ATC SCM40 in a small room

[Glad]

Hello everyone, first post on here even though I generally follow the forum.

Time has come to sort out my small room with a decent hifi setup. The room measures 3mx4.40m. It's in a basement has a concrete floor with parquet glued to it, concrete ceiling, 2 adjacent walls are also reinforced concrete and the other 2 are plasterboard walls.My 2 seater listening sofa is about 3/4 of the way down the room and I have a carpet in the middle.

My initial outlay would be for a pre/power or integrated amp and speakers. I would for the time-being be using my cyrus CD7 with its psx-r ( I will probably change this in the near future once I've explored streaming possibilities). I have about £5k for this initial outlay.

Soundwise I'm looking for detail, not harsh and without boomy bass. I appreciate good soundstage and instrument separation I love space around the notes (was amazed when I first heard " blackness" around notes if you know what I mean).

It's going to need to rock too,I listen alot to Zep, Free, Sabbath, Motorhead, Joy Division, New Order etc

Its nice being in the basemant away from the family because I can play reasonably loud, but it would be nice for it to sound good a lower volume levels.

Reading various reviews and looking at forums I get the impression that I need to evaluate the ATC SCM40 speakers because of their sealed enclosures and controlled bass, probably fed by the ATC SIA2-150 or pre/power combo. Have any of you had experience of using those speakers in a similarly sized room?

Any other recommendations as to what I should audition?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Glad

What is the ceiling height?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Glad]

Hi Rick,

Taking the tape measure out quick......... 2.55m.

 

[Anonymous]

I would love to hear some ATC speakers, but no dealer in Holland

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Glad, i have just upgraded from scm40's with a pair of P1's & atc ca2...fabulous. The scm40's are an absolute steal for the money, they will quite happily pound away hour after hour at ear bleeding levels if thats your thing or they can be as subtle as the finest standmounters available...provided you give them a good healthy dose of current from an amp.
Cheers
Benny.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Sorry for the delay - I started replying about 2 hours ago, but it's been a little busy since!

The SCM40's can work well in a smaller room as their bass isn't 'overblown' like many other speakers that are rear ported. Their sealed cabinet ensures a much easier room placement. As you are in a basement, it might be worth trying to get a home audition as basements generally have solid walls, which will reflect bass energy back into the room - there will be nowhere for the bass to go - and I assume the door to the basement will be closed.

Even though you may not need even the power of the SIA2-150, I'd still recommend the CA2/P1 pre/power. The reason for this is that the extra control the pre/power will offer will be of a big benefit with a speaker like the SCM40. Plus, you'd be in a perfect position to either add a second power amp (or a third if you're feeling adventurous!), or upgrading eith the pre for better quality, or the power amp for better power delivery, further down the line.

As always, a demo is a must. Firstly because you need to find something that you like the sound of, and secondly to make sure the amplifier and speaker you choose will work together well. get this right and you'll be in heaven - get it wrong, and you may as well have bought a budget ssystem.

 

[Glad]

Thanks Benny for your input. How big is the room you have them in? My main concern is that a 3x4.4m room might be a bit small for them.

 

[Glad]

David, thank you for your reply and wisdom. I can see how thick walls could be a problem, I'm hoping (praying! lol) that with 2 of them being pasterboard separations the problem wouldn't be evident. In the eventuality that reflections were a problem would the SCM19's be a better bet?

I can appreciate your advice concerning the pre/power combo, it was exactly for those reasons that my wife would prefer the integrated!!!

I'll have to see whether I get my way!

I know that I will need to audition the gear, I'm just getting some ideas together so that I can plan what to audition.

Thanks again.

 

[Frank Harvey]

If the basement is partitioned into two, with plasterboard walls, everything should be fine. Partition walls tend to absorb bass, so if you place the SCM40's against the partition wall, you shouldn't get much boom, and you'll more than likely be able to put them right up against that wall.

The integrated will work fine with the 40's, but the pre/power will make more of the SCM40's abilities.

 

[Glad]

The integrated will work fine with the 40's, but the pre/power will make more of the SCM40's abilities.

May not work with my wife, I'll give it a go though!

Thanks for the reply David, in fact I can easily have the speakers placed along the shorter partitioned wall without any problems.

I'm re-doing the basement out and so all the wiring still needs to be done.

Thanks again.

 

[edplaysdrums42]

Hi Glad

I have a the SCM11's with the SIA2-150 and it sounds fantastic, i couldnt reccomend it enough. I plan to upgrade to the 40's at a later date. I find the bass to be tight and controlled and the detail is great too. I have the speakers close to wall and have no problem with boomy bass. Just like the others said an audition is a must if you can arrange it but i think you will impressed

.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers Ed

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Benny for your input. How big is the room you have them in? My main concern is that a 3x4.4m room might be a bit small for them.

Glad, my room is roughly 5.4m by 4.6m, i also owned scm19's & for there size...astonishing...but size matters & the extra box size & seperate bass drive means...scale & dynamics really can be quite scary so much so that it can make you realise very quickly how poor the dynamic range is on many other speakers...IMO

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Rick,

Taking the tape measure out quick......... 2.55m.

Hi Glad

Thanks for your reply.

ATC's Entry Series monitors such as the SCM40 with their closed box designs and importantly flat and honest presentation generally enables them to be placed to close to walls without the LF getting itself into a twist. However as much as i like SCM40 monitors (i feel these are probably the finest VFM speakers currently available on the market regardless of price) i think (i hope i am proven wrong) that you might find the SCM40's overpowering in the basement of this size.

I think SCM19 monitors will be more suitable in your environment. An ATC C1 sub could also be used alongside the SCM19's. Not only will the C1's clean bass match the precision of the SCM19's and help fill the bottom end nicely but it will also enable you to finely control the amount LF for your room. Fwiw, i feel SCM19's are probably the finest VFM bookshelf speakers currently available on the market regardless of price.

As far as amplification is concerned ATC's SIA2-150 MK2 and the CA2/P1 with (amongst their other qualities) their low distortion, class A biasing, high current and damping factor work superbly with ATC's passive monitors. There is little to separate these amplifiers in terms of control/drive and the overall quality of sound. They are differences in their presentation. The SIA2-150 MK2 is fuller/richer whereas the CA2/P1 is more direct. Personally i think the overall balance of SIA2-150 MK2 will be better suitable in your environment. For improved performance P1 power amps can be added later on to the SAI2-150 MK2 and the CA2/P1 to bi or tri amp speakers.

Btw, what cabling are you thinking of using?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Glad]

Thanks for your input Ed and Benny, I'll certainly letyou know how I get on. I need to finish the restructuring in the basement then I'll get underway with some demos.

Thanks Rick for your advice. In fact when starting to research a potential system I had envisaged the use of standmounts. I then came across some reviews of people using the SCM40's in smallish sized rooms and raving on about them that I thought " I've got to try these!" The option of the standmounts and sub could be a good cost effective long term solution because I was also planning on eventually building up a surround system,with the quality of the stereo having the priority.

It's good that you feel the SCM19/C1 Sub could be a viable alternative to the 40's.

Cable wise off the top of my head I think I have Silver Anniversary speaker wires and a VdH inter-connect, not sure which though (I'm at work at the moment).

Thanks again.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Thanks for your input Ed and Benny, I'll certainly letyou know how I get on. I need to finish the restructuring in the basement then I'll get underway with some demos.

Thanks Rick for your advice. In fact when starting to research a potential system I had envisaged the use of standmounts. I then came across some reviews of people using the SCM40's in smallish sized rooms and raving on about them that I thought " I've got to try these!" The option of the standmounts and sub could be a good cost effective long term solution because I was also planning on eventually building up a surround system,with the quality of the stereo having the priority.

It's good that you feel the SCM19/C1 Sub could be a viable alternative to the 40's.

Cable wise off the top of my head I think I have Silver Anniversary speaker wires and a VdH inter-connect, not sure which though (I'm at work at the moment).

Thanks again.

Hi Glad

Your welcome.

Will you be buying more speaker cables to install in the basement?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Glad]

Hi Rick,

Yes I would consider new speaker cables to compliment the system. What is normally recommended for ATC and do you normally bi or tri-wire?

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Glad

Thanks for your reply.

I'll recommend that you single wire ATC's monitors and with standard 79, 300 or 500 strand OFC speaker cables.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft