Marten designs the Dexter Quartet as a three-way floor-standing speaker, and every pair is assembled by hand in the company factory in Sweden. It belongs to the Dexter series, which also includes the Quintet, Trio and Duo, and it sits in a catalogue alongside the Coltrane, Mingus, Parker and Oscar lines. A Statement Edition retains the standard driver set and enclosure yet upgrades the internal wiring and uses higher-grade crossover components. US pricing is USD 60,000 per pair for the standard version and USD 70,000 for the Statement Edition, and the Dexter range was introduced as a new high-end loudspeaker family from the company.
Key specs that matter
Marten fits a 1 inch Marten pure diamond tweeter, a 3.5 inch Marten ceramic midrange and a 9.5 inch Marten carbon fibre bass driver. The crossover uses multi-diverse filter orders and divides the signal at 500 Hz and 4,000 Hz. Marten specifies a response of 22 Hz to 45 kHz within 2 dB and a sensitivity of 89 dB at 2.83 V. Nominal impedance is 6 ohm with a minimum of 3.8 ohm, and the power rating is 300 W. The cabinet measures 28 to 34.3 cm wide, 104.6 cm high and 36.1 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 60 kg.
Engineering and use context
Low-frequency output relies on what Marten calls a Loaded Reflex Line bass system instead of a simple reflex port. The enclosure uses Marten's M-Core triple-layer construction, faced with a machined carbon fibre laminate faceplate, and the cabinet widens from front to rear. Internal wiring is Jorma Duality as standard, with Jorma Statement cable fitted in the upgraded edition. Connection is by a single set of pure copper terminals with rhodium plating, so there is no provision for bi-wiring. The speaker stands on mirror polished stainless steel feet fitted with Marten Isolators, which were developed together with IsoAcoustics. Including feet and outriggers, the overall footprint grows to 39.8 to 46.4 cm wide, 110.6 cm high and 51.4 cm deep. Finish options are Piano Black, Piano Walnut, Matte Walnut and True Grain Oak.
Pairing
Because the impedance minimum dips under 4 ohm, the partnering amplifier needs to hold up into low loads, and the generous power rating allows for powerful solid-state designs. With single-wire terminals, each speaker takes a single cable run from either a stereo amplifier or mono power amplifiers.
Alternatives
The Marten Dexter Quintet is another three-way floorstanding model in the same Dexter series.