogan.com Rev.
