MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 vs MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Comparison

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MartinLogan Motion CI MW6

Passive In-wall | 62-25kHz

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MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Passive In-wall | 44-25kHz

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MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 vs MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing Motion CI MW6 and Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR, two Passive In-wall speakers by MartinLogan.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	MartinLogan Motion CI MW6	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Brand	MartinLogan United States · founded 1982	MartinLogan United States · founded 1982
Design	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1" Folded Motion Ribbon	1.27 x 2.4" Folded Motion Ribbon
Midrange	—	6.5"
Woofer	6.5" Fiberglass	2 x 6.5" Kevlar
Frequency response	62-25kHz	44-25kHz
Sensitivity	90 dB	93 dB
Impedance	5 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	50-60 watts	50-150 watts
Weight	2.72kg / 6lbs	—
Dimensions (H x W x D)	10.1250" x 7.0000" x 3.8750" 258.0 x 178.0 x 99.0mm	27.0000" x 6.6250" x 3.5625" 686.0 x 169.0 x 91.0mm

What size room are the MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR 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 Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Near-field	Good	Poor
Small Room	Good	Average
Mid-size Room	Average	Good
Large Room	Poor	Average
Very Large Room	No way	Poor

(* 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 XT CI XTW6-LCR 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 MW6

MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

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 Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Driver Setup	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1-inch	1.27 x 2.4-inch
Midrange	-	1 x 6.5-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 XT CI XTW6-LCR features a 1.27 x 2.4" Folded Motion Ribbon Tweeter, a 6.5" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Kevlar Woofer.

Frequency Response

Motion CI MW6 has a frequency range of 62-25kHz whereas Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR has a frequency range of 44-25kHz. With a minimum frequency of 44Hz, the Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR 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

Motion CI MW6

Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Min

Average

Median

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 XT CI XTW6-LCR which has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms.

These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Motion CI MW6 sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and the Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR's is rated at 93 dB. This 3 dB difference makes the MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR a more sensitive speaker compared to MartinLogan Motion CI MW6, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

In-wall Speakers

Motion CI MW6

Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Min

Average

Median

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 XT CI XTW6-LCR can handle a max power of 150 watts RMS, whereas Motion CI MW6 has a max power handling value of 60 watts RMS, 90 watts less than the Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR.

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.

Amplifier - change this

Distance

Playing as

MartinLogan Motion CI MW6

MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

Motion CI MW6 features Spring post type posts and Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR has a Spring post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.

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 Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR'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 Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR has external dimensions of 686.0 x 169.0 x 91.0mm (27.0000-inch x 6.6250-inch x 3.5625-inch).

MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is 9mm narrower and 8mm less deeper than MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 but it is also 428mm taller.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR in scale.

Comparison image of MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR 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 Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR?

Here are the items that come with the Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR:

In-wall LCR loudspeaker
Grille
T20 torx-bit
User-feets Manual
Cutout Template

Reasons to choose MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 over MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Height	258mm vs 686mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Price per pair*	1100USD vs 3200USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Reasons to choose MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR over MartinLogan Motion CI MW6

Max Input Power	150 watts vs 60 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Sensitivity	93 dB vs 90 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Nominal Impedance	8 ohms vs 5 ohms	Less selective with amplifiers
Number of Woofers	2 vs 1	More woofers
Low Frequency Response	44 Hz vs 62 Hz	Generates deeper bass
Base Surface Area	153cm² vs 176cm²	Takes less floor space

MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 vs MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	MartinLogan Motion CI MW6	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Brand	MartinLogan	MartinLogan
Speaker Type	Passive In-wall Speaker	Passive In-wall Speaker
Power Range	50-60 watts	50-150 watts
Sensitivity	90 dB	93 dB
Impedance	5 ohms	8 ohms
Frequency Response	62-25kHz	44-25kHz
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	1	2
Woofer Size	6.5"	6.5"
Woofer Composition	Fiberglass	Kevlar
Woofer Surround Material	Rubber	Rubber
Tweeter Size	1"	1.27 x 2.4"
Tweeter Type	Folded Motion Ribbon	Folded Motion Ribbon
Aimable Tweeter	No	Yes
Midrange Driver	No	6.5"
Physical Specs
Height	258.0mm (10.2")	686.0mm (27")
Width	178.0mm (7")	169.0mm (6.7")
Depth	99.0mm (3.9")	91.0mm (3.6")
Weight	2.72kg (6lbs)	n/a
Enclosure	In-wall	In-wall
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Biamp Inputs	No	No
Other
Parts Warranty	5 Years	5 Years
Labor Warranty	5 Years	5 Years

Verdict

These sit in different price classes - MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR costs roughly 2.9x what MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 does. Expect it to lead on paper; the question is whether the gap is audible enough in your room to be worth it.

Area	Better	Why
Bass	B	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR digs deeper - 44Hz against 62Hz.
Amplifier needs	B	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is more sensitive (93dB vs 90dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier.
Amplifier match	B	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is the easier load at 8 ohms.
Headroom	B	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR takes more power (150W vs 60W) - more in hand in a big room.
Size	depends	MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 is easier to place; MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides.
Expandability	depends	Neither adds bi-amping, a sub output or height drivers. MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 sits in a wider range (18 models), so a matched surround system is easier later.
Price	A	MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 is cheaper - $1,100 against $3,200, about 66% less; arguably a different class.

A MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 B MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.

Which should you choose?

The usual trade-off: MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR measures better, MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 costs about about 2.9x the price% less. Whether that gap is worth the money is the call only you can make - and in a normal room it is often smaller than the numbers suggest. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 62Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 much easier to justify. Match it to your room: we rate MartinLogan Motion CI MW6 the better fit for near-field listening and a small room, and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR for a mid-size room and a large room.

And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.