The importance of the center speaker cannot be overstated. The quality of the Martin Logan Sound is well known. And the sound of the Theater is no exception. I have the Logos on my upstairs system and just set-up The Theater on the downstairs plasma. First observations were that the sound of The Theater was a bit bright. But in a short time the nuances of Bluray DVDs were amazing. There is just so much that normal speakers miss. The sound of paper gliding against a desk, tires slapping rain puddles on a busy street, the actors breathing and the clear dialog is absolutely amazing. At movie theaters, dialog is hard to make out at times as many actors specialize in mumbling. I have not missed a syllable with The Theater. Even normal dialog from older movies is perfectly clear and sounds so transparent. It is a joy to listen to movies I have seen on standard TVs. The combination of midrange, multiple tweeters and the planar just makes the sound so multi-dimensional. The downside is that poor sound affects sound weak in comparison to modern methods. One movie that will remain nameless had a thunderstorm scene where the thunder sounded definitely man-made and the rain like it was coming from a single pin-point source and dropped onto the ground. The large size of The Theater gives a wide dispersion of sound instead of the narrow source of smaller sized speakers. I do not find myself staring at the speaker when listening to the dialog like smaller speakers. As the installation is new, I still marvel at the look of The Theater. The unique appearance of the Theater is very modern and the black color compliments the plasma display.

Build quality, performance

Size, Size, 43" long

I considered all my past center channels as being very good and even border line terrific. They were NHT2 and the Snell xa55, both, for the money a tremendous value for their performance levels. However, this Theater speaker is on another level, not only in price, performance and appearance but it's ability to produce the smallest details perfectly and the clarity and smoothness of voices. A great example of this was in "Lord of the Rings Two Tower" Smigels voice was raspy and at times very hard to heard in the movie theater and when I played it with the Snell xa55. Although when I replayed the movie for my kids with the ML Theater, it was a completly different outcome. His voice was clean, understandable in every sound he produced. Another example was Bonnie Ratts DTS cd, her voice and the soundstage the Theater presented was both HUGE and spacious. I am not a fan of multi-channel music ( call me old fashion but I like and prefer 2 channel) but this really sound good. Equipment Krell HTS Processor Krell DVD Standard Krell KPS-28cd player 2 Krell FPB200 Krell Kav250/3a Martin Logan Odssey speaker Martin Logan Theater Center Vienna Acouctics Hayden Rears Magnum Dynlab tuner

Similar Products Used:

Snell XA 55 NHT2

Clarity, Precision, engaging, Natural sound, and emotions are conveyed

Price and size but who cares?

I had many center channel speakers in the last few years. I have auditioned anything from low-end, mid-end, to high-end. I have had Sony, Wharfedales, Magnepans, and listened to B&Ws, Definitive Tech, Monitor Audio, Martin Logans, and Revels. At this point, I have exhausted the choices in Tucson, and Phoenix, Arizona and came to conclusion that the Martin Logans are indeed one of the best speakers in the world. Among the Martin Logan lineup, I have the Ascent, Theater I, and Martin Logans Scenarios doing the rear sound in my home theater. I had the Martin Logan Theater and also had the Martin Logan Cinema. Here are my components: Rotel 1066 Processor Martin Logan Ascent, Theater I, and Scenario CD: Pioneer Elite DV-C 36 connected to a Musical Fidelity A324 Upsampling DAC Infinity HPS 1000 (1000 watts) sub Power conditioners: Monster HTS 1000 Connected by Nordost Mooglo, Nordost Red dawns and Nordost Solar Wind The Martin Logan Theater I is a big speaker that barely fits my 50” Sony television. However, that is where criticism ends. When I first had the Martin Logan Cinema, I did not think that anything could top it for sound quality and accuracy. After auditioning the Martin Logan Theater I, I realized that the Theater I is far superior in performance that its sibling. The Theater I produces big, natural, and accurate sound that could only be achieved with an electrostatic speakers. Out o f the box, it sounded good and it went on to becoming excellent and by far the best center channel I have ever owned. The sound is just fabulous. For movies, the dialogues are clear, crisp and natural. It seems like the actors are there in your room. For multi-channel music it blends with the Martin Logan Ascents so well that it produces an engaging musical experience that few others can only match. The musical notes are heard with clarity and precision. The instruments are well spaced in my system now with all Martin Logan set up. The female vocals are conveyed with emotions and sweetness. Each day I grow appreciation of the talent of this speaker. I am grateful that our local dealer here Brett Interiors (520-733-9896) recommended this upgrade in my system. It made a tremendous impact. The dealer raved about this and he seem very knowledgeable and reasonable in pricing so I jumped on the opportunity and I was very happy with the results. Thanks Brett Interiors and thanks Martin Logans.

Similar Products Used:

Def Techs, B&Ws, Wharfedales, Moonsoons, Magnepans, Revel, Monitor audio, Sony, Paradigm, Mirage

Clear open dialog. Large size. Tonal balance. No need to turn volume up to hear quite passages. Stand is a great benifit, and easy to adjust.

None

These days Martin Logan speakers are just getting better and better, and their new Theater center channel is no exception. I first heard this amazing center channel at the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show at Alexis Park in Martin Logan''s demo room. I was stunned at the clean naturalness of the dialog, and the overall "theater" like sound quality. Through the Martin Logan Theater it really sounded like people were in the room having a conversation!! Up until this time I was considering buying the Martin Logan Cinema center channel, but after hearing the aptly named Theater, I was convinced that I would be crazy to purchase any other center channel regardless of weather or not I had other Martin Logan speakers in my system. So after months of saving, I finally bought the Theater along with some other Martin Logan speakers. Connected to my old Rotel RMB-1095 amplifier, the Theater performed with natural dialog detail, and transperency, similar to what I heard months earlier at CES. Tonal balance, and bass impact continued to improve over the next couple of months, however, I heard a much more dramatic improvement after replacing my Rotel 5 channel amplifier with the Theta Dreadnaught (5 channel version) amplifier. Bass responce, detail, presence and clarity were improved dramaticly!! The Theater sounded like a different speaker, and even exceeded the listening experience I had at CES. Placing sound treatment behind the Theater center channel also helped alot, but not to the extent of the improved amplification. The sound of this center channel is simply effortless, completely non-fatigueing. The thing that I especially like about this center channel is not only the way it blends into the performance, but that this is the first center channel that does not produce a weak sounding dialog. I''ve never needed to turn up the volume to hear quiet dialog scenes! In a movie theater there sits several giant size speakers behind the screen from one side of the movie screen to the other, so it makes sence that this speaker should be so large, as was the older discontinued Logos. To my knowledge, Martin Logan is the first speaker company to grasp this concept. With out a doubt the Martin Logan Theater will captivate you and anyone else who sits before your system and hears it!!!

Similar Products Used:

First electrostatic center channel.

Very clear, transitions well with other ML speakers

Too big for a center, not biwirable

I just set up my Martin Logan Theater last week and am very pleased with the sound. We gave it a couple of days to burn in and then CRANKED Starship Troopers. The speaker transitions beautifully with other Martin Logans, which is amazing considering that it has a tweeter in addition to the electrostatic and the two midranges.

The biggest drawback with this speaker is its size - it is almost as wide as my Mitsubishi 65" widescreen. Another problem is that you need a special screwdriver to remove the built-in stand. It is also a little bright, but no more so than other Martin Logans.

Regardless, if you have Martin Logan fronts, this is the center for you!!!

Other equipment:

Martin Logan ReQuests (Front)
Martin Logan Aerius i (Rears)
2 REL Storm III Subs (Line & LFE)
Marantz AV-9000 Pre-Amp
5 Marantz MA-700 Monoblock Amps
Maratnz DV-18 Mark II DVD
Tara Labs RSC cabling
Monster Power HST5000 Line Conditioner

Extreme clarity, perfect mating with other MLs

Price

This is an outstanding speaker. I've been using Sequel II's
up front and Arius in back for 4 years with no center
channel speaker. I didn't think this sounded too bad
since the SL II's image so well that it sounds like you've
got a center channel anyway. That is until I hooked up
the Theater and heard what I was missing. It really fills
in the soundstage perfectly (like a center speaker should)
and mates seamlesly with the other MLs. For the first
2 days it sounded a little brighter than the SL II's but
this went away. Also, the bass is phenomenal. I've got
an el cheapo 250 watt powered Kenwood sub behind the
listening position and the Theater really delivers
serious impact on low frequency effects up front.
There is a lot of LFE in Toy Story II and there was one
part where I felt like this speaker reached out and
punched me. All this with the crystal clear mids and
highs MLs are famous for. The most amazing thing is the
detail you'll hear from this speaker (rain, money falling
on the table, foot steps you never heard before...) which,
in my experience, is only possible from a Martin Logan.
I'm spoiled on the electrostat sound-- I can never own
another pair of box speakers. Most other centers will
sound like a Bose AM5 cube if placed in between two front
MLs and for this reason (even considering the price) this
speaker is a great value.

Equipment:
Sequel II's (front), Arius (rear), 250watt el cheapo
Kenwood sub, Parasound 1500THX preamp, ATI 1505, Monster
MK1.2 cable

Quality of the sound

Price

EXCELLENT CENTER SPEAKER !
As the other buyer said the biggest drawback with this speaker is its size but ..... the sound is so good that you rapidly forget about this concern. Hey ! Dont forget, we are talking about HomeTheater so the center channel is the most important speaker. More than 65% of the sound comes from the center channel so it is important to invest in this area. I don't find it bright. The SSP or cable's quality might have something to do with that. In my case , I use Classe SSP-75 with ATI-2505 with MIT-750 cables. I found the stand usefull and gives a lot of flexibility when it is time to direct sound.

Regardless, if you have Front Electro-static speakers such as Magnaplanar or Martin Logon or just good speakers, this is the center to try and eventually buy. If you like it of course ! The voice is really good. With my previous center speaker. I used to have sound distortion (hard to explain) such as echo or talking in a metal can if you know what I mean. No fatigue with this one.

Configuration :

Pre-Amp : Classe SSP-75
Amp : ATI-2505
DVD : CAL-25
Speakers : Martin Logon Theater (center)
Magnaplanar 2.6R (Front)
Magnaplanar MGMC1 (surround)
Cables : Analysis-Plus Ovale 9
Analysis-Plus Power cable (pre-amp & Amp.)

Try it, you'll love it !

Similar Products Used:

Magnaplanar MGCC1, B&W Nautilus HTM1