MartinLogan CLX - Manual (Page 16)

1 Electrostatic Advantages
Another significant advantage of MartinLogan’s exclusive
transducer technology reveals itself when you look at exam-
ples of other loudspeaker products on the market today.
The CLX uses no crossover networks above 360 Hz
because they are not needed. The CLX has a single elec-
trostatic transducer reproducing all frequencies above 360
Hz simultaneously. How is this possible?
First we must understand that music is not composed
of separate high, mid and low frequency pieces. In fact,
music is comprised of a single complex waveform with all
frequencies interacting simultaneously.
An electrostatic transducer acts as an exact opposite of the
microphones used to record the original event. A micro-
phone, which is a single working element, transforms
acoustic energy into an electrical signal that can be ampli-
fied or preserved by some type of storage media. The
CLX’s electrostatic transducer transforms electrical energy
from your amplifier back into acoustical energy.
Due to the limitations of electromagnetic drivers, no single
unit can reproduce the full range of frequencies. Instead,
these drivers must be designed to operate within a nar-
row, fixed bandwidth of the frequency range, and then
combined electrically so that the sum of the parts equals
the total signal—in theory.
To use multiple drivers, a crossover network is enlisted to
attempt a division of the complex musical signal into the
separate pieces (usually highs, mids, and lows) that each
specific driver was designed to handle. Unfortunately, due
to the phase relationships that occur within all crossover
networks and during the acoustical recombination pro-
cess, nonlinearities and severe degradation of the music
signal take place in the ear’s most critical zone above 360
Hz (see figure 16).
The CLX’s high-frequency electrostatic transducer can
reproduce all frequencies above 360 Hz simultaneously.
You have in one transducer the ability to handle in elegant
simplicity these critical frequencies.
The crossover phase aberrations that are associated with
traditional tweeter, midrange, and woofer systems are
eliminated. The result is a dramatic improvement in imag-
ing and staging performance due to the minutely accurate
phase relationship of the full-range panel wave launch.
Full Range Electrostatic Operation
Figure .16 . This diagram illustrates how a
conventional speaker system must use mul-
tiple crossover networks that have negative
effects on the musical performance.