[javanpohl]

So I recently replaced my ailing Atlantic Technology (ATech) THX 350 LCR speakers with Klipsch RP-280f towers and the matching center (whatever the 4 woofer one is called). I'm pretty pleased with the speakers for the most part, the dynamics, midrange clarity, aggressive sound, midbass, are all eargasmic. However, I'm finding myself missing the immense clarity and detail in the treble that the ATechs provided. I'm fairly convinced it's that upper end clarity that made certain Atmos tracks just sound "better". Frankly I was pretty ecstatic about the Klipsch speakers until I ran them through the Atmos test disc. I still have ATech 2200s (an absolutely amazing buy BTW) in the rest of my 7.2.2 system, and the high frequency detail that the Atmos disc offers in spades could be heard from all the surround speakers but just disappeared up front with the Klipsch towers. The bugs chirping and, especially, the metal clanking and engine noise in the indy car segment--they all had far less presence and impact with the klipsch speakers. And, also, when I really cranked up the volume with the ATs, the character of the sound didn't really change, everything stayed perfectly clear whereas the Klipsch speakers seem to get... "shouty" I guess is the word everyone uses.

So, anyhoo, it's got me thinking that either my 350s were an amazing speaker, capable of resolving massive amounts of detail, or that maybe I just don't like horns. Either way, I think I'm probably going to have to up the caliber of speakers I'm looking at to sufficiently replace the 350s. By the way, the reason I was replacing them was they were starting to massively distort at the 80hz range with loud, midbassy sound tracks. Sounded like the cabinets were about to fall apart.

So I'm wondering what speakers out there have the dynamic, aggressive sound I'm liking with this Klipsch towers, but more clarity and detail in the upper end. I imagine a THX certified speaker system is probably something that would fit the bill, as that's what the 350s were, but I am open to other suggestions. Are there horn loaded speakers out there that can make a traditional dome tweeter for resolving high frequency information?

Without alternatives, I'm starting to think the M&K 150 system or the newer, bigger, badder ATech 8200s would fit the bill. I'm not looking to spend much more than $1,000-1,200 a speaker. Do Triad Gold's fit in that price range? Oh, and I would've bought the Jamo D600 or even D500 system in a heartbeat at this point but I learned that they've been discontinued and are just about impossible to find. Are there any other ultra dynamic, THX style speaker systems out there that either don't utilize a horn or do but still offer incredible treble quality?

 

[Iron Maiden]

I used to sell a ton of the AT THX 450 system as well as the 350's. Up to and shortly after they started selling the towers with powered subs in them. 6200's/8200's I think. Long time ago. I loved the 450 system in gloss black. That center channel for that system is still one of my favorite center of all time. Their systems are great for movies but lacked for music for whatever reason. Why I sold my 450's for Energy Veritas.


I also sold a few M&K systems. Was not happy with their products. Build quality of the enclosures and drivers was very cheap for the $$$.


Besting those old AT THX 350's won't be hard. There is nothing special about them. Their woofers were always the weak link and was a common failure from that era of AT speakers. We used to set the customers crossovers to 90hz as a little safety feature. lol As far as the tweeters in them, nothing special with them. They played up to 20khz like all the systems back then. I'm sure your new Klipsch play just as high or maybe higher. Are you running Audyssey? Did you recalibrate?
The AT's are sealed and the Klipsch's ported, are they in cabinetry or free standing in the room?

 

[javanpohl]

I used to sell a ton of the AT THX 450 system as well as the 350's. Up to and shortly after they started selling the towers with powered subs in them. 6200's/8200's I think. Long time ago. I loved the 450 system in gloss black. That center channel for that system is still one of my favorite center of all time. Their systems are great for movies but lacked for music for whatever reason. Why I sold my 450's for Energy Veritas.


I also sold a few M&K systems. Was not happy with their products. Build quality of the enclosures and drivers was very cheap for the $$$.


Besting those old AT THX 350's won't be hard. There is nothing special about them. Their woofers were always the weak link and was a common failure from that era of AT speakers. We used to set the customers crossovers to 90hz as a little safety feature. lol As far as the tweeters in them, nothing special with them. They played up to 20khz like all the systems back then. I'm sure your new Klipsch play just as high or maybe higher. Are you running Audyssey? Did you recalibrate?
The AT's are sealed and the Klipsch's ported, are they in cabinetry or free standing in the room?

I'm running them off of a Yamaha 3050. I re-ran YPAO with the Klipsch speakers. Free standing in the room.

 

[craig john]

Triad Golds.

 

[sigpig]

Power Sound Audio MTM201T's

 

[javanpohl]

Triad Golds.

I've got my eyes on those but they seem hard to get for less than full retail. I just contacted a local distributor from the Triad website and he said that they only supply local installers. He also pointed out that they are retailing right now for $2500, so finding them new for $1,000ish will be pretty impossible. Seeing that I am starting to find the ATech 8200s showing up for $1,200, either those or the M&Ks are looking like a more likely bet. Be nice to know if anyone has experience with the 8200s and one of the others.

 

[javanpohl]

Power Sound Audio MTM201T's

Every review of their speakers that I've seen mentions that, yeah, they sound like horn speakers, so I'm not interested in those.

 

[sigpig]

Since you are not fond of horns, here are some ribbon tweeter speakers in your range:

1. HTD Level THREE Towers: http://www.htd.com/Products/level-three-speakers/Level-THREE-Tower-Speakers#

2. GoldenEar Triton 5 Towers: http://www.goldenear.com/products/triton-series

3. Philharmonic Audio - either the BMR Philharmonitor or the Slims Tower: http://philharmonicaudio.com/

4. Ascend Acoustics Sierra Tower: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRT/srt.html

 

[craig john]

I've got my eyes on those but they seem hard to get for less than full retail. I just contacted a local distributor from the Triad website and he said that they only supply local installers. He also pointed out that they are retailing right now for $2500, so finding them new for $1,000ish will be pretty impossible. Seeing that I am starting to find the ATech 8200s showing up for $1,200, either those or the M&Ks are looking like a more likely bet. Be nice to know if anyone has experience with the 8200s and one of the others.

I owned the 8200e's for several years, and I really enjoyed them... until I heard the Triads. I have since converted my theater to Triad Platinums, and I've helped 2 friends install Triad Gold LCR's in their theaters, both of whom are VERY happy. They are available through the AVS store. Try Mike Garrett. He'll give you the best price AVS can sell them for.

Good luck.

Craig

 

[javanpohl]

I owned the 8200e's for several years, and I really enjoyed them... until I heard the Triads. I have since converted my theater to Triad Platinums, and I've helped 2 friends install Triad Gold LCR's in their theaters, both of whom are VERY happy. They are available through the AVS store. Try Mike Garrett. He'll give you the best price AVS can sell them for.

Good luck.

Craig

Well, I would have little doubt that the Triad Platinums would be far superior (I mean we are talking one of the best home cinema speakers on the planet probably and they are much more expensive), but what about the Golds? Have you heard your friends' systems?

However, I am interested to hear what it was that made you like the Triads so much more than the 8200s.

 

[craig john]

Well, I would have little doubt that the Triad Platinums would be far superior (I mean we are talking one of the best home cinema speakers on the planet probably and they are much more expensive), but what about the Golds? Have you heard your friends' systems?

However, I am interested to hear what it was that made you like the Triads so much more than the 8200s.

Of course I've heard the Gold LCR's. I had a set in my room for a demo before I bought my Plat's. In addition, I helped design, install, calibrate and optimize my friends' systems with Gold LCR's and Gold Surrounds. I had to listen to them during that process. I've also watched movies and done local HT GTG's with them. So, yeah, I've heard them more than enough to be familiar with them.

What did I like about the Triads Golds over the AT 8200e's? More clean output with better clarity and smoothness at high volumes. The AT's could get a little "bitey" when they approached Ref Level. The Triads remain smooth and clean at those levels. They "sound" very much like their big brothers, the Platinums, just with a *little* less output capability.

Don't get me wrong... the AT 8200e's are great speakers. I thoroughly enjoyed the years I had them in my system.
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1510698&stc=1&d=1466644709

(And BTW, the AVS store also sells AT speakers, so give Mike Garrett a call on those as well.)

Craig

 

[javanpohl]

Thanks for the insight, @craig john. It sounds very much like I would enjoy the Triads; however, I am still curious if anyone has compared either the Atechs or the Triads to the M&K -S150. Looks like they all use silk-dome tweeters so they probably all have that same treble clarity I'm looking for; however the S-150s can be purchased (easily) for quite a bit less than either the Atechs or the Triads, simply because there are more of them on the used market. I have never in all my years heard a decent demo of the M&Ks but I once heard a demo of the Citation (I think) THX system, which was one of the best demos I've ever heard (maybe THE best now that I think about it). Super clear and transparent, but with absolutely amazing dynamics. From what I've read of the M&Ks, the Citations seem like they'd be closest to the M&Ks I've ever heard.

(After looking up pictures of the Citations, is it just me or are those and the M&K s5000 speakers clones?--obviously different drivers but the design is almost identical.)

 

[javanpohl]

I also came across Adam audio... they seem VERY interesting but I'm not yet sure if I like those folded ribbon style tweeters (or whatever) or not. And unless I'm missing something they have pretty much no dealer network at all?

 

[javanpohl]

Well... guess I'm the owner of 3 M&K S150 LCRs. There was a listing on eBay that wasn't showing up in search results for whatever reason; happened to see it in the "you may also be interested in..." section. It was a ghost. Tried searching for it but it wouldn't pop up. I'm guessing that's why this seller's previous auction of them failed to get any bids. $1500 total for 3 of them, $135 shipping. Near mint.

I know these things are power hogs, so I'm already anticipating having to get an external amp. However, since I already use an extra receiver as an external amp, I'll probably send all my other channels (7.1.2) to that one and let my Yamaha 3050 run these 3 alone. I'd consider that a temporary solution though. Anyone have any recommendations on an affordable 3-5 channel amp? I was eye-balling the Citation "7.1" 4 channel amps (they popped up when I was searching for their speakers) as they seem to be a stellar deal on the used market ($700); however, their 4 ohm rating is kind of weak, 150 into 8 ohms but 230 into 4.

Edit: scratch that--there was a newly listed, refurbished Emotiva XPA-5 for $600, which is also mine now

 

[javanpohl]

I'm more or less putting this here as a note to myself in case I forget again... Tekton Pendragons. I'm really enjoying my M&Ks, but I had totally forgotten about the pendragons. Those fit my description from earlier to a T. Crazy powerful but with a "normal" tweeter (or 3). And while I initially liked the idea of towers, the Klipsch speakers had a noticeable tonal shift going from the center to the towers. With the identical S150s, pans are completely seamless. So I think in the future I'd like to stick with 3 front speakers that are identical or as close to identical as possible. Fortunately the Pendragons come in a bookshelf version... or at least I think they do--so far I'm only seeing them in the theater package deal. Can't find any info on them individual (still looking though), but there is info on the center, which I imagine is the same price ($800). They have a pretty generous return policy on these so I think I'll probably check them out in the future.

Edit: though, the big downside is that they don't seem to have any matching, atmos-friendly speakers for overheads.