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Persona Speaker System

By on April 9, 2018 in
“What can I say? There are damn few speaker systems that I’d consider selling my children—or myself—for medical experiments to acquire. But the Persona 3F and the rest of the speakers in this Paradigm Persona system are so astounding, so unequivocally brilliant in their performance that they will convince your ears that they don’t exist, despite what your eyes will try to tell you. OK, maybe that’s not totally worth selling my children for, but it’s certainly worth the price tag.”
Darryl Wilkinson, Sound & Vision // Read the review here

 

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Persona 9H

By on April 9, 2018 in
“Acoustically, the Persona 9H can out-muscle heavyweights twice its price. The 1-inch tweeter, 7-inch mid/bass driver, and four 8.5-inch woofers are calibrated with Anthem Room Correction, powered by separate DSP-controlled 700W amps, and wrapped in a housing that oozes audiophile distinction.”
Patrick McCarthy, Dealerscope // Editor’s Pick Impact Award Winner 2018 // Read the review here

 

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SR7012

By on April 9, 2018 in
“The receiver’s audio and video performance capabilities are top-flight, and Marantz’s take on user-friendliness makes the SR7012 a dream to integrate and use.”
Highly recommended // Todd Anderson, AV Nirvana // Read the review here

 

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AVR-X4400H

By on March 11, 2018 in
“Like many other receivers and processors, the AVR-X4400H has an abundance of features, but they don’t do you much good if you can’t figure out how to use them. The Denon’s setup wizard is very easy to use, with clear graphical illustrations and nice descriptions of its numerous options.”
Brian Kahn, Home Theater Review // Read the review here

 

“The X4400H is the latest mid-range AV Receiver from Denon and as such it comes packed with every feature imaginable.”
AVForums Editor’s Choice – Best AV Receiver 2017 // Read the review here

 

“[Denon have] created a relatively-affordable 9.2 channel receiver, which can not only scale to 11.2, but which delivers a staggering amount of technology for the price.”
Best Overall A/V Receiver of 2018 // Rob Boffard, The Master Switch // September 2018 // Read the review here

 

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AVR-X3400H

By on March 8, 2018 in

The AVR-X3400H has recently been named a Sound & Vision “Top Pick”. Dan Kumin completed a review; here are a collection of stand-out quotes:

“Denon’s new AVR-X3400H A/V receiver scored points with me even before I got it out of its box: The four-piece packaging foam (top/bottom front and back) allows for easy removal of a heavy-ish item without battling box flaps, splintering full end-cap pieces, or leaving a trail of Styrofoam crumbs behind.”

“Better still-more points!-Denon gifts the AVR-X3400H with Audyssey calibration and speaker/room correction, rather than a proprietary system (as do more and more competitors today). And not just plan-vanilla Audyssey, but MultEQ XT32, which collects microphone data from eight listening locations and incorporates higher-performance filters than lower-ranked Audyssey versions.”

“The power amplifier sections of Denon’s AVRs have acquired a solid reputation among subjectivists for good sound, and I will offer nothing here to contradict them.”

“And then, there’s the notable and newsworthy inclusion of DTS:X Virtual… This mode, available to all DTS bitstreams and to most other non-Dolby signal types-is a DSP-processing option that aims to conjure up virtual height and surround speakers from a fronts-only system…This magic it performed with no small success, most effectively from multichannel programs, and was by far the most impressive with DTS:X encoded soundtracks.”

“But the most dramatic demo came when I reconfigured my system to 2.1 channels and played the oddball thrill-ride DTS:X movie American ultra. I was quickly wowed by the breadth, height, and depth of the sonic dimension projected… But the height dimension, the virtual-center channel solidity, and the openness and detail of the front-half surround ambience were all highly impressive, including the hovering helicopter at the end of chapter 6, which was strikingly overhead.”

“Denon’s latest receiver strikes me as a mature and well-refined design. It includes most of the A/V baubles you might expect, but isn’t cluttered with a lot of extra to get in your way. Its seven-channel configuration provides more than enough speaker outputs to fire up a basic 5.1 surround system and, for those who seek more, to add a solid dimension of height (or rear, at your discretion) ambience.”

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Neolith

By on March 1, 2018 in
“The first sounds to come out of the Neolith were sublime… The huge electrostatic panels produced a thoroughly convincing soundstage with speed and accuracy that made for a very detailed listening experience… The sense of space and depth created by the Neolith was a compelling audio illusion… I understand why Martin Logan built the Neoliths—they make a statement—and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone who has the money to spend on such excellent speakers. If price were no object, I’d own a pair…”
Mark Henninger, AVSForum // Read the review here

 

“Once I was exposed to them, there was little doubt that they were hands-down the “Best Two Channel Sound” at the show… The Neolith’s sound was alive and shockingly large. It was perfectly balanced and transparent. Dynamic and delicious… As much fun as it was to listen to the Neoliths effortlessly deliver sonic grace, I began to wonder if listening to them was a mistake. Experiencing perfection can make everything else seem so ordinary and that becomes frustrating when perfection comes from a speaker that falls in the realm of unobtanium. Ah, whom am I kidding? I loved it. My only regret is that I didn’t have more time to spend with them.”
Todd Anderson, Home Theater Shack // Read the review here

 

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ElectroMotion ESL X

By on March 1, 2018 in
“I think MartinLogan really hit their mark with these speakers. Like most electrostatic speakers, they have great clarity of sound with a vivid mid range. Add that the EM-ESL X’s improve on the dynamic presentation. This, along with enhanced dispersion and staging qualities means you have a very worthy product for just about any system that needs floor standing speakers.”
Jim Clements, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity // Read the review here

 

“For me, auditioning this ElectroMotion ESL X speaker system was like going home again. The affordable (by MartinLogan standards) electrostatic towers delivered the detailed, lifelike sound I know and love, and the solid foundation provided by the Dynamo 1500X subwoofer enabled them to reach dynamic heights I hadn’t previously experienced in my days as a MartinLogan-phile.”
Al Griffin, Sound & Vision // Read the review here

 

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Motion 60XT

By on March 1, 2018 in
“The strengths included great imaging, excellent bass and midbass presentation… The speakers would do very well in a home theater setup, as they have great dynamic range and integrate well with subwoofers… All and all they are a well-built, elegant speaker worthy of audition.”
Jared Rachwalski, Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity // Read the review here

 

“MartinLogan has a speaker that is wonderful for home theater and very good for music in the Motion 60XT… I imagine the Motion series is as close as we’ll get to a traditional box speaker from them with the AMT instead of a dome tweeter. The AMT excels with its speed and clarity. The dual 8” woofers provide plenty of bass…The Motion 60XT is a different approach for MartinLogan, but one that is very successful…”
Chris Heinonen, Reference Home Theater // Read the review here

 

“Immediately, I was taken aback; the broad, sharply defined soundstage extended well beyond the width of the speakers, the vocals sounded eerily lifelike, and the instrumental timbre was natural, with a depth so palpable I could practically reach my hands into it.”
David Martson, The Absolute Sound // Read the review here

 

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