| Content | The 5.1.2 pack is the second generation in the Sib range, composed of two loudspeakers equipped with an additional speaker driver on the top featuring Dolby Atmos technology. This system distinguishes itself by offering sound effects on a vertical plane, reflected off the ceiling. Get ready to live a completely new audio experience worthy of cinemas!
Combination systems like the Focal Sib Evo have been around for a long time. They typically include small speakers and a subwoofer. Done properly, this type of design has some inherent advantages.
The human voice falls right in the critical midrange area of the acoustic range. By designing a small speaker that does not need to worry about producing deep bass, the engineer can focus on getting the important range of the music right. A well-designed sub can then take over to fill in the lower frequencies. The engineers know which speakers will be dedicated to which frequencies, and can design them to work perfectly with one another.
The real trick is coupling the satellites with a subwoofer that is fast enough to keep up with them without just being a boomy, noisy box. That boomy bass will cover up all the midrange goodness, defeating the whole purpose.
A good sat/sub system also offers the ability to place the smaller satellite speakers in the best spot in your room for great stereo imaging and put the sub in a place that couples best to your room for full and even bass response.
Most French audio products have a pretty cool look about them, and the Sib Evo is no exception. The five speakers are in a curvy ABS plastic housing. They will never be accused of having a basic, boxy look! Fit and finish are excellent. The speakers use a push connection for the speaker cable and will accept up to a 12 gauge speaker wire. All 5 also come with a neat little base for table use and included in the box are two wall mounts, which will probably come in handy for the rears. There is also an optional floor stand available for them.
The left and right larger speakers have two sets of connections on the rear, one pair for the main, and another on top of those for the Atmos speaker. One of our few complaints was the push connection widgets. It takes a little fiddling with them to get the speaker wire to go in all the way, and once you have it in, getting it out again is a bit of a challenge. For most people, getting the speaker wire in will be a one-time thing, so we felt this was not a deal-breaker.
Features & Technology
The five satellites each have a 5” Polyflex woofer and a ¾” soft dome tweeter. You will notice the main left and right satellites are larger than the other three. This is the cool part! These guys also have a 4” full-range Dolby Atmos speaker in the top of the cabinet that fires up at an angle.
The Cub subwoofer included in the package is almost a perfect 12” cube. It has an 8” Polyflex driver connected up to a 200-watt class D amplifier. The driver is downward firing with a front-firing port. Connections on the rear include a right and left input; the left is used for LFE (low-frequency extension channel). There is a level and crossover control, along with a phase switch. If you had to put the sub behind you, you’ll want to flip the phase switch to 180. The sub box itself is made out of a pretty dense MDF material and has a really solid feel to it with virtually no resonance. You’ll also notice that the feet for the sub are very large and designed to reduce vibrations.
Dolby Atmos came out about two years ago and we think it is the biggest improvement in surround sound we have heard since the introduction of Dolby Digital almost 20 years ago. Dolby Atmos is an object-based surround format where the audio engineer doing the movie soundtrack has the ability to place sounds in a three-dimensional space. The idea is to use surround speakers at ear level in addition to either in-ceiling Atmos speakers or speakers that reflect off the ceiling as the Sib system uses. The Atmos speakers in the larger left and right satellite cabinets are angled to bounce the sound off the ceiling so it will appear to be coming from right above you.
By now you may have figured out what the 5.1.2 means. In the new lingo of Dolby Atmos, this means you have five main speakers, one subwoofer, and two Atmos speakers.
Performance
We set up the Focal Sib 5.1.2 with one of the new Sony ES receivers to test it out. These are a great value, like the Focal system, and we suspect this will be a popular combination. Any Dolby Atmos-certified receiver will have a section in the setup in which you tell the system what kind of Atmos speakers you are using. When setting up the Focal system, make sure you specify that you are using upward-firing Atmos speakers in the front.
We set the crossover points for the satellites at 80 Hz and then put on some tunes to get the front speakers positioned best. Like most satellite/sub systems, we found you want them in a rough 2:3 ratio. This means that if they are two feet apart, you sit three feet from them. In most rooms, this will probably work out to about a 6-foot spread sitting about 9 feet away from them. We then played a few different cuts with deep bass to get bass levels set properly.
Being the two-channel audio geeks that we are, we first had to determine how this system performed with just music in a two-channel stereo. Our music tests used a NAD CD player going analog into the Sony receiver -- very impressive! The speakers are very clean sounding with no trace of harshness. If you dial in the satellite position, you can get a great 3-dimensional image with the main vocals floating dead center in front of you. Probably the most impressive part is how well the subwoofer blends with the satellites. It took a little fiddling with its position and output level, but once we had it set the way we wanted, the bass was quite seamless to the satellites. While it does not go as deep as a more expensive subwoofer, its response is excellent for its size. We just found music was a lot of fun to listen to using this setup.
Moving onto the home theater performance, we tried some cuts with challenging dialog. One of our favorite movies for this is Valkerie because there are a lot of accented, deep voices in the soundtrack. If your center channel is weak, you’ll really notice it on some of the scenes. The Sib system did very well in this regard -- the dialog was crystal clear, allowing the actors' emotions to come through.
You’ll get the best results if you set the surrounds up just a little above ear level when you are seated, and about 12-18” behind your head, aimed at your listening area. If you have a flat ceiling that is 10’ or under, the upward-firing Atmos speaker does a pretty impressive job too. The cool thing about the base that comes with the main fronts is the way you can adjust the tilt on it +/- about 5 degrees so you can “tune” the way Atmos feeds bounces off the ceiling and arrives at your listening spot. Overall, we still prefer actual Atmos in-ceiling speakers for the best effect, but for the money, this system works really well!
The Focal Sib 5.1.2 might be one of the best values we have ever seen in home theater. You’ll have to run some wires to the rears, but the end result is way beyond any soundbar/sub combo in the same price range as the Sib 5.1.2 and a good Dolby Atmos receiver.
Overall Recommendation
Over the past couple of years, the soundbar has gained popularity because it is just so easy to integrate with a TV. But the audio performance of a soundbar just can not even approach a great separate home theater package.
When making your choice, you have to think about how much time over the next ten years or so you will spend watching that TV and listening to the audio system. We feel like the Focal Sib Evo 5.1.2 bridges that gap between a full-fledged home theater system consisting of multiple speakers in your ceilings and walls and a soundbar/sub combination. Couple it with a modest Dolby Atmos home theater receiver and you’ll be having tons of fun enjoying movies, TV, and sports for many years to come!
- Composed of a 5″ Polyflex speaker driver and a 1″ silk dome tweeter integrated into a sizeable enclosure in order to give it extended frequency response. The Dolby Atmos loudspeaker is equipped with an additional 3″ full-range Polyflex speaker driver on top dedicated to the Atmos effects.
- The Cub Evo active bass-reflex subwoofer recalls the same design codes as Focal's Hi-Fi subwoofers in a ‘‘lifestyle" product. Equipped with an 8 ' ' speaker driver and a 200W Class D amplifier.
- Dolby Atmos offers sound effects on a vertical plane, which reflects sound off the ceiling, giving an ultra-realistic 3D realism effect to a home theater.
- Easy installation with a wide range of mount possibilities.
| With the ElectroMotion ESL, Martin Logan has created the world's most affordable high-performance hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker, with a legendary CLS™ XStat™ transducer and an 8-inch woofer to deliver ideal home theater front/surround sound.
ElectroMotion ESL
The ElectroMotion ESL represents a bold new direction for electrostatic loudspeaker design. Featuring a full-sized 34-inch tall curvilinear XStat™ electrostatic transducer and a superbly integrated high-performance woofer, the new EM-ESL performs more like a mini-flagship than an entry level audiophile speaker. Designed for both 2-channel music enthusiasts and those seeking the worlds most articulate and dynamic multi-channel home theater systems, the EM-ESL is the most compelling 'affordable' audiophile-grade speaker ever brought to market.
The ElectroMotion ESL (EM-ESL) represents a brave new direction for electrostatic loudspeaker design. Featuring a full-sized 34-inch tall curvilinear XStat™ electrostatic transducer the new ESL performs more like a mini-flagship than an entry level audiophile speaker. Long time MartinLogan enthusiasts are sure to describe ElectroMotion ESL as the second-coming of the legendary Aerius electrostatic speaker which debuted in 1992 and went on to sell in record numbers. The new ESL, however, boasts 40 percent more radiating surface, a superbly integrated and authoritative bass performance, and a sensitivity rated at 91dB. In addition, the ESL is capable of being effortlessly powered by both receivers and high-end amplifiers alike.
ElectroMotion ESL's XStat electrostatic MicroPerf panel is housed within a radical aluminum and composite AirFrame™ similar to those found on MartinLogan's flagship products. AirFrame technology rigidifies the electrostatic panel without obstructing playable surface area or interfering with ambience enriching dipole sound radiation. At the same time, an AirFrame provides electrical and acoustical isolation, minimizing intermodulated distortion caused by vibration and resonance while enhancing imaging, low-level sonic detail, accuracy, and efficiency. MicroPerf design optimizes the individual holes of The EM-ESL's electrostatic panel. MicroPerf design substantially increases diaphragm radiating area, compared to early generations—without compromising structural integrity. The resulting increase in output capability and efficiency allows The EM-ESL's panel to enjoy a substantial leap in bandwidth and dynamics without growing larger. For example, The EM-ESL's XStat electrostatic panel features 129 square inches of sound radiating surface on both the front and back and a sensitivity of 91dB into 6 Ohms. The Aerius, well received its day, only had 93 square inches and a sensitivity of 89dB into 4 Ohms.
A unique XStat™ transducer was developed for the ElectroMotion ESL to reduce the gauge thickness of the electrostatic panel's steel stators. The reduced gauge does not alter the performance characteristics of the panel. However, as a natural byproduct of tighter build tolerances, it does increase the visual transparency of the panel. The EM-ESL's new XStat panel is so visually transparent it nearly vanishes when you're sitting and listening.
Controlled Dispersion Sound Radiation
Another key attribute of the ElectroMotion ESL is its naturally dipolar radiation pattern. A true dipole, The EM-ESL radiates sound with equal intensity from the front and back of its diaphragm, but the outputs are in opposite phase. As a result, sound waves rippling out toward the sides meet at the speaker's edge and cancel. That and the relatively large size of the ElectroMotion ESL's electrostatic panel cause output at the sides to be very low relative to that of a conventional loudspeaker, which in turn minimizes side-wall reflections that tend to muddle sonic detail and stereo imaging. While the reduction in output to the sides contributes to the astonishing clarity for which electrostats are revered, the energy reflected off the wall behind the speaker opens up and deepens the sound.
Superb Bass Integration
To seamlessly blend audio output from the high- and mid-frequency electrostatic panel to the low-frequency woofer the ElectroMotion ESL features a proprietary Vojtko™ topology filter utilizing custom air core coil and low DCR steel laminate inductors, polyester film capacitors in series, and low DF electrolytic capacitors in parallel.
A precise 8-inch high-excursion, perfectly balanced, audiophile grade, doped fiber cone woofer was custom designed exclusively for The EM-ESL by MartinLogan's in-house engineering team. This woofer precisely optimizes cone suspension and magnetic flux field to produce high levels of bass output and simultaneous precise midrange. The custom woofer's rigid light-weight diaphragm eliminates cone flexure and minimizes response time to achieve remarkably low-distortion approaching that of MartinLogan's award-winning electrostatic panel design.
Easy Connections, Solid Adjustable Footing
Convenient push-style speaker terminals and curved inserts help guide speaker wire effortlessly into place. The rubber end caps on the terminal are also removable for the use of banana plugs instead of bare wire. The EM-ESL is supplied with sturdy, 3/8-16 ETC™ spikes, which can be used to fine tune vertical wave launch, enhance stability on thick carpets, and create tighter coupling between speaker and floor to provide a tighter and detailed bass performance. Each spike is conveniently covered by removable rubber end caps if you prefer not to use spikes. | The EFX is a slim, on-wall hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker, featuring XStat™ technology, dramatically reducing cabinet size, yet establishing new standards for efficiency, dynamics and precision.
- Housed within a radical, ultra-ridged extruded aluminum AirFrame™, the EFX's new CLS XStat transducer builds upon the legacy of MartinLogan's electrostatic heritage with the incorporation of advanced vacuum bonding and MicroPerf stat panels, providing even greater efficiency and precision.
- Proprietary Vojtko filtering technology is utilized for EFX's electrostatic transducer. This audiophile quality network, derived from the CLX, is carefully hand-built using precision point-to-point wiring, polypropylene capacitors, massive air-core coils, and a custom wound E-I core transformer.
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The ElectroMotion FX2 features dual Folded Motion XT tweeters in a wide-dispersion array to guarantee optimal surround channel sound in even the most demanding home theaters.
- A single 6.5-inch doped fiber-cone woofer provides a powerful low-frequency extension.
- Designed to easily corner mount, wall mount or angle-wall mount for versatile placement in any room.
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The Invisa Home Theater Reference 7000 is designed for use as a ceiling-mounted main front stage left, right, or center speaker in high-quality home theater or music systems, as well as for use as a side or rear surround speaker. In many installations, it is also perfect as a height channel speaker. It has a flat, round, magnetically attached micro-perf grille that covers the mounting flange for an attractive, nearly “invisible" look.
GoldenEar Invisa Series Ceiling Speakers / In Wall Speakers are engineered to deliver superb state-of-the-art sound quality, designed to blend perfectly with their surroundings and virtually disappear. GoldenEar’s Invisa ceiling speakers line-up consists of the Invisa 525, Invisa 600, Invisa 650 and SP 652 StereoPoint™ Single-point Stereo speaker. GoldenEar’s Invisa high-performance music and home theater models consist of the Home Theater Reference (HTR) 7000, the Invisa MultiPolar™ (MPX) and the Invisa Signature Point Source (SPS). All models incorporate a magnetically attached grill-covered/hidden flange construction that helps to make them virtually invisible.
A tremendous amount of work has gone into the acoustical engineering of the Invisa Series Ceiling Speakers / In Wall Speakers in order to deliver the highest sound quality possible in an architectural format. All models (except the 600) incorporate a High Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR™) high-frequency radiator similar to the unit used in all of GoldenEar’s award-winning Towers, Bookshelf and Satellite speakers. The Invisa 525 and Invisa 600/650/652 utilize a one-piece driver/frame/flange construction in order to minimize their footprint. Solidly constructed of a marble-infused polymer, the unitized structure actually has the high-definition wide-dispersion driver constructed as an integral part. The Invisa HTR 7000 incorporates our Focus-Field™ Technology with a cast-basket 7" bass/midrange driver and HVFR™ tweeter that are angled under the grille for optimum performance as Main and/or Surround, Rear and Height speakers in a high-quality in-ceiling home theater and music system. The Invisa MPX, with its advanced spaciousness and dispersion, is perfect for in-wall Main or Surround use. The Invisa SPS in-wall SuperSpeaker™ is the perfect anchor for a high-end music and/or home theater system, utilizing GoldenEar’s latest Triton Reference speaker technology. All ceiling speakers/in-wall models have complex multi-element crossovers to precisely blend the drivers for seamless, exquisitely natural sound quality.
- One 7" High-Definition Cast-Basket MVPP™ Bass/Midrange Driver
- One High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR™) tweeter
- Rec. amp: 10 – 250 Watt/channel.
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The ForceField Subwoofers are unique in appearance and incomparable in its deep, rich bass ideal for music and movies. The ForceField 3 is extremely compact and affordable without compromising its ability to perform.
The ForceField Subwoofers’ unique and attractive cabinet shape, with its non-parallel cabinet walls (the top is narrower than the bottom when viewed from the front), helps the ForceField subs achieve extraordinarily deep and tuneful bass that is ideal for music and movies. Their cutting-edge amplifier design employs state-of-the-art DSP control for frequency shaping so the subwoofer produces accurate, consistent, and musical bass performance.
Many of today's subwoofers fall into either the ultra-compact high-output category or the (larger) high performance, extended response, high-output category. These two design types tend to offer different performance benefits, the ultra-compact having the ability to play extremely loud, but over a narrower bandwidth and the large subs having this high output plus more extended response.
GoldenEar's engineering team set out to accomplish the best of both worlds with the new ForceField subwoofers: small size, yet with the smooth & wide response of a larger sub. There's no sleight of hand, just great engineering - all ForceField subwoofers share the same technologies, here is a list of their features. Read through these and then take a good demo disc into your GoldenEar dealer's sound room and listen for yourself.
- Custom-designed high-output drivers with very large motor assemblies. These drivers handle massive power, have very long excursions, and have ultra-low distortion.
- Rigid cabinets with non-parallel sides to minimize standing waves and distortion. The drivers are front firing in all of our subwoofers for optimal performance. The cabinets' possess a unique and understated shape and style that matches well with any décor.
- The driver's response is enhanced with a carefully tuned, down-firing, quadratic-shaped passive radiator (no noisy ports on ForceField subs). The quadratic shape allows the radiators to use maximum surface area on the bottom of the cabinets and gets even greater output from the slot-loading that results from the subwoofers' interface with the floor (see next point).
- The soft, energy-absorbing feet provided with every ForceField sub serve a number of functions. First, they hold the subwoofer at the correct distance off the floor so the passive radiator slot-loads with it for significantly increased output at the lowest frequencies. Second, the soft feet keep the subwoofer from dancing around on the floor.
- ForceField subwoofer amplifiers are designed in-house by GoldenEar engineering, so each is the perfect amp to power its specific subwoofer model.
- In addition, the amps all have powerful DSP sections to optimize frequency response, minimize distortion and prevent damage from overdriving. These amplifiers are all low distortion and extraordinarily powerful (up to 1500 watts on the ForceField 5) for reproducing seriously high-output AND low bass.
- ForceField subs all have speaker-level inputs and outputs (with a high pass crossover on the outputs) as well as a direct LFE input, too.
- Non-parallel sides minimize standing waves and distortion. The shape allows the radiators to use maximum surface area on the bottom of the cabinets and gets even greater output from the slot-loading that results from the subwoofers' interface with the floor.
- Features 1000-watt digital amp, 8" high-power long-throw active driver, and 9-5/8"x 11-3/8" quadratic planar infrasonic radiator.
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