Atlantic Technology AT-1 Speaker System
Amazing performance, amazing value
For those of you that usually read the first paragraph or two
then skip to the end of a review for the conclusion, let me
save you the trouble and give you the bottom line right now;
this is an outstanding speaker, send me a check. For
those interested in a bit more detail, I will elaborate.
In August 2010, the rep for Atlantic Technology,
called to ask if he could bring a new model by for us to hear.
To myself I thought, “Atlantic Technology, are you kidding!”
Not that I have anything against the company, mind you, but
these are home theater guys and not known for designs that
cross over into audiophile realms. So, fortunately for me I
had other things planned for the days he wanted to drop by and
declined the offer for a listen.
A few days later I received another call for a second
attempt at setting up a demo. Bad timing again, sorry, no-go.
Not be deterred, Carl phoned once more saying he was headed
out of town and wanted to drop the speakers off so I could
listen on my own schedule. That works.
The speakers sat around for almost a week, in part
because we were busy, but mainly because I wasn’t motivated by
the brand name (that’s audiophile snobbery for you!). Had it
been a new design from Quad, Audio Physic, Spendor or any of
the other lines we handle I’d of been all over them. Missing
that anticipation, they sat untested.
Finally, one Saturday morning, my assistant, Rick,
and I decided to “get it over with” and connected the AT-1.
Driving the speakers were a pair of the latest Bryston 29B-SST
mono amps, a CAT Renaissance preamp and Esoteric digital.
Click play, have a seat… change underwear. Oh my, these
speakers are really good! The stage was impressively
large, images were remarkably stable, resolution was
surprising and tonal balance was natural and smooth, and all
this without even the slightest attempt at placement. They
weren’t even spiked!
I can say with candor that neither of us was really
expecting much from this speaker, based on its home theater
lineage and the lack of attention to set up. More on the
listening experience to follow but let me catch you up with
some of the other features of the AT-1.
The AT-1
utilizes two 5.-inch drivers in an enclosure of approximately
1.6 cubic feet to
produce bass that extends to 29 Hz (-3dB) at sound pressure
levels that exceed 106dB, while maintaining harmonic
distortion at under 3 percent. Comparable performance in a
conventionally designed loudspeaker system would require bass
drivers of at least triple the size in an enclosure at least
twice as large. The AT-1 achieves this remarkable
extension through a patented loading system known as H-PAS
(Hybrid
Pressure Acceleration System). It combines
elements of several speaker technologies—acoustic suspension,
bass reflex, inverse horn, and transmission line—in an
exceptionally unique and innovative fashion to produce bass
that absolutely breaks what was previously thought to be the
“Iron Law” of loudspeaker acoustics: the notion that you
couldn’t have deep bass extension, good system sensitivity,
and reasonable enclosure size all in one design. But there is
much to these speakers than just potent bottom end. Lot’s
more.
Atlantic Technology uses an exceptionally advanced
1-1⁄8” Low-Resonance Tweeter
(LRT™) that affords a lower crossover frequency (2000Hz) than
is normal in a two-way system. The result is exceptionally
wide dispersion through the midrange without the
upper-midrange “beaming” normally exhibited by woofers in a
two-way speaker. The tweeter’s oversized 4 mm textile
surround—rarely, if ever, found in a tweeter—allows for long
excursion, and very high power handling. As innovative as the
H-PAS design is in the bass region, the AT-1’s tweeter is
equally impressive in the higher ranges. This is a total
loudspeaker system of amazing capability and accuracy.
All the crossover components are very high quality,
and adhere to strict 1% value tolerances. An impressively
innovative cabinet bracing architecture, called CDFF™ (Cross
Design Free Flow), lends the cabinet great rigidity and
inertness, without restricting the critical internal airflow
that is so important to the H-PAS’s remarkable bass response.
This new bracing configuration was the result of Atlantic’s
advanced computerized cabinet vibration analysis coupled with
critical listening tests.
The finish is a sumptuous gloss black metal-flake
paint, applied in a multi-coat process and hand polished. A
3-position high-frequency energy switch allows one to fine
tune the treble balance to taste. Cast aluminum feet with
adjustable height floor spikes complete the package.
Our time with the demo pair of AT-1 had been
limited so we were eager to receive our own set which arrived
a few weeks later. We now had the chance to tune and tweak the
set up. Everything we liked about the demo set was heard
almost immediately from the new pair – straight out of the
box. I was quite surprised that the AT-1 sounded so
good with little or no break-in. Of course they will get
better with time, but the AT-1 will have you tapping
your toe from the first note.
Another perplexing (and welcomed) characteristic of
the AT-1 is the speaker’s lack of sensitivity to
position. In fact, I have never encountered a speaker so
forgiving of placement. Newly unboxed speakers often sound
abysmal here until many hours of break-in and weeks (in some
cases months) of tuning and tweaking have been invested. It’s
flat amazing to me that the AT-1 can perform the way
they do with so little effort in set-up. But don’t let that
stop you from careful placement, because like any good
reproducer they will reward your diligence.
Is the AT-1 perfect? Heck no, no speaker is.
But what this speaker offers in terms of value is really
impressive. You’re not going to get the last ounce of high
frequency resolution and there are speakers with a bit tighter
bottom end, much larger speakers may convey a sense of scale
more accurately, really good small monitors might focus a tad
better, but I suggest to you that for $2500pr you’ll be hard
pressed to find a speaker that performs at a significantly
higher level across the board. Highly recommended.
Reviews:
"Atlantic Technology's AT-1 are the bees knees.
It offers a colorful, open midrange, coherent extended and
powerful bass; great fit'n'finish, and is relatively forgiving
of room placement. ...The AT-1 gives many speakers costing
twice as much a real run for their money. Though some $5000
speakers will do this or that thing better, they likely won't
be able to do everything as well - and they won't have the
AT-1's bass quality or quantity."
- Stereophile
”It didn't take long to realize that the
Atlantic Technology's AT- I loudspeakers were something
special. From the first minutes of listening to them, their
honest. natural, and uncolored sound was highly enjoyable for
movies and music. Movie sound was often so realistic that it
was mistaken for sounds originating in or near the theatre
room. That happened far more often with the AT-Is than with
similarly priced loudspeakers that I have here for review.
Music was presented in the same natural way, with a great
sense of space. It was difficult or impossible to pinpoint
locations of the AT-Is with eyes closed because they were so
adept at creating stable virtual locations in space for each
instrument, effect and voice. They even look cool and are
small enough that spouses are likely to approve of their look
in dual-purpose spaces. Theatre enthusiasts will appreciate
the surprisingly deep and powerful bass response delivered by
the passive H-PAS system inside each compact AT-t loudspeaker.
The AT-I’s are excellent performers at a very competitive
price point and have earned my highest recommendation.” -
Wide Screen Review
”Speaker designers will continue the quest for
better bass – the Holy Grail of music reproduction. At least
for now, the Atlantic AT-1 has earned that spot. Its solid,
deep bass response and beautifully open mids & highs will turn
your head.” -
About.com
”Every 3 or 4 years, someone comes up with a
“revolutionary” design for loudspeaker enclosures. Something that’s claimed to suspend the laws of
physics, to deliver performance and value never before
possible. Atlantic Technology’s H-PAS is this year’s example —
the difference being that this one actually works.
“H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System)
uses elements of vented, transmission-line, and inverse-horn
design to extract more bass- extension acoustical output, from
less woofer cone movement (and smaller cone size), than any
previous system I’m aware of. Atlantic’s proof-of-concept
design, the $2,500/pair AT-1, is a small-tower, two-way model
employing just a couple of 5 1/4-inch woofers. Yet they
produce real deep bass — in my room, effectively unattenuated
to very nearly 30 Hz — at levels that would embarrass many a
10-inch powered subwoofer of my acquaintance (and several
12s).
“Of course, there’s a lot more
to any speaker than just the bottom two octaves. Happily, the
AT-1 proved more than competent right across the spectrum,
with an excellently neutral, uncolored midrange; pure and
extended treble; and surprisingly powerful dynamic clarity.
While the suggested price may not seem particularly
newsworthy, it becomes considerably more so if you subtract
out the cost of the subwoofer that the AT-1s can render
moot.”
- Sound + Vision, Editor’s Choice Award Winner
"... the AT-1’s overall performance/value quotient is
difficult to overstate; in direct comparison to my somewhat
more expensive everyday small monitors, the AT-1s’ very
closely matched them when it came to tonal balance, imaging,
and transient ease, while adding at least an octave of true
low bass. A critical listener with a demand for deep bass, but
no space or desire for a subwoofer, could scarcely do better.
Daniel Kumin, Sound+Vision
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