ATC SMC 11V2 two questions

[nopiano]

From online reviews of ATC speakers it is clear to me that there are some amps out there which may have output of 100 or even more watts into 8ohms compared to another amp driving the same ATC speakers with output of 80watts into 8ohms , and for some reason its the latter amp which drives the speakers a lot better than the former amp; so it implies to me that there is more than just simple Power Output having effect on the driving capabilities of an amp?

Sometimes the current is important, which you may find useful to compare with the torque in a car as opposed to its power. In a car the torque is the pulling power, whereas power gives top speed - roughly speaking anyway!

If a speaker drops to 4 ohms or less over quite a bit of its frequency range then a higher current amp will be better. It might measure 80 watts into 8 ohms but 160 watts into 4 ohms. A weedier rival might reach 100 watts into 8, but just 110 at 4.

ATCs aren’t very sensitive - loud, if you like - per watt, but they are a benign load, rarely dropping below 6 ohms. So they’re easy to drive, hence compatible widely, but prefer a bit of power to get them going optimally.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Finally I bought the ATC SMC V2 I have not yet tested them with my Denon PMA 920 to be careful to choose the right feet and I have them temporarily at my brother's house connected to an old Grundig M 100 R amplifier that at 8 ohms gives 60 w only and I must say that it moves them perfectly, using only a quarter of the total volume of the amplifier, to obtain an adequate volume for a room of 21 square meters, apparently the speakers do not need as much power as they say.

Nice one

 

[Romulus]

Sometimes the current is important, which you may find useful to compare with the torque in a car as opposed to its power. In a car the torque is the pulling power, whereas power gives top speed - roughly speaking anyway!

If a speaker drops to 4 ohms or less over quite a bit of its frequency range then a higher current amp will be better. It might measure 80 watts into 8 ohms but 160 watts into 4 ohms. A weedier rival might reach 100 watts into 8, but just 110 at 4.

ATCs aren’t very sensitive - loud, if you like - per watt, but they are a benign load, rarely dropping below 6 ohms. So they’re easy to drive, hence compatible widely, but prefer a bit of power to get them going optimally.

Thank you for the above and I understand your reasoning but I read for eg HiFi Choice review of Moon 240i amp with power output of 2 x 50w (8 Ohm) and the speaker involved in the review system was ATC SCM40 which recommends power amp 75 to 300 watts? https://www.hifichoice.com/content/simaudio-moon-neo-240i

Maybe this Moon amp has something which enables to drive these speakers properly in order to accomplish the review of the Moon 240i or maybe its all done on a lesser volume because of the lesser power output of the amp?

 

[nopiano]

Thank you for the above and I understand your reasoning but I read for eg HiFi Choice review of Moon 240i amp with power output of 2 x 50w (8 Ohm) and the speaker involved in the review system was ATC SCM40 which recommends power amp 75 to 300 watts? https://www.hifichoice.com/content/simaudio-moon-neo-240i

Maybe this Moon amp has something which enables to drive these speakers properly in order to accomplish the review of the Moon 240i or maybe its all done on a lesser volume because of the lesser power output of the amp?

In a domestic setting, I doubt many of us exceed 10 watts peak unless we regularly play very loudly. I’m happy with peaks around 86db in my 25 sq metre room, but we are all different. Based on the review, the Moon is apparently very high quality. This would be far nicer than, say, a 100 watt AV receiver, to use a slightly extreme comparison.

Worth noting that ATCs smallest amplifier is 100 watts per channel. But I expect the Moon delivers more than its rated power, and you’re really looking at double the power to make an obvious difference thanks to the non-linear way loudness increases with power.

 

[Jorge]

Finally I have bought the ATC SMC 11 V2 and I have obtained the type of sound I was looking for, they adapt perfectly to my musical tastes and do not present problems for their location, in terms of consumption I have to say that I use them with the same position of the potentiometer of volume opting a similar sound pressure than with my B&W DM 220, the only difference that I notice is that my Denon PMA 920 amplifier heats appreciably more.
Thank you very much for your help and good advice.

 

[johnfryett]

Nad 3080 comes into my mind

I have a NAD C368 driving ATC SCM11s and I love the result, particularly with classical music. Clean and precise.