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MartinLogan Cresendo Premium Wireless Lifestyle Speaker System

July 13, 2014 — Article

MartinLogan, renowned for its high-end speakers, has put to work its dedicated in-house design and engineering team to create Crescendo, a lifestyle table-top wireless speaker system in a sleek, compact design while not compromising sound quality. Crescendo features dual audiophile Folded Motion™ dome tweeters that are combined with a front-firing mid/bass driver to achieve deep, extended bass response.

At the core of the Crescendo is an advanced 24-bit 48kHz DSP (digital signal processing) based preamplifier in conjunction with a powerful class-D closed-loop 100-watt (140-watt peak) amplifier.

Crescendo matte black polypropylene cone mid/bass driver

Crescendo’s amplifier creates powerfully detailed sound from a custom designed front-firing 12×18cm (5×7-inch) matte black polypropylene cone woofer with extended throw drive assembly in a non-resonant asymmetrical chamber format.

MartinLogan design Folded Motion™ tweeter

Low frequencies are seamlessly blended with two of MartinLogan’s proprietary design, high-performance Folded Motion™ tweeters that utilise extremely low-mass diaphragms that ‘squeeze’ air and require significantly less excursion than typical 25mm (1-inch) dome tweeters, thus minimising distortion whilst providing a lightning-fast response time.

MartinLogan Crescendo (grill off)

Crescendo front view with grille removed

The Crescendo dense cabinet enclosure, wrapped in either high-gloss piano black paint or real-wood walnut veneer, is integrated with a sturdy aluminum stand for lifestyle aesthetics. This solid structure also strengthens and intensifies low-frequency bass performance while minimizing vibrations.

Crescendo with optional subwoofer

In addition, there is a subwoofer output via an analog RCA connection. This option, not typical of tabletop speaker systems, customizes the crossover between the Crescendo and an optional external subwoofer to seamlessly supplement Crescendo’s low-frequency performance.

MartinLogan Crescendo rear view with connections

Crescendo rear panel connections

Advanced Connectivity, with six input methods for virtually any device:

  • Wi-Fi – connect AirPlay capable devices wirelessly (iPhone, iPad, iPod, or a computer with iTunes) to stream audio
  • Bluetooth – connect Bluetooth capable devices wirelessly to stream audio. Bluetooth V4.0 supports SBC, MP3, AAC, and apt-X®
  • Wired Ethernet – audio information can be sent over a LAN to the Crescendo using various protocols (such as AirPlay or DLNA)
  • USB – connect compatible Apple devices and use the Crescendo as an audio dock and charger. The USB connection was designed to rapidly charge a variety of devices.
  • Analog – any device that has an analog audio output can connect to the auxiliary analog input via a 3.5mm headphone style jack
  • Optical digital – any device that has a digital optical output can connect to the auxiliary digital input with the included mini-Toslink optical adapter (analog and digital connections share the same input)

For across the room control, Crescendo includes a custom remote control built from black anodized extruded aluminum.

Two finish options are available at launch: high-gloss piano black and real-wood walnut veneer

The MartinLogan Crescendo is available in the UK from August, priced at £849 inc. VAT at Absolute Sounds (MartinLogan’s sole UK distributor)

Internationally, find you local MartinLogan Dealer HERE


All about …

Martin Logan