ATC not for me.

[the record spot]

chebby:A friend cannot find any of his favourite Queen albums that sound good on his ATC SCM11s. He barely plays anything by Queen anymore. Far better (in my opinion) to have a system that makes all the music you like enjoyable.

Many folk on the Hoffman forum have berated the quality of the CD transfer for the Queen catalogue. The music itself is not the issue, no matter what some recent contributors here would suggest. If he can find the pre-remaster, this might be a better option.

 

[Craig M.]

BenLaw:chebby:

Far better (in my opinion) to have a system that makes all the music you like enjoyable.

Without starting any arguments (took me a while to work out where the comments were in that last quote, not good

) this is an interesting concept. Not saying you're wrong - but I think there could be some debate here.

The very idea of 'making music sound enjoyable' suggests expecting your system to change the recording in some way. ATC's history is based in the recording studio and the principles of their domestic gear is to be as faithful as possible (and subject to the rest of your system) to the studio recording.

Unofrtunately, this means if you've got a rubbish recording (can be old, can be new) it doesn't sound great. Since getting my ATCs there are a few 'old favourites' I don't like so much any more. Is this a bad thing? Maybe I only liked them cos I listened to them through a rubbish stereo / in the car. I don't know - but if it is a bad thing I would say it's more than made up for by the way the ATCs have managed to broaden my horizons - play something recorded well through them - any genre - and it sounds great - just as the recording engineer intended (IMO).

This is perhaps the second problem with 'making the music enjoyable' - unless your taste is fairly limited to a particular genre or two, the 'changes' that any speaker make (bass emphasis, smooth midrange, prominent treble, whatever) will work for some music but not for others. Whereas I think the ATCs will work for any genre, with a decent master.

Anyway, each to their own - I just want everyone to be happy with their own choice of system

 

[Anonymous]

im a big queen fan i own most of there albums, they never sounded good on any speaker iv played them on - monitor audio br5/rs6 atc scm11/40. so i dont think its just the atc's. shame really queen are quality - rip freddy.

 

[jaxwired]

Just a quick 2 cents on this subject. I've briefly owned both the SCM11 and SCM19 so I am familiar with the speakers. My impressions are that the ATCs are truly amazing speakers that are as revealing as anything I've heard. The midrange is so lacking in distortion and provides such rock solid clarity that it's a marvel to listen to them. However, and this is a big "however", I don't understand why they are so commonly recommended on this forum. I do not consider the ATCs to be good "all-rounders" and they are not what I would call the most "musical" either. For the right owner, they are irreplacable, no doubt about it, but IMO they are kind of a niche speaker, not for mainstream buyers. This might be a Brit vs American thing...

 

[Anonymous]

Me neither, but then there's no according to tastes.

Personally the notion that you should endeavour to recreate the recording studio in your own home in't feasibly. To do that means using exactly the same equipment as they, from speakers to amps to mixing desks, and listening with the same ears. Clearly that isn't possible, nor even desirable.

Many companies have produced studio monitors, from Harbeth to Sonus Faber, so the argument about being based on the principles of the recording studio don't hold water. Besides, that misses the point.

I buy speakers (infrequently, it must be said) based entirely on how I hear the music, and that is based on what I've heard in live venues from concert halls to little cafes. I've never heard a band in a recording studio so don't have that as a point of reference. I want a violin to sound like a violin, a piano a piano and a symphony orchestra a symphony orchestra, and thats it.

In fact, I'd generally take a live recording over that in a studio anytime, because they have the one thing a recording studio can never have, and that's atmosphere.

By the way, I've often wondered what 'revealing' means. To me, the Charios, Dynaudios, Canton and Tannoys I heard were all equally revealing, as in allowing you to hear the nuances of each instrument of voice. However, only two managed to make a Stradivarius sound like I hear a Stradivarius, and they weren't the ones normally thought of as revealing.

 

[BenLaw]

Hi Grottyash

Grottyash:

Personally the notion that you should endeavour to recreate the recording studio in your own home in't feasibly. To do that means using exactly the same equipment as they, from speakers to amps to mixing desks, and listening with the same ears. Clearly that isn't possible, nor even desirable.

I don't think anyone would suggest you can 'recreate' the studio, for the reasons you suggest. But IMHO you'll have a studio engineer listening to the master and using the most accurate and low distortion monitors possible (frequently ATC). That'll produce the sound they want people to hear. If speakers accentuate or diminish aspects of the music, then it won't be what the musicians or engineers intended you to hear. But, if it sounds good to you, then great

Grottyash:
Many companies have produced studio monitors, from Harbeth to Sonus Faber, so the argument about being based on the principles of the recording studio don't hold water.

Perhaps, but I don't think there's any company out there that has quite such a legacy in the professional market (check their website for the studios and custom builds they're used in) combined with a presence in the domestic market, where many of the same drivers are used.

Grottyash:
I buy speakers (infrequently, it must be said) based entirely on how I hear the music, and that is based on what I've heard in live venues from concert halls to little cafes. I've never heard a band in a recording studio so don't have that as a point of reference. I want a violin to sound like a violin, a piano a piano and a symphony orchestra a symphony orchestra, and thats it.

In fact, I'd generally take a live recording over that in a studio anytime, because they have the one thing a recording studio can never have, and that's atmosphere.

By the way, I've often wondered what 'revealing' means. To me, the Charios, Dynaudios, Canton and Tannoys I heard were all equally revealing, as in allowing you to hear the nuances of each instrument of voice. However, only two managed to make a Stradivarius sound like I hear a Stradivarius, and they weren't the ones normally thought of as revealing.

Fair enough, it's all down to what sounds good to the individual. You clearly listen to a lot of classical music, where the considerations are somewhat different from most of the music I listen to (electronic on one form or another, tho some classical as well). When you have a live performance of classical music, you are hearing the instrument, unaltered by amplification etc. And you want speakers that recreate that sound

(Having said that, ATC is highly renowned for in particular piano.)

With electric guitar, or synth music or whatever non-classical, whether it's live or a studio track, it's all gone through electronics. So sounding like a 'real instrument' is less of an issue. It may be that your speakers are great with the music you're interested in (as you would expect

) but might not work with other genres. IMHO ATCs are a good all rounder and I find them very 'musical' - but obviously not everyone's going to be a fan.

 

[Anonymous]

Now now, Ben Law! Individual guitarist tune their guitars differently and use markedly different tones. In fact, there's probably more variation in electric than in acoustic guitars.Have a listen to Clapton/Knopfler and compare them to Page/Slash. Totally different sound, so, despite being electronic, sounding like a 'real instrument' is still vital!

 

[BenLaw]

Absolutely agree!

Think I must have expressed myself poorly! I think I was (ineptly) trying to make that point that with (for eg) electric guitar the musician (and engineer) are indeed tuning their instruments very differently and using different effects. That takes place both in the studio and at a gig, as both involve amplification and are played through speakers. (The same would be true for vocals at any gig where the singer uses a mic.) So IMO there is merit in the idea of your speakers reproducing what the musician and engineer intended.

The consideration is somewhat different with classical (or acoustic guitar, or non-amplified vocals), as when you hear it live you're just hearing the instrument (although of course there are many variations in how the same instument would be played by different musicians). Obviously if you buy a CD of classical music, be it in the studio or of a concert, it then goes through electronics - but the aim will be to make it sound like the original unamplified instrument.

Reading that back, I'm still not sure I'm making a great deal of sense

FWIW I'm more in the Knopfler/Gilmour camp than Slash