Tidal vs ATC

I was an ATC fanboy for a long time. Fantastic speakers.

The one caveat with them I'd say is they like to play LOUD. Like, the louder you play them, the better they sound. They only sound their best when played at "realistic" volume - i.e. the same volume as the original sound. If you listen at lower volumes they can sound underwhelming.

They're also very neutral, so if you like a bit of warmth to your sound, you'll have to partner upstream equipment very carefully. (They're also extremely transparent though - if your upstream gear is warm, they'll sound warm.)

Oh, and the active speakers are sensitive to output impedance of the preamp used, so you have to take some care there - an impedance mismatch will lead to frustration.

That‘s a no-brainer!
The Tidal speakers are by far the better, more musical and
involving speakers. It‘s like having a shower in music.

Go for both Tidal and ATC! My room is 30’x20’x9’ and I sit 20’ from my ATC300 towers firing down the long axis of the room using a Tidal Preos preamp/dac, fed by a Melco N10 player/streamer. With these ancillaries fronting the big ATCs, they are as musical at ANY level, not just loud. Though if you like your music loud, The Wall by Pink Floyd at 120db is something else, the Contrivas just cannot match them. I too also use 3 15” ATC subs in this system just to correct a small low frequency dip at my listening seat. Also, regarding costings, here in the UK ATC300s are £38k and this includes the matching active amps. Beware though that the amps are fan cooled and really need to be in a different room! With the cost savings add some ultra 5 Stillpoints under the speakers and they totally disappear for such a large, wide baffled speaker. They will not be too big for your room, believe me. I have lived with these speakers for 14 years now, they just get better and better with each front end upgrade. Truly superb value for money if you have a large room and like to “wind it up”. You can’t even damage them, push ‘em too far (after several pints) and the amps just go into standby ready for you to stagger into the next room and press the standby button again! 

Very different critters (the speakers, that is)!  ;) 

Briefly, I have heard both companies products several times at shows and Tidal has been impressive, while ATC has been precise, but not as emotionally involving. I have thought of reviewing Tidal several times, but never ATC. I know I could build kick ass systems with both. The ATC strikes me as a much more in your face speaker, like the Vapor Audio Joule White (reviewed and owned), a laser sharp speaker with outstanding resolution, imaging and transients. 

Take your pick/poison: 
Tidal: more options to contour sound with outboard amp, cables, etc. but likely much more expensive to achieve superior/gratifying result.

ATC: easier, all inclusive, but fewer options to contour sound and mange issues in achieving gratifying result. 


Not overly impressed by the bass extension specs of either speaker you mention. :(  I didn't see any frequency response discussion in the specs of the Tidal, and a not too impressive 25Hz -6dB. for the ATC. The Tidal has twin 9" ceramic drivers, so I'd guess it's going to be in the same zone as the ATC, about 32Hz +-3dB. Ok, not horrible, but certainly not what I would call end game for myself in that price category. I would want more prodigious bass if I was going to be chasing The One. That's a pretty harsh, strong assessment, and I do not mean to disdain them, but I am a reviewer and will see weaknesses as well as strengths. I require an ultimate speaker to be closer to 20Hz +/-3dB than 30Hz or higher. For some that is not absolutely necessary, but it is for me. 

Even the odd and magical Tri-Art Audio Series B 5 Open Speaker, with open baffle is 27Hz +/-3dB. That speaker system, with it's outboard crossover and attenuated full range I prefer to many of the more expensive box speakers I have reviewed and owned, even ones $15K+

Maybe you can really "have it all," by keeping current speakers and adding another pair of different genre. Perhaps OB, panel, horn hybrid, line array, omni? The variety, done up at a nice sound quality level, is the end game experience for me.  :) 

@douglas_schroeder I think a gradual rolloff starting at a higher frequency is better in most situations.  Most rooms will provide too much gain in the bass and a speaker that's flat to 20 hz will have massive humps.  A speaker that starts to roll off at a higher frequency will cause far fewer room problems.  Speakers with huge drivers like the ATC 300 provide massive punch, scale, and dynamics but are also forgiving of room placement, partly because of that gradual roll off in the bass.  You don't want to be have to compromise the ideal speaker placement because the room interaction is causing unbearable bass problems.