Undecided...ATC SCM11 vs ProAc Ref 8 Signature vs Spendor SA1

[admin_exported]

Hi Guys, need some input.....

My room is 4x3 m and priority is musicality, not so much brutal honesty/blandness in musical presentation...amp is Rotel RA1062 (high current). Any idea which would be 'the' one to get?

Musical taste = new age, jazz, r&b, pop & all sorts, no metallica though

Budget GBP1k+

Thanks if you could elaborate a little on your choice? Any other superior options at not much increase in price will be considered, thx!!

Chris

 

[John Duncan]

Have heard the latter two (in isolation, not together) but not the former - blown away by the Proac, not by the Spendor - felt the Proac handled voices better. Neither are bassmonkeys though, if you want that look elsewhere (the ATC maybe, PMC FB1 for more money).

 

[Anonymous]

SA1 are very nice very clear. A little light of weight though.

 

[Anonymous]

Only heard the SA1 (and own them) and the Proacs. I felt that the SA1 was a better speaker. Better balance, easier to place, more natural sounding and less bright. Possibly more detailed too...

 

[Anonymous]

...oh, and they look better too

 

[John Duncan]

igglebert:...oh, and they look better too

Subjective........correct, but subjective......

 

[crusaderlord]

I have heard the Spendor SA1 and it was superb but a little laid back and not as bright as some. But i am also very partial to the Proac Signature from reading various opinions, although i havent even heard it yet. I would love to test them side by side as i believe one of these will be my next upgrade. However this is not proving easy to do.

Not much help to you really, but at least it confirms my own opinion that your shortlist looks like a good one. Visually at least, i am not fond of the ATC.

 

[SHAXOS]

Hey,
Id skip the lot and look for an ex dem pair of B&W 805S. I brought a pair recently absolutely immaculate impossible to tell from new for 1200 and i know you will be able to pick up a similar deal. In fact i found numerous deals for 1400 including the official stands. In my opinion these sounded better than any other bookshelf speaker i heard under 1500. Im not sure if your room is too small for them but they really do sound amazing. I thought the spendors were very good but no where near the B&Ws. Hope that helps

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:igglebert:...oh, and they look better too

Subjective........correct, but subjective......

Hifi is subjective...

 

[Anonymous]

I found the Proacs too bright for my amp/source, taste and more importantly, room. I also found that their bass weight in free space was low, i.e. they sounded too lean for me. They need to be near a wall.

The Spendors are not dull in sound and will sound a little bright in some circumstances. They're also voiced to sound bigger than they are in that the mid-bass seems to be 'thicker' than some other stand-mounters. Difficult to describe but you just need to try them. To put my point into perspective, the Proacs are rated down to c.38-40Hz, the SA1s 75Hz. When I heard them both in free space I would have said that the SA1s went deeper. The Proacs have a rear port so if placed well should in theory kick a bit harder; note the qualifier there. The SA1s are infinite baffle so wall placement is going to yield more subtle results.

The B&Ws would def be worth a shot provided you can try them and find a used pair. Also, whilst you're at it, try the Proac SC1. You might find that these suit your needs as they provide more bass weight than the Tabs.

 

[Mike_Schmidt]

I owned a set of proac signatures the only reason i dont now is because i went to the Proac D28's. The sigs are a safe choice in that room, i have close to the same size dedicated just for music but surprisingly the Proac D28 handle that room size well better than the studio 110's??? Dont be afraid to look around, but for sheer musical enjoyment without alot of bottom weight, the proacs are a safe choice

 

[Anonymous]

Thanx for the input guys, but I only have experience with ATC SCM11 and ProAc Ref 8 Sig so far and the ATC does sound more authoritative overall despite a little too neutral for my taste. I guess if I listen to conventional pop songs and new age and some audiophile voices, I might need a reasonable dose of bass weight. If I go the ProAc way, means I would need a sub and one that matches well.

The Spendor SA1 is intriguing but I still havent had a chance to hear them yet. Is this another ATC plain-neutral sounding pair? I know being truthful and honest to the source is good but I do hope they sound musical too. ATC SCM11 isnt really what I would say as very 'musical'.

I also stumbled upon the AVI ADM9.1 -its online literature does seem very appealing...for about the same price, I get an active set and convenience of streaming music from my PC. But the back panel looks a bit cheesy as most proper studio monitors have identical inputs/outputs on both speakers but the ADM9.1 only has them all on the right speaker(or was it the left?) and the remaining one is simply connected to the main one via a cable and has no RCA/input of its own...makes them look like multimedia PC speakers rather than hifi or professional studio sets. Anyway, anyone has heard these before and how do they compare to ATC SCM11, Spendor SA1 or the ProAc Ref 8 Sig? Apparently for strange reasons, not many people rate the more expensive ProAc 1SC well, most people seem more impressed with the Tablette and Ref 8 sign models...so I have my reservations regarding the ProAc 1SC.

Then we also have the AE220 active from Acoustic energy now, another 5 star product by WHF...is that anywhere near ADM9.1?? Hope to hear some info from you guys...

Maybe WHF should do a shootout for speakers in the GBP1000+ range. They dont have to shoot anyone down, maybe just give them credit when they deserve it...they cant all sound equal

Cheers
Chris

 

[Anonymous]

The Spendors aren't neutral to the point where they're unmusical or dull. Instead they're musically captivating and incredibly infectious; points the hifi press have made about them. Jules once commented when comparing them to the Dynaudio 52SE that the SA1s hypnotized him whereas the Dyns excited him. To be honest, unless you're in a small room you're going to need a sub with the SA1s to get the complete picture. They're so good at what they do present that I forget about what isn't there and enjoy what is. As it happens I stumbled across the SA1s when trying the Proacs. I needed to find a speaker that would be easy to place and would interface with my terrible room situation, i.e. no ports ideally, not bright, natural sounding and careful with the bass.

Regardless of the press and my comments, you'll just have to hear them to decide. You may hate
them! One thing that I will say is that they need a lot of juice. By that I mean in general they suck up a lot of power, not that they only sound good when making your hair move.

I can't remember your original brief but some others to try would be the Dynaudio 52SE, Dynaudio Focus 110, PMC DB1i and the active version of them.

Let the search continue!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there. You can find an accurate AND musical speaker in the Proac studio 110. It's all there - Detail, accuracy and clean, taut, rapid bass. They're delicate and subtle when required too. IMHO you'd struggle to beat them spending less than 1500 quid. The ATC's are supposedly exceptional but notoriously difficult to drive and sound better at high volumes. The smaller speakers are not my cup of tea but they can provide awesome imaging and are better suited to smaller rooms - The Proac sigs, SC1 and Dynaudio focus 110 are all excellent in this regard ( though the Dyns like some power behind them). In any case a home audition is a must given potentially wildly different results with different amps/rooms etc. Have fun!!!

 

[Anonymous]

I own the ProAc Responce 1sc, and they are great.

Voices sound great, they don't get very low at the frequency range (which I dont mind at all).
They sound very natural and easy to listen to for hours.

The amp is a Primare I21.

 

[crusaderlord]

Were the signatures happy being close to a wall ? as this is one of the requirements i need for new speakers. I am not after deep thumping bass, and am happy it being tight and detailed.

Some speakers get boomy in the bass close to walls which is no good for me.

 

[Anonymous]

The Proac Signatures need to be relatively close to a wall IMO to ensure decent bass response. They're rear ported for this reason. I tried them in free space and whilst the mid-range and treble was excellent, the bass was rather shy. Distance from a wall is another question and one that depends on your circumstances and taste. The Spendors don't really seem to care much at all about close-to-wall placement being infinite baffle.

 

[Thaiman]

I vote for ProAc Ref 8 (and I would go for signature range)

 

[JoelSim]

The ProAcs work best about 30-40cm from the walls, crisp and musical, they are there to help you get involved in the music.

They are detailed, but they are also a little more forgiving than some on poorer recordings.

I love 'em.

 

[JoelSim]

Oh and they sound great with Arcam.