Martin Logan Mosaic Owners manual

TM

M OSAIC

TM

user’s manual

M ARTIN L OGAN

the loudspeaker technology company

®

2 Contents

CONTENTS

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Installation in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Signal Connection
Break-In

Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Listening Position
The Wall Behind the Listener
The Wall Behind the Speakers
The Side Walls
Experimentation

Final Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

The Extra “Tweak”
Enjoy Yourself

Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Your Room
Terminology
Rules of Thumb

Dipolar Speakers and Your Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Solid Footing

Home Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

ATF (Advanced Thin Film) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting .12

General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Specifications
Warranty and Registration
Service

Glossary of Audio Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Installation in Brief 3

INSTALLATION IN BRIEF

We know you are eager to hear your new Mosaic loud­speaker, so this section is provided to allow fast and easy
set up. Once you have it operational, please take the time to
read, in depth, the rest of the information in this manual. It
will give you perspective on how to attain the greatest pos­sible performance from this most exacting transducer.

If you should experience any difficulties in the setup or
operation of your Mosaic speaker, please refer to the
Operation or Placement sections of this manual.

Should you encounter a persistent problem that cannot be
resolved, please contact your authorized MartinLogan dealer.
They will provide you with the appropriate technical analysis
to alleviate the situation.

WARNING!

•Refer servicing to a qualified technician.

•To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not
expose this module to moisture.

•Turn amplifier off should any abnormal
conditions occur.

•Do not drive speaker beyond its rated power.

Step 1: Unpacking

Remove your new Mosaic speaker from the packing.

Step 2: Placement

Place the Mosaic near the desired location. Please see the
‘Placement’ section (page 6–7) for more details.

Step 3: Signal Connection

Use the best speaker cables you can. Higher quality cables,
available from your specialty dealer, are recommended
and will give you superior performance. Spade connectors
are suggested for optimum contact and ease of installation.

Attach your speaker cables to the signal input section on
the rear panel. Be consistent when connecting speaker leads
to the terminals on the back of the Mosaic. Take great
care to assign the same color to the (+) terminal on both
the speaker and the amplifier. Please see the ‘Operation’
section (page 5) for more details.

Step 4: Listen and Enjoy

Now, you may turn on your system and enjoy!

The lightning bolt flash with arrowhead symbol within
an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to
the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within
the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient mag­nitude to constitute a risk of electric shock.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is
intended to alert the user to the presence of important
operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in
the literature accompanying the appliance.

Congratulations! You have invested in a new world of
home cinema!

The MartinLogan Mosaic represents the extension of an
intensive, dedicated group research program directed toward
establishing a world class reference monitor utilizing leading­edge technology, without compromising durability, reliability,
craftsmanship or aesthetic design.

The advantages of MartinLogan ATF (advanced thin film)
technology will present themselves to you from the moment
the movie begins. Sounds float around the screen clearly
defining the area from where they were created, not the
area of the speaker that created them.

The materials in your new Mosaic speaker are of the high­est

quality and will provide years of enduring enjoyment

and

deepening respect. Mosaic's state-of-the-art Vojtko™
crossover is designed and manufactured with the same
meticulous attention, care and precision as those found in
MartinLogan's ultimate loudspeaker products.

This User’s Manual will explain in detail the operation of
your Mosaic speaker and the philosophy applied to their
design. A clear understanding of your speakers will insure
that you obtain maximum performance and pleasure from
this most exacting transducer. It has been designed and con­structed to give you years of trouble-free listening enjoyment.

INTRODUCTION

4 Introduction

OPERATION

Operation 5

Use the best speaker cables you can. The length and type
of speaker cable used in your system will have an audible
effect. Under no circumstance should a wire of gauge
higher (thinner) than #16 be used. In general, the longer
the length used, the greater the necessity of a lower gauge,
and the lower the gauge, the better the sound, with dimin­ishing returns setting in around #8 to #12.

A variety of speaker cables are now available whose
manufacturers claim better performance than standard heavy
gauge wire. We have verified this in many cases, and the
improvements available are often more noticeable than the dif­ferences between wires of different gauge. The effects of cables
may be masked if the equipment is not of the highest quality.

We also recommend, if possible, that short runs of speaker
cable connect the power amplifier and speaker and that high
quality long interconnect cables be used to connect the
preamplifier and power amplifier. This results in the
power amplifiers being close to the speakers, which may
be practically or cosmetically difficult, but if the length of
the speaker cables can be reduced to a few meters, sonic
advantages may be obtained.

Connections are done at the signal input section on the rear
electronics panel of the Mosaic (see figure 1). Use spade
connectors for optimum contact. Make certain that all of
your connections are tight.

Be consistent when connecting speaker leads to the terminals on
the back of the Mosaic. Take great care to assign the same
color to the (+) terminal on both the speaker and the amplifier.

WARNING! Turn your amplifier off before mak­ing or breaking any signal connections!

Break-In

When you first begin to play your Mosaic speaker, it will
sound a bit bass shy. This is due to the high-quality, long-life
components used in our woofer. Our custom made woofers
require at least 30 hours of break-in at 90 dB (moderate
listening levels) before any critical listening. The break-in
requirements of the crossover components (and, to a lesser
degree, the ATF transducer) are equal.

Signal Connection

Figure 1. Single wire connection. One channel shown.