Atohm GT-2 Tower Speakers $7500 Per Pair
(42.7h, 7.87w, 10.43d, 58 lbs, 90dB SPL, 6 ohms)
Two 6” Bass/Mid drivers run in a 2.5 way configuration, one Silk Dome tweeter
Available in stunning Gloss Walnut, Gloss Piano Black, Gloss Piano White
Made in France: 7 year warranty!
Atohm speakers are indeed, actually MADE in France. Designer Thierry Comte has created a line of speakers that check some very special boxes. GT-2 is a fantastically clear, tonally neutral tower that can hit hard. The new walnut finish is especially luscious.
As I mentioned in my GT-1 comments, Atohm is different from all the other moderately sized Euro speakers in that they have deep bass and can play to much fuller volume levels. Thierry’s driver designs allow them to generate more bass and play far tougher than the old school names we’re more familiar with. Please pay special attention to the description of how he has created plinths to minimize coupling with the floor- for tighter bass definition.
Atohm has a detailed Technical Book (posted on our Atohm yellow tab) if you like to read the deep dive detail of speaker creation.
GT-2 is a mid sized tower. It’s less than 8” wide and shouldn’t be a problem to shoe horn into any listening room. The first thing you’ll notice about GT-2 is the size of image in purveys. It’s uncanny to have a pair of moderately sized speakers fill up the whole wall in front of you. Atohm’s Technical Book describes HOW this is accomplished.
You hear detailed, natural timbre without a hint of brightness. Yet, neither are they on the dull side. You can hear the “room” the recording was made in very clearly. Vocals in particular sound boxless and relaxed. GT-2 has a tweeter adjustment that you’ll find very useful, given your taste and listening room characteristics.
Brahms’ piano sonata #3 is one of my favorites. It’s right there with the best LVBs. My go to recording is by Kissin, recorded (RCA) in a German studio in 2001. The Steinway sounds PURE without extraneous buzzing. You can hear the attack of the hammers on the piano cords with no stridency. Whoever prepared the piano for the recording did an exquisite job. You can clearly hear the hammers have the ideal amount of felt cushioning. Kissin’s playing is unsurpassed. There are no smudges or smeared rolled cords in this highly challenging work. Only the top tier pianists can do this work justice.
As we move to jazz, sax in particular has a full, throaty sound. You don’t hear any cabinet color making the flavor more murky. Drum kits sound big and alive. A stand up bass has a full, taut character. Again, the space in which any recording is made lends a signature to the sound that helps put us there. GT-2 gives us an aural picture of the space- in a massive dose that sounds much larger than the cabinets would lead you to expect.
We live for female vocals! We want to pretend that all that emotion is being delivered specifically to us. It isn’t, but… we can pretend it is- when it sounds like Janelle Monae is standing right in front of us. GT-2 puts her there with full color and sass.
GT-2 provides this thrilling response on the economical Atoll IN100 Signature integrated amp. Most speakers that can provide this size of stage and muscle need a lot more amplifier to do so. Of course GT-2 will benefit from an amp like Atoll’s IN300 Signature. But I want to point out that they sound GREAT on a $2k integrated. Going north is all gravy.
GT-2 has big, powerful volume and solid bottom end! That’s the Atohm surprise. You can’t help but be shocked at how robust, taut and muscular Atohm speakers are. GT-2 in particular is a thrill to hear. Its similarly priced competition from respectable brands like B&W and Kef is made in China and can’t handle the heavy lifting as Atohm does.