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ATC speakers

hvbias

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Anyone have any thoughts on them subjective or technical? Particularly interested in the latter since it is hard to come by that sort of information on them. The US distributor has changed a couple of times and I got the impression the current ones aren't as interested in the home market.

I started a thread about them when I joined WBF many years ago and I recall they got lambasted :eek: I heard them at RMAF and they had one of the most accurate reproductions I had heard of a Bosendorfer.
 

Purité Audio

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ATC are fairly popular over here, (UK) they are a traditional active design, I don't believe they have changed since their introduction in the 70's.
Fans make much of their dome midrange , I couldn't say if it brings any technical advantages?
Keith
 
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hvbias

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Fans make much of their dome midrange , I couldn't say if it brings any technical advantages?
Keith

Subjectively it is a very nice sounding midrange. Probably the closest I have heard to my ESL57. This is a guess, but it seems like a good diameter for how high up it is crossed over. A bit smaller than midrange drivers I see audiophile companies using.

I was interested in seeing polars for them if anyone had them.

Edit: only interested in the active models.
 
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Fitzcaraldo215

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Anyone have any thoughts on them subjective or technical? Particularly interested in the latter since it is hard to come by that sort of information on them. The US distributor has changed a couple of times and I got the impression the current ones aren't as interested in the home market.

I started a thread about them when I joined WBF many years ago and I recall they got lambasted :eek: I heard them at RMAF and they had one of the most accurate reproductions I had heard of a Bosendorfer.
I have only one anecdote about ATC. I heard them, apparently their biggest and best ones, in a small music performance auditorium with a small audience of 100+ or so in Princeton in Mch during the introductory rollout of the Amused to Death SACD remastering. Setup and playback were supervised by the mastering engineer, who was there with other bigwigs from Acoustic Sounds.

It might have been the room, its size, my seat, etc., but I was not impressed at all by the sound or the music. I walked out after about 20 minutes. The crickets were great, though. Still, I would not cross them off based on that one experience.
 
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hvbias

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I have only one anecdote about ATC. I heard them, apparently their biggest and best ones, in a small music performance auditorium with a small audience of 100+ or so in Princeton in Mch during the introductory rollout of the Amused to Death SACD remastering. Setup and playback were supervised by the mastering engineer, who was there with other bigwigs from Acoustic Sounds.

It might have been the room, its size, my seat, etc., but I was not impressed at all by the sound or the music. I walked out after about 20 minutes. The crickets were great, though. Still, I would not cross them off based on that one experience.

The Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here demo playing at 100+ dB turned off many people as well. I'm not sure if it was the volume, speakers, room or something else. Normally audiophile darling companies never demo at rock concert like levels, I imagine they too would be piercing at those volumes; hell I know I couldn't stand the older Wilsons and current Magicos even at normal active listening levels.

A bit annoying that currently ATC's larger active home models aren't that easy to audition in the US.
 

NorthSky

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I think the time when I learned more from ATC speakers was from a good article in Widescreen Review many moons ago. Amir write occasionally now for that audio/video mag. And I also know that they are used in several pro music recording studios across the UK. ...And that they have a very good rep on their active models. They come @ various price points, and sizes...depending of near-field or far-field music monitoring and listening.

Anyway it was one of the best ATC speaker's article with its owner/designer interview. ...Plus great pics of the factory, drivers, specs, origins, care in manufacturing, shipping, ...all that jazz. The reviews, in particular from Europe (UK) are resplendissant. ...French word meaning high praise (in my own def here for its context and free interpretation).

Stereophile and The Abso!ute Sound have few reviews as well of some of their models. Yestreday I was goggling around and reading.
Few entries came up. ...Good stuff, good speakers, good reading...high quality music reproducers...ATC monitor active speakers...high end recording use.

What I love most about Widescreen Review is that they don't make their great articles/interviews/reviews available online; you have to pay.
In the year 2016 people have more freedom than any other time in history when it comes to higher knowledge and better audio life.

:) ...My own opinion of course.
 
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