Question: Does ATC have the best midrange driver?

I have listened to the ATC flagship speaker ($15000, I forget the number) many times at a friends house and it is one of the nicest setups I have ever heard. The music just floats around the speakers in a fashion that had me calling them "Quads that play really loud". I always felt the bass driver was not fast enough for the superb midrange but that was a minor quibble. That system is just plain awsome. It is the first time I have ever really enjoyed listening to an all solid state stereo. When watching TV I was drooling over any music playing (listening thru Direct TV satellite) it was that good! I know this sounds a bit overboard but you have to listen yourself.

After this rave I would still buy Sound Labs and Atmosphere amps instead (if I can dream), I am a planer and tube kind of a guy.

I have never heard the ATC's so I don't know for sure. But, the recording industry is not exactly known for having "golden ears" in the past. The previous "most used" monitor in recording studios was Yamaha NS-10's. Not exactly great. I doubt if their ears have gotten any better with the latest "music" that they are producing. ATC may be a great speaker, but having the recording industry unanimously using them is not a testament to their sound quality. If anything it makes me more skeptical.

Just because a car has "the best" engine doesn't make it the best car. The midrange driver, good as it is, is only one part of the speaker chain, and the implementation of the entire speaker is at least as important as the drivers themselves.

ATC built their company in the professional market and has only recently began making a serious effort to enter the consumer market, which is why we don't hear about them much at this point. They are incredibly good speakers though, so I suspect this will change over time if ATC is able to procure more distribution and trickle their technology down to more earthbound prices. I do agree with Sean that ATC devotees are almost cultlike in their support of the products, much like you see in brands like Linn and Naim. Basically if you get it, you get it, but I've never known anyone to hear a pair of ATCs and not be at least a little impressed.

That said, ATC speakers are still based on a professional monitor platform and thus will not appeal to those who prefer a more "audiophile" sound. This means that you are not going to get an incredibly expansive, deep, or layered soundstage, and ATCs are not going to pull off the disappearing act as well as many others. The flipside is that ATCs are extremely transparent, clear, dynamic, and have an ability to put the power of a performance in the room like few other speakers on the market. Whether this is "the best" is a subjective and personal decision--no speaker is perfect.

Tim

NO! question is too subjective

TWL,
Don't really want to try to defend too much of what's coming out of the professional pop music recording industry, but I do want to clarify one thing.
The real reason the Yamaha NS-10 is the "most used" nearfield in pop studios by professionals is not for their reference sound quality. The truth of the matter is, the NS-10 closely resembles what the avarage consumer listens to at home. Pop engineers use the NS-10 to hear what their mixes are going to sound like in the average Joe/Jane's house. The popularity of this monitor accross the board in professional studios also establishes a sense of consistency. By and large, a pop album is recorded and mixed in several different studios by several engineers, having the NS-10's does allow them to have one constant.

Now, ATC is getting a following in the Classical and Jazz engineering scene as well. There are some very talented engineers that truly love ATC monitors.