Who has ATC SCM40 - any comments?

[MUSICRAFT]

chebby:
MUSICRAFT:one of my clients uses gryphon's callisto amplifier with scm40's and has v

reverendo:seems that there's text missing... hope you can complete what you were 'saying'

Rick often turns into a large reptilian humanoid when he uses the letter "V".

He'll be alright soon and back with useful ATC related advice.

Hi chebby

Sorry i had i a client to attend to for an arranged demo.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[reverendo]

Rick,

thank you very much for finishing the comment. I listened to a full Gryphon setup, do a darTZeel and Lansche setup, listened to the Thiel 3.7 with Bryston (the 3, which were definitely not on par with the speakers IMO) and Behold with Ascendo. I must say that the cleanest and most transparent midrange (not the best speaker nor the best setup) belonged to the ATCs. I just stated this in order to agree with you, although I still am not very knowledgable regarding speakers.

I just might have made a decision of buying these speakers. Just hope the pending sale of my own happens in the next few days. Since there is no ATC dealer in Brazil I'll have to contact ATC directly.

Thank you very much for a very insightful description. I kind of have a hunch that my Gryphon will match nicely (sonically) with the SCM40s.

Best regards

Andr‚

 

[MUSICRAFT]

reverendo:
Rick,

thank you very much for finishing the comment. I listened to a full Gryphon setup, do a darTZeel and Lansche setup, listened to the Thiel 3.7 with Bryston (the 3, which were definitely not on par with the speakers IMO) and Behold with Ascendo. I must say that the cleanest and most transparent midrange (not the best speaker nor the best setup) belonged to the ATCs. I just stated this in order to agree with you, although I still am not very knowledgable regarding speakers.

I just might have made a decision of buying these speakers. Just hope the pending sale of my own happens in the next few days. Since there is no ATC dealer in Brazil I'll have to contact ATC directly.

Thank you very much for a very insightful description. I kind of have a hunch that my Gryphon will match nicely (sonically) with the SCM40s.

Best regards

Andr‚

Hi Andre

Your welcome.

Audio Love in Peru is the closest distributor/dealer to you.

Anyway i hope to visit Brazil one day as it looks like a fascinating country and also Ayrton Senna is my hero.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[koolkeith]

MUSICRAFT:koolkeith:

Perhaps the dealers can clarify the position re. the new ATC tweeter, which if it were imminent, would make buying a new pair tomorrow a bit stupid. Which models will carry it & when will new models ship with it ? I have the 40's & the cheap ATC pre/power. The mantra one hears constantly on the forums is that the actives are light years ahead of the passives and one would be better buying a 5 year old pair of actives and sending them back to ATC for a service than pursuing new passives & amps. for approx. the same dosh. That's what I intend to do when I get fed up with the 40's. Also, I find they are a pain to get really loud cleanly though the fact my room is 25' long doesn't help.

Oh and what about the new atc CD/DAC/PRE/TOASTER is it close or should I just buy an Audiolab?

Hi koolkeith

Development work on ATC's own new 34mm HF unit for their SCM200/SCM300 monitors is now complete. ATC have now started work on the 25mm HF unit for the smaller models. Completion of this new design is some way off though.

Most of ATC's active monitors are significantly better their already superb passive monitors. Although the active monitors also need to be correctly driven by a suitable pre amp. I use SCM100ASL Professional monitors with the SCA2 pre amp and there really is no going back after this.

ATC's new cd player is essentially a two analogue input CA2 and also with two digital inputs (coaxial and fibre optic). The analogue stages will be discrete with true differentional outputs. The player should hopefully be ready before the end of the year.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Many thanks Rick. So it can function as a truely balanced pre-amp into the P1 which is also truely balanced ? I suppose we're looking at min. £2.5k for such a device ? I only ask because living as I do with a non-believer means that a level of stealth & pre-planning akin to the Normandy landings is usually required to get funds in place before anything can be acquired. Mind you, the world is full of women and I've heard that some of them don't watch Big Brother.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

koolkeith:MUSICRAFT:koolkeith:

Perhaps the dealers can clarify the position re. the new ATC tweeter, which if it were imminent, would make buying a new pair tomorrow a bit stupid. Which models will carry it & when will new models ship with it ? I have the 40's & the cheap ATC pre/power. The mantra one hears constantly on the forums is that the actives are light years ahead of the passives and one would be better buying a 5 year old pair of actives and sending them back to ATC for a service than pursuing new passives & amps. for approx. the same dosh. That's what I intend to do when I get fed up with the 40's. Also, I find they are a pain to get really loud cleanly though the fact my room is 25' long doesn't help.

Oh and what about the new atc CD/DAC/PRE/TOASTER is it close or should I just buy an Audiolab?

Hi koolkeith

Development work on ATC's own new 34mm HF unit for their SCM200/SCM300 monitors is now complete. ATC have now started work on the 25mm HF unit for the smaller models. Completion of this new design is some way off though.

Most of ATC's active monitors are significantly better their already superb passive monitors. Although the active monitors also need to be correctly driven by a suitable pre amp. I use SCM100ASL Professional monitors with the SCA2 pre amp and there really is no going back after this.

ATC's new cd player is essentially a two analogue input CA2 and also with two digital inputs (coaxial and fibre optic). The analogue stages will be discrete with true differentional outputs. The player should hopefully be ready before the end of the year.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Many thanks Rick. So it can function as a truely balanced pre-amp into the P1 which is also truely balanced ? I suppose we're looking at min. £2.5k for such a device ? I only ask because living as I do with a non-believer means that a level of stealth & pre-planning akin to the Normandy landings is usually required to get funds in place before anything can be acquired. Mind you, the world is full of women and I've heard that some of them don't watch Big Brother.

Hi koolkeith

Your welcome.

ATC's new CDP/PRE/DAC will have fully balanced outputs which will be compatible with the fully balanced input stage of the P1 power amplifier. Price is still TBC however the CDP/PRE/DAC will probably priced in the region of £2k - £2.5k.

Btw, i can't comment on your pre-planning as i can't recall coming across this before.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

I would like to tell my experience with the ATC SCM40. I had a prolonged demo with my music of the ATC SCM40 driven by the ATC SIA2-150. I was simply blown away. System cost: circa £4000.

After that, I had a demo in a top studio in London, of the B&W 802 with a top NAIM amp/preamp/ext power supply. System cost: circa £25000.

I thought that the B&W 802 were slightly better for classical music but this is an unfair comparison because the price different is huge.

In terms of detail, (and for me that is the most important) the SCM40 were better!

Conclusion: IMOHO the SCM40 are stunning speakers for the money and will cover most of the audiophile people (except if money is not an issue, so your choices are widen a lot.). If you partner them with an ATC amplifier, then you have the best under £5000 system, that even compares with much higher value speakers.

Pros: Detail, Bass, Dynamics, Timing.

Cons: Looks (they are ugly), Weight (they are heavy), Not many resellers.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi keeperofthereign

I am glad you enjoyed the ATC's. The ATC's are excellent VFM and can punch well above their weight. I believe SCM40's are probably not only the VFM floorstanding speakers currently available but i would even add they are probably overall the VFM speakers available regardless of price and type. In this respect the SIA2-150 MK2 is also not too far behind.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

debt_collector:It's obviously a matter of taste, but I didn't like the SCM-40s. I heard them in two demos and in a home trial with very good amplification. To my ears the SCM-40s seemed very transparent, dynamic etc. However, compared to other speakers, its bass performance disappoints, particularly in its ability to reproduce the lower frequencies. I settled on a pair of Harbeth SHL5 which is more to my liking. Have a listen and get what you prefer...
This is something we are finding. Obviously there will be speakers that are technically better than others, but this isn't always what people are after. An individual's choice of speaker has to complement the rest of their system, their musical tastes, and their room. The ATC's do tend to fare better in these categories, but there are some people that find some speakers a little too forward or lean for their tastes. Personally I wouldn't say the SCM40 lack bass, in fact I was quite surprised when I heard them, as I wasn't expecting what I heard after loking at the specs, but I can see why some people may think this.

Initially when I heard the 40's, it was hard to imagine anybody else buying another £2k speaker, but since doing many dems to people with different situations, it proves that we are all different, and have different needs. It's a bit like M&K - it trounces any hi-fi AV package as far as I and everyone here is concerned, but it's not always to everyone's taste.

Any speaker should be auditioned before purchasing, as they differ immensely and system matching is extremely important. I'm glad sflam has reinforced what I've said in the past about amplifier matching - the ATC's really do thrive on power. Yes, they can be driven to acceptable levels with decent quality amplification (hence Sugden getting a mention), but to get the best from them, power is needed.

Interesting :exmark:

 

[ebentjerodt]

Hi Rick,

as you know I have a Gryphon Diablo wit the ATC SCM 19 and I am willing to do an Upgrade. I was lloking at other brands also but my current dealer is a great guy and I realy like to buy my stuff there. so the options I ahve tehre are mainly ATC. I was thinking in the ATC SMC 20SL but from waht I have read the main diference is the tweter so they should not be a big difererence in the sound. will be the aTC SCM 40 a better pick?

thank you in advance

Eduardo

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Eduardo

I've replied here http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/atc-scm-20sl-question-for-rick#comment-2796386

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

If I had SCM19 s, I wouldn't change them for SCM40's - just my personal opinion

 

[toyota man]

I would suggest if you are in the market for some 2k speakers then listen to the scm40s they do bass low low tight controlled bass they make poor recordings sound good and room placement is not going to be a problem IMHO these speakers are well worth a listen I ran mine on a second hand audio lab 8000a while testing it before giving it to my son and they sounded great

 

[Helmut80]

I would suggest if you are in the market for some 2k speakers then listen to the scm40s they do bass low low tight controlled bass they make poor recordings sound good and room placement is not going to be a problem IMHO these speakers are well worth a listen I ran mine on a second hand audio lab 8000a while testing it before giving it to my son and they sounded great

First time I hear anyone saying they are forgiving with poor recordings. Always thought one of their 'weaknesses' was that they ruthlessly expose bad recordings?

 

[Macspur]

I would suggest if you are in the market for some 2k speakers then listen to the scm40s they do bass low low tight controlled bass they make poor recordings sound good and room placement is not going to be a problem IMHO these speakers are well worth a listen I ran mine on a second hand audio lab 8000a while testing it before giving it to my son and they sounded great

First time I hear anyone saying they are forgiving with poor recordings. Always thought one of their 'weaknesses' was that they ruthlessly expose bad recordings?

Certainly were merciless in my case... could not live with them, too dry and analytical.

Mac

 

[toyota man]

I would suggest if you are in the market for some 2k speakers then listen to the scm40s they do bass low low tight controlled bass they make poor recordings sound good and room placement is not going to be a problem IMHO these speakers are well worth a listen I ran mine on a second hand audio lab 8000a while testing it before giving it to my son and they sounded great

First time I hear anyone saying they are forgiving with poor recordings. Always thought one of their 'weaknesses' was that they ruthlessly expose bad recordings?

The. Only thing I can think is maybe I don't have any really bad recordings but I really love my system sound and the bass is great

Certainly were merciless in my case... could not live with them, too dry and analytical.

Mac

 

[MUSICRAFT]

I would suggest if you are in the market for some 2k speakers then listen to the scm40s they do bass low low tight controlled bass they make poor recordings sound good and room placement is not going to be a problem IMHO these speakers are well worth a listen I ran mine on a second hand audio lab 8000a while testing it before giving it to my son and they sounded great

First time I hear anyone saying they are forgiving with poor recordings. Always thought one of their 'weaknesses' was that they ruthlessly expose bad recordings?

Hi Helmut80

On the contrary i feel that ATC monitors ability to cut right into the heart of recordings is not a weakness but a great assest. The quality of ATC's engineering ensures that all recordings (music and movie soundtracks - good and poor) are revealed with minimal compromise in a powerful, uncoloured and natural manner.

ATC studio Soft Dome monitoring. The sound of accuracy

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Macspur]

I guess ATC is one of those speakers that will always divide opinions and like most, in the right set up

will bring pleasure to the listener.

Mac

 

[markvh1]

The ATC SCM40's with the right amplification are simply superb. They are easily the best speakers I have ever owned. I bought mine from Rick at Musicraft in Derby after having a very indepth audition with him. The bass is there but it is tight, not bloated, flabby or soggy. But the best thing for me is the musicality and the way the speakers simply disappear. The soundstage is staggering as is the midrange. The instruments can be picked out from all of there identifiable locations, layered upwards and widthways across the room in front of me, I get a soundstage seemingly extending a far greater width than the positioning of the speakers. I cannot fault them at all.

 

[dragon76]

It is funny to hear that ATC's attitude to poor recordings is treated as weakness. At this price range any system will not forgive you for poor recording, and that's the whole purpose of buying higher priced speakers, amps, etc. I don't believe that anyone who considers ATC will pair them with NAD c326 or Cambridge 351, but rather with Bryston, SIA2-150, higher end MF or Plinius, and these amps were developed to reward you for good recordings. With any serious hifi system the rule 'garbage in garbage out' is very relevant, and it relates not just to ATC. I own ATC SCM 40 and if I wanted just to listen to Lady Gaga or Alicia Keys I would have gone with a system 50-70% cheaper.

I guess another misperception is that ATCs sound clinical. Never experienced that. Yes, they are detailed and revealing, but rather with a touch of smoothness at top end, and that makes them very pleasant to listen. Possibly it relates to proper amp matching.

 

[BenLaw]

Good post.

My take is that ATC generally (and the 40s doing it best of the entry range) gives a track its best opportunity to shine. Sometimes (very rarely) this is not possible, but if it is ATC gives you a very faithful representation of what is on the track, from deep, well balanced bass, a dreamy, detailed midrange and accurate treble.

 

[CnoEvil]

My take is that ATC generally (and the 40s doing it best of the entry range) gives a track its best opportunity to shine. Sometimes (very rarely) this is not possible, but if it is ATC gives you a very faithful representation of what is on the track, from deep, well balanced bass, a dreamy, detailed midrange and accurate treble.

....or to be a little pedantic, they faithfully represent the amp that is feeding them......which can considerably change their presentation. In my case, that would be a pair of Mastersound 845s rather than a Bryston.

 

[BenLaw]

I'm also not a fan of Bryston. If I had the choice I think I'd go for some primare electronics....

 

[hoopsontoast]

Bryston and ATC is not the best match to be honest, heard the 7's and 19's with the 4B-SST and it really shows off the only weakness of the Entry range, the tweeter. Does bass VERY well, with the 19's and the 4B you will be feeling it in the chest and cowering away before that combo gives up.

I have stated before my preference for the 19's over the 40's. Based on my expereince with the SCM10's I would expect the SCM20's to be a bit better than the 40's. IMO.