Masters of the Illusionist school of art perfected trompe-l’oeil, employing painting techniques that mimicked actual objects so vividly that “Illusionism” blurred the boundaries between art and reality.
This kind of illusion is the goal of any loudspeaker, especially a center channel speaker—the most important speaker in a multi-channel audio system. It is tasked with reproducing the most important audio information for imaging and realism: cinematic dialogue, anchoring effects, and a large portion of the front sound stage. It is fitting, then, that we introduce our new Masterpiece Series center channel loudspeaker, the Illusion ESL C34A.
In the lab, MartinLogan engineers strive for transparency. Outside the lab, there’s one wildcard our engineers can never account for: Your listening room. Using ARC Technology to ensure seamless low frequency performance in a center channel speaker is incredibly important to the overall realism of the surround-sound system. The unique size and shape of your listening space (and the size and shape of its contents) can make bass waves do unpredictable things, greatly affecting a speaker’s overall performance. When you engage ARC to control the low-frequency curve in relation to the combined output of the ESL panel and the Folded Motion XT Tweeters (as seen in this graph), you will experience performance on par with MartinLogan’s audio test lab.
ARC measures low-frequency sound output in your room and compares it to optimal response curves that account for spatial anomalies. The advanced algorithms of ARC then effectively remove the anomalies, leaving only the ideal standard: realistically blended, natural-sounding bass performance in your listening space.
By minimizing room interactions with PoweredForce bass technology and the advanced room correction capabilities of ARC, along with the unique synthesis of the ESL, Folded Motion XT, and bass sections, the Illusion ESL C34A destroys the “illusion of playback.” Like other speakers in the Masterpiece Series, it presents an utterly natural and transparent performance, with realistic imaging detail on top of well-blended, wide-spectrum performance and intense, accurate bass, even at lifelike listening levels.
The Illusion ESL C34A is, really, a home theater Masterpiece.
Inspired by the breakthrough innovations of the Masterpiece Series, the Illusion ESL C34A features a redesigned woofer section. The four 6.5-inch laser-engineered low-distortion aluminum cone drivers use exclusive PoweredForce™ bass technology to deliver astonishingly articulate, well-blended bass, as low as 45Hz, from its compact enclosure. The new 250-watt Class-D amplifier is controlled by a 24-Bit Vojtko™ DSP Engine and includes ARC™ (Anthem Room Correction).
ARC instantly optimizes the performance to suit your room’s unique characteristics, further improving the most important elements of full range center channel performance: consistent bass reproduction and precise imaging.