Инструкции Пользователя для MartinLogan ElectroMotion® ESL X

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musical playback system consisting of an electronic 
phonograph and a loudspeaker to take advantage 
of the new recording medium – the project of two 
young engineers, C. W. Rice and E. W. Kellogg. 

Rice and Kellogg had a well equipped laboratory 
at their disposal. This lab possessed a vacuum 
tube amplifier with an unheard of 200 watts, 
a large selection of the new electrically cut 
phonograph records and a variety of loudspeaker 
prototypes collecting over the 
past decade. Among these 
were Lodge’s cone, a speaker 
that used compressed air, a 
corona discharge (plasma) 
speaker, and an electrostatic 
speaker.

After a short time, Rice and 
Kellogg had narrowed the 
field of “contestants” down to 
the cone and the electrostat. The outcome would 
dictate the way that future generations would refer 
to loudspeakers as being either “conventional”  
or “exotic”.

Rice and Kellogg’s electrostat was something  
to behold. This enormous bipolar speaker was 
as big as a door. The diaphragm, which was 
beginning to rot, was made of  a pig intestine that 
was covered with fine gold leaf to conduct the 
audio signal.

When Rice and Kellogg began playing the new 
electrically cut records through the electrostat, 
they were stunned and impressed. The electrostat 
performed splendidly. They had never heard 
instrumental timbres reproduced with such realism. 
This system sounded like real music rather than 
the honking, squawking rendition of the acoustic 
gramophone. Immediately, they knew they were 
on to something big. The acoustic gramophone 
was destined to become obsolete.

Due to Rice and Kellogg’s enthusiasm, they 
devoted a considerable amount of time 
researching the electrostatic design. However, 
they soon encountered the same difficulties that 
even present designers face; planar speakers 
require a very large surface area to reproduce 
the lower frequencies of the audio spectrum. 
Because the management considered large 
speakers unacceptable, Rice and Kellogg’s 
work on electrostatics would never be put to use 

for a commercial product. 
Reluctantly, they advised the 
management to go with the 
cone. For the next 30 years, 
the electrostatic design lay 
dormant.

During the Great Depression 
of the 1930’s, consumer 
audio almost died. The 
new electrically amplified 

loudspeaker never gained acceptance, as 
most people continued to use their old Victrola-
style acoustic gramophones. Prior to the end of 
World War II, consumer audio saw little, if any, 
progress. However, during the late 1940’s, 
audio experienced a great rebirth. Suddenly there 
was tremendous interest in audio products, and 
with that, a great demand for improved audio 
components. No sooner had the cone become 
established than it was challenged by products 
developed during this new rebirth.

In 1947, Arthur Janszen, a young Naval engineer, 
took part in a research project for the Navy. 
The Navy was interested in developing a better 
instrument for testing microphone arrays. The test 
instrument needed an extremely accurate speaker, 
but Janszen found that the cone speakers of the 
period were too nonlinear in phase and amplitude 
response to meet his criteria. Janszen believed 
that electrostats were inherently more linear than 
cones, so he built a model using a thin plastic