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manual abstract
BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN PHILLIP I I think it is safe to say my home is not like yours, and yours is not like your neighbor’s. I think it is also safe to say that Atlantic Technology’s new 8200 speaker system will look and sound wonderful in all three. Most speaker systems force you into a certain configuration, a certain look, a certain sound. Instead, the 8200 system allows you to decide how your speakers will present and perform. Do you desire an all-out audio enthusiast-style setup, with your speakers on bold display for all to covet? Or do you prefer a more discreet installation, with your speakers completely concealed? Your installer can tailor the 8200 to either situation—and any other you can imagine. With its extensive flexibility, the 8200 system brings to mind an elegant Lego set. If you want the speakers to be seen, order them in gorgeous glossy black or veneer panels that clip firmly onto the speaker sides. If the speakers are to be concealed behind fabric, as they are in many high-end home theaters, you can eschew the side panels entirely. If you demand powerful bass but lack the space for a file-cabinet-sized subwoofer, the system’s compact PedWoofer lets your in staller tuck extra NEW REVIEWS subs into nooks and crannies that are too small to accommodate the monstrous subwoofers that typically accompany high- end home theater systems. Two PedWoofers can match the power of nearly any large subwoofer, and are much easier to place discreetly than one large sub. Of course, you cannot position a speaker just anywhere and expect it to perform at its best.Atlantic has taken this into consideration with the 8200 system. Placing a subwoofer in a corner, for example, may make the bass sound boomy and undefined.Atlantic solves this problem by including powerful equalization controls in the subwoofer amplifiers.The controls allow your installer to fix such problems by attenuating bass frequencies reinforced by various sub- woofer placements.A remote control for the sub- woofer amps lets you leave the bass as your installer set it, or select from four preset bass equalization modes to enhance the sound for movies, music and even late-night listening. The front left, center and right speakers are similarly The SA8200 subwoofer amplifier (top) provides 350 watts of power for each of two PedWoofers. The LED display in the upper left lets you make temporary volume adjustments, then easily return to the original level. A machined aluminum bezel (above) provides a sturdy, stylish mount for the tweeter used in the 8200 LR and 8200 C. The speakers use the same drivers and crossovers, and sound almost exactly alike, as they should. flexible.All include three switches that fine-tune the system for any setting, whether the surroundings are surfaced in sound-reflecting materials, such as wood and marble, or ornamented with overstuffed, sound-absorbing furniture and thick draperies. Another switch compensates for the slight muffling effect that occurs when speakers are mounted behind a perforated video screen.A third switch optimizes the sound for situations in which the speaker is mounted in a cabinet or against a wall. The switches combine to produce 12 equalization options, plenty enough for precise tuning. I must mention that the 8200 is one of the first few speaker systems to earn THX Ultra2 certification. That means the 8200 has passed the most stringent quality tests devised by THX, Ltd., a company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, and is suitable for use in rooms up to 6,000 cubic feet. While the merits of THX’s certification standards have been intensely debated, many audio pundits, including myself, feel that in some cases the characteristics necessary to gain THX approval have made speakers sound worse,not better.With the Ultra2 program, however, the THX certification rules are now much wiser. While I have yet to be impressed by the special Ultra2 modes THX has created for surround-sound processors, the three Ultra2certified speaker systems I have tested to date rank among the finest home theater speakers I have heard. It seems THX, in its Ultra2 form, may finally represent the reliable mark of quality the company heralded more than a decade ago. My first thought upon hearing the 8200 system in my home is: It’s right.With most speakers, a certain tone or style of sound is ¦ DESCRIPTION Home theater speaker system includes three front speakers, two or four surround speakers, and two or four subwoofers (each pair of subs driven by an included 700-watt amplifier). ¦ COMPONENTS 8200 LR and 8200 C: two 8-inch woofers, two 5.25-inch midrange, one 1-inch silk- dome tweeter. 8200 SR: two 6.5-inch woofers, two 1-inch silk-dome tweeters. 8200 PedWoofer: one 12-inch woofer. ¦ CONNECTIONS 8200 LR and 8200 C: two pairs 5-way metal binding posts (biwireable; accepts bare wire, pins, spade lugs, banana plugs and dual banana plugs). 8200 SR and 8200 PedWoofer: 5-way metal binding posts. SA8200: st...