What about when ATCs are a deal?

[verlin]

First of all, this is my initial post and I may not belong here. I have no professional experience and very little consumer experience either, so take whatever I write with several grains of salt.
I agree that ATC speakers--I have passive SCM40 v2s--are overpriced in the US, and it's easy for me to accept that some other brands are superior at a similar price point. I infer from most of the posts here disparaging ATCs that if the speakers were cheaper, expectations would be lower, peer brands would be different--lower tiered--and judgment might be adjusted upward. I may be summarizing this poorly, but that's my takeaway.
So here's my question: I obtained mine used, with some marred cosmetics, for $3300. At that price, how do y'all think they stack up against the consumer competition?
Obviously, this is a matter of taste, room size and configuration, what power is being used, etc, but insofar as one can generalize...
Thanks.
Verlin

 

[HooStat]

If you like them and are happy, you should be fine. Perfect is the enemy of the good. I just listened to some ATCs the other day and I enjoyed them. They were mid-range forward, which I found very pleasing. There is always something "better". If you get tired of the sound, you can always sell them and try something else. Enjoy.

 

[verlin]

There's some good sense. Thanks. I do have a Loki and I adjusted the ATCs to be less mid-range dominant. Just a few tweaks--a budget toy.

 

[McFly]

Those ATC's have some impressive power handling and SPL capabilities - I had the SCM40 v2's also. I was amazed at how loud they could go - I think they claim 112db SPL ? I really liked mine, I think if you saw some measurements or heard something that made you think twice, you'd be better off spending the money on some room correction and EQing them. I doubt they have big directivity problems as its likely the 3"mid dome matches the dome tweeters directivity well. So they would take to EQ well. Then you'd have a seriously good set of speakers. Wish I hadn't sold mine now that I have a SHD studio years later...

Edit - not to mention, now I DIY speakers quite a lot, the mid dome in those is probably one of the best in the world of home hifi. Yes, the mid in the SCM40v2's is just a slightly lower power handling version of the one everyone drools over SCM75-150 vs SCM75-150s. I wish I had kept mine just for the mid dome. In fact, all the drivers in that speaker are really good. If I still had them I'd probably have a go at my own active crossover.

 

[dfuller]

Realistically, ATC 3-ways are still excellent speakers. Yeah, they're a little midrange forward, but I don't find that to be a particularly bad thing. It's not like they're offensively boxy or anything.

At $3300 for a pair of SCM40s... That's a great deal. Personally I think that their best value new is the SCM25A Pro as their amps are also quite good.

 

[lowkeyoperations]

The big 3 way ATCs are hugely popular in mastering studios.

 

[thewas]

Those ATC's have some impressive power handling and SPL capabilities - I had the SCM40 v2's also. I was amazed at how loud they could go - I think they claim 112db SPL

Keep in mind though that in the low bass they are more SPL limited:

Source: http://www.audiostereo.ro/ATC reviews/atc_scm40_rev-stereoplay.pdf

Still nice floorstanders, especially if someone can get them for 3k.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Keep in mind though that in the low bass they are more SPL limited:

View attachment 155202

Source: http://www.audiostereo.ro/ATC reviews/atc_scm40_rev-stereoplay.pdf

Still nice floorstanders, especially if someone can get them for 3k.

F3 43HZ F6 35HZ? not bad... that speaker doesn't even have a port

 

[Frgirard]

F3 43HZ F6 35HZ? not bad... that speaker doesn't even have a port

My k+H o300 sealed speaker reach 35 hz at - 3dB.
But i can not have decent spl under 60 Hz.
A sealed speaker with a little enclosure have a bad efficiency.

 

[dfuller]

The big 3 way ATCs are hugely popular in mastering studios.

Yep, though almost always the active pro line which measure and certainly sound a bit better than their passives. They really only build the passive line for audiophiles who are wary of active anything.

 

[TimVG]

Yep, though almost always the active pro line which measure and certainly sound a bit better than their passives. They really only build the passive line for audiophiles who are wary of active anything.

Also, sometimes these control rooms are completely built around these monitors (Northward). They're good loudspeakers by all means. Perhaps not completely s.o.t.a. but they're consistent, reliable and serviceable. They're built in a first world country, and it shows in terms of pricing. Some people have almost otherworldly claims about them, others disregard them completely. To me the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

 

[dfuller]

Also, sometimes these control rooms are completely built around these monitors (Northward). They're good loudspeakers by all means. Perhaps not completely s.o.t.a. but they're consistent, reliable and serviceable. They're built in a first world country, and it shows in terms of pricing. Some people have almost otherworldly claims about them, others disregard them completely. To me the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Yep. ATCs have a somewhat otherworldly reputation for reliability - which they very much are! They're ridiculously tough, they're easy to service (the plate amps come out easily and unlike other actives do not use the amp chassis as the rear panel for the cabinet) and ATC's support is extremely good.

As for the designed-around-the-speakers bit, yep - ATC are probably the most popular brand for this as Northward, WSDG, and other big studio architecture firms go to them first.

 

[verlin]

Thanks for all the information, everyone. I find that when I have speakers or other components, I'm ever-thirsty to hear other's perspectives about them.

 

[Freeway]

Got a pair of new ATC SCM7 v.3 with shipping from UK (Audio Affair) to California for $1,000.00 in 2017.
Was looking to purchase a Revel M16 or a Dynaudio Emit at the time so real good deal.

 

[NicS]

I have an LCR set of ATC SCM100ASLs, originally built for a mastering suite at Abbey Road. I bought them for $5k in bad condition from a studio in Santa Cruz that was closing down and spent a great deal of time and effort fixing them. But not too much money. The beauty of these speakers is that they are built like tanks and used frequently for mastering, so listening to them is a pretty good reflection of what the music sounded like in the mastering suite. And you can take this to extremes.

Once I finished rebuilding my 100's, Charlie Bolois recapped and balanced the amp packs for me. Later he came to my house and tweaked them on-site, matching them to the exact same speakers used by Beck and Rodger Walters, both of which Charlie also looks after. We did a spectral analysis of the response which we brought in line with that of those used by Charlie's other clients.

New, these would be out of my price bracket. But after almost a two year extensive cabinet refinish and rebuild, they are as new, and in my price range.

They sound amazing. Neutral and sometimes brutal, if the source material is badly recorded. They are unforgiving, but when fed decent recordings, they are transformative.

I have the ATC 100s in LCR, stereo SVS subs, two Harbeth 40.2's as surrounds and four overhead Definitive Audio "heights". They are used for stereo, quad, 5.1 & Atmos recordings from sources ranging from vinyl to SACD. Maybe overkill. My wife thinks so.

 

[richard12511]

First of all, this is my initial post and I may not belong here. I have no professional experience and very little consumer experience either, so take whatever I write with several grains of salt.
I agree that ATC speakers--I have passive SCM40 v2s--are overpriced in the US, and it's easy for me to accept that some other brands are superior at a similar price point. I infer from most of the posts here disparaging ATCs that if the speakers were cheaper, expectations would be lower, peer brands would be different--lower tiered--and judgment might be adjusted upward. I may be summarizing this poorly, but that's my takeaway.
So here's my question: I obtained mine used, with some marred cosmetics, for $3300. At that price, how do y'all think they stack up against the consumer competition?
Obviously, this is a matter of taste, room size and configuration, what power is being used, etc, but insofar as one can generalize...
Thanks.
Verlin

The ATC measured here had too much mid frequency energy, but it didn't measure terribly(and mids can be toned down with EQ. The distortion performance was excellent. Some of the best we've seen from a speaker of that size. There was some directivity error, but I suspect that their 3 ways should have much less error there. I definitely think ATCs at a good price can be a good value, especially when you consider resale value.

There's also such thing as individual preference. The research by which some judge ATC poorly simply suggests that most people will prefer similarly priced Genelec/Neumann speakers(under blind conditions), but not everyone. I'm sure there are some that legitimately like the slightly exaggerated mids.

 

[NicS]

Curious, which ATC model? I know the 100's are designed to be balanced on site and offer quite a bit of flexibility. But these are big and heavy boxes.

 

[DSJR]

ATC passive three ways have a problem, as explained to me by their sales manager back in the day. The mid dome is run practically wide open in frequency range, the response 'window' can vary slightly up and down in frequency due to batch differences in the doping (much better controlled these days I gather) and the top resonance and low roll off are dangerously close to the crossovers. The active models can adjust the phase at the crossover points to aid blending and I understand they also use steeper crossover slopes - yes I know they're not as up to date as the favoured monitors here, but they work just fine for mixing, as well as domestic use!!!

I'd suggest the 40's are more over-damped in the bass rather than having too much midrange and they really do need masses of clean power to row them along. A larger timber framed listening room may well appear to expose the mids more than our 'concrete boxes' here as what bass is there can be more easily absorbed I believe. 40A's sound fine to me I have to say, despite the cheaper boxes the drivers are in compared to the 50 model over the decades - herself doesn't like the curvy cabs and mesh grilles (the doped cones do attract dust although it doesn't seem to affect the performance overmuch and the cloth grilles of the 'classic' models help filter the worst out I remember)..

Three grand for the passive 40's in good used condition is still a damned good deal for domestic use, given plenty of power to wake them up, but only the OP can say how 'good' it is compared to the new generations of active pro models. My wife would be happy for me to return to the 20SL (albeit with careful stand choice for optimum WAF) but new in the UK, they're £3750 or so which is a grand more than the 1992 price with inflation (an extra set of sockets on the back and SL magnets doesn't cut it I'm afraid). I love the way my music 'communicates' via ATC's as a breed but of course, others feel differently.