Martin Logan Foundation F2

The Foundation F2 is a three-way floorstanding speaker from MartinLogan, designed to be placed on the floor in a living room and to serve equally well as a main stereo pair or as the front channels of a home cinema setup. Its slender cabinet, 1,128 mm tall, 222 mm wide and 349 mm deep, houses four drivers and weighs 23.8 kg, a mass that reflects a generously proportioned enclosure.

The top of the spectrum is handled by a 25 mm Generation 2 Folded Motion S tweeter: rather than a conventional dome, it relies on a thin folded film that unfolds a large emissive surface within a compact volume. This very light diaphragm reacts quickly to transients, resulting in crisp attacks on bowed strings, cymbals or vocals. The surrounding waveguide imposes controlled dispersion of 90° × 90°, which widens the area where the soundstage remains stable while limiting early reflections off side walls and the ceiling.

Below this tweeter, a 140 mm midrange and three 165 mm aluminium woofers share the rest of the spectrum, with crossover points set at 330 Hz and 3,600 Hz. The metal diaphragms aim for good behaviour under load, and the use of three woofers rather than a single unit spreads the work across the low end: each diaphragm moves less for the same output level. The stated frequency response spans from 36 Hz to 23 kHz.

On the amplification side, the F2 proves accommodating thanks to a sensitivity of 92 dB: it reaches comfortable listening levels without demanding considerable power. The 4 Ω impedance, however, calls for an amplifier capable of delivering current into a low load; the recommended power range, from 15 to 200 W, allows plenty of latitude, from a modest integrated amplifier to a generous power amplifier. This combination of high sensitivity and low impedance suits medium to large living rooms, for music listening as well as film soundtracks.