atc loudspeakers - simply the best ?

[Deleted member 188516]

hi Luke. Thank you. hope you are well too.

i tried to make the reviews work on my website 13th note hifi reviews, but it’s failed mainly as manufacturers didn’t support me - not uncommon. Maybe I was naive but it massively improved my mental health. Some of the videos and creativity and production I’m really proud of and serious effort went in. If only it have been about a Labrador doing tricks I’d be on 100k subscribers now. Lol.

But anyway, I think you are right, but I found on my journeys you can say some are better for money. And within bounds of preference as to sonic quality you can find one is better than another. You raved/rave about Hegel I remember and I was onto the expense means better journey with Cyrus. But how wrong was I. That’s why they (Cyrus) are going. Some of the stuff given to me I’m going to sell to upgrade my HiFi. The hegel Mohican I have at the moment, albeit not mine - Anders lent it, is tremendous. As good as a hugo tt2 from what I can remember.

may i ask have you now ceased making the youtube videos ?

 

[Simon 13th note]

may i ask have you now ceased making the youtube videos ?

yes, most of the HiFi firms you have to deal with are dishonest and awful at communications, supporting the site, giving information and appreciating what you do. I’d have to chase for feedback on some articles and videos that took me a week to do. Most of the people are a bit dodgy - I’d have to count my fingers after shaking their hands. The lovely ethical people are people like Hegel (anders), sound United - Roger, and Max at Townshend.

 

[Deleted member 188516]

yes

thats a shame then as they were quality / well made.

 

[Simon 13th note]

thats a shame then as they were quality / well made.

Thank you, I thought the Production was good whilst improving on the presentation.

 

[insider9]

hi Luke. Thank you. hope you are well too.

i tried to make the reviews work on my website 13th note hifi reviews, but it’s failed mainly as manufacturers didn’t support me - not uncommon. Maybe I was naive but it massively improved my mental health. Some of the videos and creativity and production I’m really proud of and serious effort went in. If only it have been about a Labrador doing tricks I’d be on 100k subscribers now. Lol.

But anyway, I think you are right, but I found on my journeys you can say some are better for money. And within bounds of preference as to sonic quality you can find one is better than another. You raved/rave about Hegel I remember and I was onto the expense means better journey with Cyrus. But how wrong was I. That’s why they (Cyrus) are going. Some of the stuff given to me I’m going to sell to upgrade my HiFi. The hegel Mohican I have at the moment, albeit not mine - Anders lent it, is tremendous. As good as a hugo tt2 from what I can remember.

I'm good, thanks. Interesting website you've got there. Will have a gander in the next few days. Mohican looks nice indeed.

 

[SpursGator]

1. There is no "best" loudspeaker, any more than there is a best wine or best motorcycle.

2. To the extent that there is a "best" in the mind of the market, I don't think ATC are it. I usually think of Wilson and Sonus when someone says "the best." But see #1.

3. ATC speakers are really, really excellent. They are successful for a reason. They are clear, engaging, revealing, and accurate. The fact that there is almost certainly something better, somewhere (that probably costs more than your car and may even be larger and heavier) is totally irrelevant. See #1.

 

[Simon 13th note]

That was my film, thanks.

But on the whole great speakers, but tricky firm to deal with I found. To the comment on passives, don’t bother, go straight to active with benefits of active x over.

you need good room interaction and that’s the downside of these, they are tricky to tie in with rooms as there are no compromises with such a flat frequency response. Plus the scale of them into U.K. living spaces. If you’ve got a dedicated set up these will shine.

match with something like a Bryston pre amp and great DAC , would be sublime . Cheers.

 

[Simon 13th note]

Make sure you watch all the way through as it includes the science and the subjective from a true audiophile.

It’s not likely to change anyone’s opinion, but then it was never designed to.

Bill

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx4CAwSLXkY

My view on Atc is they'res speakers are easily outperformed by a great margin. They're needlessly hard to drive and in my view completely lifeless when compared to brands such as revel and JBL. People get far to hung up on measurements when in reality it leads to lifeless sound.

But hey! each to there own, people can aspire to whatever they want to own, I used to aspire to them and was hugely let down when i listened to them.

One thing that really bothered me and it was nothing to do with the sound, it was the sticky cone, it has a soft sticky goop on it that attracts everything, if you have a pet it will literally be covered in fur after a few days of owning them.

My advice stands listen to everything you want to buy dont just aspire to own it, it leads to disappointment

"Simply the best?

Wow! That's some statement. I won't for one moment knock the brand. They have a very good reputation, no question.

Whether any product is classed as "the best" comes down to many things: System synergy, personal preference, room size and acoustics... but certainly the former is the most important.

How many times on here have we all read some idiot who's lumped all 5 star products together and it sounds rubbish? Then had the balls to come on here and slag off the review?

My system as a whole is massively transparent but I wouldn't say the TB2s have the overall qualities that you described the ATC's to have. But one size doesn't fit all. Personally I would rather own Dali Rubicon 2 than ATC... for my taste anyway.

Are ATC's tricky to drive? They certainly need a ballsy amp. Rickycraft over the years has said he's heard them with a Arcam Alpha 7 (IIRC). Indeed it would sound okay, but you would never make the most of ATCs with 40 Watt £300 amp (as new costs).

For some nothing else will better the ATCs, for others, however, they are instantly forgettable.

would you agree that the flat frequency response these speakers have translates to a more accurate representation of the signal sent to these speakers ?

what would your definition of a perfect room be - a studio mastering room with a lot of acoustic treatments for example ?

couple of comments, anyone can have an opinions abacus.

seondly plastic penguin, the speakers are easy to drive because they are active/powered speakers and have an active crossover. In fact a range of amps made them work very well.

little issues re system synergy because you can throw lots of gear at them - I tried a range of DACs and pre amps and they keep the signature sound because they have their own powered drivers which is obviously gonna be a large part of the sound. room intergration is important. I didn’t find them slow but that’s a function of how good the room is. You need a dedicated room i feel, to get best out of them. Placed longways , treatments etc.

my interest most of the year wasn’t the ins and outs of the online forum minutia as to single preferences (because that’s no indication of what most will like) but what, I think, most would think. These are extremely good speakers which are much better than Those Dali’s on the whole. You might not think so, but most would. They have that integration of the sound common to three way designs Which creates the layering. I was listening with a friend one evening and we were just blown away how good these are. Cheers

 

[plastic penguin]

couple of comments, anyone can have an opinions abacus.

seondly plastic penguin, the speakers are easy to drive because they are active/powered speakers and have an active crossover. In fact a range of amps made them work very well.

little issues re system synergy because you can throw lots of gear at them - I tried a range of DACs and pre amps and they keep the signature sound because they have their own powered drivers which is obviously gonna be a large part of the sound. room intergration is important. I didn’t find them slow but that’s a function of how good the room is. You need a dedicated room i feel, to get best out of them. Placed longways , treatments etc.

my interest most of the year wasn’t the ins and outs of the online forum minutia as to single preferences (because that’s no indication of what most will like) but what, I think, most would think. These are extremely good speakers which are much better than Those Dali’s on the whole. You might not think so, but most would. They have that integration of the sound common to three way designs Which creates the layering. I was listening with a friend one evening and we were just blown away how good these are. Cheers

I was referring to the OP's original claim that ATCs are the best. He didn't specify at that point whether they were passive or active. The passive versions certainly need a ballsy amp to make the most of them.

As I stated in my original response it'll boil down to many things.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

couple of comments, anyone can have an opinions abacus.

seondly plastic penguin, the speakers are easy to drive because they are active/powered speakers and have an active crossover. In fact a range of amps made them work very well.

little issues re system synergy because you can throw lots of gear at them - I tried a range of DACs and pre amps and they keep the signature sound because they have their own powered drivers which is obviously gonna be a large part of the sound. room intergration is important. I didn’t find them slow but that’s a function of how good the room is. You need a dedicated room i feel, to get best out of them. Placed longways , treatments etc.

my interest most of the year wasn’t the ins and outs of the online forum minutia as to single preferences (because that’s no indication of what most will like) but what, I think, most would think. These are extremely good speakers which are much better than Those Dali’s on the whole. You might not think so, but most would. They have that integration of the sound common to three way designs Which creates the layering. I was listening with a friend one evening and we were just blown away how good these are. Cheers

Hello mate
is this an old post are you banned as i noticed your tag said banned

 

[Simon 13th note]

I was referring to the OP's original claim that ATCs are the best. He didn't specify at that point whether they were passive or active. The passive versions certainly need a ballsy amp to make the most of them.

As I stated in my original response it'll boil down to many things.

A means active in the name.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Are ATC's tricky to drive? They certainly need a ballsy amp. Rickycraft over the years has said he's heard them with a Arcam Alpha 7 (IIRC). Indeed it would sound okay, but you would never make the most of ATCs with 40 Watt £300 amp (as new costs).

I’ve heard and we have clients using Arcam Solo Mini’s @ 25w/ch with SCM40’s

 

[plastic penguin]

I’ve heard and we have clients using Arcam Solo Mini’s @ 25w/ch with SCM40’s

As you've mentioned many times, as well as Arcam Alpha 7 you mentioned way back. Just shows the power of sales garbage.
You must know ATCs are never going to sound at their best with a £400 25 watt amp.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

As you've mentioned many times, as well as Arcam Alpha 7 you mentioned way back. Just shows the power of sales garbage.
You must know ATCs are never going to sound at their best with a £400 25 watt amp.

They certainly don't sound good on a 23 watt Sugden, or should say they are very underpowered and not controlled at all

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Am I right in thinking there's no ATC dealer in Essex?
(No Hegel dealers either for that matter).
Closest ATC to Essex seems to be Hertfordshire or Kent.

Suffolk, felixstow. trimley to be precise. But it depends on what side of Essex you're on

 

[Gray]

Suffolk, felixstow. trimley to be precise. But it depends on what side of Essex you're on

Thanks.
I've seen there's one in Harlow which might be useful one day.

 

[Paulq]

I use SCM19's with a 400wpc Nord Amp. More critical is the current delivery though the 19's don't dip low enough to cause the amp a problem.

With the correct amp they shine and go VERY loud without any distortion. Mercilessly unforgiving of poor recordings they don't colour the music at all. Sometimes that can sound a bit sterile but most of the time they are great.

Would I change them? Yes. But not until I find something I like more which, to date, I haven't. However, that doesn't unilaterally make them 'the best' - they are such a personal decision.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Just shows the power of sales garbage.

pp what do you mean please?

 

[jonathanRD]

pp what do you mean please?

You must know ATCs are never going to sound at their best with a £400 25 watt amp.

I think it was your turn to go first and answer this question

 

[MUSICRAFT]

I think it was your turn to go first and answer this question

I want to make sure that i fully understand first

 

[plastic penguin]

pp what do you mean please?

As you said please, I'll elaborate.

I earned my living in sales for 25 years. You can work the rest out.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

As you said please, I'll elaborate.

I earned my living in sales for 25 years. You can work the rest out.

Thanks for your reply pp however after further thought the only thing i can think of so far is that the specified power of the Solo Mini matches that of your years in sales - 1w/yr. If this is not the case then I am sorry so therefore please then be kind enough to be specific. I trust that I'll not have to wait until 50 years of sales experience has been achieved

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for your reply pp however after further thought the only thing i can think of so far is that the specified power of the Solo Mini matches that of your years in sales - 1w/yr. If this is not the case then I am sorry so therefore please then be kind enough to be specific. I trust that I'll not have to wait until 50 years of sales experience has been achieved

I looked at ATCs website. They recommend all their speakers (SCM7 to 40) to be driven by amps of 75-300 watts. I know you'll come back and say, "yes, but there's X reason and Y reason...". There's clearly a very good reason why ATC have stated a minimum wattage of 75. I can understand if you recommend an amp with perhaps a 5 or 10 watts shortfall, but the Arc Mini at 25 watts is the equivalent to a Naim Nait 5i in reduction.

Back to the sales thingy. Either you have great sales patter or your client is seriously gullible. The Solo Mini was never designed to power speakers of the ATC specs, and if played over many hours at a time can cause overheating.

My old Wharfedale E20s have 96 db into 8 ohms, you could practically run them off a iPod. Realistically you wouldn't.

 

[Gray]

I earned my living in sales for 25 years. You can work the rest out.

Different people (often sales people) have told me that I could never be a salesman.
They said it as if it were a negative.
I regard it as one of the best backhanded compliments I've received.

 

[Romulus]

Thanks for your reply pp however after further thought the only thing i can think of so far is that the specified power of the Solo Mini matches that of your years in sales - 1w/yr. If this is not the case then I am sorry so therefore please then be kind enough to be specific. I trust that I'll not have to wait until 50 years of sales experience has been achieved

Look on the bright side, at least you are not an estate agent