SCM20ASL are something several people have told me to check out.

Can anyone comment on them here that has had some time with them?
tranlation to other rooms, comparison to ADAM etc...

The are pricey, but are they worth it?


thanks,

theo mack

ATC are among my favorites. They are indeed expensive, but they are certainly among the best available. The mid dome in the larger speakers is of particular note. It is also used in some of the larger Quested models, which I also count among my favorites. As far as the smaller 2-way speakers go, the ATCs are great. They have a three dimensional soundstage that you feel you could reach into. They have detail, but they don't have fashionable hype. Some will feel that the deep bass is lacking on the small ones (which shouldn't surprise you too much with a small speaker), but these speakers value neutrality over boomy first impressions.

I used a pair for a bit last summer and they were amazing! They are not cheap but at the price they sell for they are still a great value.

David,

Which model were you using?

I have passive 20's (SL's) and I dig 'em the most. I've had a couple of people say that they can sound harsh, which is true when you play harsh stuff on 'em; which has really made a difference in the way my work sounds. They don't 'mince words'. If something needs fixing, you'll definitely know it.

I didn't have the budget for new monitors, but when a clean pair showed up at a good price, I jumped at 'em.

Anyone in Austin wants to hear 'em, lemme know.


(two thumbs up!)

Wait a sec... that tweeter looks like a Morel MDT-30.
Anyone opened one up to find out?

I just replaced the tweeters in my YSM1p's with MDT-30's and they do indeed have a somewhat harsh 4Khz bump. They are hard to listen to loud now.
If this is the same tweeter than that harshness is definitely understandable.
It does instantly make cheap-sounding things apparent, but it's still a little much even on good material.

I have a pair of ATC100A they are awesome. You can hear hidden details and reverb tails and an awesome bottom end. They translate very well to all systems. In fact i got mine for about half the price of a normal pair, as there is a HiFi shop in the UK called Wilmslow Audio who are one of the only authorised dealers who will put together your ATCs using ATC kits of amps and speakers, and you get them to bulid the cabinets for you. My cabs are bigger and bassier than ATC100A but have the same amps and speakers. These were half the normal retail price and sound awesome. Check this site out
http://www.wilmslow-audio.co.uk/

You might get a great deal on your ATC's

James
Seabrite Studio

Interesting. I'll pop the tweeter out later and see what it says.

I should probably clarify; they're harsh on harsh material but on well recorded stuff they're, well, lovely. heh I think the main thing is that they're damn accurate. I think that coupled with the fact that they're so dynamic would make them a little much for the average person's home listening system.

I have a few things I listen to when I'm getting ready to mix, and since I got the ATC's I have a problem actually getting to work because it's so fascinating to listen to stuff on 'em. They definitely do that 'microscope' thing in some ways. I find that it's really easy to hear through a busy mix.

ATC has used SEAS in older speakers (4+ years ago) and Vifa since I've been importing them. The SEAS sound smoother to me in the ATC 20 boxes than the VIFA did. They are crossed over at 2.8Khz in 20's and 3.8 K in larger speakers. They measure the same though.

The tweeter has been the only transducer ATC does not build in house. AUDAX discontinued their high power tweeters so rumour has it ATC is now working on their own tweeter. There will be a bit of a supply crisis among speaker manufacturers of far fields soon for all the big AUDAX's are gone.....

Brad

I have only a few experinces with ATC's but they've all been extremely positive.
Great sounding with lots of detail.

I especially enjoyed mixing on the larger ones at Allaire (I'm bad with their model numbers, so far)

I recently had the chance to listen to the T16's for a few hours at a local studio and they were amazing. So much dapth and a massively wide image.

The pair we had last summer were the SCM20. I loved them too.

I was told the 20 asm model go's for about $6,000 a pair.

I love the ADAM 3a's but I want to check these ATC's out too.

Anyone A/B the ADAM 3a's and the ATC scm20asl ?

lasvegasproaudio has the line info and msrp's in the usa if anyone is interested.

Brad was gracious enough to set me up with a pair of SCM12's close to a year ago. Since then I have compared them to our KRK's, Genelecs, and B&W's. I always come back to the ATC's. Max's comments have been right in line with my experiences thus far. I love my ATC's!

others have said it, my experience is similar. the atc's have extraordinary detail, they are perhaps the most phase-coherent monitor i've heard. zero learning curve with balances, although it takes a while to learn the freq curve.

i've mixed on the 20's, and i needed a sub or another ref for deep bass. they are very bright, but not in the wispy adam way. more silky, easy to listen to.


gregoire
del ubik

interesting!

anyone else wanna chime in on an old thread?

I've used their mains, I believe it is the SCM300. GREAT sounding mains. Tons of detail. Great imaging. Very low distortion. Probably the best sounding mains I've heard. Not in a knock-your-socks-off, impress the clients with really loud playback kind of way, but more in the "hey, I can actually mix on these" kinda way.

That's a good description of the SCM300's. The only other soffit-mounted Mains I've experienced that with were a pair of large Quested Mains (Don't know).

It's rare that you could work a whole session on Mains without ever needing Near-Fields and "Reference" monitors. I've spent more time on SCM20's (Both the active and Passive Models), and they are a firm favourite. Along with Quested & Klein & Hummel, they are the best studio monitors I have ever heard or used. Period. I love ATC speakers. They cost, but quality does.

I chose SCM25A Pros over barefoot, K & H and PMC.

These monitors are in a different class have have incredible detail, amazing translation and are very loud. They sounded like they are bass light so I turned the bottom up a couple of Db, this was of course me not being used to a 3 way with detailed midrange. I had monitor stands made out of steel with 2 x 4" pipes and filled them with sand and this also made a difference to the bottom end.

I know a dealer who supplies at good prices in the Uk and he just supplied my mate a set of the 20s, he is of course also in love and wishes he bought them sooner.

Haters can say they are expensive and over priced etc but you pay for what you get and if you can afford the ATC range, without doubt and without any hype they are well worth it.

has anyone tried the new scm 25 with the atc subwoofer ?

am currently in the market for a pair and am trying to decide whether trump for the 50's (which would mean getting the console i want later), or going with the 20's. i've found a place that has both and will let me try them out, so i should get to hear them first hand very soon. my friend has owned both and said the 20's are the best small monitors he has ever heard, the 50's are the best monitors he has ever owned.

Interesting, on the hi-fi speakers it was the other way round- the seas replaced the Vifa tweeter.

I've had a pair of ATC 110s in my studio since they came out. Super resolving and musical. Easy to work on. I love them. I know the 300s quite well too, and they are excellent mains. ATC makes some of the best monitors out there, imo.

that's what i thought too.
My new scm50s have SEAS tweeters and the old SCM200s i used to have used a vifa tweeter. Legend has it that the vifa was used because it could handle very high frequency energy well. So when you put your tape machine into fast forward or rewind it wouldn't blow your tweeters. Who knows?
But yes i think the new ones use SEAS tweeters, which are only about £150 each. Surprising for a 10k speaker.
The wilmslow ones are not exactly the same as the factory atc ones. ATC don't sell their Super Linear drivers or the higher spec mid range units through OEMS I believe.
Great speakers though. I built my own boxes for my 50s but used the highest spec drivers. My speakers are getting on for 100kilos each! Although my 9inch bass units are old alnico ones which is quite unusual. Very smooth but i need to do an AB test at some point with some factory ASL drivers to measure their acccuracy.
I've had SCM10 passives for years which are beautiful to listen but a bit lacking in bass. Only because of their size really.
They need a lot of power too. They are also so clean and uncolored that they make you want to turn them up a lot. No distortion is percieved as not very loud in a way. thumbsup

Used a pair of massive ATC's in the studio back when I was at college. Absolutely loved them. Flat as hell, translated perfectly to other systems.

I worked in a Munro designed room with a pair of Munro enclosures using
the ubiquitous 75-150 soft dome mid unit and a pair 10" bass drivers, the Vifa tweeters eventually failed and seas replacements where fitted after morels where tried and rejected.
They may not be the best sounding speakers but they might be some of the most accurate mixing speakers I have tried. The smaller SCM 20 is very good but its that soft-dome midrange unit in the larger ones covering from as low as 300 Hz all the way up to 5000 that makes ATC's so special for me.
The only thing that comes close for broad flat agile midrange IMHO is a pair of huge wooden VitaVox 220Hz 15 cell horns with Coral M104 drivers and Meyer after market JBL 2425 Diaphragms.
But thats just because I am a very horny old engineer.

Actually, you are correct and I mistated it- I know this but there in black and white is my own answer-wrong! (Forums are mysterious things where you can say the wrong thing even to yourself!)

SEAS is the current tweeter in 20, 50, 100, 150; Audax in the 200/300. VIFA was the older tweeter replaced by the SEAS some years ago (2001?).

Brad

i have had my scm25's for a while now and don't need a sub...love em just the way they are !

Passive SCM-20's that have been with me for 15 years, superb mid-range detail.

I have the SCM40's in my living room at the end of an ATC SIA150/cd transport/Benchmark DAC setup. Perfect for any kind of music you'd want to throw at it.