Atlantic Technology 2200C, 2200 SR, 2200 LR specifications Performance

Product Review - Atlantic Technology System 2200 7.1 Home Theater Speakers January, 2006 • Mark Smith

Energy” control which changes the “tilt or roll-off slope” of the tweeter.

This control has 3 settings:

1.“Reverberant” (decreases the high frequency output of the speaker) for rooms with an abundance of reflective surfaces like hardwood floors and glass walls.

2.“Damped Room” (increases slightly the tweeter’s out- put) which can compensate for overly absorbent rooms with lots of soft surfaces.

3.“Average” which worked well for my room which has a combination of large glass windows as well as large couches and carpeting.

Second, it has “Boundary Compensation” or “Normal” toggle switch which is able to “adjust the lower frequency output of the speaker to compensate for the typical sound colorations caused by placing the speaker too close to a TV screen or building it into a wall cabinet”. I found the best position for my setting (center channel on a bracket slightly above a 62” DLP) was “Normal”.

The surround speakers have both a “Dipole” setting as well as a “Bi- pole” setting. Atlantic Technology has always focused on multi-chan- nel systems, and they felt that having an option of Dipole was necessary to produce “minimal localization”.

I found that the dipole setting worked very well at allowing the soundstage to blend seamlessly. My Wife was also impressed with the seamless sound production. The Bipole setting changed the sound-

stage by focusing it more distinctly at each surround speaker as opposed to blending it.

It would be nice if the selectable controls were easier to access. Once the speakers are on the wall, it can be dif- ficult to reach the Dipole/Bipole switch, and if the center channel is built into the wall, it can be hard to access its controls too, since all of them are next to the speaker terminals. This challenge is obviously not limited to these speakers alone.

Performance

Let me start by quoting Atlantic Technology in regards to this series: “The attractive system sets a new standard for the company for high performance at modest cost.”

I would like to expand on this and say that not only would I agree with their statement in regards to their own company, but any company in existence producing com- pact home theater speakers. There will always be some limitations when producing “compact” speakers that are designed near perfection, yet limited in size. As a result, you simply cannot fit large drivers within the enclosure and completely cover the dynamic range as effectively as full-range large speakers.

I started my testing with the Eagles: Hell Freezes Over

DTS DVD. The first thing I noticed was that this system has the ability to do two things very well. First, when the art- ist wants you to hear different instruments, the system can demonstrate them very accu- rately. Second, when the artist wants a seamless sound stage and have you enveloped in the music, it can do that too.

The entire system, including the sub, blended very well. As the music increased in volume,

it was very refreshing to hear all of the speakers including the sub move in unison. The opening song was a joy to listen to from the guitars, to the bongos, to Don Henley’s vocals. The only limitation I observed was a slight lacking in the lower midrange which seemed to limit the feeling that you are on stage with the band. This could be due to room anomalies.

I also observed that the speakers did very well at a vol- ume level appropriate for background music while hav- ing a conversation with someone. There did seem to be somewhat of a reduced clarity or flat spot in Don Henley’s voice at about 3⁄4 of the speaker’s capacity. However, the clarity returned once I increased the volume. They then proceeded to sound great with no audible distortion at high SPLs nearing their maximum rating. A lot of listeners like to crank their systems, and if you are one of those people, give this package an audition.

I then watched the IMAX Super Speedway DVD. I enjoy Chapter 14 where it talks about some of the “Fastest Road Courses in America”. The subwoofer kept up very well with the racing portions especially when the car would travel under the overpasses (see also our review of the Atlantic Technology 642e SB subwoofer, which is a larger brother of the 422 SB sub reviewed here). The blending between the front speakers and surround speak- ers was extremely accurate. I definitely felt as though I was at the track watching the race. Full sized speakers might perform a little better at this task, but for book- shelf speakers, the 2200s do a fine job.

One of the highlights of my testing experience was with the Diana Krall: Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival 2004 DVD. The system sounded great reproducing both the instruments as well as her voice. One aspect caught me by surprise, while listening to track 5 “Abandoned Masquer- ade”. When I am reviewing speakers, I tend to analyze every note, every instru-

ment, and get as technical as possible. On this particular song, once Ms. Krall’s voice began, within 15 seconds,

I was no longer analyzing the speakers. I became an integral part of the audience, present, and focused on her

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