Drew B.
- Wednesday, June 16, 2021
SKU:
Price: $1,999.99 each
Sold As: each
By adding a compact electrostatic panel to a center channel speaker, MartinLogan engineers have succeeded in expanding the performance dynamics of the most important speaker in your home theater system. Your center channel speaker needs to be able to reproduce the finest high frequency details. The midrange must be expansive; to reproduce every whisper of dialogue. Deep bass adds impact to the front-stage effects that anchor the action to your screen. The EM-ESL C accomplishes all this, and more.
The EM-ESL C has a shallow height CLS (Curvilinear Line Source) XStat electrostatic panel wrapped around the front of the speaker enclosure. The gentle horizontal curve of the panel enhances the output of its deceptively compact 114-square-inch radiating area, extending mid-range dispersion patterns and blending the performance seamlessly with your front-stage ElectroMotion loudspeakers.
Just behind the electrostatic panel, in a specially designed housing, sits MartinLogan’s exclusive Folded Motion Tweeter. The low-mass diaphragm of the Folded Motion Tweeter minimizes distortion, and its short excursion length reinforces its lightning fast high frequency response. The 1 x 1.4-inch Folded Motion Tweeter in the EM-ESL C has a total diaphragm area of 9.2-inches, with the ability to reproduce precise details; one of the most important jobs of a center channel speaker.
Designing a high performance electrostatic center channel speaker sized to fit into A/V furniture was no easy task. Adding a dual woofer system seemed impossible! But MartinLogan’s skilled audio engineers found a novel solution, and they call it CenterForce.
Instead of taking up space by positioning the woofers on each side of the electrostatic panel, they’ve designed a central slot inside the cabinet for the woofers. Now, the dual woofers reside in a well-braced enclosure located behind the tweeter and electrostatic panel.
This new CenterForce solution allows the speaker to be more compact, and encourages the woofers to produce a generous amount of well-blended deep bass. The CenterForce system in the EM-ESL C features two custom-designed 5.25-inch aluminum cone woofers. Rigid and yet lightweight, this material reduces flexure while minimizing response time. Their efficient construction optimizes suspension and magnetic flux field, further reducing potential sources of distortion. The EM-ESL C grounds its performance in accurate, musical bass response.
This is a center channel speaker that delivers a full-range performance, by combining an electrostatic panel with a Folded Motion Tweeter, bolstered by the CenterForce bass system. The compact EM-ESL C goes where you want it, and does what you need, for your high performance ElectroMotion home theater system.
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Today I give my five-month review of the Martin Logan ESL X, ESL C, and Dynamo 1600X subwoofer.
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Check out my unboxing and overview of the Martin Logan ESL X, ESL C, and Dynamo 1600X Subwoofer. Will I make the jump to electrostatic speakers?
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"For me, auditioning this ElectroMotion ESL X speaker system was like going home again. The affordable (by MartinLogan standards) electrostatic towers delivered the detailed, lifelike sound I know and love, and the solid foundation provided by the Dynamo 1500X subwoofer enabled them to reach dynamic heights I hadn’t previously experienced in my days as a MartinLogan-phile."
"They have great value, a unique sound,and are a true gateway to the journey that is the audiophile hobby."
My front left and right speakers are Martin Logan ESL-X and I owned the Motion 50XTi as the center channel. It's a very nice speaker yet I was curious whether the ESL-C center would be a better match. WOW! there is no comparison. The ESL-C is SO far superior. My front channels are all blended into theater-quality sound. It's an amazing combination. It certainly explains the price differential.