ATC or Audio Note (2-way)

@gregm 

yes, upgrading vintage Japanese speakers is on my list! Seen Kendrick Sound's channel on YT? Does crossover and tweeter upgrades. I also want to get into old Tannoys. Seems getting out and finding things to listen to is the hard part.

I bet a lot more people will buy Audio Note Speakers now that the new Audio Note Cobra Integrated amp is out now..

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeVVoVSV6uk

In ATC's case, the level of engineering expertise applied to drivers, crossover and their integration sort of tells you it's not realistically possible to "better" their design effort without equal test gear, facility and experience.  If you change it, it will be "different" which will most likely NOT be better, just different. 

I think sometimes the people that talk about driver swapping are overlooking the differences in efficiency of the driver itself in the previous driver vs new driver and overall impact of this issue on driver selection.  Small differences of 1/2 dB to 1dB in efficiency in the driver itself applied across the entire segment of the response curve allocated to that driver.  Its effectively like turning the entire midrange up or down, or the entire top end (above crossover point) up or down.  Even if you could possibly match the response of the driver itself (which is remote), the efficiency issue alone could change the entire character of the speaker.  This can have the effect of massive amount of EQ, changing a speaker's entire sound from "bright" to one that's "dark" instantly, or bass heavy to bass light, or mid forward to mid back.

Brad   

Hold my beer and watch me solder this.  I can appreciate upgrading a mid-fi speaker and you really can derive palpable benefits from minimal investment.  ATC does their homework and produces a world-class product.  I question improving their design work.

I’m biased as I’ve a pair of ATC 40As and a pair of ATC 50As.  The 50As courtesy Lone Mountain.  Best of luck finding the right pair to do surgery on.  I’ve Frankensteined a dozen pair over the years.

I believe AN has the most transparent crossover components (which are available for DIY), seasoning-to-taste not withstanding...no way a company like ATC which mass produces parts is going to have something better. If you've ever done xover or internal cabling mods, you know that drivers of every brand don't come close to unleashing their potential. I mean, having the crossovers in the cabinets alone is a huge bottleneck, if you’ve heard the before and after with something like that.

But yeah, I am very curious about the drivers with these two brands..