Page 2 - ONTENTS
2 Contents C ONTENTS Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Installation in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4About the Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
Page 3 - NSTALLATION IN
3 Installation in Brief 3 I NSTALLATION IN B RIEF We know that you are eager to hear your new Grotto sub-woofer, so this section is provided to allow fast and easy setup. Once you have it operational, please take the time toread, in depth, the rest of the information in this manual. Itwill give you ...
Page 4 - NTRODUCTION
4 Introduction and Assembly I NTRODUCTION Congratulations! You have invested in one of theworld's premier subwoofers. The MartinLogan Grotto represents the extension of an inten-sive, dedicated team research program directed towardestablishing a world class line of reference subwoofers usingleading-...
Page 5 - BOUT THE
Level Knob Setting the level too high will cause the bass to seem bloatedand is the single most common cause of bad soundingsubwoofers. A rule of thumb is that the subwoofer shouldnot draw attention to itself, but should simply make thesystems low end seem more extended and accurate. Low Pass Filter...
Page 6 - Before Connecting the Grotto
C ONNECTIONS AND C ONTROL S ETTINGS MartinLogan engineers designed the Grotto for easy setupand system integration. Before beginning to connect yourGrotto, please review the controls discussed in the last sec-tion. An understanding of these will help speed you along asyou connect and integrate your ...
Page 12 - AC Power Connection
12 Connections and Control Settings WARNING! The power cord should not be installed, removed, or left detached from thesubwoofer while the other end is connected toan AC power source. The IEC power cord should be firmly inserted into the ACpower receptacle on the rear connection panel of the Grotto,...
Page 13 - LACEMENT; Installing Grotto in a Cabinet
P LACEMENT Placement 13 Generally, subwoofers have the most output when placed inthe corner of a room. However, this can also exaggerate thesubwoofers output making blending difficult. We recom-mend starting by placing the Grotto in a corner. If, after thefull range of tuning techniques have been em...
Page 14 - Terminology; OOM; Your Room
Terminology 14 Room Acoustics This is an area that requires both a little background tounderstand and some time and experimentation to attainthe best performance from your system. Your room is actually a component and an important part ofyour system. This component is a large variable and candramati...
Page 15 - Solid Footing
After living and experimenting with your Grotto, you maywant to use ETC ™ (Energy Transfer Coupler) Spikes (see figure 16), available from the Xtatic shop at www.martinlo-gan.com. With the use of these spikes, the Grotto willbecome more firmly planted on the floor and, conse-quently, bass will tight...
Page 16 - OME
It had long been the practice of stereo buffs to connecttheir television to the stereo system. The advantage was theuse of the larger speakers and more powerful amplifier of thestereo system. Even though the sound was greatly improved,it was still mono and limited by the broadcast signal. In the lat...
Page 17 - 5Hz Level Control; ROTTO; Servo-Controlled Dynamic Driver
All dynamic drivers generate distortion caused by spiderand surround nonlinearities as well as voice coil inductivedisturbances and variant motor strength during massivewoofer excursions. These challenges plague all subwooferdesigners. The result? Induced harmonic and intermodulateddistortions causi...
Page 18 - REQUENTLY; Frequently Asked Questions
18 Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting F REQUENTLY A SKED Q UESTIONS & T ROUBLESHOOTING How do I clean my subwoofer? Use a dust free cloth or a soft brush to clean your subwoofer.We recommend a specialty cloth (available through theXtatic shop at www.martinlogan.com) that cleans bet...
Page 19 - Service; ENERAL; Warranty and Registration
19 The high-resolution, servo-controlled Grotto subwoofersystem consists of a single woofer for high SPL output withminimal distortion. The equalization used is specificallydesigned to counteract the response of the woofers sealedbox response. This equalization leads to minimal groupdelay and proper...
Page 20 - LOSSARY OF
AC. Abbreviation for alternating current. Active crossover. Uses active devices (transistors, ICs, tubes) and some form of power supply to operate. Amplitude. The extreme range of a signal. Usually mea- sured from the average to the extreme. Arc. The visible sparks generated by an electrical dischar...
Page 22 - OTES
Page 24 - the loudspeaker technology company
2101 Delaware Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66046, USA tel 785.749.0133 fax 785.749.5320 www.martinlogan.com M A R T I N L O G A N the loudspeaker technology company ©2003 MartinLogan. All rights reserved. Rev. #052103 ®