ATC speakers / Monitors

[Liya]

Yes

Never heard them. I owned SCM 40A.

 

[Chrise36]

well technically you can EQ any speaker, but why would you want to EQ a nice flat response speaker to a more variation one?

Is that a perfect flat response?

 

[YSC]

View attachment 219499
Is that a perfect flat response?

no speaker will be perfect flat response IN ROOM, but then a anechoic non flat speaker will just become worse in most case/combination with room. that's why I say it will need EQ in room, but not to EQ to mimic an ATC or whatever speaker raw anechoic response

 

[Ilkless]

The apologetics for antiquated cottage industry crap is frankly ridiculous

 

[Chrise36]

The apologetics for antiquated cottage industry crap is frankly ridiculous

Did you get to hear them after all your posts?

 

[DSJR]

The apologetics for antiquated cottage industry crap is frankly ridiculous

Oh stop it, please! We know you dislike ATC. If a Kii Three or one of the other domestic favourites such as D&D goes t*ts up in a few years, I wonder how easy it might be to get it fixed, espedcially if the Hypex? amp modules are no longer made or the company itself if an EPROM needs replacing no matter how unlikely. Same for the drivers unless they're SB or similar stock parts?

I didn't know it then, but the ATC 100A's I loved thirty years ago can still be fully serviced and updated today, from amp packs to drivers if needs be. The amp packs (which run quiet through the tweeters by the way!) shouldn't ever be an issue and I've seen other UK speaker repairers working on ATC-like drivers (not sure how different the Audax mid dome that PMC used is to the ATC original. The bass units are all but indestructible out in the field (the 15" foam surrounds go though as they all do) although an amp failure with DC at rail level going in will kill them.

Of course, living in the far east and distanced from the factory may well turn your head to other modern brands, but just because ATC currently don't use DSP or other fancy tech doesn't mean the speakers are crap - and I for one have never EVER dismissed what the likes of Genelec and Neumann are doing at lower prices, believe me I haven't! I look even lower at the sub-£/$1000 wonder-boxes coming along and wonder just how good, or not, they really are

No matter to me as this brand's pricing is beyond me now and herself doesn't like the looks of the 40A's, so ruling them out despite them being a good size match to our room. I don't see why we can't have a fanboy thread about them with some objective comments, praise and criticism where necessary. Me? For whatever subjective reason, I can 'live' with ATC's way of doing things (even the 11's which seem better balanced mid-bass to upper-midrange than the 19 and 20) easily. It remains ot be seen (or heard) if I'd find Genelecs or Neumanns so easy to listen through (Kii's look too oddball as do D&D's and price rules them out as well). Just PLEASE don't criticise for the sake of it! Cottage Industry Crap is below the belt for a brand such as ATC, even if it may be falling behind a bit.

 

[Liya]

Yes

I owned the SCM40A (with Benchmark, Prima Luna or Hegel pre/dac). There were few reasons why I sold them (my son curious little fingers; in our small living room bass was overwhelming; I wanted to try something else).
I went for Avi DM10 and they were much better for what I needed back then: proper grilles, all-in-one type of system, no bass problems as it was 2 way, 6inch midbass driver producing rather dry bass. Over the years I checked all the interesting actives out there including D&D.
One of the main reasons why I havent bought D&D was low resale value and unknown long term reliability (tbf, Genelec would be a safer bet for me). D&D are good speakers, but for actual music listening SCM40A are just as good.

 

[DSJR]

My SCM20ASL Pro's suffered curous three year old's fingers, but thanks to the pliable doping I was able to sort them out without expensive driver-tweeter replacements. More worrying for domestic use is that dust sticks to the dope and without the cloth grilles and well designed frames of the classic models (which back then, Billy insisted should be fitted for best performance), looked rather tired after ten years or so. I appreciate the grille cloth doesn't offer full dust protection, but it sure helps imo..

 

[YSC]

I owned the SCM40A (with Benchmark, Prima Luna or Hegel pre/dac). There were few reasons why I sold them (my son curious little fingers; in our small living room bass was overwhelming; I wanted to try something else).
I went for Avi DM10 and they were much better for what I needed back then: proper grilles, all-in-one type of system, no bass problems as it was 2 way, 6inch midbass driver producing rather dry bass. Over the years I checked all the interesting actives out there including D&D.
One of the main reasons why I havent bought D&D was low resale value and unknown long term reliability (tbf, Genelec would be a safer bet for me). D&D are good speakers, but for actual music listening SCM40A are just as good.

Sure, a lot of speakers just works fine in real life application. No doubt, and ATC isn't really bad in my opinion despite I may look like a hater for it for a few posts. But for the sake of absolute comparison, it's ok, but when compared to Genelec, Neumann, Focal, D&D, Buchardt, Kii etc you name it anechoically flat offerings, they are just not at that level in most of it's current offerings.

And I must say that above certain level of accuracy anechoic response, the brand/eye candy factor is one major factor also, as room will make it vary quite some more, and the quite some of us will use EQ to perfect it anyway

 

[YSC]

My SCM20ASL Pro's suffered curous three year old's fingers, but thanks to the pliable doping I was able to sort them out without expensive driver-tweeter replacements. More worrying for domestic use is that dust sticks to the dope and without the cloth grilles and well designed frames of the classic models (which back then, Billy insisted should be fitted for best performance), looked rather tired after ten years or so. I appreciate the grille cloth doesn't offer full dust protection, but it sure helps imo..

dusty driver with a hard working maid in your home can be disaster you know

 

[DSJR]

dusty driver with a hard working maid in your home can be disaster you know

I wish - or did I read you wrong I'm th one here who (occasionally) dusts my audio gear anyway

 

[YSC]

I wish - or did I read you wrong I'm th one here who (occasionally) dusts my audio gear anyway

tell you a sad story, one of my good friend have a nice pair of Vivid Giya G1, and his maid is really hard working to wipe everything visible clean, so one day he come back home and maid told him that his Vivid's midrange is dented when she wipe it with a cloth

 

[Purité Audio]

The ATC 40A's midrange isnt emphasised. It is well balanced with highs and lows. If anything the mids are more forward with D&D (I never heard Grimm). Of course, you can eq D&D but that is not the point here.

The bass rolls off pretty quickly and slightly off-axis ( no wave guide) so does the treble you are left perceptually with midrange, it is very obvious when you compare all three speakers ( I had active 50’s) side by side.
Keith

 

[Liya]

The bass rolls off pretty quickly and slightly off-axis ( no wave guide) so does the treble you are left perceptually with midrange, it is very obvious when you compare all three speakers ( I had active 50’s) side by side.
Keith

Not in my experience. It looks that the 3 guys in the linked video also thought that ATCs are easier on ear, something they would have and listen in their living rooms rather than studio sounding D&D or Grimm.
If I would be aware of the RME dac 8 years ago I would think more than twice before selling the SCM40A as I could easilly eq bass problem in my room. Btw, I sold them without any loss in one day. Got a great deal from one of the dealers. Now, if I would buy D&D and then try to sell them, I would lose thousands and probably couldn't find buyer for months anyway. A mint pair of D&D sits on ebay UK for two weeks at £4k off its purchase price.

 

[Purité Audio]

-6dB at 48Hz I am a little surprised you had any bass issues, was the room tiny?
Keith

 

[czt]

The apologetics for antiquated cottage industry crap is frankly ridiculous

More so, that they are ridiculously over-overpriced.

 

[Liya]

-6dB at 48Hz I am a little surprised you had any bass issues, was the room tiny?
Keith

18 sqm. 6 x 3 meters living room. Typical English layout: chimney breast, patio door, bay window, 3 exists in total from this room (!!!), heavily furnished. Luckily, we have moved out

 

[goat76]

I like the sound of my 40s very much even though they are not perfectly neutral. At their current position (>1 m away from walls and 3 m apart) they measure like this:

View attachment 219484

I usually increase the base by 2 to 3 dB. If I compare them to the sound to my Genelec 8330 (plus sub) in my office (< 1 m away), it becomes obvious that the ATCs are lacking base (of course). Moreover, the ATC interact with the walls of my room which leads to a wide soundstage and a "transparent" sound (due to bookshelf diffusion?). Sometimes (depending on my mood and the song) the ATC sound is a bit too bright for my taste. By setting the treble to -2 dB (RME ADI-2 DAC FS) I compensate for this. I have ordered a new pair of speakers but will keep my ATCs and move them to another room...

This is how my passive ATC SCM40 with two subwoofers measures from the listening position at 2,10 meters, and the same distance between the speakers. There are just 4 minor EQ adjustments to this curve at 33Hz, 39Hz, 55Hz, and 73Hz. Maybe I will invest in a more capable DSP in the future, but soundwise it doesn't feel necessary.

 

[Chrise36]

This is how my passive ATC SCM40 with two subwoofers measures from the listening position at 2,10 meters, and the same distance between the speakers. There are just 4 minor EQ adjustments to this curve at 33Hz, 39Hz, 55Hz, and 73Hz. Maybe I will invest in a more capable DSP in the future, but soundwise it doesn't feel necessary.

View attachment 219553

This is a good example of how easy it is to have good sound with the passives

 

[Ilkless]

More so, that they are ridiculously over-overpriced.

Heavy drivers in a flat baffle wood box is hardly cutting edge for performance