Speaker Design for close to walls

[plastic penguin]

These are 84dB but the ATC SCM11 are 85dB These would be a better fit.

Cyrus does have the impedance matching technology so it might be worth an audition.

I now have 3 speakers I want to try

@nopiano will probably confirm, all the modern ATC standmounts have the same nominal impedance and dbs, if correct it is down to what size of cabinet suits the best.

 

[nopiano]

@nopiano will probably confirm, all the modern ATC standmounts have the same nominal impedance and dbs, if correct it is down to what size of cabinet suits the best.

All the ‘entry’ series (as ATC modestly call them) are 85dB except the tiniest (the SCM7) which is 84dB.

More here:-

SCM7 2-Way mini-monitor | ATC Loudspeakers

Small 2-way, passive, stand mount, sealed box loudspeaker, hand made in the UK.

atc.audio

 

[plastic penguin]

All the ‘entry’ series (as ATC modestly call them) are 85dB except the tiniest (the SCM7) which is 84dB.

More here:-

SCM7 2-Way mini-monitor | ATC Loudspeakers

Small 2-way, passive, stand mount, sealed box loudspeaker, hand made in the UK.

atc.audio

Good stuff. I thought you'd know as a owner and ATC fan.

Regret not demoing a pair a last year. They were on my list but...

Around this neck of the woods they ATC dealers are sparse.

 

[Shrek]

First thing if your close too walls i would look at the cabinet of the speaker and its build .

 

[Vincent Kars]

If it must be close to a wall, I wonder if a passive is a good idea.
Actives like Dutch&Dutch 8c are designed to be put anywhere including ridiculously close to the wall. The built-in DSP simply takes care of that.
Likewise Genelec recommends to place their monitors 5 cm from the wall as a minimum.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I'll throw in a couple of options that I don't think anyone has mentioned, the Dali menuet se are gorgeous little speakers and sound lovely but definitely don't be expecting room shaking bass or proac tablette 10 signature ( there's a used pair of on that well known auction site atm) again don't be expecting big bass, but vocal and acoustic music sound beautiful....I'd add a small subwoofer with either, a rel t-zero would be ample.

 

[Oxfordian]

Depends what speakers you are trying to drive, I would ignore ATC SCM7

Curious as to why the Cyrus couldn't drive the ATC's, my Hegel H95 isn't as powerful (60w/8o) and it works my ATC' SMC 7's just fine - well at least to my ears.

 

[Al ears]

Curious as to why the Cyrus couldn't drive the ATC's, my Hegel H95 isn't as powerful (60w/8o) and it works my ATC' SMC 7's just fine - well at least to my ears.

There are many reviewers, and I am one of them, that believe you cannot get the best out of these inefficient speakers with anything less than a decent100 wpc. Many of these tried price-comparible amps that had in the region of 60-70wpc and they decided it wasn't enough for their liking.
If yours sound good to you then that's just fine.
Have you ever heard them with a more powerful amp?
ATCs own recommendation of 75-300wpc should tell you something.....

 

[plastic penguin]

(Drums fingers on chin)

 

[Oxfordian]

There are many reviewers, and I am one of them, that believe you cannot get the best out of these inefficient speakers with anything less than a decent100 wpc. Many of these tried price-comparible amps that had in the region of 60-70wpc and they decided it wasn't enough.
ATCs own recommendation of 75-300wpc should tell you something.....

Thanks, I have to be honest I didn't look at spec's when I bought my system, I just listened to the sound that came out of the various bits of kit my dealer loaned me until I had something that sounded good to my ears, the dealer assured me that the combination would be good together and to give them credit they were right.

If I may, what makes a speaker efficient or inefficient, I don't understand all the tech stuff just go on what sounds good, so are my ATC's an inefficient design and is that bad?

I went with the H95/ATC 7's combination simply because I liked what came out of the speakers and still do, plus and being honest, I didn't have the budget to allow me to get the H120's let alone the H190's. Now I have a bit of spare cash I could upgrade the amp if it was warranted but I am unsure if I would gain anything sound wise.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks, I have to be honest I didn't look at spec's when I bought my system, I just listened to the sound that came out of the various bits of kit my dealer loaned me until I had something that sounded good to my ears, the dealer assured me that the combination would be good together and to give them credit they were right.

If I may, what makes a speaker efficient or inefficient, I don't understand all the tech stuff just go on what sounds good, so are my ATC's an inefficient design and is that bad?

I went with the H95/ATC 7's combination simply because I liked what came out of the speakers and still do, plus and being honest, I didn't have the budget to allow me to get the H120's let alone the H190's. Now I have a bit of spare cash I could upgrade the amp if it was warranted but I am unsure if I would gain anything sound wise.

Your ATCs are rated at 84dB, which to many would be considered inefficient. It's simply the effect of design / drivers / crossover etc but in no way would anyone consider it to be bad.
Just means you would need quite a meaty amp to get the best out of it volumewise and amplifiers can vary considerably in their the way they deliver current.
Speakers rated from, say 88dB and above and 8ohm would be considered to be efficient and would not need a powerful amplifier to drive them to high volume levels.

 

[Oxfordian]

Your ATCs are rated at 84dB, which to many would be considered inefficient. It's simply the effect of design / drivers / crossover etc but in no way would anyone consider it to be bad.
Just means you would need quite a meaty amp to get the best out of it volumewise.
Speakers rated from, say 88dB and above and 8ohm would be considered to be efficient and would not need a powerful amplifier to drive them to high volume levels.

That makes some sense, thank you.

My listening room is small and as such I don't tend to play my music very loud otherwise it seems to overpower the room so is this why I am getting away with a 60wpc amp rather than as you put it something meaty?

 

[Al ears]

That makes some sense, thank you.

My listening room is small and as such I don't tend to play my music very loud otherwise it seems to overpower the room so is this why I am getting away with a 60wpc amp rather than as you put it something meaty?

Good to know. Your amp, like many Rotel amps, probably has very good current delivery irrespective of its wpc figure.

 

[plastic penguin]

In all truth, the OP won't know for sure unless he tries the ATCs with his Cyrus.

Think the reason why ATC recommend amps from 75-300 watts is because the magnet is the size of a small skip.

If you was to look up the specs of the Dali Rubicon & Leema Pulse, on paper the amp should struggle - it doesn't. Of course the speakers have nibbled away a little bit of volume, but it certainly doesn't struggle.

I can't say for sure if the ATCs are okay with a Cyrus, but I wouldn't totally dismiss the combo.

 

[Al ears]

In all truth, the OP won't know for sure unless he tries the ATCs with his Cyrus.

Think the reason why ATC recommend amps from 75-300 watts is because the magnet is the size of a small skip.

If you was to look up the specs of the Dali Rubicon & Leema Pulse, on paper the amp should struggle - it doesn't. Of course the speakers have nibbled away a little bit of volume, but it certainly doesn't struggle.

I can't say for sure if the ATCs are okay with a Cyrus, but I wouldn't totally dismiss the combo.

Just goes to show we are all different, which is a good thing, because I would.
As I stated, I would ignore them, I wasn't suggesting the OP did the same.

 

[plastic penguin]

Just goes to show we are all different, which is a good thing, because I would.
As I stated, I would ignore them, I wasn't suggesting the OP did the same.

The point I was making is it wouldn't hurt to demo a pair of ATCs.

Also, according to spec sheets some amps nearly double in wattage when the speakers are around 4 ohms.