Atlantic Technology AT-1 instruction manual Placement, Setting Bass Management

4 Placement

AT-1 High Performance Loudspeaker with H-PAS™ Technology

Placement

Speaker/room interactions have a huge impact on the sound of the system.

Moving the speakers just a little can make a dramatic difference in what you hear. Remember that the best acoustic placement of the speakers will vary from room to room. Use the following placement guidelines as a starting point. But also feel free to experiment. In fact, it may be beneficial to hook up the speakers with some extra wire and to simply drape the wire across the floor before installing the speakers permanently.This will allow you the opportunity to move the speakers around easily so you can find the best sonic and visual locations.

Using the AT-1 in a 2-channel Music System

When using the AT-1 as a 2-channel music speaker (in a “stereo” system), place the speakers approximately 6-10 feet apart, so the distance between the speakers is roughly equal to the distance from the speakers to the lis- tening position. (See figure 4) Begin with the AT-1 about 1 foot away from the wall behind it. Moving it closer to the wall will increase the apparent bass balance; pulling them farther away will yield a somewhat “leaner” bass balance.Experiment with the positioning to achieve the most satisfy- ing balance in your room.

The AT-1 has very wide horizontal dispersion, due to its Low Resonance Tweeter (LRT™) design and low woofer-to-tweeter crossover frequency. Therefore, it’s not necessary to “toe in” the speakers as one ordinarily does with conventional speakers. However, this is also a matter of individual preference, so again we encourage you to experiment and find the degree of sonic imaging precision that you find most pleasing.

Using the AT-1 in a Home Theater System

The AT-1 works extremely well as part of a home theater system. In such a system, place the AT-1’s on either side of the television. The left and right front speakers should be far enough apart (6 to 10 feet, 2-3 meters, is usu- ally best) that you get a good stereo “image” when they are playing alone, but not so far apart that the sound seems to be disembodied from the TV, distracting you from the picture.

Like all Atlantic Technology speakers, the AT-1 is tonally“voiced” to mix and match with our other models. The 4400 C or 6200e C both make excellent cen- ter channel speaker companions to the AT-1 LRs in a home theater system.

When using a center channel speaker in a home theater system, a wider separation of the left and right front speakers is usually possible than in a conventional 2-channel stereo system. Therefore, you may choose to toe in the AT-1 LR speakers slightly, aiming them towards the prime listening position. (See figure opposite)

IMPORTANT: Try to keep the AT-1’s and Center channel speaker’s tweeters at approximately the same height (within about 18” of each other) and aimed at ear level when seated. This is because we’ve designed the alignment of the drivers on the front panel to limit the vertical spread of the mid and high frequencies, thereby reducing the floor and ceiling reflections that can adversely affect sound quality. The AT-1’s driver alignment provides an enhanced horizontal spread of the sound, making for a much better sound experience for a group of listeners and reducing the need to sit in a precise “sweet spot.”

Figure 4

2-channel music configuration

Left Right

Setting Bass Management

Even though the AT-1 delivers strong, deep bass response on its own, it is nonetheless desirable to use a powered subwoofer in a home theater system for the following reasons:

1.The bass level of the powered subwoofer is controllable by the receiver’s remote control.This is an extremely important feature to being able to“dial in” a satisfying bass level for your home theater system from your listening chair.

2.When employing AT-1 speakers (along with a powered subwoofer) in a theater system,set your receiver’s setup menu to“Subwoofer— Yes,” and set your front speaker configuration to “Large” or “Full Range” (depending on how your receiver labels it). This will effectively give you three subwoofers in your home theater system, all residing in different physical locations throughout your listening room.Not only will having three subwoofers give you a higher level of undistorted, high-impact bass in your system, having them at different physical locations will randomize and smooth out the bass modes and standing waves in the room, resulting in a more uniform bass response with fewer room-caused ‘hot spots’ and ‘cancellations.’

Follow your receiver and powered subwoofer manufacturers’recommenda- tions for bass crossover setting and subwoofer placement.Generally,it’s best to set the receiver’s subwoofer crossover no higher than 80 Hz, in order to maintain non-localizability of the stand-alone powered sub.