There's another member here who owns and loves Atalante speakers. I can't recall who it is. They are certainly beautiful.
A special loudspeaker - Revival Audio Atalante 5
In house is a set of Revival Audio Atalante 5 speakers. I've had these here for a couple months now. I think they are broken in--based how much listening I do!
Super elegant and solid construction. BIG! Could be way too big for your living room...if you're the person that is concerned about that. If you couple them to the factory stands, they are tall, wide, and deep. Be sure you appreciate this.
They are made in France, and run about $5K with stands. They come with a wood-matching floor riser too if you want to just set them on the floor. Before I assembled the stands, I had them sitting on the floor, which my wife loved as they didn't look big and had a nice BBC monitor vibe. The sound is clearly better on the stands.
If you have the space, the A5s shouldn't disappoint. They respond differently when you feed them or push them with different things. This, however, means that they will show off some stuff about gear or setup you may wish to avoid.
As you might guess, I found them transparent or super revealing (not sure which is a better descriptor) with other gear. Typically, though, they seem to mate well with lots of stuff. I was surprised to hear how easily they could be driven with Class A amplification. (I tired Luxman L-590axii, Marantz PM KI Ruby integrated, and 805 tube amp-50w Class A).
These came recommended by @Bigkidz, as he heard them on the East Coast and was impressed.
I have two REL subs that I've taken completely out of the equation. I just don't need any more low end with these.
At this price, I feel they are arguably underpriced. I haven't felt this way about a purchase for some time. If you have the space and are looking for a full range speaker with nice extension across the spectrum, great sonic scale, sweet midrange, and the ability to handle nuance but also rock...you may want to put this one on your shortlist.
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Yes, I have them about 18” from the front wall. This is closer back than when I put more power in them. Some amps really push bass from these guys. So when I tried Class A offerings I was able to move them closer to the wall. I use no port bung plugs. Not a hair of sibilance. The care, however, comes in matching sources. These speakers don’t shred poor recordings. They can highlight sources and amps. So much so I can easily hear the difference in DACs (LuMIN, LTA Aero, Marantz Ruby). I wouldn’t call the speakers fussy. They do show off differences pretty darn well though. FYI. I prefer non fatiguing presentations. I don’t like parlor tricks that impress me at early listening then grow bright, tense, harsh etc. with my LTA or my analog setup, they can sound utterly delicious. Golden age of jazz records (think Rudy VG) show horns off in a way that has body like crazy. |
If someone bothered to do any research on this speaker company you would have discovered that Daniel Emonts who was an engineer at Dynaudio is one of the persons behind this brand. I heard them with the Line Magnetics 28wpc tube integrated amplifier that is around $4800. It just blew me away for $10K plus the streamer. They sounded so open, full range, dynamic as all get out, etc. Just could listen for ever.
@judsauce - just sit back an enjoy the music for sure.
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@judsauce , thank you for your encouragement and positivity. Over the years, I've noticed you posts and you're always a neutral advocate for enjoyment!
@roxyone , HA!!!!! @bigkidz , You were 100% correct. And, moving on from large 100dB horns was not easy for me and not an easy recommendation for you (on my earlier forum thread). These speakers are amazing and I know of nothing at $5k that could do this for me personally. |
@jbhiller are you 100% sure these are made in France? It makes no difference to me, but if it does to you, I would double check that. |
@shtinkydog , I'm not 100% sure of anything and no it doesn't matter to me. I should've stated they are designed in France by a French company per their website. Forensically, I have no clue. |
Congrats on your Atalante 5 speakers. I have the Atalante 3 and love what they do and plan on getting the 5s if and when I get a bigger place. Revival recommends at least 30 sq meters for them to sound their best but I have my doubts as I used to run JBL 4319s and they're slightly smaller in size than the 5s and they worked really well in my 20 sq meter listening place. Even the distributor told me as long as I don't blast them, the 5s would work well. Right now, after my envy wanes, I'm starting to get the itch and just say 'to heck with it and get the 5s' but the 3s really suffice ( that's never stopped me before). May you have countless hours enjoying them as they (and the whole line) are criminally under appreciated. When Daniel worked for Dynaudio and Focal/JM Lab, his designs went for multiples of what he charges for his own line. All the best, |
@vdotman , HA! Probably not the best choice in words by me above. I should've said non-clinical. Some people love clinical and I find that fatiguing. |
@jbhiller , I am in agreement with your taste. Decades ago I was in AudioArt in Richmond VA and in one of their rooms they had a super high end system employing electrostatic loudspeakers. The presentation was hyper realistic to the point it became unappealing to me. So, yes, some folks are looking for transparency above all else, but there is a very fine line between that attribute and listening fatigue as you have duly noted. Merry Christmas to the Audiogon community! |
