MartinLogan Sequel II - Manual (Page 8)

Page 8 Sequel II User's Manual
Martin-Logan Exclusives
Full Range Operation Full Range Operation Full Range Operation Full Range Operation 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 Sequel II uses no crossover networks above 250 Hz
because they are not needed. The Sequel II consists of a
single, seamless electrostatic membrane reproducing all
frequencies above 250 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.
The electrostatic transducer of
the Sequel II essentially 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
amplified or preserved by
some type of storage media.
The Sequel II's electrostatic
transducer transforms electri-
cal energy from your amplifier
into acoustical energy.
Due to the limitations of
electromagnetic drivers, no
single unit can reproduce the
full range of frequencies.
Critical Zone Critical Zone Critical Zone Critical Zone Critical Zone
250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz
Tweeter Tweeter Tweeter Tweeter Tweeter
Midrange Midrange Midrange Midrange Midrange
Woofer Woofer Woofer Woofer Woofer
Critical Zone Critical Zone Critical Zone Critical Zone Critical Zone
250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz 250 - 20kHz
Woofer Woofer Woofer Woofer Woofer
Sequel II Sequel II Sequel II Sequel II Sequel II
Electrostatic Electrostatic Electrostatic Electrostatic Electrostatic
Transducer Transducer Transducer Transducer Transducer
Martin-Logan Sequel II Loudspeaker
Conventional Loudspeaker
Figure 1. Figure 1. Figure 1. Figure 1. Figure 1. Illustrates how a conventional speaker system
must use a crossover network that has negative effects
on the musical performance unlike the Sequel II which
needs no crossover networks in the "critical zone".
Instead, these drivers must be designed to operate
within narrow, fixed bandwidths of the frequency range
and then combined electrically so that the sum of the
parts equals the total signal. While nice in theory, we
must deal with real-world conditions.
In order 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
process, nonlinearities and
severe degradation of the
music signal takes place in
the ear's most "critical zone"
(See Figure 1).
The Sequel II's electrostatic
transducer can single-
handedly reproduce all
frequencies above 250 Hz
simultaneously. So you have,
in one transducer, the ability
to handle, in elegant simplic-
ity, the critical frequencies
above 250 Hz.
The crossover phase disconti-
nuities that are associated
with traditional tweeter,
midrange, and woofer systems
are eliminated. This results in a
dramatic improvement in
imaging and staging perform-
ance due to the minutely
accurate phase relationship
of the full-range panel wave
launch.