upgrading my avi amp to atc amp??

[Anonymous]

Thanks Rick for your knowledge, very helpful. I'm very close to making a decision. All along I have been interested in the SIA2-150 MK2, let everyone know results when I purchase it. Probley a couple of months away still.

What type of speaker wire do you recommend?(brand, model) Is the chord odyssy that I was recommended in this forum be ok?

I also heard the abbey road monitor cable works well with the atc products.

 

[Anonymous]

Rick or FrankHarvey HiFi,

Could either or you please explain the technical differences between the ATC and AVI integrated amps?

The specs look very similar.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the AVI amplifier.

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the AVI amplifier.

So how do you know it is working outside of its capabilities?

 

[Frank Harvey]

What you're finding with your AVI amp is that it's working outside of it's capabilities. An amp working within it's capabilities will sound the same at higher volume as it does at lower volume. Bryston is a perfect example of this.

As above.

Like I said, comparing watts per channel is like comparing chalk and cheese. Two amps at 30wpc can sound very different as far as power goes.

After numerous dems with the SCM40's, I find the best amps for them are ATC's own as they just seem to sound better with them. Bryston also works well, which I think is down to far more power on tap. And like I said, Bryston is usually working well within it's limits, so sounds the same when turned up, unlike other amplifiers.

 

[Anonymous]

Given that the SIA2-150 with SCM40 cost almost £5,000, how do you feel the combo compares to the new SCM25A?

 

[Frank Harvey]

The 25's are a different speaker to the SCM40's, and I don't think that anyone would be considering both for a hi-fi system. The 25's are designed for smaller rooms and monitoring, although it is something I'm considering as an AV speaker as an M&K replacement.

The SCM20 would be a fairer, more comparable comparison.

 

[Messiah]

Tarquinh:You seem to miss the point about speaker voicing. All speakers do not sound the same, whether active or passive. Compare B&O with Genelec or your own ADMs and you'll find they sound very different, yet they're all active designs.
Also recording studios have different requirements for their speakers so that doesn't really apply.

You've lost me there Tarquinh. I have made no mention (as far as I can tell) of all speakers sounding the same.

What different requirements do recording studios have?? Are we not aiming to recreate what they have mastered as faithfully as possible??

 

[Anonymous]

Messiah:Tarquinh:You seem to miss the point about speaker voicing. All speakers do not sound the same, whether active or passive. Compare B&O with Genelec or your own ADMs and you'll find they sound very different, yet they're all active designs.
Also recording studios have different requirements for their speakers so that doesn't really apply.

You've lost me there Tarquinh. I have made no mention (as far as I can tell) of all speakers sounding the same.

What different requirements do recording studios have?? Are we not aiming to recreate what they have mastered as faithfully as possible??

The short answer is no. Lounge rooms aren't blessed with the same characteristics as recording studios. If you want to recreate the same sound, you'll have to build a room with the same acoustic environment as the recording studio where the recording was made, and live with the sound of the Yamaha monitors they probably have, at a distance of 1 metre or so from your ears!

Personally I just want a sound I can listen to. If pushed, I'd like that to sound close to the sound of the instruments I hear at a variety of venues and also with the tone I know - Yamaha acoustic guitar vs Ibanez and so on.

 

[chebby]

Messiah:Are we not aiming to recreate what they have mastered as faithfully as possible??

Possibly not.

'They' might be mastering for something that is an acceptable compromise - in playback quality - on portable radios, TVs, iPods, PC speakers, cheap dock systems and in cars, rather than an exercise in recording something "as faithfully as possible".

Sounding good on a traditional seperates hifi could be the last (and least) priority of the recording 'studio'. (The small size of active monitors, relatively lower cost and lack of big amps could be as much - or more - of a factor than outright quality. Especially when every square foot of recording space is expensive to rent.)

These considerations are not a million miles away from the domestic considerations of the hifi consumer now...

Space. If I were to buy a decent pair of small active speakers fed with computer sourced material (and if I got my telly on the wall) I would gain 3 square metres of living room. (4 square metres if I put the speakers on wall brackets.)

Cost savings. Does not need explaining.

An acceptably high quality with a range of material across a spectrum of recording quality - from the apalling to the sublime - and bitrates ranging from Internet radio and compressed download standard, to 24/192 'Studio Master' FLAC files. Too many 'traditional' systems are a bit 'precious' about anything but the finest recordings.

 

[Anonymous]

Messiah, apologies if that sounded harsh, it wasn't meant to be. I've been pondering a lot recently over the whole hifi thing without coming to a conclusion other than maybe it's time for me to get out and learn to play one instrument well.

Chebby, yes, that's an excellent point. You only have to listen to early Faces or other bands of that era to see (hear) the justice of your remarks.

 

[Messiah]

Tarquinh - no worries. I did not take it that way

Chebby - good points. However, assuming that a producer is not restricted by paying rent or using lower quality equipment and is trying to produce the best master they can, are we not striving towards recreating that experience too?? If so, why do we use such different equipment?? (aesthetics aside of course )

(It is not helping that I am reading this and trying to remember the point I am trying to make...d'oh!)

 

[MUSICRAFT]

soundquality:
Thanks Rick for your knowledge, very helpful. I'm very close to making a decision. All along I have been interested in the SIA2-150 MK2, let everyone know results when I purchase it. Probley a couple of months away still.

What type of speaker wire do you recommend?(brand, model) Is the chord odyssy that I was recommended in this forum be ok?

I also heard the abbey road monitor cable works well with the atc products.

Hi soundquality

Your welcome.

I have not heard the Abbey Road cable. I will still highly recommend you use a generic speaker cable (this is what i mostly use/sell) as this will give ideal results with ATC's passive monitors compared to many other speaker cables from budget to high end.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Hello, I would like to ask how well the bryston bp6/4b sst2 pre/power combo would work with the atc scm 40 speakers? Or should I stick to the atc amps?

All comments would be appreciated.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

soundquality:
Hello, I would like to ask how well the bryston bp6/4b sst2 pre/power combo would work with the atc scm 40 speakers? Or should I stick to the atc amps?

All comments would be appreciated.

Hi soundquality

The safest bet is to use with ATC's own amplification as they are fully aware of the quality of power/performance it takes to make their state of the art drive units tick. Having said that Bryston amps also work well with the ATC speakers.

Amplifiers from Chord Electronics with their (amongst other qualities ) unconditional stability are also worth considering and its a make of amplification which quite a few of my clients happily use with ATC speakers. Models to look at are CPM2500/SPM1050.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Hi David, I would like to ask you, as I believe you sell bryston and you might have tryed it.

Would the pre/power bryston bp6/4b sst2 combo with the atc scm 40 speakers would be a better match than the atc pre/power?

Because it would be similar price if I purchase the ca2 pre with 2 P1 amps. Which combo is superior, advantages/disadvantages?

By the way I just connected my new chord odyssey 2 cable and I see there is potential. Still needs a few hours to get better results but I can see where its heading. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Rick. I would like to purchase an amp that I don't have to upgrade for at least 10years that would suit the atc's and also have a bit of window shaking power without sacrificing quality. So personal knowlege is fantastic, something that you guys have.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi to all.

Getting close to purchasing ATC amp. I have decided to go for the SIA2-150 integrated. I have a question to ask, might be a silly one but I need to know. In the future when I purchase the P1 and bi-amp it to the integrated, how does it work? Like If I select to listen to the cd player will that turn off the P1 because its not selected? Or once you select the button say for the P1 to turn on, and then selecting your cd player, will that turn off the P1? Or will the P1 always be turned on by switching it on from the mains power button? Also what will be needed to connect the P1 to the integrated? what type of interconnect? (brand from experiance)

Thanks..

 

[Anonymous]

Hello to all, I would like to share with all that I have placed an order for the ATC SIA2-150

.

I havn't heard the amp, but I would like to thank Rick and David for sharing there experiences and recommendations to use Atc's own amps with the Atc speakers. I am very impressed with the ATC Scm40 speakers (highly recommend them but they need to be shown respect with system matching to get awesome results) that I am confident I will get satisfactory results from this amp.

Thanks to all and I will keep you posted on my results! ( I hope i'm blown away)

 

[Craig M.]

good move, it's an awesome amp and a perfect match to their speakers.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

soundquality:
Hello to all, I would like to share with all that I have placed an order for the ATC SIA2-150

.

I havn't heard the amp, but I would like to thank Rick and David for sharing there experiences and recommendations to use Atc's own amps with the Atc speakers. I am very impressed with the ATC Scm40 speakers (highly recommend them but they need to be shown respect with system matching to get awesome results) that I am confident I will get satisfactory results from this amp.

Thanks to all and I will keep you posted on my results! ( I hope i'm blown away)

Hi soundquality

Your welcome

and i hope you'll enjoy the performance of the SIA2-150 MK2 for many years to come as ATC inspire confidence.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

A pleasure Soundquality, anytime

 

[Anonymous]

Hello to all. I have recieved the new Atc amp and I am pleased with the results.

I need further assistance as I am about to purchase a new cd player, something that will match my set up.I am strongly considering the Esoteric X-05 as I have heard that it matches my set up very well as it is on the warm side and works well with a revealing set up. I would like to ask if anyone has this combo or this player and if they can tell me if they are happy or not etc. I have also heard, that this model might be updated next month but no one is saying anything, if anyone knows anything it would be much appreciated. The negative thing about this player is that it doesn't have digital in, but end of the day i'm buying a cd player not a Dac. I already know that the chord dac works well but I can't afford that and I can get a better deal with the esoteric. I also listen to normal cd's more than sacd.

Thanks in advance and will wait to hear comments from anyone.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

soundquality:
Hello to all. I have recieved the new Atc amp and I am pleased with the results.

I need further assistance as I am about to purchase a new cd player, something that will match my set up.I am strongly considering the Esoteric X-05 as I have heard that it matches my set up very well as it is on the warm side and works well with a revealing set up. I would like to ask if anyone has this combo or this player and if they can tell me if they are happy or not etc. I have also heard, that this model might be updated next month but no one is saying anything, if anyone knows anything it would be much appreciated. The negative thing about this player is that it doesn't have digital in, but end of the day i'm buying a cd player not a Dac. I already know that the chord dac works well but I can't afford that and I can get a better deal with the esoteric. I also listen to normal cd's more than sacd.

Thanks in advance and will wait to hear comments from anyone.

Hi soundquality

I am glad you like your new SIA2-150 MK2 amp and i hope you'll enjoy its performance for many years to come.

The X-05 is a very good player so if is available at a good price then it is worth a go. You could also wait for ATC's new cd player which will have digital inputs and hopefully should be ready within the next couple of months.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[ID.]

Esoteric should be coming out with a couple of new CD players with digital in

http://www.esoteric.jp/products/esoteric/k01/indexe.html

http://www.esoteric.jp/products/esoteric/k03/indexe.html

Haven't listened to either of them yet.