ATC is marking its legacy in serious fashion.
At the 2026 edition of the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, the British manufacturer will debut the EL50 Anniversary, a limited-run active three-way tower that builds on decades of in-house driver design and discrete amplification expertise. Limited to just 50 pairs for the initial release, the EL50 Anniversary is positioned as a statement product that reflects ATC’s history as a drive unit specialist founded in 1974 and its evolution into one of the most trusted names in both studio and high-end home audio.
A New Discrete Active Tri-Amp Platform
At the heart of the EL50 Anniversary is an all-new proprietary three-channel active Amp-Pack. Each speaker houses balanced input circuitry, fourth-order active crossovers, and three discrete class A-B MOSFET power amplifier channels delivering 200W to the bass driver, 100W to the midrange, and 50W to the tweeter.
ATC has developed new discrete gain blocks for the balanced instrumentation input and crossover stages, targeting lower noise and reduced distortion. The power supply has also been redesigned with individual toroidal transformers dedicated to each amplifier channel, plus a separate transformer for the low-voltage supply. This topology increases headroom under demanding playback and reduces intermodulation distortion between channels. User-selectable input sensitivity, trigger input and link control, live fault monitoring, and substantial heatsinking round out a fully self-contained active system engineered for long-term reliability.
Elliptical Cabinet Design Meets In-House Drivers
The EL50 Anniversary draws design cues from the EL150, incorporating an elliptical enclosure that reduces edge diffraction and promotes a smoother on- and off-axis response. Cabinet construction has been refined through advanced in-house manufacturing to increase stiffness and internal damping, targeting reduced cabinet-borne coloration in the upper-bass and midrange. The bass driver is mounted into a precision-machined aluminum ring bolted directly into the cabinet face to further enhance structural integrity.
All drive units are built in-house. The SH25-76S ‘S-Spec’ tweeter uses a neodymium motor and dual-suspension system with a coated fabric dome to support extended high-frequency response beyond 25kHz. The SM75-150S ‘Superdome’ midrange covers 380Hz to 3.5kHz with a 75mm voice coil and under-hung motor structure for consistent drive force and reduced power compression. Low frequencies are handled by the SB75-234SL 9-inch bass driver, featuring ATC’s Super Linear motor system to reduce third harmonic distortion in the upper-bass and lower-midrange by up to 15dB.
Visually, the EL50 Anniversary is finished in hand-selected European crown-cut walnut veneers with ebony rear inlays, high-gloss polyester lacquer, and napa leather detailing on the front panel. Each of the initial 50 pairs will ship with a hardbound owner’s handbook documenting ATC’s history. The model will then transition into continued production following the limited edition run.
The EL50 Anniversary will be available from March 2026 with a typical UK retail price of £49,500 per pair including VAT, and will make its global debut at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show from February 20–22, 2026.
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