Excellent Price
Excellent Value

I am very happy with these speakers.

I was initially nervous about ordering these from the Internet, but after reading through these reviews, several visits to Good Guys, Circuit City, and Best Buy, Atlantic's web site and checking out similarly priced speakers. I decided upon the Compact Theater Two from onecall.com.

I hooked the speakers up to my Yamaha 5150 receiver, and played several CDs and couple DVD movies and was surprised at how much an improvement the sound quality was over my 9 year old Kenwood receiver and Cerwin-Vega speakers. The Bass and sound is great, and for the price it can't be beat.

Price, Big Sound In a Pretty Small Package, Di-Pole Surrounds, Sub

None that I can hear

I still can not believe I bought speakers without hearing them first. I DID go test the System 170, and I encourage anyone shopping for a set of surround sound speakers to demo the 170's before you buy anything. I did my homework and it paid off big. Atlantic Technology makes a fine product and they specialize in HT.

Check out the specs for the 170's vs the CT2's...very similar. Note that the CT2's use a passive radiator instead of a second driver for midrange on the front left/center/right speakers. In my opinion, the sound quality is VERY VERY Close. In my opinion, too close to justify $1250 versus the $850 shipped I paid for the CT 2's.

HT Movies: Unbelievably natural and crystal clear even at high volumes. These are NOT bright at all. They handle surround transition beautifully from left to right and front to rear. The sub is a 12" 150 watt active. :-) Nice, undistorted bass even when you crank it. The surrounds are di-poles, and the sound field they create is much more expansive for HT. The Matrix just absolutely ROCKS on this system....better than the theater!

Music: Sounds exceptional. Much better than most speakers designed for HT. In fact, this is what made me like the 170's so much. Before I had the CT2, I was running old Baby Advents, and female vocals were irritating. The CT2's have a very "easy" and warm sound. Maybe the soft dome tweeters? The dipoles don't do much for me on the music end, but I like the old fashioned 2 channel stereo for music anyway. Turn off the sub and you will see how great these front l/r speakers are.

I found that I liked the Polk 6600's and 7400's. I also liked the Boston Acoustics 9000. The Klipsch and Energy setups were too bright for me. The Paradigms are nice too, but you will have to piece it together and it wll get up to $1000 pretty quick. Look at the prices on all these Systems. For $850 shipped, I feel like I got a $1200 system. The CT2's compare to the Polk 7400's and the Energy Encores. Why? Because the midrange 5 1/4 can handle the lower frequencys better and make transitions smoother than the smaller satellite systems (9000, Take 5, 6600, 5500).

I have this system paired up with an Outlaw 1050. For $1500, I challenge anyone to find better sound at the same price. As many say...I paid for the VW and got the Porsche.

Email me with any questions....I'd be glad to answer them!

Similar Products Used:

Tested: AT 170; Polk 5500, 6500, 7400; Energy Take 5, Encore; Boston Acoustics 9000, Klipsch Quintet, Paradigm Titans

Great system for music and movies, very clear

none so far

I bought this set from soundcity with the Onkyo 575x for $1279 + $56 shipping to the midwest. Everything came double boxed in very good condition. I auditioned the klipsch quintet system but they sounded to bright for me(plus i am not a big fan of the large chain that i would have bought them from). I basically bought the atlantic tech's blind, having never heard them for myself, i vowed never to do that but it has worked so far (i guess not really blind, my father has the 350thx setup). i should note that soundcity ran out of the original center channel, so they included the 273C which is a step up. I felt that I could not go wrong for the price...all of the reviews sounded very good and soundcity has a decent return policy...this system should pay itself off in the next year since i will be staying home on weekends now to rewatch all of my dvd's!! (and not out drowning myself in tequilla)
Here is my very modest system...
Sony 35" Tv
Sony DVD-360
Onkyo 575x
Proscan Vcr
Atlantic Tech's
I used all Monster Cable and AR cables...

Next purchase - Sony RM-AV2100?? I need to get rid of some remotes!!
Any suggestions - please email!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch quintets

Powered Sub, Price, Balanced Set, Bi-Pole Surrounds

None

I was nearly caught in the Bose marketing scam and believed that they actually had some good speaker systems. After being forced to listen to systems other than Bose (by my wife) before I purchased - I saw the light and nearly purchased a set of Polk RM-7300s. While the Polks were very nice (compared to the Bose systems), I kept hearing dealers and other audio enthusiasts mentioning Atlantic Technology speaker systems. I had never heard of AT before and thought that I would research them. I checked out thier site @ www.atlantictechnology.com, and read all the reviews on this site - and even talked to the sales person at onecall.com before I decided to make the purchase.
I was very glad to have gone with the AT purchase. I have my speakers coupled with a Yamaha HTR-5240 receiver, and the sound of this AT/Yama combo is awsome. Far greater sound than what could be reasonably expected for a set of six speakers priced at under 900.00 (US). The soundstage duplicated by the AT CT II in two channel is much larger than could be reproduced with any speaker systems of this size or pricerange. The clarity of the Yama rcvr suffers no loss with this set of speakers. In DSP modes the Yama will use all six speakers for CDs and really fills a room.
The DVDs are completely enveloping, and you actually forget your at home watching a movie, and get the real theater feeling. I couldn't recommend the system any higher, but alas, if AT were to add a remote control volume adjustment on the current powered sub in the AT CT II, there would be absolutly nothing to want for with this systems.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Infinity, Bose (jeez)...

After having and listening the AT Compact Theater II for about 3 months now, it's time to write & review...

You see that I categorize myself as a 'casual listener' -- even as such, I thought I'd be happy with the Bose Acoustimass 10 HT setup, especially after hearing it at the Williamsburg outlet store. Boy was I disappointed when it was all setup and running through my new Onkyo 575 receiver. I took it back to the military exchange for the full $800 refund, and that a $100 off normal retail. The bass was simply not there with the passive woofer, and the tiny cubes just couldn't fill any "depth" to the music. Sounded like a cheap radio, really...

I shopped around a LOT after that and set a limit of around $800. My choice after demos and audioreview.com reviews was the AT Compact Theater II. One of the front speakers was damaged upon receipt--very distorted, probably a ruptured cone?--but AT took care of that pronto. The end result is simply wonderful, and so far better than the Bose speakers. Again, I am not an audiophile--I upgraded from a very cheap but very dead Pioneer A/V receiver and 15-year-old Kenwood 3-way towers.

Even at very low volumes this system can be FELT and so clearly understood. My little baby's bedroom is directly on the other side of the living room wall, and it doesn't bother her at all.

When we watch a hi-fi VCR tape, such as "Independence Day," the sound is enveloping and you become part of the movie. The 12" subwoofer is now indespensable.

Guess a DVD is next up. Wonder if I can just use my computer's DVD and route through the Onkyo to the TV? Hmm.

Anyway, at less than a grand, from what I've seen out there in speakerland, you CAN go wrong with Bose (Hey, I failed to review Bose before buying--don't make the same mistake), but you'll be ecstatic with the AT CT II.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Acoustimass 10 HT

I agree with the best of the reviews for this Home Theater Speaker System. It does sound spectacular. I bought mine from Onecall.com in the mid summer. Unfortunately, money is tight and I need to part from this system. If anyone is interested in buying this system, please contact me at:
messig@ameritech.net

The price was good.

Wish that all of the speakers other that the rears came in white. My husband plays the bass to high.

These speakers sound good, and my husband really enjoys them. The rear ones are white.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega

I've had this for a good month now. I've had the pleasure of using them for movies more than music. I've always wanted the "punch" of those $5K speakers and I believe I got them. With Yammy 995 and a Toshiba SD2109, bass response was quite clean. Watching Ronin, gunfire had that "thump" to every shot, especially with Deniro's 45. I would recommend them for movies though if you're an avid music lover, I can not comment on it.

I was a bit unsure about mail-ordering speakers I had never heard. But after spending two days with this system, I can say that I'm absolutely glad I did. I ran just about everything I had through it, movies and music. It lent a wonderful presence to the sound of movies. There was a palpable rumble in the lift-off sequence in Apollo 13. Voices are warm and broad through the full-range center channel. The dipole surround speakers filled the room with atmosphere, even though I currently have them mounted in the worst possible position (behind and well above the listening area). I was able to push the volume without the sound falling apart.
Musically, the speakers are still very competent in stereo, although not as good as in surround mode. When pushed hard with complex sounds, a small amount of muddiness could be heard, but only if you tried to find it. The speakers seem to be designed to reproduce the human voice excellenty, because everything I played through it had an amazing clarity in the vocals. In stereo, the soundstage is not as expansive as it could be. I never got the feeling that I was right in the middle, but that the music was coming from in front of me. This is not unusual with speakers designed for home theater, in which a large soundstage blurs imaging.

Overall these speakers are well worth the price, especially compared to what else is out there in the same range. These are a better alternative to the Boston Acoustics and Definitive ProCinema, a step up from the Energy Take 5, and absolutely demolish any system from Bose.

OneCall (the only dealer I know of that sells these speakers) offers a full-price satisfaction guarantee on these speakers. I bet they don't get many returns.

I picked up the Compact Theater Two as part of the HT10 package (w/Harman-Kardon AVR 85 Receiver) from OneCall, and couldn't be happier. I was a little uneasy about ordering a system that I could not listen to in advance, and I briefly considered the cheaper Energy Take 5's as a safer alternative. The reviews on this package however, and on Atlantic Technology generally, convinced me to give it a shot. It arrived neatly double-boxed within two days, along with a Toshiba SD3109 DVD player that I ordered from OneCall as well. What a deal! I got the whole enchilada for less than $2,000, not including shipping, cables, etc. The DVD coupons were a nice bonus. I highly recommend OneCall. They were extremely helpful at every stage of setup and speaker placement, despite the fact that my questions had to annoy them after a while. I should say that these speakers were easy to set up, and before long I was running a DVD (The Fifth Element) through it to test its performance. The sound seemed timid at first, largely because I had neglected to turn up the front-control gain on the sub-woofer. With that accomplished, the sound really kicked in. It performed extremely well at higher volumes, and the center channel in particular gets high marks for its clear reproduction of the human voice. They say that the center channel and sub-woofer are the two most important speakers in any HT system and if that's the case, then this system will not let you down. The di-pole surround speakers have received high marks from other reviewers, but I honestly had a hard time detecting them in the mix. That may be a good thing, as this company boasts of their ability to reproduce the "ambient" sound that distinguishes the best movie viewing. In any event, I did not consider it a knock against this system. I will also say that in stereo mode, the front channel speakers held their own and then some, even at higher volumes. This was a pleasant surprise, particularly given the compact size of the front channel array. Their sound was comparable to my old Infinity RS 4's, which were highly rated at the time. For $1000, you can't go wrong.