Напольная акустика — Emotiva Airmotiv XT3

The Airmotiv XT3 is a large-format passive three-way floorstanding tower from Emotiva that sits above the XT1 and XT2 in the Airmotiv X line. Emotiva presents it for audiophile two-channel systems and for front duty in a home cinema installation, and sells it as a pair.

Key specs that matter

Treble duty goes to an H.O. version of the 25 x 32 mm folded ribbon, driven by a Neo motor. Two 5.25 inch midrange drivers with woven cones, aluminium voice coils and milled aluminium phase plugs cover the band between 300 Hz and 3.1 kHz. Below 300 Hz three 8 inch woofers with woven cones, aluminium voice coils and long-throw motors take over. Emotiva quotes a response of 30 Hz to 27 kHz within plus or minus 3 dB and an efficiency of 91 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m. Power handling is 300 W continuous and 600 W peak, and the recommended amplifier output is 100 W or more per channel. Nominal impedance is 4 ohms, and Emotiva states that the speaker is safe with 8 ohm rated amplifiers. Without feet each tower is about 1237 mm high, 273 mm wide and 425 mm deep, and it weighs about 41.3 kg, or about 48.5 kg boxed.

Engineering and use context

Construction combines a painted HDF front baffle 31 mm thick and a PVC laminated HDF enclosure, with double window bracing inside and a textured vinyl exterior. Tuning is by two rear ports. The front baffle has a satin lacquer finish, smooth trim rings around the drivers reduce diffraction, and the grille attaches magnetically and carries an Emotiva metal badge. Dual 5-way binding posts accept either bi-wired or bi-amped connection. Compared with the XT2, which uses one midrange and three 6 inch woofers crossed at 430 Hz, the XT3 doubles the midrange count, moves up to larger woofers and lowers the woofer crossover. Its rated bass limit is the lowest in the X series, against 40 Hz for the XT2 and 45 Hz for the XT1. The factory warranty runs for five years, and the speaker is suited to larger rooms according to Emotiva.

Pairing

The split terminals allow two amplifier channels per speaker, one feeding the bass section and one the upper section, when a second stereo power amplifier is available. One channel of each amplifier then drives the woofers, while the other feeds the midranges together with the ribbon.

Alternatives

The Emotiva Airmotiv XT2 sits one step below in the X lineup of towers.