New Products

Atlantic Technology has introduced an updated version of the speaker it considers to be the finest effort in its 30-year history.

The revamped 8600iLR three-way tower replaces the company’s flagship 8600 tower at a price that remains unchanged: $6,000/pair. The speaker boasts a sophisticated new look featuring rounded corners, painted front and rear panels, a bowed magnetic metal grille, and a smoked-glass top plate in addition to offering a number of technical refinements.

The 8600iLR draws on five active and two passive drivers to serenade listeners. An 8-inch glass-fiber woofer sits above and below a vertical midrange/tweeter/midrange complement comprising two 3.5-inch drivers and a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter mounted on a brushed aluminum plate; the complement sits higher than on its predecessor to better align with seated ear level. The driver array is completed with a stacked pair of 8-inch passive radiators that sit at the bottom of the sealed, 51-inch-tall MDF enclosure, which itself sits atop a plinth that accommodates carpet spikes or feet.

Pairing the two active woofers with two passive woofers increases output and improves linearity while delivering bass down to 30Hz (±3 dB), according to the company. The updated speaker also includes a “vastly improved” crossover featuring tighter tolerances for more precise control over the sound.

Enter the Center
The 8600iLR is joined by a revamped and reshaped center speaker: the timbre-matched 8600iC ($2,000), featuring an 8-inch woofer on either side of the same midrange/tweeter/midrange complement used in the tower. Also rated down to 30Hz (±3 dB), the updated center-channel is just shy of 30 inches wide, stands about 11 inches tall, and is almost 13 inches deep.

Drivers in the 8600iLR and 8600iC benefit from an upgraded motor design that is said to enable higher output without increasing distortion while extending the low-end. Both models are also highly efficient, boasting a rated sensitivity spec of 93 dB, and feature the proprietary Low-Resonance Tweeter (LRT) tweeter used in their predecessors, chosen for its “expansive coverage” and ability to deliver a smooth transition from tweeter to woofer.

Rounding out the capabilities of both 8600 series speakers is a trio of toggle switches that can be used to tailor the sound of the speaker based on the acoustics of a room and its placement within it.

HF Energy has three positions: Reverberant cuts treble, Damped Room boosts treble, and Average keeps treble flat. The Location switch has two settings: Normal and Behind Screen, which increases upper-mid/high-frequency output to compensate for placement behind a perforated projection screen. Boundary Compensation also has two settings: Normal and On, which reduces lower midrange output to minimize coloration when the speaker is placed in a corner or near a wall.

The 8600iLR and 8600iC are available in a black or white high-gloss lacquer finish. For more information, visit atlantictechnology.com.