2. home-theater
  3. 1011229910

ATC for Home Theater???

Has anyone ever heard the ATC Speakers? I found them at the CES last year. For either Music or Home Theater, they are truly jaw-dropping! This is the system that won the Stereophile System of the Year for 1999. They had the 70's which is ~$93K for 5 speakers and a Sub. I've found that the 70's are so expensive because of their exotic and contemporary finish. The 50's, 100's, and 150's are a MUCH better buy for the money, and frankly sound better! All fully powered w/ 3 amps each. I also just got back from CES a couple days ago. Sony had 5 ATC 150's and 2 Subs to demo their SACD Surround sound format. I was just blown away by these unknown cats from the UK! I understand that a pair of Active 50's will run around $14K... I hope that they've finally gotten their distribution and marketing problems in the US cleared up!!! They're going to be HUGE...
hager_charles

Showing 2 responses by k_peterso

k_peterso
32 posts
 
Ah, such things to dream on. I have an all LINN setup and would trade for ATC if I had the cheese. The midrange is spellbinding.
k_peterso
32 posts
 
I first heard them in Cambridge, UK about ten years ago; active 50s- the memory is still with me. There is a dealer here in Chicago that currently sells ATC.

Passive 20s with klout[s] are quite nice too. ATC trades a small amount of pace/tunefulness for an equal amount of detail over LINN; perhaps a little dryer too. Dollar for dollar I prefer LINN, since dollar-wise they are a better value. But ATC midrange to me is pretty tough to beat. And, the two match well- e.g. Ikemi front or Kairn pre.

How do you like them now that they are in? Not many subs will match the 100s, though if you need a sub now your room must be a sonic challenge. I would imagine you are quite pleased.

I would take a similarly priced ATC setup over Keltiks without blinking. Lower down, LINN gives the 20s and 10s fair competition. I think many who listen to ATC for the first time may believe the bass to be a little lacking- until the source actually contains some. My initial impressions of LINN were similar until I realized how incredibly faithful the gear actually is.

Cheers
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