In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by MartinLogan. MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 is a In-wall speaker whereas the Motion 40i is a Floor-standing speaker.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan 40i first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 | MartinLogan 40i |
|---|
| Brand | MartinLogan
United States · founded 1982 | MartinLogan
United States · founded 1982 |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1" Folded Motion Ribbon | 1.0 x 1.4" Folded Motion |
|---|
| Midrange | — | 5.5" |
|---|
| Woofer | 6.5" Fiberglass | 2 x 6.5" Aluminum |
|---|
| Frequency response | 62-25kHz | 40-25k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 90 dB | 92 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 5 ohms | 4 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 50-60 watts | 20-300 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 2.72kg / 6lbs | 20.40kg / 44.9lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 10.1250" x 7.0000" x 3.8750"
258.0 x 178.0 x 99.0mm | 41-1/2" x 7-9/16" x 13-1/16"
1055.0 x 193.0 x 332.0mm |
|---|
Motion CI MW6 and Motion 40i are members of MartinLogan's Motion series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
MartinLogan Motion Series
History
What size room are the MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan 40i speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 |
MartinLogan 40i |
| Near-field |
Good |
Bad |
| Small Room |
Good |
Poor |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Average |
| Large Room |
Poor |
Good |
| Very Large Room |
No way |
Average |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Motion CI MW6 is a 2-way design whereas the Motion 40i is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
MartinLogan Motion CI MW6MartinLogan 40i
TweeterMidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 |
MartinLogan 40i |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
1.0 x 1.4-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 5.5-inch |
|
Woofer
|
1 x 6.5-inch
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
Motion CI MW6 features a 1" Folded Motion Ribbon Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" Fiberglass Woofer. On the other hand, the Motion 40i features a 1.0 x 1.4" Folded Motion Tweeter, a 5.5" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Aluminum Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 500Hz and 2600Hz.
Frequency Response
Motion CI MW6 has a frequency range of 62-25kHz whereas Motion 40i has a frequency range of 40-25k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 40Hz, the Motion 40i can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Motion CI MW6's min frequency of 62Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the In-wall class in our database.
Low Frequency
In-wall Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Motion CI MW6 is a 5 ohms speaker compared to the Motion 40i which has a nominal impedance of 4 ohms. Lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit especially when played at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Motion 40i can provide this impedance level.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Motion CI MW6 sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and the Motion 40i's is rated at 92 dB. This 2 dB difference makes the MartinLogan 40i a more sensitive speaker compared to MartinLogan Motion CI MW6, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
In-wall Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Motion 40i can handle a max power of 300 watts RMS, whereas Motion CI MW6 has a max power handling value of 60 watts RMS, 240 watts less than the Motion 40i.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
MartinLogan Motion CI MW6
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Motion 40i features Custom 5-way bi-wire tool-less binding posts posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Motion CI MW6 has a Spring post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
MartinLogan 40i's Custom 5-way bi-wire tool-less binding posts terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
MartinLogan 40i Port
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare MartinLogan Motion CI MW6's and MartinLogan 40i's external dimensions. MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 has external dimensions of 258.0 x 178.0 x 99.0mm (10.1250-inch x 7.0000-inch x 3.8750-inch) whereas MartinLogan 40i has external dimensions of 1055.0 x 193.0 x 332.0mm (41-1/2 x 7-9/16 x 13-1/16inch).
MartinLogan 40i is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 15mm wider, 797mm taller and 233mm deeper than MartinLogan Motion CI MW6.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan 40i in scale.
Comparison image of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan 40i Size and External Dimensions
What's in the Box of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Motion CI MW6:
- In-wall loudspeaker
- Grille
- T20 Torx bit
- User-feets Manual
- Cutout Template
What's in the Box of MartinLogan 40i?
Here are the items that come with the Motion 40i:
- Floorstanding loudspeaker
- 2 Grilles
- 4 Rubber feet (pre-installed)
- 4 Spike feet (w/ nuts attached)
- Users Manual
- Warranty/Registration Information