Acoustic Zen, Reference 3A and ATC


Hi,

Which ones of the above mentioned produce a sound with faithfull tonality? I read in a review of the Reference 3a mm de Capo that "tonality is spot on", how the other two companies compare with Reference 3a in this regard?

And secondly, again considering all the three companies: Are they harsh or easy on ears? How easy? I have in mind long listening sessions.
keye
Another thing,
Ref 3A’s loudspeakers proclaim they are all phase coherent (basically due to a non existent crossover), so as are Acoustic Zens due to an implementation of Linkwitz - Riley type of crossover. I uderstood this well?
What about ATCs active loudspeakers with the active crossovers, can the active crossovers be equally as effective? I find this phase coherency thing important.
Many claim to be "phase correct" but all they really do is have all drivers in the same polarity.  This does not guarantee the speaker to be time and phase correct if fact they rarely are.  The only way to know is to look for the triangular step response in the Stereophile measurements.
 Best JohnnyR
 Audio Connection
I have adagios and all my cables except intergrated to outboard power are acoustic zen . I can listen for hrs ,there very nuetral . When setup properly they sing . Mr. lee is great . They really dont need subs but i do run them 
In terms truth of tonality and overall music reproduction ATC is among the absolute best. It is a true reference if you want to hear the tone and timbre of an instrument or voices. The active version is in fact spectacular. I cannot see any reason why anyone buys a passive ATC because in its active avatar it sounds far superior to any passive ATC + amp combo.

Acoustic Zen is among the most colored speaker of the three, so take your pick.