Question: Does ATC have the best midrange driver?

Ezmeral i've heard simular things about the Manger, even the word, "junk" was said. I just checked the Accuton specs. , is ferrofluid internal damping? One speaker designer says ATC, the other Accuton. I'm going Accuton, will let you know in about 3 months.

Internal damping, crudely, is the ability of the driver's material to absorb the standing wave/refelcted wave that forms on the front "inside" the cone. Someone else please say it better if you can cause I know I know what I'm talking about halfway here :) Aluminum and ceramic have virtually no interanl damping. This is all on the front of the cone; the ferrofluid damping has to do with the backwave of the cone-its different. Birotechnology.com and vmpsaudio.com both have good designer notes sections on the various cone materials you might want to look at short of the books for better explanations than mine. I know dunlavy slams most of those ritzy cone materials. If you get accuton to work great let me know. They are attractive looking and I'd like to design with'em, but the rational side of me still says the Skaanings would have a nicer sound in the end. But I'm no authority.

is this mid range used in the Proac 4 and or 5 or do those speakers use a "knock off" reproduction as someone recently told me?

The Proac 4 speakers used 2 ATC 3 inch dome midranges. The Proac 5 speakers used 2 7 inch Scanspeak midbases.

The best midbase I ever heard, is the JM Lab midbase on the Mezzo utopias and the Utopia speakers. The other midbase that sounded incredible, was the midbase on the Sonus Faber Extremas. Holy Moley did this midrange sound incredible. It was a custom made Skanning midbase. It was a Carbon Fiber Polypropelene midbase.

Hi,

Got into audio stuff a couple of hears ago - with B&W P4s and Arcam delta stuff - and i have to admit it is one of the most frustrating on one side and then once you think you are done the most beautiful "hobby" (if i am allowed to say to) that i have ever picked up.... my advice to everybody getting into audio - once you buy never try anything else hahahah but that is live the goal to reach the ultimate or best possible sound - lucky i can afford the luxury and i am privileged to be able to go hear concerts at new york's Carnegie Hall - that always kicks me into reality.... but anyway.. i am in the frustrating phase of my audio quest again... i have finally settled for Lexicon gear... i know i know sorry but i am try into match that gear to a good if not great pair of speakers.... and now that is where the problem started.... i had listened over the past couple of month to speakers ranges (Dunlavy (SC-V), Revel (Salons, Studio, F50, F30), B&W (800s, 802, owned 804s also own 805) Wilson (Pupppy 7, Sophia). I really like the SC-V but was not too impressed with the bass all revels were awesome but felt the F50 was the best deal for the buck... I Love the B&W Nautilus tweeters.... to me they are the best in the market these highs just go straight through you and are all around... maybe too aggressive for some but that explains why i own/owned b&w speakers... Wilson i heard by accident at a dealer he was breaking them in sounded pretty good. So B&W i know the best and i think over the past couple of years 2 or 3 some professionals have gotten into B&W as their reference speakers i think some sound studio have also started accepting them- so here my question:

If ATC is so great in the mids and i personally love B&W's highs... can anybody give me the pros and cons between getting ATC 50s B&W 800s and Revel F50s??? obviously all very different speakers.

B&W pulls me towards them because of the mids to highs... Revel for its dynamics and over sound stage... and ATC never heard.... but my dealer suggested them to me... I am a 50% classical 30% pop/electro (oldfield/jarre) and 20% techno/trans guys - i know fucked up mix... i would drive the speakers with 200w of power... (Lex amp) might not even be enough... should have gotten the LX-7 and bridged the channels..

Thanks for any input.

M