Frank Doghearty
- Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Reference Electrostatic Center Channel
From the beginning, the center channel has been recognized as the most critical element in any home theater and multi-channel music system. It grabs your attention, grounds the cinematic experience, and holds you in the moment. Designed and executed precisely, the center channel bridges the main channels and provides a seamless sound stage that tracks the cinematic environment—to perfection. This is exactly what MartinLogan Theater i was designed and manufactured to do—effortlessly.
Price when discontinued:
$2,795.00
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Frequency Response |
70–22,000 Hz ±3dB |
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Recommended Amplifier Power |
20‒500 watts per channel |
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Horizontal Dispersion |
30° |
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Sensitivity |
90 dB/2.83 volts/meter |
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Impedance |
4 Ohms, 3.1 at 20 Hz. Compatible with 4, 6, or 8 Ohm rated amplifiers. |
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Crossover Frequency |
300, 3000 Hz |
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High Frequency Transducer |
Three 1" (2.54) soft dome, controlled dispersion array |
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Mid Frequency Transducer |
Patented Generation 2 CLS™ electrostatic transducer |
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Low Frequency Transducer |
Two 6.5" (16.5cm) magnetically shielded. Non-resonance asymmetrical chamber format. |
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Components |
Custom-wound audio transformer, air core coils, polypropylene capacitors |
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Inputs |
5-way binding posts |
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Weight |
57 lbs. (26 kg) |
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Dimensions (with wall-mount/stand) |
13" × 43" × 11.5" |
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Dimensions (without wall-mount/stand) |
10.5" × 43" × 11.5" |
As good as it gets, unless you are a millionaire.
Placing the box above my 60" TV provided the best sound. While the rack needs to be disassembled for wall mounting and the manual is virtually useless on this department, the process was easy enough for two people to do it. The sound is, as the name says, "theater." The sound is coming from the screen, filling the whole front. Even old mono movies sound great. As there is no vertical sound dispersion, the panel must face the listener. Although MLs usually require expensive amplifiers, my Harman Kardon 7550 drives this unit just fine (well, the HK, now discontinued, weights 45 pounds, originally retailed at $2,800, and it actually outputs 440 real Watts). At the moment, the fronts are not electrostatic, "only" ML Motion 12s, but they emulate ES sound at a lot lower price (the M12 produce 3-way, bidirectional sound). I could not be happier.