Atlantic Technology owner's thread. - Page 15

Hello AT fans. I'm curious about AT speakers and would like to hear some of your opinions. I used to have Klipsch Reference speakers that I really loved for HT because of their ability to convey sudden changes volume. I think this is what they call "attack". The horns did a great job of conveying every single detail in a soundtrack no matter how small. However, I got rid of them cause they did have some sibilance I could not tolerate and I think some coloration from the horn. So I'm wondering how do AT speakers perform when it comes to conveying "attack"? How do AT speakers handle sibilants? I prefer a speaker to soften them a bit them even though it may not be 100% accurate.

Hi Ron as a dealer for both brands, I understand what you are talking about.

But, I can say there are a couple factors involved:

1) Your sensitivity to certain frequencies

2) Your total system voicing

Sibilance is caused by either a pronounced spl at a certain frequency, your sensitivity to those frequencies, and or some level of distortion (or all three). In the video world it might be akin to "rainbows". Some see'em but are not bothered, some see them and can't stand the effect, and others don't see them at all.

That is why you will find some who LOVE their KLIPSCH and think others must not be able to hear well, while others HATE the edginess of the detail they present.

Additionally this "difference in opinion" can be caused by the voicing of the system. Many amps, preamps and other gear can present the speakers with more of a dry, brittle and edgy group of signal effects that interact with the speakers.

That said, AT can also present an edginess IF the equipment in front of it send it that electronic message.

However on a general basis, you will find that dynamic cone drivers present sound in a less stressed manner in those offending frequencies (as long as the signal is not biased toward them) and the AT may be a speaker more to your sensibilities.

I moved from Klipsch Ref. RB-75's, RC-7, RS-7's to the AT 8200e system. I can relate to the "detailed" sound of the Klipsch as well as the dynamics of the "attack" of those speakers. I can say that the AT 8200e's retain both those qualities without the sibilance of the Klipsch horns. They also have loads more clean SPL output than my Klipsch system did.

Which AT speakers are you considering, and which Klipsch speakers did you get rid of?

Craig

I had the RB-15 bookshelves, RC-25 center and RS-25 surrounds. I have a small room so was considering the 4400 system or maybe stepping up to the 6200e.

Either of those would be a big step up in SQ and total SPL output over your Klipsch system. They would have similar dynamics without the excessive high frequency emphasis of the Klipsch.

I would recommend the 6200e's if you sit more than 12' away from your speakers.

Craig

Hi I'm a new member here although I have been lurking for quite some time. Recently on craigslist some guy was selling what he claimed to be Atlantic Technology floorstanders. He put a manufacturers picture of the 8200 floorstanders and said they looked like those. His asking price was $100.

I had no way of getting to where he was located so I asked my dad to go take a look at them. He said they looked like the 8200's in the picture, but that they had no toggle switches on the back and aren't bi-wireable.

So what I am asking is what do you think they are? Are they the mains from the system 450? I had him buy the speakers, but I won't be able to see them for like two weeks. Did AT make any other speakers with 5 drivers on them? He told me they felt like they weighed around 25 lbs, are gloss black, and they did come with stands.

That does sound like the 450s. Not bad for a smaller area.

I love my 8200s but if I didn't have such a large space I probably would have stayed with the 450s.

Where are you located?

I am live in MA about 10 minutes from Norwood, which apparently is where AT is located. I live at college though and won't be able to see them for two weeks. My dad tells me they didn't come with grills, and that one of dust caps is pushed in. I will probably take them to AT and see if it can be fixed. $100 seems like a pretty good deal though, and in my small room they should do pretty well coupled with my A2-300.

I managed to take a few crappy iphone pictures of the speakers. On both speakers BOTH dust caps are pushed in on the woofers unfortunately, but the stands for them are actually brand new and overall everything else is is real nice shape. The cabinets look like they will clean up to be really nice.




When reading the specs I was kind of surprised to see they only play down to 80hz. I keep my sub crossed at 60 now so I guess I will have to play with that. I am also hoping they will blend ok with a Klipsch center channel. I am open to suggestions on surrounds, I'm not really sure if I should go Klipsch or Atlantic Technology. I will post my impressions of them when I get to hear them in a few weeks.

If you want Atlantic surrounds,Check ebay.There's a seller listing a pair of 2200sr but if the pictures are correct,They look to be 6200 surrounds.If they are 6200's that looks like a good deal.You can try a vacumn cleaner to suck the dust caps back out on your 450's.Worked for me.

I will definitely try the vacuum idea. I can't wait to give these a listen.

limpingpony,

Those are definately the 450s.

I'd recommend staying within the 450 series for center channel and surrounds. Be patient and they'll eventually pop up. Also check audiogon and videogon.

For $100, you got one heck of a deal.

Hello all!

I need help on setting the Low-Pass Filter for the LFE Channel (subwoofer) on my receiver. All my 5 main speakers are THX certified speakers but my subwoofer is NOT a THX Certify.

I set all the 5 main speakers to 80Hz (THX) as recommended in the users manual but it does not tell you about the setting NON THX subwoofer.

My 5 main speakers Frequency Response is from 80Hz - 20KHz and they are all 4 Ohm rating.

All the options within the 905 for the Low-Pass Filter for the LFE Channel (subwoofer) are:

- 80Hz (THX)

- 90Hz

- 100Hz

- 110Hz

- 120Hz


Again, my subwoofer is NON THX certify. I just wanted to know which is the best setting to get the smoothest sounds for my 5.1 speaker setup.

Thanks for any advice!!

The LFE is not a sub crossover. Its a separate bass channel. http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/z...nal/38_LFE.pdf

It should be set at 120Hz. If you have your speakers crossed at 80Hz that where the speakers and sub are crossed.

Hope this helps
Brad

First, forget that your sub is not THX certified. THX certification has no bearing on the LPF of LFE.

The LFE "channel" is different than the "subwoofer output". The LFE channel is the .1 channel in 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 content. The LFE channel is a separate channel just for low frequency effects. It can be recorded up to 10 dB louder than the main channels. The "subwoofer output" contains the LFE channel, but it can also contain any re-directed bass from the channels with crossovers set.

The LPF of LFE is a filter that can be set on just the LFE channel, and it has no impact on the re-directed bass from the other channels. An "LPF" is a "Low Pass Filter" which allows the low frequencies to pass, but cuts the highs above the set point. In the legacy DD and DTS algorithms, the LFE channel was brickwall filtered at 120 Hz in the recording process. With the newer formats, Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA, the LFE channel is a full range channel. Although most recording engineers don't place anything above ~80 Hz in the LFE channel, it should still be filtered on playback. The LPF of LFE is the filter used to do that.

In general, it is best to set the LPF of LFE at 120 Hz. However, if your sub is placed to the side or rear of your room, and you can start to localize the sub, then a lower LPF of LFE might be preferable. Just realize you may be discarding some of the upper range of the LFE channel.

Also realize that whatever you do to the LPF of LFE, it has no impact on anything but the upper range of the LFE channel.

Craig

Craig, thanks my friend for your advice!

I did switched to 120Hz and the sub sounds extremely good!!

The bad news is that I have to watch all of my movies and music again since the sub is at its best performance.

fsrenduro:

I like your system setup. I was wondering about the placement of your 8200e's on those subs. Are your subs relatively stable during heavy bass play not to affect the positioning and performance of your 2 L/R's?

Jimmy

Jimmy,

I've changed a couple things since posting that picture. One is I added a 1" thick piece of foam under each L & R to better decouple them from the subs. So far I haven't had any real problems with the speakers moving around. The other is I switched to a 60" instead of 46" LCD.

My floor isn't perfectly flat and my one sub does rock slightly. I have a door stop under one corner to prevent this from happening. I may build some custom sub-dude (i.e Auralex Sub Dude) to put my subs on to eliminate the wobble.

I have a 4400 system on the way! I should have them by Monday. When I set them up, should I bother using the high and low frequency adjustment switches if my preamp has room correction?

Ron....I'd probably try it both ways and see which measures better.

If you don't have a way to measure it, I'd let the receiver make the corrections.

Ron,


It may sound simplistic... but I would try the various configurations and utilize which ever sounds best to you... trust yer ears!


...Glenn

Ron,

Here is the description of these controls from the AT website:

If your room or system meet any of the described conditions, I would set the controls accordingly. If not, them set them to the "no correction" settings and let the room correction program do it's thing.

Craig

Hey everyone:

Just curious, does anyone who owns the 8200e speakers also use the AT 642e subs?

Sealed enclosure/300 watt amp???
-3 dB @ 25 Hz???
Max output 105 dB into 2,00 cubic feet??? (Reference Level is 115 dB, so I don't know how it got it's THX Select certification.)
$1,200 MSRP???

I'm not saying they're bad subs. They actually sound pretty good up to their limits. Their limits are just not high enough. They're THX Select certified, so not really a good match for the Ultra2 certified 8200e's. For that kind of money, there are definitely better values out there. If you want some suggestions, PM me.

Craig

Craig:

I also have the Elemental Designs A7-900 Subwoofer, but I'm trying to figure out if it would match the 8200e's.

I know the 900 handles the very low bass in an excellent way, but I'd like to find out if this sub's upper frequencies are good enough to allow it to blend with the front 3 speakers I have.

From craigsub's "ranking" thread:


Now, his list is a little dated, but still, you can't beat that. I would be *astonished* if that sub didn't sound terrific with the 8200e's. The only way to improve on it would be to add a second. I would *not* try to integrate some "lesser" subs with it. You'll only hold it back.

Craig

Craig:

I posed the same question to the ED guys and sent them the frequency graph of the 8200e LR's but haven't heard back anything yet.

One option that was proposed a while ago was getting LPF's to send frequencies above 60hz to the AT subs and then sending bass below 60hz to the A7-900. I wasn't sure I wanted to get that complicated (for me anyway) to use all 3 subs in my living room.

I have no doubt that the ED 900 would be stellar from 60hz on down, but my concern was in the 60hz to 80/90hz range.

From what I've read, some people set the crossover somehwere near 100hz for the AT L/C/R.

I know the best thing to do would be to try all 3 subs but I'm so divided. They are all 3 still in the box. I especially don't want to open the 900 up because it weighs close to 400lbs and is packed incredibly well and would be hard to pack up or sell. Same with the AT subs. If I end up selling them, would be easier to sell them if they were unopened in the box, never used.

I could just keep all three subs and do the LPF option. I have to admit looking at the frequency response of the AT subs and the L/C/R speakers, the lower frequences of the 8200e L/R's seem to blend seamlessly with the upper frequencies of the AT Subs. Of course, the bass extension is nothing compared with the 900.

I've never used LPF filters before and maybe it just sounds complicated because I've never done it before, but am willing to try to make sure I'm getting the best frequency response from the lowest to the highest.

You've probably already seen this, but it shows the A7-900 to do pretty well all the way to 100hz and probably higher. http://www.edesignaudio.com/gallery/478_large.gif

I think you would have more trouble blending two completely different subs together than simply blending the A7-900 with the 8200's.

I guess the only way to really do this properly is to take the 900 out of the box and test it with the AT speakers. I've been hesitant to do this so far because of the size of this sub and the questioin of whether or not it would work or if I would like it and then have a car sized heavy box to deal with.

I saw the frequency chart as well and that it looked ruler flat at 100hz and probably beyond. I just wasn't sure of the sound quality at those higher frequencies, but again the only way I could possibly determine is to take the plunge and put it in my system.

The 900 is arguably one of the best subwoofers currently made and the more I think about it, the more I feel what a waste it would be to rule it out or never give it a chance due to its size or potential resale value, etc.

Thanks for the great advice as usual!

My daughter and I just watched Terminator Salvation.



Clearly, this movie is my new gold standard for bass and surround sound. The 8200e's got a helluva workout, but never came close to sounding strained. The bass from the dual Submersives was phenomenal.

BTW, I bought the movie instead of renting it through NetFlix after I read this:
http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/rentalgate
I'm glad I bought it because it will be terrific demo material.

Craig