8 Coontrols and Connections
AC Power Connection
Because your MartinLogan Ethos speakers use an inter-
nal power supply to energize their electrostatic cells and
PoweredForce™ woofer, they must be connected to
an AC power source. For this reason they are provided
with the proper IEC standard power cords. These cords
should be firmly inserted into the AC power receptacles
on the rear connection panel of the speakers, then to any
convenient AC wall outlet. The Ethos’s integrate a signal
sensing power supply which will switch off after five min-
utes of no music signal, and requires less than two seconds
to recharge the panels when a music signal is present.
Your Ethos speakers are wired for the power service sup-
plied in the country of original consumer sale. The AC
power rating applicable to a particular unit is specified
both on the packing carton and on the serial number
plate attached to the speaker. If you remove your Ethos
speakers from the country of original sale, be certain that
the AC power supplied in any subsequent location is
suitable before connecting and operating the speakers.
Substantially impaired performance or severe damage
may occur to an Ethos speaker if operation is attempted
from an incorrect AC power source.
WARNING!
The power cord should not be
installed, removed, or left detached from the
speaker while the other end is connected to an
AC power source.
Signal Connection
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 lon-
ger 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 cables are 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 equipment is not of the highest quality.
Connections are done at the signal input section on the
rear electronics panel of the Ethos. Use spade connectors
for optimum contact and ease of installation. Hand tight-
en the binding posts, but do not overtighten—do not use
a tool to tighten the binding posts.
Be consistent when connecting the speaker cables to the
signal input terminals. Take care to assign the same color
cable lead to the (+) terminal on both the left and right
channel speakers. If bass is nonexistent and you cannot
discern a tight, coherent image, you may need to reverse
the (+) and (–) leads on one speaker to bring the system
into proper polarity.
WARNING!
Turn your amplifier off before
making or breaking any signal connections!
Break-In
When you first begin to play your Ethos speakers, they
will sound a bit bass shy. This is due to the high quality,
long-life components used in our woofer. Our custom
made, butyl surround woofer requires approximately
72 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
stator) are equivalent.