Atlantic Technology System 4200e Review

Two hours later I had to force myself to leave the room and go to bed.

We found the main speakers to be well constructed. You can really feel these speakers are solid just by picking them up. We noted that there was magnetic shielding on the drivers to prevent interference with your main display. There also appeared to be adequate bracing to render the cabinet inert, and plenty of internal dampening material to minimize cabinet resonance. In fact, I don't think they could have added any more foam in there if they wanted to. It took us quite a while to remove it all and get a good look inside the cabinet. The crossover network is a 4th-order asymmetrical Linkwitz-Reilly system that is computer-designed and seems to do the trick quite well. The crossover components looked top notch and the internal wiring was well laid out and efficient (there was not a lot of unnecessary extra wire.) These speakers are sealed up tight and present an overall solid design for a two-way sealed enclosure speaker system.

Handily available on the 4200e LRs is a boundary gain compensation switch (unceremoniously labeled "Boundary") which adjusts the lower frequency output of the speaker to compensate for coupling effects that occur when it is placed in close proximity to a wall or television, or located in or near a cabinet system. The default position is THX/Normal. The 4200e SR speakers are designed to be flush-mounted to either side walls or as rear channels. They have a dipole/bipole switch that alters whether the drivers fire in-phase (bipole) or out of phase (dipole). With exception, the intended use is:

• dipole: the default setting for creating a diffuse surround field desirable for home theater use
• bipole: use for direct-radiating needs such as multi-channel music or in certain rear surround scenarios where placing the surrounds on the side wall is impossible and a less diffused sound is preferred.

The newly-redesigned 642e SB subwoofer is a monster, measuring in at 19 x 19 x 21, or roughly the size of a 19" television. In this system it has to perform well all the way up through 80Hz, the standard THX Select crossover frequency and down through 25Hz. With its robust cabinet size this simply isn't a problem. The volume control for the sub is located on the driver side (front) of the cabinet along with a green power LED which remains on when the sub is receiving signal and red when it is in standby mode. The sub has the convenient-but-expected Auto/On/Off Standby Mode switch which allows the sub to come on when fed signal from the LFE output of the receiver. In addition, it features a pair of low level outputs that can be used to daisy chain another subwoofer to the system. No speaker level inputs or outputs are provided and they certainly aren't required in this system. The subwoofer is rated to extend down to 25Hz, a good tuning frequency and plenty low for 99.9% of the low frequency energy found in most theatrical soundtracks. Some subs which get down to 16Hz at the expense of the rest of the frequency range do not represent my idea of a good subwoofer design... but we'll let you decide.

Internally, the 642e SB subwoofer is well-braced and contains plenty of dampening material. The driver, a robust 12-inch unit, is video-shielded as well and mounted snugly against a front baffle with a double-thick MDF surround for additional stability. The only problem we had with the subwoofer had to do with the connections. Using a Monster-brand subwoofer cable we could actually wobble the RCA input connector quite easily during the process of running the input to the sub. In addition, we actually pulled off an RCA input connector from the back of the sub while removing the cable for inspection of the amplifier. While this is more a testimony to the cable's bad design (it's way too tight), it also showed us that Atlantic Technology could benefit from using better quality RCAs.

The newly-revised 642e SB subwoofer is just about a complete redesign from the original 4200 series. The new "e" series includes a brand new 12" woofer with a much larger motor structure and a new cone material for better performance. The cabinet is also much improved, indeed this sub is now locked up tighter than Fort Knox - an excellent thing for a sealed-enclosure system. Low frequency response seems to be greatly improved and the unit no longer wavers on the lowest frequencies. The driving force behind the 642e subwoofer is the 300-watt internal digital amplifier that incorporates Clear Filter Technology - which Atlantic Technology claims "eliminates the deleterious effects that the subwoofer's enclosure can have on the sound."

I performed my standard distance and level setup using the Yamaha RX-V2500's YPAO system (with room correction disengaged.) I was sure to override and set the crossover point to the THX recommended 80 Hz. I also verified the finished level adjustment by using a Radio Shack SPL meter and running the test tones manually from the receiver. As usual, the Yamaha system nailed the distance and levels perfectly. If you are not fortunate enough to have YPAO, simply sit in the listening position with the Radio Shack SPL meter held directly in front of you and pointed at the ceiling. Some people use a mic stand and back away from the RS meter to set levels. This is great... if you plan on listening to your system from behind the couch. If not, then use the readings the SPL gives you as it will take into account your body in the listening position. If you are using an RS meter for setup you may want to play with the sub level after you put in some music or movies and adjust a couple dB to taste.

Setting the subwoofer will likely be an easier task in a THX Select system as opposed to a system having, for example, larger tower speakers with low frequency extension. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that for the main channels, a THX system rolls off frequencies below 80Hz and sends them to the subwoofer, simplifying the number of problems that can result from having lower frequencies originating from both your mains and sub. If you find that you successfully place your subwoofer in half the time you expected, thank Atlantic Technology and THX for the time saved.

The 4200e SR (surround) speakers were located on the side wall of reference system 2, so we configured them as dipole for a more diffuse sound. There aren't too many cases where we'd recommend bipole operation for these speakers, except perhaps if mounted on a rear wall or if used primarily for gaming or multi-channel music playback (and this would be something to play with to get the best results). If you happen to switch them back and forth be sure to rebalance the levels as they are likely to change. We found that the nice diffuse soundfield was a good compromise and offered a convincing surround stage. You should also note that the Atlantic Technology manual shows a drawing of two possible placement options for the surround speakers, not the correct placement for a 7.1 setup. If you intend to do 7.1, we'd recommend an additional set of 4200e LRs (or perhaps 4200e SRs set in bipole mode) for use as back surrounds, placed approximately 2 feet apart.

This is a tough cookie to crack if you're on your own, so get a patient friend to help you with this tweak. We described earlier what this function does and, while it's a subtle change, it's very helpful to set correctly if you want to get the best performance from your system. Obviously, you'll want to stay away from multi-channel content when setting the boundary gain switch on the main 4200e LR and 4200e C speakers. I chose Jam es Taylor's Greatest Hits CD and listened to the mid to low frequencies in the guitar, the bass guitar, and to some extent his voice. This is a quick and easy place to listen and hear how the boundary compensation adjustments affect the output signal. If you are hearing differences in the high end you're likely dealing with a combination of harmonics and psychoacoustics as the adjustment only directly affects frequencies at and below ~250Hz (see our measurement graph.) My preference was to leave the boundary compensation off provided the 4200e LR was at least 2-3 feet from the back and side walls. If you are positioning it near a television or side/corner wall you will want to experiment to see what sounds best in your room. We would also likely recommend engaging the BC switch for center channels positioned on top of RPTVs or if enclosed in shelving or any kind of cabinetry. Honestly, however, the difference is so subtle as to be almost indistinguishable at normal listening levels - we're talking 2-3 dB max from the center and half that for the mains. In addition, trying to listen to boundary gain differences from the center channel while in the midst of a multi-channel music track qualifies you for a "golden ear" award. You may want to disconnect the other channels, but at the risk of creating a non-real world environment. The bottom line is: have fun with this option and use it to match timbre and tweak your system to your own personal taste.

Explosions in the battle between the Republic and droid armies are nothing short of earth-shattering (Chapter 43 "Clone War"). It lacked the boominess that so many sound designers think sounds good in explosions. What's left is bone-jarring sub-60Hz frequencies that put you smack dab in the middle of the battlefield. In addition, when John Williams' score isn't overpowering the mix, the environment is full and immersive. The only downside we noted was a tendency for the subwoofer to lose control at higher SPLs. This would also be a problem in larger home theater rooms and thus supplementing with an extra sub may do the trick.

Tracks 3, 5 and 6 are my stand-out favorite tracks and present comprehensive test material with which to sample the dynamic capabilities of any system. Track 6 in particular really drives the surround's and challenges them on producing a full, rich, live-room feel in which the mix unfolds. Tracks 3 and 5 possess diverse and specific instrumentation that expose the 4200e's top end (which was clear and free from noticeable distortion or over-compression) as well as reveal the ability of the 642e SB to blend in seamlessly with the mix (it did.)

"Breathe" sounded smooth and environmentally rich on the System 4200e. The ambient effects and room-filling bass notes made a very good track all the more enjoyable in Reference System 2. Track 3 "On the Run" put forth enough transitional effects to give an exceptionally clear rendering of this system's ability to put you in the mix. The rather complex/busy elements slid from speaker to speaker - sometimes silky smooth, and other times with a more sudden leap. I 'd recommend this track to anyone looking to explore how spacious a system is and how well a soundstage can be presented within a listening environment. While the 4200e speakers didn't completely disappear into the mix, the effect was not entirely without a sense of being lifted up from the room and placed within the song itself.

This is likely one of the most underrated movies of 2003 and definitely one of the most underrated DVDs. Warner did a tremendous job on the transfer and there is good reason this film was nominated for a Best Sound Oscar. Whether its Chapter 13's fight in the rain, with the raindrops and movement filling the entire 3D listening field, or just the well-designed background effects, this movie is great source material to see how well your speakers can disappear into the mix. During the fantastic rescue scene in Chapter 27, arrows accurately pan across the soundstage while the score develops into a full-frequency backdrop that exercises the entire 4200e system. The ending conflict scenes (Chapters 33 and 34 in particular) present aggressive gunfire and explosions as the samurai rush into battle. Sounds of steel hitting steel and an amazing amount of detailed foley effects were clearly detailed by the 4200e C and LR speakers. Surrounds never missed a beat and filled in the environment with the dipole setting spreading out the information enough to give a realistic presence to the on-screen action and scenery.

Loudspeaker Measurements & Analysis