Tidal vs ATC

@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.

You don't want to be have to compromise the ideal speaker placement because the room interaction is causing unbearable bass problems.

Using an EQ you cant add more bass but you can take it away without causing problems. 

The Tidal speakers have put a lot of effort into their cabinet technology. ATC have done nothing. They just use a basic square mdf box. Tidal use different materials and shapes. 

The Tidal has a superior cabinet. The ATC advantage is supposedly the drivers especially the mid dome. But there is no evidence provided by ATC on their website showing that their mid dome is audibly better. So its all hearsay. 

Neither TIDAL or ATC is custom tuned to your ears which of itself is a problem. 

The ATC is also a 2 or 3 way design and this means it will never be anywhere near as good as a perfect 1way full range driver if such a thing existed. 

@kenjit  It's better to let the main speakers roll off, use a sub or subs to fill in the bottom.  Most people would prefer to not have an eq in the main signal path and one that is transparent will be expensive.  It's better to eq sub frequencies only, where the quality of the eq doesn't much matter and a cheap one is fine.  

Apples and oranges. I was the only ATC dealer in California for many years.
They have advantages over a passive speaker. The main one is that active ATCs like the flagship SCM 300 has an amplifier carefully matched for each driver. Surely, the most critical and difficult factor in an audio playback system are amp and speaker. It could be said the two hands clapping in any system. ATC has spent decades addressing this issue. A main result is they have created a speaker line, especially in their upper line powered, that has been embraced by professionals around the world. In performance venues like the Sydney Opera House, The Disney Concert Hall and many of the top studios. A high point and pro opinion I well remember and value is when the engineer of the Star Trek Movie soundtrack at Skywalker Sound/LucasFilm heard its main theme in my living room through my ATC Anniversary 50s and said it was the best he had ever heard it!
That speaks to the main point; The upper line ATCs are primarily a pro speaker. If you seek the accurate and clear reproduction of what was recorded, go for ATC. Ultimately, I personally realized that critical listening was not to my liking. If it is to yours, buy or look for used ATC Anniversary models. The matching of the internal amps are most absolute and all class A. The finish is also a beautiful burled walnut. The SCM 300 is a monster really only designed for a very large room and does not stand up to the sound of an Anniversary model. I don’t have any personal experience with a Tidal but respect their reputation as one of the best consumer lines. I believe a Steve Hoffman listens to them in his main system. Steve is one of the few great pros who have great experience in the consumer world. I respect his taste and opinions. The bottom line in HiFi is that you need to develop a system that suits your taste. Assuming a good amp match, a speaker does not necessarily need to be very expensive like the upper line ATCs and the Tidals.