ATC SCM7, 11, 19 with Rega Elicit-R in small Room?

[RicP]

Hi, I've recently had a demo of the ATC SCM7, SCM11 & SCM40, they were some of the best speakers I've ever heard and now I have to have a pair!

The 7's were connected to a Roksan K3, the 11's a Musical Fidelity Intergrated (not sure on model) and the 40's to ATC's own 150wpc pre/power combo. I'm looking at the 7's, 11's & 19's to go in my small 4m x 3m room. As the nearest ATC dealer is a couple of hours drive from me I think a home demo would be out of the question. I've suffered in the past with bass boom in my small room with KEF LS50's even with the half bung's inserted and well away from the walls. My current speakers are Spendor SA1's and sound good with a nicely controled bass (if a little on the light side) but not in the same league as the ATC's.

My questions are, how would my Elicit-R sound with the 7's, 11's & 19's and would it have enough power to drive them well enough?

And which would be best suited to my 3m x 4m room?

Would love to go for the 19's, but just concerned they would be a bit much for my room size and if the Elicit-R is good enough to drive them.

Thanks in advance for any advice, Rick

 

[Pedro2]

Hi RicP,

I have been on a very similar journey (see my posts). We've got a small room with low ceiling and previously owned a pair of Neat Motive 2 floorstanders. Despite their small footprint and downward firing port, bass was always a problem; too much and with a tendency to muddy the higher frequencies.

Eventually decided to change the speakers and also move to standmounts. Heard the LS50s and a handful of others but then the ATCs and realised that these would probably be a game changer. Got them home on a 2 week trial and needless to say, they never went back to the shop!

If you can, try to listen at home. Your room is similar in size to our own. The SCM11s should be fine and I don't think that the Rega will have any problems driving them. We use a Roksan Caspian Power amp which is rated at 80 watts and it rarely goes beyond 75% on volume setting (this is approaching disco levels and only appropriate when neighbours are out!). The 19s might be tempting but would probably be overkill in your room whereas the 7s would probably be ok too.

One final comment about bass with these speakers. It doesn't boom, it doesn't go particularly low but it is amazingly musical. You can pick out bass lines that you have never heard before. You may also have read the reviews of these new ATCs. They're all glowing and with good reason. Good luck and I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Pedro

 

[RicP]

Thanks for the helpful reply Pedro, I tend to agree that the SCM11's would be ideal for my room as the demo room I heard them in was also rather small. I'd like to hear the 19's also just to be sure, but think they may be overkill for both my room and amp.

Idealy I'd like to hear them all on the end of an Elicit-R amp in a small room before I make my mind up. None of my local dealers in Lincolnshire stock ATC speakers so I'll struggle to get a home demo I think.

what I do know for sure is I'll never go back to having ported speakers again. Even with my Spendor's you get nice fast, tightly controlled bass. I just find the Spendor's a little bass shy at times, unlike the ATC's which are that bit more punchy and dug a little deeper. Even the little SCM7's sounded pretty huge and very impressive for their size.

 

[phydeau]

I moved from the 11's to 19's - the 19's are a real pig to drive properly; very power hungry. The 11's do a great job, and a much earier to drive; I don't think the 19's add a huge amount more.

 

[Pedro2]

Idealy I'd like to hear them all on the end of an Elicit-R amp in a small room before I make my mind up. None of my local dealers in Lincolnshire stock ATC speakers so I'll struggle to get a home demo I think.

Hi RicP

I don't think there are many ATC dealers around. Got ours from Musicraft in Derby where you can find Rick who is knowledgeable and helpful in equal measure. You would have no problem taking your amp along, I'm sure, or asking for a home demo. We paid up front on the understanding of a full refund within two weeks if not happy. I wouldn't imagine that many return these speakers though!

Pedro

 

[RicP]

Thanks guys, sounds like the 11's could be the way to go. Derby is not too far from me, so may be worth a visit and try them all out with an Elicit-R

 

[NJB]

I cannot comment on the ATCs, although I have yet to read a bad review for them. However, I have just spent several weeks resolving a problem with bass boom in a small room. There is a thread of mine on here about being a converted Luddite on room placement issues. My solution, counter intuitive for me, was to use the foam bungs in the rear ports and place against the rear wall. There is, or so I have been told, a reason why this 'leaky sealed box' solution sounds good. Might be worth bearing in mind in your situation.

 

[RicP]

I cannot comment on the ATCs, although I have yet to read a bad review for them. However, I have just spent several weeks resolving a problem with bass boom in a small room. There is a thread of mine on here about being a converted Luddite on room placement issues. My solution, counter intuitive for me, was to use the foam bungs in the rear ports and place against the rear wall. There is, or so I have been told, a reason why this 'leaky sealed box' solution sounds good. Might be worth bearing in mind in your situation.

My current speakers are Spendor SA1's which are a sealed cabinet design, so have no bass ports to bung up. I'm also not suffering with bass boom with them at all.

My last speakers were Kef LS50's which I did find too bass heavy and bloated for my room, even with the half bungs in. When I tried the with full bungs they sounded far to shut in.

 

[SteveR750]

I'd agree with thre advice to stick with the 11s. I'm sure the Rega would be fine with the 19s also, since you're unlikely to want to test their max SPL capability in a smallish room. ATCs are not a difficult load, in the usual sense of big (low) impedance swings; it's that they are just insensitive, so they need a higher voltage (and thus power) to achieve the same SPL as more efficient designs.

 

[RicP]

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has experienced the Rega Elicit-R with the ATC SCM11's and/or 19's and get their thoughts on how well they are matched.

 

[Tim2010]

Are the actual posters still active on the board. Did you get them?

I'm in the same situation, I have my own 'hobbyroom' dedicated to hifi. It's small and I can't turn up the volume all the time (only when I'm home alone).

I was also planning to get the Rega Elicit-R's and ATC SCM11...

But someone told me to save some money and go for the Rega Elex-R. He told me that the Elex-R would sound better in my situation ... and the Rega Elicit would sound worser in a small room, because he's destined to player at higher volume in larger rooms.

I would love to hear your experiences!

I'm able to order the SMC17's together with the Elicit-R or Elex-R at a good price, but I have to decide quickly. I can't auditions before I have to decide ...

I'm 100% sure about the speakers, it's just a question between the Elicit-R or Elex-R.

 

[Al ears]

Are the actual posters still active on the board. Did you get them?

I'm in the same situation, I have my own 'hobbyroom' dedicated to hifi. It's small and I can't turn up the volume all the time (only when I'm home alone).

I was also planning to get the Rega Elicit-R's and ATC SCM11...

But someone told me to save some money and go for the Rega Elex-R. He told me that the Elex-R would sound better in my situation ... and the Rega Elicit would sound worser in a small room, because he's destined to player at higher volume in larger rooms.

I would love to hear your experiences!

I'm able to order the SMC17's together with the Elicit-R or Elex-R at a good price, but I have to decide quickly. I can't auditions before I have to decide ...

I'm 100% sure about the speakers, it's just a question between the Elicit-R or Elex-R.

That someone was talking rubbish. If you can afford the Elicit then go for it.

 

[Tim2010]

Where can I find the 'official' stands for the ATC's? They're very hard to find?

Driving ATC SCM19's wouldn't be a problem in my small room?

Or should I just pickup the SCM17's?

 

[Andrewjvt]

Where can I find the 'official' stands for the ATC's? They're very hard to find?

Driving ATC SCM19's wouldn't be a problem in my small room?

Or should I just pickup the SCM17's?

Scm17s? Do you mean 11s?

 

[lpv]

I moved from the 11's to 19's - the 19's are a real pig to drive properly; very power hungry. The 11's do a great job, and a much earier to drive; I don't think the 19's add a huge amount more.

could you explain: why 11's are ' much easier to drive' ?

 

[Tim2010]

Yes, I meant SCM11 ...

 

[Tim2010]

Can the scm11's or scm19's drive a Marantz KI Pearl Amp (which I currently own)?

Is the Rega Elicit-R a serious stepup from the Marantz KI Pearl Lite, or just slightly better?

If so I would temporarily just buy speakers and chord hugo dac... and take some more time to find the perfect upgrade for me.

Elicit-R got positive reviews from whathifi, but other reviewers seem to be more critical (especially lack of dynamics) although they're overly positive.

The problem is I have some kind of "take it or leave it"-chance to get the amp at a good price, but can't audition before the deal ends.

PS: My KI Pearl-setup will go to my parents, so I got the chance to get it back in case I don't like the Rega. But I prefer to be sure from the first time. Don't like returning stuff all the time.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Tim2010

You should also look at Hegel's H160 amp/DAC. We and our clients have found the H160 to be an excelent sonic match with ATC monitors and the H160's high quantity/quality of power and high damping factor enables the H160 to easily drive and control curved SCM7, SCM11, SCM19 and SCM40 passive monitors. A top quality in bulit DAC too which some of our clients are using in preference to their Hugo's.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Tim2010]

could the Marantz KI Pearl Lite drive the ATC 11/19 speakers (while i'm looking for the 'perfect amp').

Another problem is, I got a decent collection of sacd's and would love to get rips of them, but can't find PS1 / PS3 with the old driver software...

 

[Tim2010]

I looked at the Hegel. The problem is it has no built in phonostage (which I prefer over external).

How does it compare with the Rega Elicit-R?

My hobbyroom room is also small, won't the Hegel be too loud and boomy in such a room?

 

[stevebrock]

I am waiting for some SCM11s to come in for me to demo from Rick @Musicraft

My Elciit R will have no problem driving them as my friend Richard has an Elicit R drivng the 19s

I live in Nottingham if you are local to me - should have them in a few weeks

 

[BluePotato]

Steve/others, how did you get on with the ATC SCM11's? I sold my system a couple of years ago for various reasons, currently finishing an extension which will have a small but dedicated listening space (3m x 2m). With this I want to buy a new system from scratch.

I plan to do some demo'ing and hopefully get some testing done in the room with kit before buying, been so busy with other elements of the extension I've to date been limited to online research.

On paper at least the ATC SCM11's sound like definitely need to be on the shortlist (and potentially suited to my room). ProAc Studio 118 are also on the list.

Amp wise I fancy the Elex R to demo - challenge is finding a dealer that sources the bits I need. In the interim, grateful of any thoughts/feedback.

Finally, for info, my previous system was a Leema Pulse, Rega DAC and Spendor A5. The kit was in the dining room which wasn't ideal. In truth I spent more time analysing the sound and wanting a bit more punch and life rather than sitting back, smiling and being wowed.

 

[floyd droid62]

Hi, I've recently had a demo of the ATC SCM7, SCM11 & SCM40, they were some of the best speakers I've ever heard and now I have to have a pair!

The 7's were connected to a Roksan K3, the 11's a Musical Fidelity Intergrated (not sure on model) and the 40's to ATC's own 150wpc pre/power combo. I'm looking at the 7's, 11's & 19's to go in my small 4m x 3m room. As the nearest ATC dealer is a couple of hours drive from me I think a home demo would be out of the question. I've suffered in the past with bass boom in my small room with KEF LS50's even with the half bung's inserted and well away from the walls. My current speakers are Spendor SA1's and sound good with a nicely controled bass (if a little on the light side) but not in the same league as the ATC's.

My questions are, how would my Elicit-R sound with the 7's, 11's & 19's and would it have enough power to drive them well enough?

And which would be best suited to my 3m x 4m room?

Would love to go for the 19's, but just concerned they would be a bit much for my room size and if the Elicit-R is good enough to drive them.

Thanks in advance for any advice, Rick

My room is very similar to yours ;( 4.20x3.30 meters,) Your experience with the KEF LS50 was exactly the same as mine ,i found them very boomy,& like you have said , they still boomed ; half bunged 50 cm from wall ;plus i never liked the sound fully bunged ,at the moment i am saving for the ATC SCM.7, I have had floorstanders in the past and tried a number of small ported speakers ,all droned a little,so that is why i am saving to buy a sealed, speaker ,atc scm 7; My amp is a cxa60, i have yet to try it with the atc,s but i emailed atc & they said no problem at all my amp would drive them fine.Reading the forums i think people are exaggeating the power requirements of the ATC scm7,the impedance stays about 6 ohms in the midrange & the magazine HIFI PIG said they are a easy speaker to drive.

 

[floyd droid62]

I cannot comment on the ATCs, although I have yet to read a bad review for them. However, I have just spent several weeks resolving a problem with bass boom in a small room. There is a thread of mine on here about being a converted Luddite on room placement issues. My solution, counter intuitive for me, was to use the foam bungs in the rear ports and place against the rear wall. There is, or so I have been told, a reason why this 'leaky sealed box' solution sounds good. Might be worth bearing in mind in your situation.

mistake in posting, sorry

 

[thewinelake.]

Have you read the results of the recent "bake-off" - maybe you should listen to some EV Sentries before splashing out on ATC! ;-)