Atlantic Technology FS-4000 Front Stage Speaker System

I found the performance of the FS-4000 was very good with both music and movie sources, providing excellent midrange vocal and dialog presence, as well as providing a credible left and right channel sound image.

Although the left and right channel sound image is not as wide as placing separate left and right speakers at a wider distance from the center channel, the left and right channel sound image did project away from the physical speaker system housing to produce a sound image with great detail and depth.

I found that using the FS-4000 with additional surround sound speakers and a subwoofer provided an very good alternative for a home theater setup. The FS-4000 provided a very realistic center and left/right sound image for my Westinghouse 37-inch LCD television.

Another aspect of the FS-4000's performance is that its upper bass frequency response was very good. According to the automatic speaker setup parameter results from my receivers, the FS-4000 has a functional crossover point at about 80HZ, which gives it more body in the lower mid-range/upper bass than the typical 100 to 120HZ crossover point for many separate compact loudspeakers that are typically used in moderate home theater setups. This results in acceptable listening performance in a modest setup with a subwoofer, albiet without more extreme low frequency impact.

Just a few outstanding examples of the FS-4000's performance are illustrated by movie cuts from The Bourne Ultimatum, Master and Commander, and Transformers, and music cuts from Dreamboat Annie, The Complex, and Dark Side of the Moon.

1. Great Sound - full range frequency response.

2. Comes with what you need for wall or table mounting options.

3. 40-inch width fits matches well with flat panel TVs up to 40-inches diagonal screen size.

4. Easy-to-Use push-in speaker wire connectors.

1. Not a substitute for a multi-channel surround sound speaker system in a large room.

2. Speaker grill does not always fasten securely - be careful when moving unit.

Final Take

I found that the Atlantic Technology FS-4000 Front Stage Speaker System delivered clear sound across a wide range of frequencies and provided well-balanced left, center, right sound image.

The FS-4000 is an unusual speaker in that the Left, Center, and Right channel speakers are encased within a single housing about 40-inches long. However, despite this design, the FS-4000 supplied a good Left/Center/Right image. The sounds from the left and right channels projected to the sides beyond the physical length of the speaker. Also, the center channel portion delivered a very good vocal and dialog presence from both music and movie source material.

I listened to the FS-4000 in three different types of setups:

1. As a single, standalone (L,C,R) speaker system.

2. As a standalone speaker system, combined with a separate subwoofer (Klipsch Synergy Sub10).

3. Same as setup #2, but adding two left and right surround speakers (Klipsch Synergy B3).

The different types of setups yielded different results with regards to surround imaging and bass depth. However, as far as sound quality goes, this speaker system worked well alone, or as part of larger system. I must be noted that the FS-4000, used alone, will not provide the more enveloping surround sound environment as when using additional surround sound speakers. However, in a space-saving setup, this system provides a wide front surround effect that still has a lot of detail.

The FS-4000 can be used in a small-to-medium size room, and provides controls for each channel to adjust for differences in room size and acoustics in relation to the position of the speaker.

I really enjoyed using this system and found that it performed better that I expected. I give the Atlantic Technology FS-4000 Front Stage Speaker 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

For a closer look at the FS-4000, also check out my FS-4000 Photo Gallery.