Active Speaker Users ! What you got ?

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

having recently been very seriously impressed by some ATC SCM40A's, wondering what you got and what you would / wouldn't do again......
I am considering a SNUG upgrade and probably looking at an integrated streaming preamplifier with HDMI [Aurilac on my shortlist] feeding some ATC SCM20ASL's in the future, but doing the research now in advance......

 

[Messiah]

I used to have AVI ADM 9.1's.

Pros
- Great sound. Sound quality remained great at all volumes.
- Build quality

Cons
- No display. This meant you had no idea what volume you were at or what input. This meant that potentially you could whack the volume up after not hearing anything, switch inputs and deafen yourself! lol
- Poor remote. Slow to respond. Found it better using my phone.
- All your eggs in one basket means if a component fails, it all fails. One of the main reasons I moved them on was that AVI shut up shop so if they did fail, there was no longer any support.

Ultimately though, a great speaker/system.

 

[daytona600]

Used nothing but Active Speakers for 30year now
Desktop - Hedd 07 Mk2 - Project Dac
Bedroom - Dutch & Dutch 8c with Baach Processing - Grimm MU2 Dac
Living Room - Hedd Extended Towers - LampizatOr Horizon Dac

 

[jjbomber]

having recently been very seriously impressed by some ATC SCM40A's, wondering what you got and what you would / wouldn't do again......
I am considering a SNUG upgrade and probably looking at an integrated streaming preamplifier with HDMI [Aurilac on my shortlist] feeding some ATC SCM20ASL's in the future, but doing the research now in advance......

Dynaudio Xeo6 with Connect module.

 

[Jasonovich]

I have these babies Adam AV7 connect to Focal dual SW Sub One.

 

[Revolutions]

ATC SCM40a owner here. The only thing I’d be likely to change them for is some 50s.

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

@MUSICRAFT
was thinking of a SUGDEN pre-amp in the circuit between the Aurilac and the ATCs

 

[Jasonovich]

Don't be shy.
Please can we have some photos, sharing is caring 🙂

 

[Gray]

We stock ATC actives such as SCM20ASL and SCMA40's. As good as Streamer/DAC/Pre Amps have become and as good as they can sound with ATC actives however with all things being equal ATC actives are capable of performing to an even higher level with analogue pre amplification of appropriate quality. Fwiw, in this respect analogue pre amplification such as Qualition Audio's C200 valve pre amp incorporating Tungsram ECC83's and their implementation helps to offer a a level of quality and synergy between the C200 and ATC actives that is simply outstanding. 1940s technology rocks with ATC actives 🙂 Anyway something important worth bearing in mind 👍

Correct me if I'm wrong here but.....

You want the utmost accuracy, so you pay the price for ATC ✅
BUT, there's no 'synergy' until you feed them with some valve innacuracy.
That's how to hear them at their best 🤔

In other words, unless there's some added warmth / colour / 'musicality' (call distortion what you will) in the chain, then effectively what you're saying is that the ATCs are TOO accurate when it comes to reproducing the accurate output of a
streamer 🤪

Or are you going to tell us that the accurate sound is too 'clinical'?

 

[Jasonovich]

Correct me if I'm wrong here but.....

You want the utmost accuracy, so you pay the price for ATC ✅
BUT, there's no 'synergy' until you feed them with some valve innacuracy.
That's how to hear them at their best 🤔

In other words, unless there's some added warmth / colour / 'musicality' (call distortion what you will) in the chain, then effectively what you're saying is that the ATCs are TOO accurate when it comes to reproducing the accurate output of a
streamer 🤪

Or are you going to tell us that the accurate sound is too 'clinical'?

Ouch!

 

[Gray]

Ouch!

I've got an enquiring mind, that's all 😏

 

[Jasonovich]

I've got an enquiring mind, that's all 😏

Yep Gray's doing the rounds, watch out...... 😊

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

hmmmm....hence this research folks !

 

[MUSICRAFT]

OP - The C200 with the unique flavour of the Tungsram ECC83's ability to bring power and inject raw energy into ATC actives in a natural manner is uncanny. The level of quality and synergy between the C200 and ATC actives that is simply outstanding.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Gray - At the beginning C200 with SCM40A's and SCM100ASL Professional were not quite gelling. I worked out what was causing this and over the coming months I chipped away and resolved the matter. With this done C200 and ATC actives compliment each other perfectly well 👍 So much as that its the finest I've heard from ATC actives so far 🙂

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

To me the middle preamplification step sounds counterintuitive bit when the SUGDEN was plugged in, it became more natural and more musical.
I think more listening and mixing and matching will be needed.
For the snug, I must have HDMI and a streaming function only.

 

[Sam Sly]

I have Genelec G3 speakers with Topping Pre90 preamp connected to a Node Icon.

The Genelecs are made of aluminium and built like a tank. My kids haven’t been able to damage them yet.

I also find, like Messiah said, that my Genelecs sound great at all volumes.

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

I have Genelec G3 speakers with Topping Pre90 preamp connected to a Node Icon.

The Genelecs are made of aluminium and built like a tank. My kids haven’t been able to damage them yet.

I also find, like Messiah said, that my Genelecs sound great at all volumes.

why the pre-amp ? does it add something to the chain ?

 

[Sam Sly]

why the pre-amp ? does it add something to the chain ?

The Genelecs don’t have any volume control.

The Node Icon has a digital preamp but I don’t think it sounds very good. I think it sounds better with my Topping preamp, especially at lower volumes. Others might disagree with me on this and that’s fine.

Aside from sound quality, I also like having a volume knob and a remote remote control. I could use the Icon’s iPhone app or the volume slider on the device but I don’t find them as satisfying.

I wasn’t prepared to spend a lot of money on a preamp and I chose the Topping because it was fairly cheap and it got a good review in one of the American hi-fi mags.

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

Makes sense !

 

[MUSICRAFT]

the middle preamplification

The conductor of the orchestra. The match is critical. Get it right and everything will be in sync and sing from hymn sheet 🙂

ATC Transducer. A precision monitoring instrument.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Makes sense !

You always pay for what you get but you don't always get what you paid for.