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ATC SCM19 Bookshelf Speaker Review
- Thread starter amirm
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bunnyfuzz
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In 2012 I ordered a new pair of ATC SCM20ASL Pro's with the cast aluminum chassis. They came with a hole (defect) in the side of one of them. Replacement pair soon developed lack of highs in one speaker and odd self noises. The dope (tar substance) on the SL drivers was applied inconsistently so each driver appeared differently finished from the other. Looked imprecise. (FYI: That dope finish is tacky/sticky and dirt and dust sticks to it like a magnet) They went back again and took months (2-3) for any progress. This was a time when they were transitioning over to a newer, less expensive version of the SCM20ASL Pro's. Eventually, they just replaced my new speakers with SCM25A Pro's. Because I was tired of dealing with ATC's warrantee I just sold them on. All of these speakers weigh 60 lbs each. ATC did take care of the return charges each time.
What I want to bring attention to is the port hole on the SCM25A's. In most photos of the SCM25A the port is on the bottom rear of the speaker adjacent to the woofer.
On the pair I received the port was on the top rear adjacent the woofer.
This photo ⬆︎ is actually from their webpage and shows the "other" port location.
Are they just getting the box upside down during assembly?
What I want to bring attention to is the port hole on the SCM25A's. In most photos of the SCM25A the port is on the bottom rear of the speaker adjacent to the woofer.
On the pair I received the port was on the top rear adjacent the woofer.
This photo ⬆︎ is actually from their webpage and shows the "other" port location.
Are they just getting the box upside down during assembly?
From the test:
The British ATC is the smallest and only enclosed speaker based in the comparison. As such, it is, in a sense, in the position of a sub-responder, as a speaker implemented with a reflex or passive element is most often more efficient in the bass range. Especially in the listening room of Hifimaailm, the tiny closed speaker easily gets a little light on its bass, which was also evident in the listening.
In a smaller room, and especially in apartment building conditions at a quieter intensity, listening estimates would probably have been more favorable to ATC. Its advantages are somewhere far beyond a blind comparison against its bigger ones. You can read more about the hi-fi world number 1/2015 from ATC when it was tested together with its big brother SCM40. In that case, the listening ratings were more favorable.
Revel concerta 2:
In the Revel collection of the Harman Group, the Concerta2 collection, which is at an affordable end, is derived from the successful Performa3 series. Introduced three years ago, the M16 features a waveguide in front of the treble that integrates the radiation pattern into the bass midrange. The glossy piano lacquered case is rounded on the sides so that transverse grooves are made in the plain straight plate, after which the plate is bent. The inner wall is also reinforced with MDF board.
Revel's sound is well controlled and his tone is dark. There is no strain of any kind, and while the treble is muted, the speaker separates details effortlessly. For a longer period of time, this is useful, even if at first hearing the speaker doesn’t aim to make a lasting impression. In a small room, the reflex tube is worth clogging, as the bass level is quite high. The entertainingly comfortable speaker works great in a larger room and is not a hassle when loaded.
In the Revel collection of the Harman Group, the Concerta2 collection, which is at an affordable end, is derived from the successful Performa3 series. Introduced three years ago, the M16 features a waveguide in front of the treble that integrates the radiation pattern into the bass midrange. The glossy piano lacquered case is rounded on the sides so that transverse grooves are made in the plain straight plate, after which the plate is bent. The inner wall is also reinforced with MDF board.
Revel's sound is well controlled and his tone is dark. There is no strain of any kind, and while the treble is muted, the speaker separates details effortlessly. For a longer period of time, this is useful, even if at first hearing the speaker doesn’t aim to make a lasting impression. In a small room, the reflex tube is worth clogging, as the bass level is quite high. The entertainingly comfortable speaker works great in a larger room and is not a hassle when loaded.
??? Can you elaborate a little more, please?
wgb113
Active Member
Maybe I missed it but who sent these over to Amir?
I think its €2800 in The Netherlands, I was looking for a second hand pair when I was looking for speakers because they were over my budget otherwise. After all of this and a detour with PMC Twenty.22's I'm glad I landed at the M106's.
Yes, this is what I fell for and made me put them on my shortlist.
I guess they are testing them in a well damped room, because I wouldn't call my M106's light on treble and dark.
He uses a class D power amplifier with the Klippel setup, don't know which one but its probably something from Crown that is capable of delivering in excess of 200W @ 8ohm. The amplifier he uses for his listening tests is a Mark Levinson monoblock with stupid amounts for power. Believe it was 500W@8ohm and 1000W@4ohm. Maybe @amirm can confirm. But if you are right then ATC's own amplifiers are severely underpowered.
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Will do, just didn't like when someone try to put word in my mouth, will just put anyone do that on my ignore list next time.
So we can write off an entire company for one product?
Well, if you hold that view, then we can just agree to disagree... (I do believe that most apple products are not great and over priced, but not all. Completely off topic though)
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And now you can EQ them to an even higher level through Amir's measurements!
Nope, they are useless because every room is a little bit different. Especially in the low end. But above 550hz-ish I don't need any equalisation to get a good response anyway.
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I'd at least attempt to EQ them above Schroeder based on his data - fooled around with it in REW and there's some potential there, imo. The nice thing of course is you can always turn it off if you find it redundant. In fact I'm tempted to get a pair of M106 just to play with..
How do you find their suggestion of clogging the reflex port in a small room?
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
Yes, I know.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #417
My monoblock amplifier is rated and measured at 500 watts into 8 ohm and 1000 watts into 4 ohm. Would be very hard to position it as "underpowered." Indeed it had so much power to bottom out the woofer with no trouble on the ATC until I gave it a filter to get rid of low bass.
The point I was alluding to in my last post was the difficulty of correlating a subjective opinion with a set of measurements, and which Toole is addressing.
Personally I have used Macs since '91, and up to system 9 I found them vastly superior to PCs. Now they have converged, and Mojave is not as straight forward, but the build quality has always been better, and the reliability good. My SE30 died in '05, and its Motherboard has '86 on it.
I don't think that ATC has the facilities of some of the larger companies, and so they are less likely to be able to do intensive radical research, and to me there is now a major shift going on. To denigrate ATC, given their wide usage in the audio and video industries, suggests that the users have cloth ears, and also many users have other makes of monitor with which to compare them, B&W, ADAM, Genelec and others, maybe still Quad.
With regard to amplifier power, a greater concern to me would be current supplying ability.
I think Ad Hominem stuff should be avoided, and tighter reasoning and language used.
Personally I have used Macs since '91, and up to system 9 I found them vastly superior to PCs. Now they have converged, and Mojave is not as straight forward, but the build quality has always been better, and the reliability good. My SE30 died in '05, and its Motherboard has '86 on it.
I don't think that ATC has the facilities of some of the larger companies, and so they are less likely to be able to do intensive radical research, and to me there is now a major shift going on. To denigrate ATC, given their wide usage in the audio and video industries, suggests that the users have cloth ears, and also many users have other makes of monitor with which to compare them, B&W, ADAM, Genelec and others, maybe still Quad.
With regard to amplifier power, a greater concern to me would be current supplying ability.
I think Ad Hominem stuff should be avoided, and tighter reasoning and language used.
OP
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
I've always thought that ATC, with their "pro" market, were much bigger than the usual boutique makers, with R&D facilities to match. Have I had this wrong all this time?
I agree with everything else you say. It often looks as if some "have their knives out" ready to attack, as if they already "knew" that ATCs were overpriced and overrated. I'm just baffled (sorry!) by the apparently poor showing here.
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