Sonos In-wall Speakers vs MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Comparison

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Sonos In-wall Speakers

Passive In-wall | 44-20kHz

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MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Passive In-wall | 44-25kHz

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MartinLogan Motion X...

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Sonos In-wall Speakers vs MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Speaker Comparison

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

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

Key Specs	Sonos In-wall Speakers	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Brand	Sonos United States · founded 2002	MartinLogan United States · founded 1982
Design	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1" Soft-Dome	1.27 x 2.4" Folded Motion Ribbon
Midrange	—	6.5"
Woofer	6.5" Polypropylene	2 x 6.5" Kevlar
Frequency response	44-20kHz	44-25kHz
Sensitivity	89 dB	93 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	up to 130 watts	50-150 watts
Weight	2.09kg / 4.6lbs	—
Dimensions (H x W x D)	10.7500" x 6.9375" x 3.6250" 274.0 x 177.0 x 93.0mm	27.0000" x 6.6250" x 3.5625" 686.0 x 169.0 x 91.0mm

What size room are the Sonos In-wall Speakers 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*	Sonos In-wall Speakers	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Near-field	Poor	Poor
Small Room	Average	Average
Mid-size Room	Good	Good
Large Room	Average	Average
Very Large Room	Poor	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.

**This post contains affiliate links, and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through our links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Drivers

One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that In-wall Speakers 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.

Sonos In-wall Speakers

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	Sonos In-wall Speakers	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

In-wall Speakers features a 1" Soft-Dome Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" Polypropylene 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

In-wall Speakers has a frequency range of 44-20kHz whereas Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR has a frequency range of 44-25kHz.

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 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

In-wall Speakers and Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. In-wall Speakers sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR's is at 93 dB. This 4 dB difference makes the MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR a more sensitive speaker compared to Sonos In-wall Speakers, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

In-wall Speakers

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 In-wall Speakers has a max power handling value of 130 watts RMS, 20 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

Sonos In-wall Speakers

MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

In-wall Speakers 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 Sonos In-wall Speakers's and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR's external dimensions. Sonos In-wall Speakers has external dimensions of 274.0 x 177.0 x 93.0mm (10.7500-inch x 6.9375-inch x 3.6250-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 8mm narrower and 2mm less deeper than Sonos In-wall Speakers but it is also 412mm taller.

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

Comparison image of Sonos In-wall Speakers and MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Size and External Dimensions

What's in the Box of Sonos In-wall Speakers?

Here are the items that are included inside the box of In-wall Speakers:

2 In-wall loudspeakers
2 Grilles
2 Cutout Templates

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 Sonos In-wall Speakers over MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR

Height	274mm vs 686mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Price per pair*	659USD vs 3200USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Reasons to choose MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR over Sonos In-wall Speakers

Max Input Power	150 watts vs 130 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Sensitivity	93 dB vs 89 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Number of Woofers	2 vs 1	More woofers
High Frequency Response	25k Hz vs 20k Hz	Generates higher frequency
Base Surface Area	153cm² vs 164cm²	Takes less floor space

Sonos In-wall Speakers vs MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Sonos In-wall Speakers	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR
Brand	Sonos	MartinLogan
Speaker Type	Passive In-wall Speaker	Passive In-wall Speaker
Power Range	up to 130 watts	50-150 watts
Sensitivity	89 dB	93 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Frequency Response	44-20kHz	44-25kHz
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	1	2
Woofer Size	6.5"	6.5"
Woofer Composition	Polypropylene	Kevlar
Woofer Surround Material	Rubber	Rubber
Tweeter Size	1"	1.27 x 2.4"
Tweeter Type	Soft-Dome	Folded Motion Ribbon
Aimable Tweeter	Yes	Yes
Midrange Driver	No	6.5"
Physical Specs
Height	274.0mm (10.8")	686.0mm (27")
Width	177.0mm (7")	169.0mm (6.7")
Depth	93.0mm (3.7")	91.0mm (3.6")
Weight	2.09kg (4.6lbs)	n/a
Enclosure	In-wall	In-wall
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Biamp Inputs	No	No
Other
Parts Warranty	2 Years	5 Years
Labor Warranty	2 Years	5 Years

Verdict

These sit in different price classes - MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR costs roughly 4.9x what Sonos In-wall Speakers 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	evenly matched	Much the same reach (44Hz vs 44Hz).
Amplifier needs	B	MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is more sensitive (93dB vs 89dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier.
Headroom	evenly matched	Similar power handling (130W vs 150W).
Size	depends	Sonos In-wall Speakers is easier to place; MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides.
Price	A	Sonos In-wall Speakers is cheaper - $659 against $3,200, about 79% less; arguably a different class.

A Sonos In-wall Speakers 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?

MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is ahead, but only on 1 of the measured areas, and it costs about 4.9x the price. That is a lot of money for a narrow margin on paper - Sonos In-wall Speakers looks like the sensible buy unless something else about the MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR appeals to you. In a large or open-plan room, MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR has the cabinet volume to fill it more easily; in a small room, near a wall or at desk distance, Sonos In-wall Speakers is the easier speaker to get right. If your amplifier is modest, vintage or valve-based, MartinLogan Motion XT CI XTW6-LCR is the safer partner - the other will want more current or more watts to sound its best.

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.