Atlantic Technology owner's thread. - Page 25

Great! I'm sure that helps a whole bunch. Good luck w/your new system!

FYI: Jeff crossed over my 370s at 100hz.

I see the older 2200 system (5.0) on sale right now for $300 - $600, seems like a great price.

Which would sound better, the older three-way-speaker 2200 system or the newer two-way-speaker 1400 system (5.0 for around $800)?

Anyone know how either of those AT systems compare to the HTD Level 2 or Aperion Intimus line?

Thanks!

I just ordered the 5.0 2200 system and the LCR of the 2400. They have coupon codes for the 2400 LR and C also - but they were down to 5 left after my order. PM me if you want the info.
I struggled with the same thing you are...as best I can tell...the 2200/1200 use the same drivers and 2400/1400 use the same drivers, the difference between the "1" or "2" is the number of drivers in the LR and the size of the C and SR's. Also - the difference in the 2200 and 2400 is the tweeter, the new ones use a tweeter that can go lower and the did away with the silver baffle. Here is an article.-
As best I can tell - without having demo'd them, the 2200 would be more adequate than the 1400. I can't imagine the new tweeter design causes that much of an uproar...but there also is NO side by side comparisons online - i spent a few hours at least looking into it. That's also why I took advantage of the 2400 LR and C deals - got all 8 speakers for around 600 or so..I think.
The speakers have come in- I will be hooking them up in the next couple days, and will have any idea of the difference, but honestly, I doubt I will notice anything significant.

http://www.atlantictechnology.com/Upload/pdfs/tech_tips/at-tt-no35-print.pdf

Much thanks for the clear and informative reply. I'll PM you re the info.

The drivers of AT speakers have all the same design I believe. I have the 2200 5.1 and the 4200e 5.1. But I am more of a music lover now in 2 channel stereo. I have replaced the LR of the 4200e with another brand of speakers and the sub. I just maintained the 4200e center and the surround. AT for HT use is excellent!

Greetings all AT owners and experts!

I've owned an AT System 270 since 1999 and I really love it. I replaced the receiver I bought at the same time as the speakers and went to a 7.1 configuration with some pretty lousy Klipsch in ceiling speakers that I got for free as the rear surrounds. Then I moved to a new place and upgraded to a pair of AT 2200SR speakers for the rear surrounds which are much better.

Now comes the challenge... I'm moving my home theater to a new space as I finish off my basement. The issue is that I can only hang the side and rear surrounds from the ceiling with mounts or go with in ceiling speakers. It's a 9 ft ceiling so I can hang them without too much trouble. Esthetically, hanging speakers won't be appealing though. I'm thinking about in ceiling AT ICTS-6.3e speakers for the rear surrounds and am wondering how well they will pair with the System 270 274SR sides... I'm wondering if I should go with the same ICTS-6.3e for the sides too... and make a far more esthetically pleasing setup. I don't want to be disappointed though. Will they mesh well with the System 270 mains and center??? In general how do the ICTS speakers compare with System 270 quality wise?

Anyone have experience with AT in ceiling speakers installed with the in ceiling box that AT sells to go with them? I'm wondering how much difference that makes too.

Thanks in advance for all the great advice I'm sure I'll get!
Edited by SpeedyBrad - 7/12/12 at 6:00am

Just hooked up the 2400 LCR's - I notice for music, compared to PSB Alpha - they are way more detailed, natural and the image is way more...precise?
BUT - during movie/netflix watchin - I have noticed they are....soft sounding. Like the dynamic umph isn't there...is that normal of AT? I have heard they are warm...I have the Center on Damped and Boundary comp on.
I guess I will have to take measurements, but they just seem...like the highs are slightly attenuated and the midbass umph isn't there. They aren't THX, but does that mean they aren't attenuated in the high frequ range?
Hm....maybe the cheaper PSB's were just way less natural so they got my ears used to something that wasn't supposed to be there?

I would suggest setting any of those things on the speakers to Neutral to begin with. The center speaker for movies carries the majority of the content and if you think they sound attenuated in the highs the Damped setting would be a good reason why. With music most (if not all) of the sound is coming from the left & right speakers. If those speakers aren't set to Damped then they will sound brighter when you listen to them.

Would anyone know if the speaker terminals at the back of the FS-4000 or FS-5000 is spring loaded or twist type? I saw some pictures online and they seem to be spring loaded but the instruction manual I downloaded from the sight says otherwise (twist type).

I like twist type better for a more secured connection.

They are most likely binding posts. Most, if not all of the better manufacturers have gone to binding posts. Only super cheapo speakers use spring clips any more.

Spring clips are fine if used where appropriate, on lower powered amps/speakers where 16ga or lighter wire in short runs is adequate. It's not so much a matter of being cheap as being convenient. They just don't give a tight enough clamping action with heavier gauge wire, which usually won't fit into them anyway.

I've never had any spring clip hold with enough force to adequately hold a wire of any gauge.. The wires are very easily pulled out by even a small force. I can't stand those things.

I wanted to ask for opinions on the AT FS3200 L, C, R speakers which I am considering purchasing. I searched this thread and read the discussions that involved the 3200, and the comments generally seem positive.

This is for a secondary HT system in a combination kitchen - family room 17' wide, 19' deep, with 10' ceilings (open on one side to the rest of the house) which is about 3200 cubic feet. The AT web site says the 3200s are okay for a room of this volume. This is in a town house and I am not looking for an ultra high volume capability. I have two Atlantic Technology in-ceiling surround speakers designed to support a 5.1 system. Price is a consideration.

My original plan was to wall mount the TV and the L, C, R speakers. I was attracted to the 3200's for what seems to be a good value, being flat enough to mount next to a flat screen TV, good reviews / opinions on the web, and assuming they would be a decent timbre match to the already installed AT surrounds (although I consider timbre matching across the front 3 speakers more important). We just purchased a nice A/V cabinet and may end up placing the TV with its stand on top of the cabinet rather than wall mouting it. If we do that, then we would buy the pedstal bases for the L and R speakers and use them as slim, floor standing towers.

Do the L & R 3200's work well as free standing towers versus being wall mounted? They would be approximately 18" out from the wall.

If we do use them as towers, then I have several options for the C speaker, one above and one below the TV.

I did a really hasty look at alternative speakers, towers for L & R plus a matching C. For the L&R, I prefer the look of a tower rather than a bookshelf on speaker stands. Most of what I found for the L & R are not nearly as slim and I am not enthusiastic about "large" speakers in this room. And the C speakers tended to be too deep / too high.

Would appreciate any thoughts on the viability of using AT FS3200's for this application.

Thanks
Bruce

I'm not sure if you've got this figured out already, but from my experience with Netflix, there is barely any dynamic umph with alot of their stuff, and I've used a number of different speakers with different receivers and amps. I do always use a PS3 tho. When I want to play something at reference, I use a BD.

Hello,
I am thinking about AT 4400 series speakers for my home theater.
After reading through this thread, I really didn't see much mention of them.

Anybody have these and can comment on how they sound (C, LR, SR)?
Unfortunately, I don't have a retailer near me that I can go and listen to them.
Thanks.

The 4400 is a very nice speaker and will work well in most situations.

Thanks for the feedback.
I'm thinking of going with the 642eSB sub to go with it.

Look at the SVS offerings. That's the way I went ...

The Atlantic subs aren't bad. But for the money, I would go with SVS too.

Thanks, I will take a look at the SVS thread.

Well, I ended up buying the 4400 thx select system with h AT 642 sub. Should be here this week!

I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on a set of Atlantic Technology 6200e-LR and 6200e-C! Is there anything I need to be worried about???? I have a big open floor plan described here.

My LR surround will have to go in the ceiling so I was looking at the Atlantic Technology TLC-8.2 or TLC-8.3. Any opinions as to which is better? Also, any recommendations for installing direct to drywall or should I be using the IC-BOX-6/8?

I'm not clear on what avr/pre/pro I want yet. I definitely want 7-channel amplification and zone 2 audio and video, THX Ultra cert would be a plus.


For LFE I think I'm going DIY at this point... I'll see how far I get in building my TV hutch and if I can keep momentum to build a custom subwoofer. Otherwise I might just go quick/dirty and get two Klipsch RW-12d at Newegg for $300ea.

The TLC-8.2 has one directional tweeter while the TLC-8.3 has 2 directional tweeters. The 8.3 has more flexibility. You may also want to look at the AT ICTS-6LCR in-ceiling speaker - it has one directional tweeter, but also has an angled woofer directing all of the sound toward the LP. The 8.2 and 8.3 look to have down pointing woofers. I use 2 of the ICTS-6LCRs for center speakers in my set up due to similar constraints that you have (high TV over fireplace). I added back-boxes, but did not use the new construction back-boxes because I wanted to do minimal impact to the ceiling. Check out the flexible back boxes called Dyna boxes.

So currently - I have 7.1 of AT 2400.

Just came across a killer deal on craigslist - some guy picked up a whole System 250 5.1 system and two System 270THX SRs at an estate sale.

Selling all of it for 250.

Is this something you would jump on?
Basic questions are - how is the system 250? A comparable line to the 2400, just old?
I know the 270 THX had some pretty great reviews. So I am definitely interested in those - even though they are just the SRs

Also is any of this close enough to use as front height speakers with the 2400 system? My first thought was use the 270thx as my surrounds and put the 2400SR as height or vise versa? Would these blend well enough to do either option?
If the 250 is any good - I'll probably throw it in the bedroom

OR would you skip all of it cause those speakers all suck and I could do better for 200 bucks?

I have the big brother of that, the system 350.
They are 1996 design and technology.
Check and see if 4 or 8 ohm, my 350's are 4ohm so need capable AVR.
The 370 and 450 are 8 ohm, I don't remember the 270s rating.

For the price, not bad.

For front wide/height speakers recommendation is direct firing, not dipoles.

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I thought direct firing too -
But AT sells their 1400SR as specifically designed for height as well as surround. http://www.atlantictechnology.com/Upload/pdfs/reviews/current/bpbs-1400srz-review.pdf
I reckon I could go with those for height as they are not going to be too expensive - and will match tonally.

Audyssey and other brands recommend using direct radiotors but for some reason AT doesn't, necessarily.
In the leaflet for their 1400/2400 systems they specifically speak about the SR's of each being used in the height position. So I don't really know. It makes sense that an ambient used speaker would be bipolar to me, but others apparently not.
Reading on Audyssey's website - DSX apparently sends direct and ambient content to both height/wide. AT calls these speakers ...Z as though designed to work with PLIIz so maybe that's why...I don't know. I'm going to email them and ask.

All your current front soundstage speakers are direct, right/center/left, the purpose of added wide/height is to increase the soundstage with added localization cues. Diffusion speakers won't do that, if so I'd have gotten for my basement HT Paradigm ADP-390s, they are thinner ( which would help in placement on side walls )but bipolar style, so I went with bookshelf monitors.

I asked Chris @ audyssey and he specifically stated use direct speakers.
(There is a Facebook page for technical audyssey discussion)

Fwiw, in my family room set up I did NOT like the dipole sound of my System 354's, so I reworked the rearward side phase by simple swapping driver polarity, that got rid of the center null and increase the ambience.

In the end, it your $$$ and home, just sharing with you my learned experiences.
Good luck.

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Edited by mtbdudex - 12/9/12 at 11:57am

Just got the 5.0 System 250 and the 270 SR's
I played some quick music out of each one to make sure they worked before purchase - and wow - just with that I am pretty sure I could tell the 270THX SR's are awesome (compared to my 2400SR). I wish it was a whole 270 instead of 250.
The 250's (again not in a critical or proper listening scenario) will do well for a bedroom set and at 200 bucks I couldn't beat it. Also impressed that a Center Channel produced 16 years ago has a crude version of their boundary control and reverberation control. Just a midbass frequ filter and a high pass filter. But still!
But the 270SR I wish I had a way to incorporate into my current theater setup. Doubt I really could.
EDIT_
After comparing specs/manuals. It looks like the 2400 is today's version of the 250 - The 250 may even be better on paper. Minus the woofers/tweeters being slightly smaller each than the 2400. It'll be good getting them hooked up - see how they turn out.
Edited by shaneb0422 - 12/9/12 at 7:24pm

Glad you liking your speakers!

Im using the system 450e and love it!