In this review, we will be comparing two different type of speakers by MartinLogan. MartinLogan Motion® F10 is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Motion B10 is a Bookshelf speaker.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of MartinLogan Motion F10 and MartinLogan Motion B10 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
Motion F10 and Motion B10 are members of MartinLogan's Motion(4th Gen) series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
MartinLogan Motion(4th Gen) Series History
What size room are the MartinLogan Motion F10 and MartinLogan Motion B10 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:
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the MartinLogan Motion F10 and MartinLogan Motion B10 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Motion F10 is a 3-way design whereas the Motion B10 is a 2-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.
| Driver |
MartinLogan Motion F10 |
MartinLogan Motion B10 |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.0 x 1.4-inch
|
1.0 x 1.4-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 5.5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 5.5-inch
|
1 x 5.25-inch
|
Motion F10 features a 1.0 x 1.4" Folded Motion Ribbon Tweeter , a 5.5" Midrange and 2 x 5.5" Aluminum Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 280Hz and 3000Hz. On the other hand, the Motion B10 features a 1.0 x 1.4" Folded Motion Ribbon Tweeter and 1 x 5.25" Woven Fiberglass Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2370Hz.
Frequency Response
Motion F10 has a frequency range of 38-25k Hz whereas Motion B10 has a frequency range of 56-25k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 38Hz, the Motion F10 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Motion B10's min frequency of 56Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
High Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
None of these speakers achieves full range experience which is commonly agreed as 20Hz-20kHz. In order to achieve lower lows / deeper bass, we recommend you pair these with a subwoofer. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Motion F10 is a 4 ohms speaker compared to the Motion B10 which has a nominal impedance of 5 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 F10 can provide this impedance level.
On the other hand, they have the same sensitivity of 92 dBdB.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. While using an amplifier within this range ensures the nominal performance , inputting a power that is higher than the max wattage can result in a damaged speaker.
Motion F10 can handle a max power of 250 watts RMS from the amp the whereas Motion B10 has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the Motion F10.
Keep in mind that a higher max power handling value doesn't necessarily make that a louder speaker
compared to a lower max handling speaker. Loudness or the sound level is also impacted by parameters
such as Impedance, sensitivity and system efficiencies.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Motion F10 features Custom 5-way bi-wire tool-less binding posts posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Motion B10 has a Custom 5-way binding posts which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
MartinLogan Motion F10's Custom 5-way bi-wire tool-less binding posts terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring
MartinLogan Motion B10's Custom 5-way binding posts terminals
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Motion F10 has a bottom firing port whereas Motion B10 has a rear firing ports. MartinLogan Motion F10's bottom-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to MartinLogan Motion B10 with its rear-firing port.
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become 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 F10's and MartinLogan Motion B10's external dimensions. MartinLogan Motion F10 has external dimensions of 971 x 286 x 336mm ( 38-1/4inch x 11-1/4inch x 13-1/4inch ) whereas MartinLogan Motion B10 has external dimensions of 318 x 178 x 248mm ( 12-1/2inch x 7inch x 9-3/4inch ) .
MartinLogan Motion F10 is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 108mm wider, 653mm taller and 88mm deeper than MartinLogan Motion B10.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the MartinLogan Motion F10 is approximately 961.0cm2 / 149.0inch2 and base area of the MartinLogan Motion B10 is approximately 441.4cm2 / 68.4inch2. The Motion F10 requires 118% more surface area than the Motion B10 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.