The mix on the Gabriel DVD is a fabulous example of what live drums should sound like. The subwoofer was figuratively jumping with the sound of the massive floor toms and kick drum and of Tony Levin's incredible electric bass, plus keyboards down in the lower registers. This acoustic-suspension subwoofer had a tight musical tone, playing notes - not just grunts.

Movie Performance Switching to movies, I checked out Déjà Vu, a techno-action thriller. Gotta love a movie that starts with a massive explosion. It was nicely mixed, with most of the bang in the front speakers. They handled the impact nicely, with the subwoofer kicking in effortlessly. I appreciated the center's clean intelligibility and articulated vocal quality on dialogue. Its close tonal similarity to that of the stereo pair helped provide a solid soundstage and convincing panning effects. The sound effects mixed to the rear were a bit pulled back in the surrounds - now set to dipole mode - but their sense of ambience was quite good (almost 7.1-ish). Panning effects and ambient details didn't localize with the speakers and provided good immersion.

The subwoofer punched up the car crashes as Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) drives in the present while chasing a car in the past. The sub's bottom octave was not among the most powerful I've heard, but it was solid. Given its size and power, the 642e SB had plenty of rumble, and it merged nicely with the satellites.

I was extremely impressed with how the 6200e handled Harry Gregson-Williams's score. The system's hauntingly warm bass fleshed out the, um, interesting romantic angle in which Carlin falls in love with a corpse. The repetitive heartbeat rhythm pulsed through all the speakers with convincing purpose, and the satellites were smooth on upper-register strings.

Bottom Line AT has always had a good bead on the sophisticated-consumer/install market. The 6200e continues that legacy. Its overall sound is extremely satisfying, and its C.O.R.E. equalizers let you dial in just the right sound - great if you have placement or room issues, or just a really good ear. Why mess with success? Just listen.

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