Some years ago I listened to classical music through ATC speakers. They are the only speakers i have listened to which have a sense of scale. At the time I was amazed and took an involuntary step back.
it's the low distortion figures on these units that are unprecedented, but others are catching up (as for "sounding good", they can be set to sound like anything since they start with neutral). Great points about dispersion and cross over freq point (on speakers with analog crossovers, massive phase distortion).
I'm from the Uk and Bill Woodman being a Hifi chap was very friendly with Tony Rossell of ASS (Acoustic Sound Systems) who builds large PA systems for nightclubs and touring etc, and back in the 80's I purchased many ASS cabs for my mobile roadshow, the story goes that Bill gave Tony the plans to build 4 of the SCM100 cabs for himself and got as far as making the cabinets in 18mm birch ply but never had the time to finish these off, so being a good customer I took an interest and bought 2 of these and had them beautifully veneered, he sold me the drivers but no crossover, I phoned ATC and spoke to a technician who gave me the circuit diagram as you wasn't able to purchase these, but some customers pay the extra and have their cabinets upgraded for the amplifier tri-pack to be fitted so the crossover becomes redundant, luckily as the tech guy was leaving the company he had pair to sell, I was surprised how large these were with no component value markings on them, but I have to say they are truly the best speakers I have heard amongst many for the size, running 200 watts a channel from a Onkyo M-5090, still sound excellent apart from the tweeters, I'm on my 3rd pair. I can send you photo's of these cabs if you send me your email.
Anyone looking to build a modern system for modern music should seriously try out ATC speakers, they are fantastic sounding. Perhaps not for the "pipe and slippers brigade" with all the top end rolled off and smoothed over however if you value hearing the "energy" hidden away in your recordings these are a good choice. Got a bit fed up with "hifi world" BS and simply wanted "the musical truth" so bought a pair of SCM 40's..no regrets no hype. Customer after sales were first rate after I needed to replace a broken plinth. Real professional grade loudspeakers in the best meaning of that term as far as I can tell.
I'm looking to get the SCM19's over the SCM20's I read there's not much difference.... I mostly listen to modern music(most genres) ... I'd be curious to audition then as Ive heard that they play modern music well too. I have two JL AUDIO D108 subs that can handle the lower frequencies where the SCM can't... Do they handle modern music well ?
Back in the 1970 to 1990 midrange domes were very common in Hifi-speakers. For example: Grundig Professional Super Hifi Aktiv Box 20, Grundig Aktiv Box XSM 2000.
I wish ATC had Home Studio range Monitors...More affordable... Like Focal do The Alpha series or Adam the TV series etc...Would be so great users like us be able to afford that great brand... Just like Universal Audio did now with the Interfaces Volt series as well... I love ATC....
I actually got a 1-week home demo of SCM50's. I was willing to pay the price if they won me over, but they did not. The speakers that DID win me over were the ADAM S3H's. They also have a dome-like midrange, but are very different from the ATC's with DSP crossovers and Air Motion Tweeters. I've had the ADAMs for about 4 years, and really love them.
I would love a pair of the 50's but I'd miss the bass and high frequencies that I have with Focal trio 6, the beryllium tweeters sound so open and detailed, the high frequency of the ATC's aren't as good but their mid dome is as good as it gets. In fact if the ATC mid domes could somehow be incorporated into the Focals I would never look back.
Top monitors. Used to have a pair of ATC SCM150's and my God they were awesome. However, (being very critical here) . . . The super linear LF ATC drivers in the new range do not perform - within the distortion plots step/impulse, response, and some other tests - as well as one might expect; and this is the ultimate test for a monitor. Some of the JBL (dual coil drive) low frequency transducers out-perform the ATC LF driver in the abovementioned respects. Please note that I am being critic here. But, I have also measured them, so I know. The JBL dual coil drive in a genius piece of design. That said, the 3 - way ATC far feild monitors are some of the best and most accurate speakers you can buy. They're up there with Coastal Acoustics, Dynaudio, (some) Genelec, Tannoy, Neuman, and a few other elite designs.
@@connorduke4619 The JBL range that has the dual coil drive (DCD) is their studio LSR range and also some of their professional sound reinforcement range. JBL's LSR 28P supports an 8 inch DCD and their LSR 32 supports a 21 inch DCD that - in addition to the DCD - also has a braking coil, which means it has 3 voice coils all together.
@@StormCentre88 Thanks I've learned something new today I've never heard about dual coils nor braking coils either, it sounds like an interesting approach. I've some reading to catch up on...
The ATC mid-range dome speaker is for me the greatest hifi invention of the 20th century. The greatest invention of the 21st century so far being the Holo May Dac. My goal is to get these two legends combined in one system.
In these days of MP3 and music with a dynamic range of 6dB on a good day. Maybe the studios should be mastering on a pair of ear buds!! Just a thought! PS. send me all the redundant ATCs
The dome Mid is not a new thing.. my very old celestion 66 monitors have a rather large dome mid ... ATC have taken that to the Max and are market leaders
No indeed, it is quite an old type of speaker, I remember Magnat having them too. I think it is only cost reduction and better crossover tech. that has got rid of the mid dome. Not to brag, but I have a set of Canton Karat's it has a large side woofer, two midway drivers and a tweeter. It sounds refreshing and open. There is a lot of detail in vocals.
The Magnats also had ribbon wire coils. I have a set and they are pretty good - they need a tweeter pad imo as it's too trebly. I'd like to see a modern version of a high end Sony APM speaker. Not much cavity to create problems if the radiating surface is flat! And you'd hope today they can make it lighter while retaining stiffness, as well as using distortion reducing rings etc.
Measurements for the mid-field-sized units are kind of so-so for serious pro use, and relative to the price, all the hype notwithstanding. Even the SCM45A starts to lose spectrum linearity in the bass around 65-70 Hz.
ATC's refusal to integrate tech like Kii Three and Dutch & Dutch (cardioid dispersion) feels like they are fighting a losing/inevitable battle. Technology only gets better...10 years ago, people scoffed at ITB production, but as digital tools improved, more and more "professionals" moved away from tools of the past and many are totally ITB now. Feels like ATC will be a similar story unless they change their philosophy towards DSP. People just aren't willing/able to spend thousands to hundreds of thousands on building large, acoustically treated studios any more (the place where ATCs really shine).
ATC's move me more than any other speaker I've heard. Beautiful, emotional sound.
Some years ago I listened to classical music through ATC speakers. They are the only speakers i have listened to which have a sense of scale. At the time I was amazed and took an involuntary step back.
finally a company that doesnt talk bullshit
it's the low distortion figures on these units that are unprecedented, but others are catching up (as for "sounding good", they can be set to sound like anything since they start with neutral). Great points about dispersion and cross over freq point (on speakers with analog crossovers, massive phase distortion).
I'm from the Uk and Bill Woodman being a Hifi chap was very friendly with Tony Rossell of ASS (Acoustic Sound Systems) who builds large PA systems for nightclubs and touring etc, and back in the 80's I purchased many ASS cabs for my mobile roadshow, the story goes that Bill gave Tony the plans to build 4 of the SCM100 cabs for himself and got as far as making the cabinets in 18mm birch ply but never had the time to finish these off, so being a good customer I took an interest and bought 2 of these and had them beautifully veneered, he sold me the drivers but no crossover, I phoned ATC and spoke to a technician who gave me the circuit diagram as you wasn't able to purchase these, but some customers pay the extra and have their cabinets upgraded for the amplifier tri-pack to be fitted so the crossover becomes redundant, luckily as the tech guy was leaving the company he had pair to sell, I was surprised how large these were with no component value markings on them, but I have to say they are truly the best speakers I have heard amongst many for the size, running 200 watts a channel from a Onkyo M-5090, still sound excellent apart from the tweeters, I'm on my 3rd pair. I can send you photo's of these cabs if you send me your email.
Anyone looking to build a modern system for modern music should seriously try out ATC speakers, they are fantastic sounding. Perhaps not for the "pipe and slippers brigade" with all the top end rolled off and smoothed over however if you value hearing the "energy" hidden away in your recordings these are a good choice. Got a bit fed up with "hifi world" BS and simply wanted "the musical truth" so bought a pair of SCM 40's..no regrets no hype. Customer after sales were first rate after I needed to replace a broken plinth. Real professional grade loudspeakers in the best meaning of that term as far as I can tell.
I'm looking to get the SCM19's over the SCM20's I read there's not much difference.... I mostly listen to modern music(most genres) ... I'd be curious to audition then as Ive heard that they play modern music well too. I have two JL AUDIO D108 subs that can handle the lower frequencies where the SCM can't... Do they handle modern music well ?
I use a pair of REL 100 subs to fill out the bottom. I use mine with a Bryston amplifier.
Back in the 1970 to 1990 midrange domes were very common in Hifi-speakers. For example: Grundig Professional Super Hifi Aktiv Box 20, Grundig Aktiv Box XSM 2000.
Yes, and since the 90s, most 2-way designs sound better than those 3-way speakers, but nothing in the world sounds as good as an ATC midrange.
I wish ATC had Home Studio range Monitors...More affordable... Like Focal do The Alpha series or Adam the TV series etc...Would be so great users like us be able to afford that great brand... Just like Universal Audio did now with the Interfaces Volt series as well... I love ATC....
I actually got a 1-week home demo of SCM50's. I was willing to pay the price if they won me over, but they did not. The speakers that DID win me over were the ADAM S3H's. They also have a dome-like midrange, but are very different from the ATC's with DSP crossovers and Air Motion Tweeters. I've had the ADAMs for about 4 years, and really love them.
I would love a pair of the 50's but I'd miss the bass and high frequencies that I have with Focal trio 6, the beryllium tweeters sound so open and detailed, the high frequency of the ATC's aren't as good but their mid dome is as good as it gets. In fact if the ATC mid domes could somehow be incorporated into the Focals I would never look back.
@@markgallagher5908you have the Focal Trio 6 Be or the new model Focal Trio6?
Jheeze if you prefer ADAM's over ATC's you just don't know how and what you're listening...
Fantastic interview - I learned something new today!
me too
Top monitors.
Used to have a pair of ATC SCM150's and my God they were awesome.
However, (being very critical here) . . .
The super linear LF ATC drivers in the new range do not perform - within the distortion plots step/impulse, response, and some other tests - as well as one might expect; and this is the ultimate test for a monitor.
Some of the JBL (dual coil drive) low frequency transducers out-perform the ATC LF driver in the abovementioned respects.
Please note that I am being critic here.
But, I have also measured them, so I know.
The JBL dual coil drive in a genius piece of design.
That said, the 3 - way ATC far feild monitors are some of the best and most accurate speakers you can buy.
They're up there with Coastal Acoustics, Dynaudio, (some) Genelec, Tannoy, Neuman, and a few other elite designs.
What JBLs would you recommend for critic listening in a 330sqft. room?
Interesting - is there a particular JBL consumer brand model with dual coil drive and mid-dome speaker you would recommend?
@@connorduke4619 The JBL range that has the dual coil drive (DCD) is their studio LSR range and also some of their professional sound reinforcement range.
JBL's LSR 28P supports an 8 inch DCD and their LSR 32 supports a 21 inch DCD that - in addition to the DCD - also has a braking coil, which means it has 3 voice coils all together.
@@StormCentre88 Thanks for the info!
@@StormCentre88 Thanks I've learned something new today I've never heard about dual coils nor braking coils either, it sounds like an interesting approach. I've some reading to catch up on...
This mid dome thing is catching on, my Monolith mini towers use them.
ATC made me wanting to develop my own 3" dome mid because they are just SOO good but WAY over my budget.
The ATC mid-range dome speaker is for me the greatest hifi invention of the 20th century. The greatest invention of the 21st century so far being the Holo May Dac. My goal is to get these two legends combined in one system.
In these days of MP3 and music with a dynamic range of 6dB on a good day. Maybe the studios should be mastering on a pair of ear buds!! Just a thought! PS. send me all the redundant ATCs
That’s not how that works.
The dome Mid is not a new thing..
my very old celestion 66 monitors have a rather large dome mid ...
ATC have taken that to the Max and are market leaders
No indeed, it is quite an old type of speaker, I remember Magnat having them too. I think it is only cost reduction and better crossover tech. that has got rid of the mid dome. Not to brag, but I have a set of Canton Karat's it has a large side woofer, two midway drivers and a tweeter. It sounds refreshing and open. There is a lot of detail in vocals.
The Magnats also had ribbon wire coils. I have a set and they are pretty good - they need a tweeter pad imo as it's too trebly.
I'd like to see a modern version of a high end Sony APM speaker. Not much cavity to create problems if the radiating surface is flat! And you'd hope today they can make it lighter while retaining stiffness, as well as using distortion reducing rings etc.
@CTP, are you sure your thinking the same thing when he says mid dome? Are you just thinking of a 3rd midrange driver?
Acoustic Research AR-3 and AR-3a speakers had dome mids. And they were the first modern designed naturally sounding high powered speakers.
@@chris55top What do you mean when you say dome mids?
what a great sales pitch
Life. eh?
Measurements for the mid-field-sized units are kind of so-so for serious pro use, and relative to the price, all the hype notwithstanding. Even the SCM45A starts to lose spectrum linearity in the bass around 65-70 Hz.
I WIsh they made a cube that was just the 3” midrange and was cheap
MY ATC-SCM 12 were very revealing...articulate, but they didn't do "loud".
Of course, they are a small sealed cabinet that offers lower distortion. It’s implied that they wouldn’t be loud
ATC's refusal to integrate tech like Kii Three and Dutch & Dutch (cardioid dispersion) feels like they are fighting a losing/inevitable battle. Technology only gets better...10 years ago, people scoffed at ITB production, but as digital tools improved, more and more "professionals" moved away from tools of the past and many are totally ITB now.
Feels like ATC will be a similar story unless they change their philosophy towards DSP. People just aren't willing/able to spend thousands to hundreds of thousands on building large, acoustically treated studios any more (the place where ATCs really shine).
Man... atcs with carioid function...thats just an orgasm on paper.
I think a freq bypass would be needed though.
Can't you just add that with a discrete box? Maybe they assume one would want to buy a specific tool for that.
ATC are great sounding speakers they just look ugly !
Doug dimadome
Кому нужна пустая болтовня?!
Где музыка и микрофон?
Who needs empty chatter ?!
Where is the music and microphone?
Кому нужна пустая болтовня?!
Где музыка и микрофон?
Who needs empty chatter ?!
Where is the music and microphone?