ATC SCM 50A SL

(Active)

• Steve Guttenberg reviews the SCM50A for his YouTube channel, The Audiophiliac:
• I was so happy that this speaker does not use DSP
• One other thing really important is that ATC is a Pro sound speaker company most of their business is in the Pro market, yes it absolutely is, and they have some very high-profile customers. Actually Tom Petty before passed away he bought this very model the SCM50. Bruce Springsteen is one of their customers, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd has been using ATC speakers for decades as their reference monitors. Greg Calbi a mastering engineer I kind of know here in New York City uses ATC speakers
• Check out the drivers! Three-way design with a 25mm soft dome that features a neodymium magnet and there's a shallow wave guide around the dome. And then below the tweeter is a 3in dome mid-range driver and this driver is a is an ATC specialty. They've been using drivers like this for a very long time because dome drivers have greater dispersion than cone drivers do. That's the main reason for it, but they're tricky to design, that's why very few companies even attempt 3-in dome mid-ranges
• ATC manages to make true monitor speakers that are actually very listenable
• I want to just talk about this one album this Dr John album which is early for him and it's a big band with background singers and percussion and bass and guitars and horns and stuff. It's a big but feels live in the studio album. It has that sense of people playing together in a room not like overdubbing and adding pieces of music later on. No they're all there and they're all playing, they're all hearing each other. And here I am 50 plus years later listening to that event, cuz that's what it feels like an event, something happening in real time right in front of me. And the SCM50 definitely released that energy into my room and for that, yes, it definitely got me going
• Steve what do you really think of the ATC SCM50 active stand mount speaker? Well, it is an awesome performer. That's a word I don't usually use to describe the sound of a speaker, but this speaker performs... it releases the music into your room without holding anything back. And because of the Pro sound heritage of the company it's not like some audiophile speakers that sweeten the sound. No, this is more: here's what's in the recording, in the best possible light.

ATC SCM 100 SL

• After a week of listening, what’s clear is that unlike most hifi speakers, these do not play to the gallery. Instead their stall is set out on delivering an accurate and pure representation of the music, that’s free from colouration, which underlines how tonally voiced many rivals are in comparison.
• What they are is a masterclass in transparency
• What happens when you feed them a quality recording, where you’ll be rewarded with a sound that’s often nothing short of astonishing.
• Powerful, articulate, neutral, effortless recovery…I could go on as all these qualities apply in equal measure to these speakers. And its the equal part that’s the lesson here, as the ATCs don’t favour one element over another, because it is an exceptionally evenhanded loudspeaker that offers a genuinely transparent window into the music. Providing you’ve the right amp to do them justice, they’re also incredibly non-fatiguing thanks to how distortion free and uncoloured they are.

ATC SCM 19

• We are listening!
  I've been listening a lot with my partner Lena. She likes Tannoy and plays with Savoy Brown connoisseur Lars Sundin in Hede is into Sugden and Harbeth. We are stuck with different speakers, ATC SCM19 are mine, absolute favourite!
• Take Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, from "Still Crazy After All These Years". It's an excellent recording where Steve Gadd's drumming is on the verge of a proof of God. Yes, it turns well. No, I don't hear new details but they are much clearer than many times before.
• To get the most out of these speakers, good recordings are required, they are definitely revealing. This means that bad recordings/ pressings are revealed and it makes the music less engaging. In terms of sound, this is a homogenous speaker that impresses me greatly.
• For practical reasons, I have only been able to listen to the ATC SCM19 and the Yamaha NS600A with my Audion Silvernight mkII tube amplifiers. They are parallel-connected directly heated triodes that need a reasonably good load.
  The KEF speakers are a bit tricky to drive and then the mid-bass becomes thin. The micro dynamics and level of detail is sublime, but it is not an optimal amplifier choice.
• ATC SCM19 and triodes go hand in glove. Admittedly, the sensitivity is quite low, but they are a light load. And that combination at least gives me goosebumps all over my body.
  The term High End has no clear definition, despite that I want to classify this trio under that term. This is really good. They have different strengths with the KEF R3 Meta at the far end of one edge under the heading Super Modern Detailed Loudspeaker (you could have added linear! RED). On the other edge is the Yamaha NS600A with the title Take it easy and play another record. In the middle stands the ATC SCM19 and shows what it really sounds like, with details and overall.

ATC SCM 50 SL / SCM 50A SL

(Passive / Active)

• Rounding off 2022 awards we were exceptionally happy to receive a Product of the Year award from SoundStage! Network for our SCM50 loudspeaker. Soundstage went to great lengths to review both the passive and active versions of this loudspeaker, comparing and contrasting both versions.
• Outstanding Performance - ATC SCM50 passive/active loudspeaker: “This is a loudspeaker for music lovers who want to hear their music sounding as close to the master tape as possible.” Jonathan Gorse

ATC SCM 40 Active

• Another pro audio attribute that this ATC shares with its siblings is that it's largely genre-agnostic. In other words, no matter what type of music you play, it still reproduces all the acoustic fundamentals just as they should be. Undoubtedly a great deal of this skill lies with the articulate treble and upper midband, which comes across as perfectly voiced rather than dry and analytical.
• The lower frequencies arrive at your ears at the same time as the mids and top, so that when listened to as a whole, you're rewarded with a wonderfully tight, powerful, engaging and emotive presentation.
• The ATC created a more precise musical vista thanks to its impressive talent for timing and resolution.
• The advantage of this sizeable active speaker became grin-inducingly apparent, as waves of subsonic fun thumped and growled through my listening space. Such seismic activity made me feel like a kid discovering sweets for the first time, but I couldn't help but also be impressed by the amount of control that this speaker displayed. Not only was I getting a healthy punch in my chest, but there was no sloppy overhang or blurring..
• THE VERDICT Talented, dynamic, and fun, with a soundstage wide and deep enough for you to forget about the cabinets standing in your room, ATC's SCM40A makes a great case for itself. ATC's pro-audio DNA shines through, with a musical performance offering fresh insight and impact to pieces you thought you already knew inside out. This speaker presents orchestral music with scale and finesse, yet you can turn things up to hooligan levels without fear of the drivers letting go and musically losing control. This is a superb active loudspeaker package, especially when you remember that you just need to add a good quality preamp and source to have a full system. We loved its passive sibling, but the active version is on another level and is cracking value for money too.

ATC SCM 50 SL / SCM 50A SL

(Passive / Active)

• ATC has done something I thought was impossible here: engineered a ported loudspeaker that has the bass definition and clarity of a sealed design. When a tom drum was struck, a low-register piano note played, or a guitar strummed, the leading edge of the sound wasn’t blunted or the decay softened by muddy and ill-defined midrange or bass. Speed and attack were whipcrack fast with simply no blurring of the edges of the notes. This was clearly revealed on the track “Short Skirt / Long Jacket,” from Cake’s album Comfort Eagle (16/44.1 FLAC, Columbia Records). The astoundingly tight drum rhythms punched into the room via the ATCs with tremendous weight and speed, the sounds stopping and starting instantaneously, while the staccato brass backing was splendidly clear and articulate.
• While listening to the ATCs in active mode, I marveled at the SMC50’s world-class ability to reveal each strand of a musical performance, and every instrument’s contribution to a song; perhaps this is the overriding characteristic that makes this speaker so truly exceptional.
• This pair of ATC SCM50s was quite simply one of the most breathtakingly revealing sets of loudspeakers I have ever heard. According to my definition of what constitutes high-end sound, these loudspeakers utterly excelled across all parameters, and I believe this is no coincidence.
• As the Naim amplification traded blows with the ATC’s onboard modules, my preference would waver between the two; it was like an epic Wimbledon final, with one player breaking a service game only for their opponent to break back.
• Best of all, though—the sound of the SCM50s was just incredible in either configuration, and I was in the presence of one of the best loudspeaker systems I have ever heard. Both configurations utterly rocked the house, offering world-class dynamics, a feeling of totally uncompressed music-making, and astonishing levels of transparency and detail.
• This is a loudspeaker for music lovers who want to hear their music sounding as close to the master tape as possible. If you want to experience what it was like to stand in the Record Plant’s Sausalito studio in 1976 as Mac laid down “Go Your Own Way,” this is as near as you’re going to get without dating Stevie Nicks and shooting a line of coke off the back of the studio’s API mixing desk.

ATC SCM 40 Active

• The SCM40A’s air-moving hardware is also the same as its passive brethren, sporting a three-way design made up of a 25mm soft dome tweeter with precision alloy wave guide and a 75mm variant of ATC’s instantly recognisable large soft dome midrange drive unit. A 164mm short coil bass driver continues the visual theme with a massive central dust cap. All units are made in house and incorporate huge motor assemblies to ensure they can handle whatever signal is thrown at them without worry. On the eye the bass driver seems bigger, as 164mm is measured from the centre of its rubber surround, unlike many manufactures that measure from the edge of the surround to make the numbers look big, but drivers appear small.
• Unpacked and standing at 980mm tall by 370mm wide, they cut a figure that’s refreshingly proportionate. In an age where most speaker manufacturers strive for slimline models to suit the trends of the times, it’s refreshing to see ATC makes loudspeakers that are designed to look like loudspeakers. The SCM40A is a wider speaker than most rivals’ offerings, and looks all the better for it.
• ... subsonic frequencies are a worthwhile challenge for any speaker for how it copes (or not) with reaching lower than their comfort zone while still maintaining control. And control is what the ATCs have in abundance. While those big bass drivers have no issue pinning me to my seat, it’s the stop start quality of the lower notes that makes me sit up and take notice. There seems to be a complete absence of overhang or blurring that can come with ported or less inert cabinets. Instead the ATCs are geared to deliver the lower notes as intended, and add nothing else, which is exactly as the artist or engineer intended.
• Midrange and treble are just as articulate and well voiced. Previous generations of ATC were sometimes labelled as dry or over articulate sounding, and the SCM40A quite rightly challenges this preconception. Sure its sound is unapologetically accurate but the balance it brings makes it exceptionally neutral, without sounding voiced in a given direction or favouring any particular type of music or genre.
• Vocals are just as deliciously rendered. With Aldous Harding’s Horizon track from her Party LP, the ATCs reproduce her voice with a gorgeous richness that’s full of body and sounds arrestingly edgy when needed, showcasing how she changes the track’s mood to challenge the listener, which is reinforced by John Parish’s backing vocals that are equally well formed. In a nutshell, with the ATCs Harding’s performance and intention is effortlessly captured.
• And this underlines what the ATC active package does so well, by presenting the music as a holistic whole that allows them to aurally vanish into the soundstage. With a 16/44 rip of James’s The Lake track fed from my NAS drive the music takes on a hairs on the back of the neck quality, despite the standard resolution file format. Everything is intricately placed in the mix, allowing the percussion to gather centre stage, as the guitar riffs swirl and Tim Booth’s vocals take charge. Nothing feels neglected and nor does the music sound forced or forward, you’re simply taken into the mix.
• While ATCs can clearly handle music with maturity, this doesn’t mean they’re lacking in energy to get your feet tapping too. With Yard Act’s Fixer Upper at 24/44 via Qobuz the ATCs render the percussion with enough punch that they could floor a horse, while the bass line bounces along like Bez on Redbull. 
• The ATC40A is a superb speaker package that more than delivers against its promise of musical synergy thanks to its carefully matched internal amps and loudspeaker hardware. They are an exceptionally transparent performer and partnered with a preamp and source components of equal quality, you’ll not be left wanting.

ATC SCM 40

• It’s the sort of speaker that – once you’ve heard it – reminds you what all its price rivals are getting wrong. It is exceptionally good at capturing the music’s natural timing – for a box speaker of this price – and the result is a gutsy, feisty and gnarly sound that’s about power and poise.
• It’s gutsy, visceral, powerful, yet doesn’t sound in the least bit overblown; it can start and stop with great alacrity; there’s no sense of overhang. Instead, it integrates perfectly with what’s going on further up the scale. The result is a sensation that’s hard to describe, but when you switch over to one of the SCM40’s reflex-loaded rivals, it almost seems like someone has added a touch of reverb to the recording, especially lower down. You lose that crunchy, tightly etched quality that’s unique to a properly executed infinite baffle box loudspeaker. This is a joy to behold, and of course, is clear to hear with every type of programme material you choose to play.
• ATC’s SCM40 will either confirm your prejudices about ‘pro’ speakers or confirm your prejudices about domestic ones. Personally, I adore it for its accuracy, speed and insight – the way it strings the rhythmic elements of the mix together, punching out the music’s emotion in a marvellously unconstrained way. You might call it a monster of rock, but it conveys the power and majesty of other musical genres 

ATC SIA2-100

•  I immediately liked this amplifier. I didn't find anything in its sound that I could immediately fault, and then it only got better and better.
• The British integrated can boast a strong punch, very good dynamics and transparency, but its sound is also slightly warmed up. So subtle that some listeners won't even notice it at first. 
• What is most impressive, however, is the space. To put it briefly - many amplifiers for much, much more money would be proud of such a three-dimensional, well-organized and precise stereo sound stage. 
• The SIA2-100 may look inconspicuous, but it is a great amplifier. Its sound is natural, coherent and musical, but does not smell boring. The package includes good or even very good dynamics, rhythmic, perfectly controlled bass and a space that I am not afraid to call phenomenal at this price level... If you choose the right equipment, which shouldn't be difficult, after a short warm-up you will be on the path leading to long, pleasant listening sessions, which will not be interrupted by any grating sound or the recurring thought that something is not right here. First of all, I would recommend this amplifier to music lovers looking for equipment with an original, slightly warm and spacious sound, as well as to audiophiles who, despite various measures, cannot control their speakers and create a healthy, three-dimensional sound without loud bass or sharp treble.

ATC SIA2-100

• Speaker matching shouldn’t be an issue thanks to the SIA2-100’s claimed 100W per channel output, which is based around a Class AB discrete MOSFET design drawn from ATC’s higher-end active loudspeakers, with two pairs of transistors per side.
• Via the supplied remote, the SIA2-100’s large volume dial is fantastically responsive, making my reference Musical Fidelity M6 preamp seem frankly lethargic in comparison.
• And lethargy is not a term you’d apply to this amp’s sonic performance. Feeding it a 24-bit/96kHz file of Nirvana’s Lounge Act from the band’s era-defining Nevermind album via my windows laptop running JRiver into the ATC’s USB socket, gets to the heart of what this amp does best. Butch Vig’s production is laid bare with effortless transparency, highlighting his clean but not overly polished studio wizardry, which helped this album transcend the underground to mainstream without being perceived as ‘selling-out’.
• Putting this hi-res version through its paces really underlines the quality of the DAC nestled within the SIA2-100, allowing the amp to get out of the way and let the music do the talking by presenting it through an honest and uncoloured musical window. Krist Novoselic’s opening bass line sounds fast, textured and buoyant, with the amp driving my Dynaudio Focus 260 loudspeakers to set the scene for Kurt Cobain’s visceral lead guitar chords, as they cut through the air, taking no prisoners. This track also highlights how well the ATC handles dynamic swings, with the song’s pace and energy never sounding anything other than full-throttle throughout.
• Despite its modest appearance, this really is a lot of amp for the money. It’s clear ATC has engineered the SIA2-100 to strike a difficult balance of accuracy and neutrality without compromising in the musicality stakes. Put simply it’s an underrated mid to hi-end bargain.

ATC CDA2 Mk2

• Stereophile Magazine shortlisted the CDA2 Mk2 as one of their Recommended Components for 2021:
• ATC CDA2 Mk2 CD player: $4249
  "An unexpected gem in the product line of a UK speaker specialist, the CDA2 Mk2 majors in the playing of "Red Book" CDs and minors in preamplification. As KM noted, "the beating heart of the revised CDA2 is twofold: a Chinese-made TEAC 5020A-AT CD transport . . . and [AKM's] AK4490EQ DAC chip." Preamp gain comes courtesy of op-amps built around discrete devices, and the USB receiver is an Amanero Combo 384. When using it to play CDs, KM found that "the ATC presented each as a character study of a unique sonic personality telling a singular story," and he praised in particular the player's sonic transparency. Playing files through the ATC's USB input—streaming is not supported—Ken described the sound as "very good overall, including from DSD files, but it lacked the visceral grip of CDs through the ATC's transport." Reporting from his test bench, JA praised the CDA2 Mk2's "generally superb measured performance, though its S/PDIF inputs aren't up to the standard of jitter rejection offered by CD playback and the USB input." (Vol.41 No.12 WWW)"

ATC SCM 7

• Small they maybe, but lightweight and flimsy they certainly are not, partly due to the 3.5kgs of the huge, underhung magnet system on the mid/bass unit with its 45mm voice coil.
• The crossover network is worthy of note, employing as it does a second-order filter for both the low-pass and high-pass sections. The LF section also has an R-C Zobel network which corrects the bass unit’s rising impedance for the benefit of the low-pass network.
• Live performances tended towards the sublime, with outstanding levels of inner detail revealed along with convincing spatial and three-dimensional details as in an enjoyable listen to Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1953 and the Leonore Overture No.3, recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikvereinssaal back in June 1944.
• With rock and pop, as well, the foot-tapping ability of the little SCM7s entertained with the likes of Cyndi Lauper’s studio album True Colours which revealed the speaker’s gravitas and richness thanks to a slight warmth through the middle registers.
• I also obtained excellent results from the SCM7 when listening to them in the near-field, and closer than I would ordinarily even for a speaker of these dimensions, which reveals their studio monitor heritage.
• Conclusion
  Addictive is the word I would use to describe the SCM7. I lived with them quite happily for many weeks and found them highly enjoyable whatever I asked them to do. The imaging prowess is impressive, the bass surprising given the size of sealed enclosure, and the get-up-and-go means they are endearing to music lovers with a variety of tastes. Their ability to deliver accurate speech reproduction was a huge bonus, but they will equally impress those constrained by size or price and can be highly recommended. In fact the price makes them a genuine bargain.

ATC SCM 11, SIA2-100, CD2

• The ATC Compact Audio System offers exceptionally high quality and performance.
• SCM 11: Exceptional speakers hold their own against far more expensive. Kudos to the SCM11 speakers for their poise, detail, and excellent pitch definition.
• SIA2-100: Integrated amp is more powerful than its 100-watt rating indicates. Exceptionally cool operation.
• CD2: Very sweet and detailed sounding CD playback.
• Premium construction and exceptional sound justify the system for use in smaller to moderately-large rooms or for the consumer wanting higher than average quality. This is not a typical “lifestyle” system.
• The ATC Compact Audio System excelled with this music without even breaking a sweat, and at volumes significantly higher than my normal listening levels.
• Surprising bass even in a larger room.
• The midrange-weighted sound of acoustic guitars doesn’t challenge the deep bass or high treble of a stereo the way that more complex music might, but if a system can’t get the midrange right, the rest of the frequency spectrum is academic. The ATC Compact Audio System gets the midrange right!
• The ATC Compact Audio System is a very high-quality system that should satisfy for decades and decades to come. You get what you’re paying for with this system, and if you can afford it, I recommend the ATC Compact Audio System without reservation for small to medium-sized rooms.

ATC SCM 7

• I had been impressed by the sound of the SCM7 on a glancing visit to the ATC room at the February Bristol Show, so requested a sample pair. This experience did not prepare me for my reaction when I got them back to base, but first there’s a long history to this miniature...
• Sound Quality From the off, if you close your eyes you would swear that this well balanced and informative sound came from a much larger and more costly example.
• The natural timbres, clean high frequencies and spacious deep stereo images inform the listener well. Acoustically it disappears into a nicely formed soundstage. It is low in listener fatigue, likely due to the smooth frequency responses and low distortion.
• Donald Fagan’s Morph the Cat (2006), here with expansive sound staging and rich, deep and tuneful basslines... Benson and Klugh on Collaboration showed a huge soundstage for the opening track and was imbued with a generous funk expressiveness. Further, Reinhard Goebel’s reading of Bach’s The Art of Fugue, on Archiv, was superbly atmospheric, revealing a finely focused delineation of the well balanced strong counterpoint scoring and natural sounding acoustic instruments.
• Conclusions This is a remarkable loudspeaker on several grounds. Firstly build quality and finish are excellent. Then comes the monitor grade accuracy, excellent pair matching and the remarkable bass for the size, and then the low distortion. It sounds musical and entertaining and was a delight to review. Within the natural limitation of size it really is of musically revealing monitor quality.

ATC SCM 7

• What is immediately noticeable after the first tones is again that low end. The SCM7 knows how to produce much more bass than you would expect based on its dimensions.
• The sound balance is balanced, complete and perfectly balanced. It produces more low than you expect, but never again than he can. As a result, this area sounds true to nature, clean and correct and above all very tight and fast.
• During it listen to the audiophile classic Jazz at the Pawnshop, you are immediately back in that smoky atmosphere of the jazz club Stamping in Stockholm in the 1970s. Pretty low, but also a pure high and middle.
• Much more attention is demanded by the stereo image that simply detaches from the speakers. Jazz combos or one not too great orchestral instrumentation sound perfect on one SCM7.
• In summary The SCM7 is the smallest of the entire ATC package but offers really much more than you would suspect. This profile sketch is more often hung on small speakers but the SCM7 really has something special. The sound of the SCM7 is very balanced and true to nature, perhaps unique. No, the SCM7 is not an all-rounder, but what it does it does well and it never tries to do more than it can. I personally would support the sub find a desirable addition in the deepest layer. The SCM7 in combination with a well and properly tuned sub is in my view not to be sneezed at and many will be floor standing systems with a comparable price tag to play off the mat. It's quite a statement, I know, but I want to just indicate how good the SCM7 is.

ATC SCM 150 SLT Active

• The broad-shouldered British speaker let us feel this efficiency from the very first second when Ray Brown's masterpiece "Soular Energy" or "That's all Piano" with Gene Harris played. It was a performance that awakened memories of accelerations previously only experienced in supercars, only to bring the shimmering impulses to a complete stop in the next moment. Brown's double bass stood large and voluminous – though without the slightest inclination to drone – as well as vivid in height, stage width and depth and yet sharply outlined in front of the audience.
• Belafonte at Carnegie Hall showed all facets of this extraordinary singer and entertainer and the "Cotton Fields" made you forget that the recording was made in 1959. The passion with which the American, subtly but effectively supported by the bass, performs his songs is simply impressive.
• If you've always wanted to hear a clarinet, "El Choclo" and "Maria", played by Giora Feidman, captured live in a New York church, with their gentle, almost tender wind sounds, are the ideal introduction, especially since the guitar sounds played along with them are perfectly integrated.
• Verdict: A three-way active loudspeaker in a class of its own. The ATC SCM 150 A SLT hides most sophisticated technology behind its rather simple exterior. With its perfect neutrality in tone, crazy dynamic reserves and deep, dry bass foundation it is just as convincing as it is with its precise spatial imaging.

ATC SCM 100 SE Active

• ATC SCM100SE Wins Hi-Fi+ Editors Choice Award 2020
• ATC’s ever-green SCM100 active reflex-loaded three-way floorstanding loudspeaker needs little introduction, as it has been one of the mainstays of the company’s range for decades.
• "What makes it so appealing is the ease with which it goes about the business of reproducing not only the full bandwidth of the signal but its full dynamic envelope as well, and if you like to play at levels that approach the realistic, it is in a class of its own.”

ATC SCM 7 & SIA2-100

• SCM 7:
  • Rhythmic agility and tonal purity count here – and the little ATC has these in spades
  • The guitar work was marvellously sharp and vital, with the horns cutting through in a vibrant and visceral way. Further down the scale, and the bass sounded practically indestructible. Feed this little loudspeaker with Aura by Belfast-raised DJ duo Bicep, and you'll soon have the woofer dancing in and out athletically, showing its impressive excursion.
  • Massive Attack's Angel maintained its underlying menace thanks to the grumbling sub-bass work, without losing any clarity further up.
• SIA2-100:
  • I  hooked up ATC's own SIA2-100 integrated amplifier to the SCM7s, with interesting results. I heard more immediacy in the midband – the already impressive imaging was even more dialled in and focused.
  • The guitar had a warm resonance and lifelike clarity, while Joni's high range vocals stayed sweet and bright without ever fatiguing the listener.
• The standout feature of this system is its excellent handling of both the time and frequency domains. By this I mean it is rhythmically fast yet tonally smooth.
• Factor in the fine soundstaging – where every aspect of the multi-layered mix was placed in space perfectly – and you have a serious-sounding system.
• The ATC SIA2-100 amplifier and SCM7 loudspeaker combination is a compact system that punches way above its weight – indeed it has incredible presence given its small stature. This dinky duo is tonally balanced, rhythmically articulate and has precise stereo imaging too.
• You will be treated to textured low-frequencies delivered with conviction and realism, a midband of clarity and focus, and smooth yet mustard-keen tweeter.

ATC SCM 50 SL

• The sound was impressive, dynamic and powerful, with a desirably fast and crisp bass,
• The sheer power and dynamic range on tap belied their relatively
  compact dimensions.
• The agile bass helped the perception of good timing: more like a sealed box than a reflex.
• The joins between the three drivers were aurally seamless, and one really could not hear the crossovers working. I admired the evenhanded performance on so many different kinds of music and recording methods, and thus became fully aware of its studio monitoring pedigree: a loudspeaker which aims to tell the truth with minimal embellishment. The low distortion and smooth response also confers desirably low listening fatigue.
• Its great virtue was the way it became acoustically unobtrusive, allowing the wide range of music programme we sampled to tell their individual stories.
• Rather more powerful than its modest proportions might indicate, this fine design delivers stereo images on a grand scale, and conveys much of the character and detail in fine recordings. It hits the audio excellence level for its sheer all round ability – not least the massive power handling and the resulting dynamic range.
• The bass is desirably over-damped, to deliver a near flat response when boundary and room gain is taken into account. The numeric figures are flat to 50 Hz -3dB, but powerful, in-room bass is actually achieved down to 35Hz.

ATC SIA2-100 & CD2

• Both units are handsome and well made. The slight curve to the side cheeks is a rare flourish that looks elegant and the rest of the product feels extremely well assembled.
• I initially focus on the SIA2-100. Connected to Bowers & Wilkins hugely revealing 805 D3 standmount from this month’s Beautiful System (p88) and an SOtM sMS-200 Neo network audio player (HFC 449) running into the USB port, it impresses from the off.
• ATC has never been about anything other than tonal accuracy and the new amp doesn’t let the side down. Familiarity by Punch Brothers from The Phosphorescent Blues album feels utterly and unambiguously real. The pared-back instrumentation alternates with big but brief orchestral interludes that explode into life and vanish as fast as they appeared. Lead singer Chris Thile’s vocals have the weight and space they need to be the soul focus of your attention.
• One consistent aspect of the performance is that the SIA2-100 doesn’t seek to modify the material it plays.
• The assurance with which it hammers through the crescendos of the track is notable and the composure – even at anti-social levels – impresses.
• The CD2 silver disc player has a genuinely lovely sound that flatters discs that need to be flattered and gives free reign to those that don’t.
• The forgiving element to the CD2’s presentation means it will handle a collection of rough diamonds with an even handedness and consistency that rivals can lack.
• As a pair, this is a fabulous combination that manages to thrill and cosset in equal measure. ATC doesn’t introduce electronics very often, but these two are worth the wait and worthwhile seeking out.
• ATC SIA2-100:
  • LIKE: Powerful, even handed sound; good spread of inputs; build
  • WE SAY: A capable all-round amp that offers excellent performance with a wide range of setups
• ATC CD2:
  • LIKE: Wonderfully sweet and lively presentation; build
  • WE SAY: A genuinely engaging disc spinner that will get the best from any CD collection

ATC SIA2-100

• We play Young Guns’ Memento Mori, and the ATC immediately grabs our attention. There’s a real sense of vim and vigour to the way the track is delivered. There’s pace and agility to the drums as the high hat gallops along, while the bass guitar bobs and weaves in the background.
• The ATC communicates the path and position of all the instruments with impressive precision. Both high and low-level dynamic shifts can be heard and it all adds up to an enthusiastic sound capable of piquing your interest.
• Its immensely clear and transparent character allows the emotion of the track to wash over you. There’s a fine level of detail in each carefully considered stroke of the piano keys. Her voice and its accompanying echo are sweetly rendered.
• Such is the ATC’s transparency, it pulls no punches with poorly recorded tracks. If dynamics are crushed and compressed or highs are particularly harsh, the ATC doesn’t gloss over it.
• Wonderfully transparent and honest performer

• FOR

  • Neutral, balanced sound
  • Impressive agility
  • Loads of detail

ATC SCM 7, SIA2-100 & CD2

• The drivers are of ATC’s own design, the 25mm soft-dome tweeter having an alloy waveguide to control dispersion and the 12.5cm mid/bass unit having an integral version of the company’s famous soft mid-range dome. They may be tiny but they still weigh 7.5kg apiece.
• Balance and focus are just what this system has, whether playing CDs or streaming music via a computer – or, as in this case, from the Melco N100 also reviewed this month as well as my usual Mac mini.
• Even more surprising is that the SCM7 speakers, driven by the SIA2-100amplifier, deliver not just fine detail and a solid stereo image but also powerful bass way beyond what one might expect from enclosures so small. There’s real texture and conviction down there, too, making orchestral double basses and the left hand of a pianist equally striking.
• Above all, it’s the integration of this set-up that’s its most appealing aspect. The drivers in the SCM7 work together seamlessly, the amplifier has more than enough power, control and definition to ensure they behave themselves without holding back on musical flow and even the CD player makes a very strong case for the continued existence of the silver disc.
• Buy it for its solidity, its style or even the ‘all made in Britain’ thing: however you look at this ATC system, it’s remarkable value for money.

ATC SCM 12 Pro & P1 Pro

• Finding a path through all the conflicting constraints when designing a monitor is akin to making the pieces of a jigsaw fit together, and when you get it right, everything snaps into focus. The SCM12 Pro had that from the very start.
• The foundation of the SCM12 Pro is its low-frequency performance: typically closed-box with its lack of overhang and reassuring security of pitch, whatever the volume level, but with the added quality that comes from driver engineering that’s a level or two above run-of-the-mill and can play surprisingly loud.
• But it’s not just at the bass end where the SCM12 Pro excels. It has a natural, uncoloured, ‘hear-through’ mid-range quality and unforced detail in the way it presents high-frequency information, which means audio is reproduced with the minimum of speaker artifacts imprinted upon it.
• Stereo imaging was well focussed with good depth, and there were no embellishments or attention-drawing emphases anywhere, just accuracy and consistency. It’s exactly what’s needed from a mix tool.
• The P1 Pro passed the test very quickly. It is clearly an extremely high-performance power amplifier — perhaps slightly warmer in presentation than the Naim amp I’m used to, but certainly right up there in terms of bandwidth, detail, clarity, imaging and that sense one gets with a genuinely powerful amplifier that volume level is effectively unlimited. 
• The P1 Pro is ATC’s entry-level power amplifier and is specified at 150 Watts per channel into 8Ω. The amplifier is configured as a dual-mono unit with completely separate power supply and amplification modules for each channel.
• “As you can probably tell, I really like the SCM12 Pro. I think it’s a genuinely fine nearfield monitor, and given the relatively low price for the level of engineering involved, it is something of a bargain.” Phil Ward, Sound on Sound Magazine

ATC SCM 20 ASL Pro

• There are wide-ranging dynamic swings, crashing crescendos and a sense of authority that would be hard to get from a passive set-up at this price. It sounds immensely stable, with the speakers keeping hold of the multitude of instrumental strands with impressive composure.
• Everything has a place, yet the final result never feels overly controlled. There’s plenty of enthusiasm on show together with the kind of agility that’s rare to hear at this level.
• Like your music loud? The SCM20ASL Pros are happy to do that. They remain clear and refined to very high levels, showing little sign of strain even when pushed hard. Their neutral tonality barely strays, even as we approach their limits.
• The SCM20ASLs remain seriously impressive at the low-end, delivering bass with weight and power.
• We put on some Nina Simone and like the way these ATCs handle the older recording. They render the lovely, distinctive vocals with power, subtlety and real finesse, the ATCs’ innate transparency revealing every nuance.
• Verdict: By high-end standards, these ATCs are terrific value. Getting standmounters and four power amplifier channels of such a high standard is likely to cost a lot more than this. Get past the functional appearance and you have speakers with a performance of rare quality.
• For: Excellent resolution, Strong dynamic expression, Secure rhythmic drive, Comfortable at high volume levels, Flexible in use, Fine build

ATC SCM 12 Pro

• So what do the ATC SCM 12 Pros sound like? Very, very good. They excel in dynamic stability – loud things go loud without treading all over quiet things, and if your percussionist likes sly effects and cheeky delicacies, you will hear them. If your drummer mixes rock thunder with jazz accents you will smile – and if she makes it swing you will hear it swing. The beat tightens and rhythmic intentions become clear. Layers in EDM will be laid bare, synth tones revealed, backing vocals resolve out of the soup of lesser systems.
• The bottom-end is a lesson in control – less is more when bass has actual notes, and the notes have actual character! But it is the mid-band clarity that stands out for me – vocals just sound more ... more like the singer, and everywhere a clarity that makes much of the competition sound veiled.
• “I have been massively impressed by the SCM 12 Pro – defying mere fashion it’s an evolutionary product from a firm that refuses to compromise engineering decisions for marketing acceptability. They are professional tools designed for a working studio environment. The finish is utilitarian but the sound extraordinary, and if you need compact monitors that tell the unvarnished truth about your audio, start here.” BBC engineer, Alistair McGhee for Audio Media International magazine

ATC P2 Pro

• “I was very happy with my monitor speakers, but they seemed to lack bass extension; Matt Colton has active ATC SCM150 ASL PROs in his room, so I thought that an ATC amp might give me more bass.”
• “The bass extension was great, but there was also a noticeable improvement overall — a smoothness that gave improved detail and clarity” 
• “The difference wasn’t subtle with the P2 PRO. I called Ben Lilly, Technical Sales Manager at ATC, and told him he couldn’t have the demo unit back until he had sent me the one I bought!” Barry Grint, Alchemy Mastering

ATC P2

• The P2 has a remarkably light touch and a degree of transparency that is uncommon among high powered amplifiers. It allows the colour and variety of each recording to shine and unveils the method of their creation without undermining musical engagement. Even old favourite’s like Conjure’s ‘Wardrobe Master of Paradise’ (Music for the Texts of Ishmael Reed, American Clavé) reveals layers of detail that usually remain hidden. 
• You might get fancier metalwork and shinier connections but I guarantee you won’t find more grip and control. This means you get precisely as much kick drum as the engineer was able to capture.
• The ATC is a very even handed and capable amplifier indeed, it eschews an ‘impressive’ sound in favour of quietly getting on with the job of revealing more of the music than the majority at its price and doing so in an effortless fashion. Jason Kennedy

ATC P2

• Put simply, it just sounds ‘right’. In fact, this became a difficult review in some ways as I spent so much time enjoying the music that I kept forgetting I was supposed to be assessing the product. Still, when a component makes you concentrate on the music to the exclusion of all else, it must be a good one.
• In terms of spatiality, the P2 made my loudspeakers simply disappear. There was no sense of things being stretched artificially in width across the soundstage or depth vanishing off into the distance. Nor did the amplifier try to project things unduly, or seem to be throwing out random detail as if in an attempt to impress. Instead, it just took the material and pulled absolutely everything it needed to from it. As a result, the P2 made everything a truly compelling listen.
• There was an intimacy to Miss Krall’s vocals and she was placed perfectly centre-stage. Her voice had real form and every subtle intonation and intake of breath sounded just that little bit more lifelike. In this respect, the P2 seemed less a hi-fi component and more a direct conduit for the music.
• At the bottom end, the P2 digs deeply and in a very well controlled manner. Yet again, it managed to pull that little bit more from everything.
• In terms of detail, the P2 struck gold once again. Instruments were lifelike and beautifully atmospheric, no matter whether a recording featured a soft solo acoustic ensemble or a grand orchestral bombardment.
• The amplifier seemed more able than most to separate out the instruments to make everything easy to follow, but only if I chose to do so. I could concentrate on a particular violin or trombone if I wanted to, yet the overall cohesion of each performance was stunning. Even during the most dynamic of crescendos, which the P2 would expand with gusto, there was no hint of muddle or compression. Adam Smith, Hi-Fi News, March 2017.

ATC P2

• DYNAMIQUE: Le P2 a cranement dejoue tous nos pieges musicaux, notamment le solo de batterie sur "Company" par Patricia Barber ou les frappes tous azimuts ecoutees a haut niveau ont retenti de maniere physique sans saturation ou distorsion audible.
• ATTAQUE DE NOTE: L'ATC est un amplificateur rapide dans ce sens ou il respecte totalement le rythme de la partition en ecoute... La lisibilite este tout a fait excellente avec des contours de notes precis.
• SCENE SONORE: Autre consequence de cette velocite, l'espace sonore este tres bien proportione avec une focalisation nettes des interpretes.... La grande harmonie spatiale du P2 qui rend la restitution absolument credible.
• TRANSPARENCE: L'ATC P2 reussit le pari de proposer une ecoute a la fois nerveuse, rigoureuse et rafinee... Un savant cocktail de dynamite et de soie ou la neutralite reste au premier plan.
• VERDICT: Les fabricants d'enceintes acoustiques qui construisent des electroniques ne sont pas legion. L'anglais ATC est de ceux-la et il le fait brillamment.... A decouvrir absolument, sans aucun a priori.

ATC P1

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2017"
• No strangers to the making of solid-state amplifiers—ATC has, for decades, specialized in building self-powered speakers for the pro and domestic markets—the British firm now sells a 150Wpc standalone power amplifier. The P1 is said to offer wide bandwidth (2Hz–400kHz) and a high damping factor (400), plus true balanced inputs alongside its unbalanced RCA jacks. (ATC recommends the former for best performance.)
• After spending a number of weeks with the P1, JM concluded that "the P1 did not editorialize on the music; it just delivered it." Indeed, his time with the ATC P1 led JM to wonder if perhaps another recommendable amp was, by comparison, adding a bit of "zip" to the sound, "and that perhaps the ATC P1 was telling the story straight."
• JM concluded: "I am unaware of any other amplifier built from discrete components with this level of build quality, and from a firm with a record of accomplishment similar to ATC's, that offers so much excellent wattage at such a comparatively low price." (Vol.37 No.10 WWW)

ATC P1

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2016"

ATC P1

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2015"

ATC P1 & CA2

• Large and spacious recorded acoustic, powerful bass and sparkling highs. Effortless dynamics, and a general insouciant ease when asked to reproduce powerful musical peaks.
• The ATC combo places the different elements of the mix very accurately in space; both left to right and front to back. I am not used to hearing this song with such clarity; and extension to Paul McCartney’s vocals, which come over in a really intimate way – I almost get the feeling I am in the vocal booth with him.
• This amplifier combo proves to have an excellent midband then, very transparent and with no small amount of space and depth.
• An excellent performer, this is a true slice of affordable esoterica – you get a taste of what a really top-flight high-end pre-power amplifier will do, without having to remortgage your house in the process. The ATC CA2/ P1 pre-power amplifier combination may be slightly quirky and fiddly in some ways – seeming very much the product of a specialist British manufacturer – yet it has great appeal to those that are interested in getting a serious bang for their buck, so to speak, and so it comes highly recommended
• CA2: Clean, crisp and detailed sound; Effective performer that’s a fine partner for the P1
• P1: Powerful, clean and very open sound; A hidden treasure – in power amplifier terms

ATC P1

• After some weeks of listening I began thinking of it as the strong, silent type.... the P1 did not editorialize on the music; it just delivered it.
• The P1's essential sound was very satisfyingly rich and full. That the P1 had gobs of power did not become apparent until its reserves were called for.
• The sound of this system through the P1 and ATC's own SCM19 speakers was unusually coherent and seamless from midrange to treble, and the bass had me thinking that this might be all the bass a normal person needs.
• I am unaware of any other amplifier built from discrete components with this level of build quality, and from a firm with a record of accomplishment similar to ATC's, that offers so much excellent wattage at such a comparatively low price.
• If you're shopping for an amp, try to hear this one.  John Marks - The Fifth Element #87

ATC P1 & CA2

• Dual mono design - Take a look inside the preamp and you'll find discrete components in the signal path – rather than integrated circuits – and a great deal of care has been taken over the power supply arrangement.
• The power amplifier is a dual mono design, with a dedicated mains transformer for each channel. The design is entirely consistent with the preamp in attempting to minimise noise while delivering a wide band signal.
• These ATCs sound firmly in control, no matter how complex or demanding the material is.  Listen to the kind of music that makes most amps crumble – we're thinking about The Battle from the Gladiator soundtrack, or Massive Attack's Angel – and this pre/power will take it in its stride, delivering all the drama required without sounding like it's working hard. The same remains true at high volume levels, too. 
• We'd like to go on about the pleasing stereo imaging – it's focused and stable, even when the music gets busy – and the power amplifier's way of taking charge of speakers in a manner well beyond what we'd expect from something rated at 150 Watts per channel, but these things tend to go unnoticed most of the time. 
  
• Honesty shines through... Over the long term we think the CA2/ P1's greater honesty wins out. If you want to hear the recording unvarnished, there are few better ways of doing it at this price level.
• Few, if any, of the CA2/ P1's rivals share such a formidable spread of talents.

• FOR

  • Transparent, honest and revealing presentation
  • Sturdy build

ATC P1

• Best described as clean, stark and uncluttered, it can first appear slightly underwhelming. But it grows on you the more you listen in, as you begin to appreciate that it’s what is missing – the lack of mechanical’ boom ’n’ tizz – that makes it so delightfully revealing of detail and sound textures.
• A robust design that produces a sound noticeably free of adornment.

ATC P1 & CA2

• The quality of timing is so good that the musical flow is totally unhampered, free to go where it wants to with a strong sense of purpose.
• Despite having a slightly lower power rating than the Gamut, it has stronger bass. This underpins records like Antonio Forcione’s Tears of Joy to great effect, revealing more about the space he’s playing in than other amps...
• Using both CA2 and P1 together through the 802Ds provided a full scale, full power experience that brings dynamic recordings to
  life.
• If you want to hear the important musical detail presented in a coherent, clear-cut fashion this pairing has remarkably little competition in the two box arena.

ATC P1 & CDA2

• Best Stereo system Hi-Fi i Muzyka, 2014 Award.
• The sound is characterized by neutrality and linearity study . The transparency reminds of headphones, and the dynamics gives the impression as if possessed kilowatt .
• The sound is so realistic and has the momentum that we feel like at the concert. Not only did this in concert halls, but also rock , just before the stage. Impressions are spectacular, and the return to "normal " equipment - often painful.
• The price is ... low and does not reflect the class British set.

ATC P1 & CDA2

• First impressions are dynamics, mass and energy of sound. Brute force reveals terminations at each jump the fan sound. It seems that there is no possibility that the amp ran out of steam. 
• These 150 watts creates a downright shocking effect, overgrown make my Mac MA7000. Concerts rock, symphonic orchestra tutti, electronic wall of sound Massive Attack - all for ATC as the bull potato. 
• The duo swallows every challenge and before we thank you for such an impressive performance, poured more blows. Likewise, the sound instantly expires; is controlled just perfect. These things we hear from MBL-a monoblock and other horribly expensive power plants. ATC may only offer less sophistication. Playing for it normally. No frills, colorations or building unnatural, though pleasing to the ear of effects. From the beginning, you may not like a rave, but parting with it will be painful. Once you hear natural-sounding instruments, will be difficult to go back to the mystified version.
• You can catch a little Audio Research accurateness and indifferent Spectral precision, but after a while I feel that comes to the fore another priority: transparency. 
• Regardless of the degree of complexity and clutter instruments, the sound is drawn on graph paper, with clear contours. It can therefore be a heavy metal guitar extract individual rows, although others also play in the same band. 
• Easy to fish will squeak of chairs or other attractions, which usually remain hidden. ATC, as perhaps no other amplifier, showed the work of a piano pedal mechanism on our starenkim sampler. MBL has the same advantages, but I always try to stay smooth and velvety. Meanwhile, the ATC is not afraid to sharply sip or make a noise. Perhaps some consider it as a disadvantage, but I see this as a boon inventory.flawlessly system also shows the quality of the recording. Interestingly, many of the classics from the 60s and 70s can sound surprisingly fresh.
• CDA2 Player - phenomenal. Both because of the sound, as well as on-board preamp. For the active column is a complete hi-end system.

ATC CDA2 Mk2

• Impressive transparency. Its tonal balance is as even as you like, with no part of the frequency range gaining undue emphasis, so the natural tone of instruments (and voices, as we find out when we listen to Nina Simone) come through undiminished.
• As with the company’s speakers, the CDA2 is impressively transparent to the source material. It’s not one to fudge things with coarse or aggressive recordings, so any flaws are easily heard. Equally, it won’t go out of its way to make such recordings unlistenable, such is its refinement and lack of overt distortion.
• The sound through the line-level inputs is excellent, showing a degree of insight, warmth and finesse that is unusual in such a digital-centric product.
• The ATC sounds thrilling when the music demands, but can also soothe when required.

ATC CDA2 Mk2

• When I swapped out my Shindo Allegro preamplifier for ATC's internal preamp running direct into the power amp, things got only better. While music now sounded slightly more forward, it also grew in scale, resolution, and weight—especially bass weight, which turned boomy with some CDs. Now, with the Krall-Bennett CD, I could hear piano hammers striking piano strings. Tony Bennett's voice was more detailed, the sense of its freshiness more vivid; his and Krall's voices were better balanced with each other. Ullrich's disc of Mozart sonatas also revealed the unique sound of hammers on strings, and weight and tonality also improved, creating a massive soundstage and a more forward sound. All in all, I was surprised at how different the ATC's internal preamplifier sounded from my Shindo Allegro preamps. Warmth remained, as did the ATC's luminous translation of digital material, while resolution—and, to a larger degree, weight and soundstage height—improved by considerable margins.
• Conclusions
  You could ea sily spend $2000 apiece on a CD player and preampliffer and not get the construction quality, ease of use, and fantastic sound of ATC's CDA2 Mk2 CD preamplifier. I was shocked when the ATC went head-to-head with my more expensive Shindo preamp and bettered it in some regards, and it worked very well with my tubed power amplifier. With ATC's CDA2 Mk2 offering pleasing tonality, resolution, and dynamics, a versatile feature set, and rock-solid build, all for a decent price, it's impossible not to crown it with the highest recommendation. It can provide a fine starting point for a solid high-end system.

ATC CDA2 Mk2

• Hi-Fi Choice Recommended, May 2018
• The CDA2 Mk2 delivers it with real drive and a wide open view of the layers of the recording, charging through the album with such verve that it seems to be over almost before it’s started.
• With a wide-open sound, masses of detail and unrestrained slam, it makes a fi ne partner for power amps and active speakers alike, getting on with the all-important business of delivering the music without adding or subtracting anything.
• LIKE: Neutral, detailed, and wide-open sound
• WE SAY: Functional, styling and an impressively neutral performance make this a great multipurpose CD player  

ATC CDA2 Mk2

• Electrical noise is the enemy of digital audio as products like the Innuos Zenith SE prove and ATC have paid close attention to keeping it as low as possible by building a new power supply with nine extra voltage regulators above those in the original CDA2. ATC has also refined the in- and output gain stages with discrete op-amps that provide buffering of inputs and a true balanced output from the XLR connections, the output stage itself being biased in Class A.
• As an analogue preamp the CDA2 Mk2 is very strong as well with excellent bass extension, a very open presentation and very good image depth. It shares the coherent demeanour of the digital input and adds a relaxed quality that helps to bring out the musical message extremely well.
• The results were inspiring, a combination of authority, articulacy and rock solid timing made for a musical experience that was nigh on addictive.
• The CDA2 Mk2 is well built, comprehensively equipped and highly revealing, but more importantly it makes familiar material engrossing, it makes you listen longer and dare I say it, louder. ATC has driven down distortion and noise so that more of the crucial timing and imaging cues can be heard, in the process they have delivered their finest digital product yet, it’s a great pity they took it away! Jason Kennedy

ATC CDA2 Mk2

• Hi-Fi News Higly Commended, April 2018
• The crisp resolution of the CDA2 Mk2’s digital section allows the lumbering rhythms of ‘Have A Cigar’ to power out into the room, while making every detail of the lyrics and recording plain to hear.
• HI-FI NEWS VERDICT: The music centre, ATC style: the CDA2 Mk2 may have all the air of ‘a horse designed by committee’, as it does so much, but this is more thoroughbred than camel, with a wide-open sound, masses of detail and unrestrained slam. It makes a fine partner for power amps and active speakers alike, getting on with the business of delivering the music without adding or subtracting anything. If it does all you need, it’s a bargain.. Andrew Everard, Hi-Fi News, April 2018.

ATC CDA2

• Midrange offered a sense of fullness, and they were transparent and detailed. The listener had always a feeling of being near the orchestra and the voices, both the solos and the choir, were rich and quite realistic both in size and character. The high frequency part of the spectrum offered.
• CDA2's preamplifier section proved to be transparent, with low noise levels and therefore capable of quite good dynamics. Stereo imaging was at the same level as when listened through its digital part and the feelings of easy listening, the fullness and the realism were also there. The final result is that this is not a casual preamplifier stage, included only to justify the integrated form of CDA2, but a well designed, full spec preamplifier.
• Build and sound quality are very good and the price is more than tempting. In the end, this is a piece of equipment of great value for money.

ATC CDA2

• Hi-Fi Choice Recommended, Issue 376, October 2013
• "Very revealing and tremendously dynamic with genuine low-end power.” 
• “A heck of a lot of CD player, preamp and DAC for the money”  

ATC P1 & CA2

ATC SIACD

• In every case, teh SIACD is capable of showing that the built-in amplification here is of quite remarkable quality, not only in its openess and solidity but in the power and reach of its bass, and the surefooted way in which it grips the speakers to which it's connected.
• That low-end ability plays a major part in the good impression the ATC creates from the start, its extension being matched with speed and deft control, but across the frequency range this system is striking and demands high-quality speakers if it's to be heard at its best.
• This is a no-compromise "music centre" for those willing to look beyond the mini-system norm, handbuilt in Britain, backed with six years warranty and capable of delivering the kind of sound for which you might expect to need a separate CD player, preamplifier and power amp.

ATC SIACD

• The power supply unit is built on a massive toroidal transformer and filter capacitors of the bank assuming the total capacity of 40 000 uF... In the output-stages each channel uses two pairs of field-effect transistors, very intricately mounted on horizontally placed radiator.
• Jamaican rhythms and classical jazz improvisation by themselves do not contribute to the fortress templates, and so vividly and expertly executed, it seems, does cause an increase in the production of endorphins and dozens of other neurotransmitters that induce with involuntary smile snapping his fingers to the beat, while stamping and shaking his head.
• I connect to the digital coaxial input of external transport, comparable in price to the set, and I understand that the difference st. And it is clearly not in favor of external solutions.
• Conclusions: ATC SIA CD - uncompromising system of uncompromising manufacturer. Inheriting all the best that the British had accumulated over four decades, they have created another masterpiece. The device, whose appearance is deceptive as well as the appearance of most products from ATC, where the cornerstone put functional.

ATC SIACD & SCM 11

• ATC is rarefied audio; only 50 per cent of its production is for consumers, and 80 per cent of that is exported. Oddly, though, ATC equipment is not that expensive – it is knowing it exists that’s the clever bit.
• Founded in 1974 by Australian jazz-pianist and engineer Billy Woodman, ATC is seriously old school. Its philosophy is one of “neutral fidelity”, based on the belief that hifi equipment shouldn’t colour the original studio sound. 
• You can hear the attention to detail. Listening to the SCM11 speakers, the astonishing clarity, separation and bass heft quite knocked me over. 
• “It’s the first time I’ve heard those tracks properly since 1995,” she said. “It’s like being back in the studio.” Which is, of course, exactly what ATC had in mind.

ATC SIACD & SCM 11

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2013"
• ATC's beefy (44 lbs) SIA2 integrated amplifier ($5000) puts out a claimed 150Wpc and is hand-built in the UK. It has five RCA inputs, but no phono stage, balanced inputs, or onboard digital capability requiring USB or S/PDIF connection; in two words, it's old school. And I love it.
• The SIA2 exhibits all the virtues of a first-quality solid-state integrated amplifier.
• To sum up the SIA2: excellent performance, good value for money, and a great match for ATC's SCM 40 speakers.
• And Monheit's voice was just plain wonderful to listen to—the ATC is a great amplifier.

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

• This amp allows for a wonderfully open soundstage through which detail can shine. The choir in 160 BPM, from the Angels & Demons OST, can sound muddied and grubby through poorer amps, but the ATC opens up the track, bringing in real clarity and insight.
• The amp displays great power, drive and determination as the track builds up. Not only are the edges of notes superbly defined, but there's great texture and feeling behind each one.
• The ATC produces a spine-tingling connection between the listener and the music.
• Sturdy design
• Hugely emotive and convincing sound
• Sensational timing and dynamics

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

• Its sonic signature is an unwavering midrange forthrightness and fluidity. Its neutral to warmer tonal balance allows for the most critical listening, yet doesn’t cross the threshold into the starkly clinical. Musical fundamentals and overtones are expressed like continuous liquid waves of energy.
• Bass response is excellent with precise pitch and plenty of slam"
• Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this amp was the wide net it cast in resolving soundstaging and imaging.
• Like the ATC, the Plinius throws its weight and balance where it’s most appreciated—in the midrange. The key differences are the slightly drier character and tighter lower end of the 9200.

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

• Whatever you partner it with, ATC's superbly finished SIA 2-150 amplifier seems to deliver a revealing, powerful and ultimately engaging result. It offers a degree of grip that is unusual outside of separate power amplifiers, but does not let this dominate its sound.
• Revealing, dynamic and powerful
• Works with a wide range of speakers
• Superb build quality and finish
• Long manufacturer's warranty

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

• Un vrai bonheur qui sait alterner l’énergie considérable et la froide détermination d’un appareil conçu pour rester fidèle au signal, aux
  nuances et à la chaleur d’un vecteur musical de premier ordre..
• L’intégré ATC SIA2-150 Mk2 est un appareil remarquable de cohérence proposé à un prix tout à fait en rapport avec ses qualités. Suffisamment puissant pour amplifier un grand nombre
  d’enceintes de rendement moyen, assez polyvalent pour se faire plaisir sans sacrifier la précision, il propose une solution intégrée performante à ceux qui cherchent à la fois la fidélité au signal et la musicalité d’un appareil destiné aussi bien aux audiophiles qu’aux mélomanes.

ATC SIA2-150 Mk2

• First, I listened for a few minutes a Mac (n.r. McIntosh MA7000), to have a reference point, and then dived for the cabinet to change the call. The first second brought a big surprise. I had to make sure that all cables definitely hit where it should be, because the speakers flowed focused like a laser wave and strong as real absinthe energy.
• If the power is not enough, will be loud, but the music runs out of purity and resolution. But not here, because the next energy pulsing most impressive detail and precision sound. Each trifle is served with great care, a separate event.
• If not enough power, it will be loud, but the music runs out of purity and resolution. But not here, because next to the pulsating
  energy most impressive detail and precision can be heard. Every little thing is served with great care, is a separate event.
• This amp plays differently than McIntosh MA7000, which in its price class (two times higher) I consider to be one of the few patterns. But I put an equal sign between them.

ATC SCM 150 SLT Active

• Despite their size they are remarkably easy speakers to accommodate inasmuch as they are not as fussy about placement as the average large passive design. Specifically you can put them quite close to a rear wall and, room shape allowing, this doesn’t result in exaggerated bass.
• Play a few more pieces and you discover that they merely reflect the original balance with greater accuracy than usual and that some recordings have considerably more low end on them than others.
• It’s worth noting that my listening room is not very wide, 3.5m for the most part, yet on this system never is there any sense of the bass being too much. Even with less than 50cm to rear walls, and not a lot more to the sides, the bass is very tidy and controlled.
• The new tweeter is a boon as well, as it’s more revealing yet sweeter than the SEAS unit it replaces. This speaker used to be a bit 'warts an' all' for anything less than smooth, clean electronics and recordings, but the tweeter has made the 150 a whole lot more charming without losing transparency.

ATC EL 150 PSL

• SCM EL 150 PSL:
  Sound: "absolute top class"
  Price / Performance: "high end"
  "Ultimate transparent, neutral and plastic playing box with precise, yet musical bass and perfect timing. Performs quietly and brutally loud superior, but is sophisticated in installation and room acoustics."

ATC EL 150 ASL

• The EL 150As sounded relaxed and effortless, with a delicate touch when playing piano and acoustic intruments that had been recorded in a natural perspective.
• These imposing ATCs deliver up-front detail, a tight and punchy bass, with seeminglt endless headroom that allows you to listen in to regordings as if analysing them under a magnifying glass.
• With high quality source material they will have you riveted to your seat, captivated.
• They can fill a huge acoustic space with high quality sound at high SPLs, moreover they come with a lifetime warranty.For those able to afford them, they should definitely be high on the list of speakers to be auditioned.

ATC EL 150 PSL

ATC SCM 100 SE Active

• All this glory and more is there for the enjoying with these high-resolution loudspeakers.
• I mentioned earlier that I’d made a discovery about ATC actives over the course of this review. They need more drive than average; more than was provided by the MSB DAC or transformer passive Allegri. I was getting extremely revealing, wide bandwidth results with plenty of power but limited emotional impact: something wasn’t quite gelling. So I dug out an ATC CA2 preamplifier and hooked it up. Bam, that did it: the musicians were in the room. Now the Nils Frahm sounded truly live, the piano regaining its full dynamic glory and the performance taking on a spine tingling immediacy. Using a preamp with decent line driving capabilities broke through the last barrier between the listener and the performance to deliver both technical and emotional communication of the first order.
• If you want to move air properly you need a box with volume and preferably a large bass driver. The SCM100SE has both and is very well put together. What makes it so appealing is the ease with which it goes about the business of reproducing not only the full bandwidth of the signal but its full dynamic envelope as well, and if you like to play at levels that approach the realistic, it is in a class of its own.
• I found the ATC SCM100SE extremely rewarding once a key ingredient had been added to the mix. I’m sure that there are other preamplifiers that have the ability to drive these speakers but the results I got with the modestly priced CA2 were pretty damn fabulous.

ATC SCM 100 SLT Active

• SCM 100 SLT Active:
  "Very good" (81 out of 100 points)
  Price / Performance: "outstanding", "highlight""Pretty beefy active box after British beauty ideal from the studio scene. Not pretty, but musically a high-flyer: big sound pictures, high transparency, precise, uncomplicated playback."

ATC SCM 100 SLT Active

• Even at very high levels, the kind of earplug territory that numbs the ear’s response in minutes, the SCM 100As simply refuse to harden-up or squash dynamic extremes.
• So clean do these floorstanders sound that we found ourselves listening to them far more loudly than usual.
• The SCM 100As enjoy a lovely consistency of character throughout the frequency range: it’s something that’s rare, even at this kind of price level.
• The speakers convincing tonality and impressive detail resolution make it an absolute joy to listen to.
• These floorstanders are immensely muscular when required, but with subtler music such as this, theyr agility and finesse is deeply impressive.
• They have the attack to work with Nirvana, the authority to deliver the Inception OST and the ability to convey the emotion in Arvo Part's Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten with the utmost skill.
• If you value tonal neutrality, dynamic reach and deep bass, we haven't heard anything better at this money.
• FOR: massive dynamic reach; huge bass; great composure and integration; tonal neutrality

ATC SCM 100 SLT Active

• Despite their size they are remarkably easy speakers to accommodate inasmuch as they are not as fussy about placement as the average large passive design. Specifically you can put them quite close to a rear wall and, room shape allowing, this doesn’t result in exaggerated bass.
• Play a few more pieces and you discover that they merely reflect the original balance with greater accuracy than usual and that some recordings have considerably more low end on them than others.
• These full scale monitors are from the warts and all school of transparency, there is no sweetener at all so if you like a clean, refined sound it will need to be delivered by the recording and source. This is the way that it should always be of course but rarely do pure hi-fi companies have the balls to deliver it with as little compromise as ATC.

ATC SCM 100 SLT

• On the subject of columns coming from the market "Pro" suffers some myths, among which the most common is the one that says that a tool for work, not for listening to music for pleasure. With regard to SCM100 it is total nonsense - even the negation of the truth. These speakers have nothing to do with anything with presumed sterility. They love music, reproduce it in the most civilized way, always from the best side. This is a pure, full natural "sound" without dynamic constraints as such.
• ATC SCM100 already in the active version, and before replacement of the tweeter, provide sound, which in my opinion will go perfectly and in the requirements both professionals and audiophiles with longer experience. These are columns that I just do not want to stop listening! Music preferences as such they do not have.

ATC SCM 100 SLT Active

• With an ease at all frequencies, and a prodigious and unforgettable bottom end these are speakers that end questions about sufficiency, or at least their sufficiency. Listening to Gabriela Lena Frank "Mestizo Waltz" (Keith Lockhart/Utah Symphony) from Reference Recordings (which is hardly a waltz, unless it's a waltz of tectonic plates) put the recorded venue in my listening room, or at least a smaller rendering of it. It was fantastic, absolutely fantastic.
• ATC speakers all seem to have roughly, if not exactly, the same timbre one speaker to the next. I've listened to or owned ATC's 7s, 10s, 20s (passive and active), 35's, 50's and now 100s. What I conclude is that ATCs are a bit like Lego blocks, they're somewhat interchangeable, with the choice of speakers mandated by the size of your room (to accommodate the bottom end, and have a place to park the speakers), and of course, your pocket book. 
• If you get the chance, you'll hear why ATC owners usually trade up within the line from smaller to larger speakers. They are simply an unmitigated delight. Thanks to Teresa Kregling at flatearthaudio.com for arranging my time with the speakers. Larry Cox

ATC SCM 100 SLT - SCA2 - P2

• Matching sound through ATC full set is ATC-like and it is ideal for monitor-oriented sound. Unlike the trend of normal hi-fi listening and emphasizing energy only, the combination of standard monitor amplifier and speaker produces harmonized stage with emphasis on accuracy without unnecessary exaggeration and solid middle / low range with excellent texture and balance. Another appeal of the P2 power amplifier is that it reveals the recording environment of the reproduced sound source properly, and the coolness that expresses the pros and cons of the speaker at once can be seen. In short, it focuses on thorough monitor tendency, and it can meet stable band balance and precise sound without leeway.
• SCM100 PSLT New's excellent bass reproduction ability is a combination of P2 that can display the true center of the sound and the ATC brand's best match.

ATC SCM 100 SLT

• ATC SCM100 PSLT New through Gryphon Pandora and Antillion EVO, 100% of the band playback ability as if you have met your opponent properly. The combination of these products is more praiseworthy than the combination of any high-end product, but its well-centered and well-structured sound reproduction capability.
• It is remembered as a more attractive match to satisfy both audio and musical sensibility through mutual complementary which is the merit of best matching.

ATC SCM 50 SL

• “Superb speakers continue to set standards at this price”
• We’ve been using ATC’s SCM50 as our reference speakers for well over a decade. Over that time they’ve been connected to just about every piece of electronics that has passed through our test rooms, from budget microsystems (just for fun, you understand) all the way up to monster pre/powers that retail for Porsche money. In all that time, and with those many hundreds of components, they have never once let us down.
• If we had to describe the ATC’s sound in one word, it would be ‘honest’. They don’t flavour or try to make things more exciting by adding a little treble sparkle or bass thump. They simply try to reproduce the signal faithfully.
• The SCM50s aren’t fussy about musical genre though. They have the dynamic punch and organisational abilities to make the most of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. They never sound fazed or stressed even when pushed hard. Equally, there’s no shortage of authority here, with the speakers digging low and true, delivering a solid, meaty presentation when required.
• We haven’t managed to find something that’s as satisfying an all-rounder or as practical to use as a day-to-day review tool. Considering the SCM50 was originally introduced in the mid-80s, that’s quite some achievement. It seems great engineering doesn’t date.
• OUR VERDICT: The ATC SCM50s have been our reference speakers for more than a decade and for good reason
• FOR
  • Honest, balanced performance
  • Dynamic ability
  • Rugged build

ATC SCM 50 SL

• The sound was impressive, dynamic and powerful, with a desirably fast and crisp bass,
• The sheer power and dynamic range on tap belied their relatively
  compact dimensions.
• The agile bass helped the perception of good timing: more like a sealed box than a reflex.
• The joins between the three drivers were aurally seamless, and one really could not hear the crossovers working. I admired the evenhanded performance on so many different kinds of music and recording methods, and thus became fully aware of its studio monitoring pedigree: a loudspeaker which aims to tell the truth with minimal embellishment. The low distortion and smooth response also confers desirably low listening fatigue.
• Its great virtue was the way it became acoustically unobtrusive, allowing the wide range of music programme we sampled to tell their individual stories.
• Rather more powerful than its modest proportions might indicate, this fine design delivers stereo images on a grand scale, and conveys much of the character and detail in fine recordings. It hits the audio excellence level for its sheer all round ability – not least the massive power handling and the resulting dynamic range.
• The bass is desirably over-damped, to deliver a near flat response when boundary and room gain is taken into account. The numeric figures are flat to 50 Hz -3dB, but powerful, in-room bass is actually achieved down to 35Hz.

ATC SCM 50 SLT Private Edition

• Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with Michael Tilson-Thomas (SFS). This work has with orchestra, organ, Triple choir and several soloists one Such sound density that many boxes simply overwhelmed with the detail resolution are. Not so the ATC: you posed this mass of musicians with a lightness and audibility in the listening room, as I myself in the best Concert halls have hardly ever experienced.
• The SCM50A FF not disappointed - she plays enormously loud and remains impressively clean.
• The ATC sounds spatially completely conclusive, tonal always right, provided you just angle it slightly or placed parallel to the wall.
• The bass was neither too soft nor too dry, but simply perfectly balanced. But she shone the most with her Neutrality and their addictive Transparency.
• Britten's "War Requiem" sounded unfamiliar dense and detailed, yet in conciliatory "Agnus Dei" never so peaceful and harmonious.

ATC SCM 50 SLT & SCM 50 SLT Active

• SCM 50 SLT:
• Sound level: 91% Value for money: "very good"
  "Same case, same chassis assembly as her activated sister. Is it worthwhile to experiment with external electronics? Clear Jein. Only those who have very high-quality electronics and fun experiments with power amps / cables, etc., could come at his expense. Otherwise, the active version is ahead!"
• SCM 50 SLT Active:
• Sound level: 97% Value for money: "excellent"
  "The speaker convinces in the laboratory as well as in the listening room. The British consistently pursue their no-nonsense philosophy. No sound control, not even a RCA input can be found, only one XLR input allows the contact to the preamplifier. Through and through solid workmanship. You have such professionals in the living room."

ATC SCM 50 SLT & SCM 50 SLT Active

• SCM 50 SLT:
• "Very good" (82 points) Price / Performance: "outstanding", "highlight"
  "Standbox with first-class chassis equipment. Sounds even more open and impulsive to reference amplifiers than their equally outstanding active sister, and thanks to its extremely good-natured impedance characteristics, it is also suitable for tubes."
• SCM 50 SLT Active: "Very good" (81 points) Price / Performance: "outstanding", "highlight" "Active box with fine Class A electronics and first-class chassis equipment. Sounds very silky, open, impulsive. Bottom line cheaper than the passive version. Unfortunately not adaptable to the room despite active technology. "

ATC SCM 50 SLT

• The SCM50 PSLT has a three-way, three-speaker configuration, which is the standard reference for the ATC. Also, since the size of the tower version is small, there is no restriction on the installation space. It has a powerful bass reproduction ability and an expression of superior executive texture that can not be denied by anyone, and the soft texture unique to British sound is added.

ATC SCM 50 SLT Active Anniversary

• Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five' from Time Out SACD Columbia Legacy CS 65122] really swung, with Paul Desmond's sax firmly at the centre, full toned and not atall shrill. The drums had real power and scale. Indeed,it is rare to find drums sounding so realistic - mostlikely a combination of the unusually deep and evenbass and low distortion [see Lab Test measurements).
• The SCM 50 can't improve on what's on the recording, but if it has been captured faithfully one can be assured it will be reproduced well.
• Voice was particularly well reproduced. For instance,James Taylor and Mark Knopfler's vocals in 'Sailing to Philadelphia' were rendered superbly. From Elvissinging 'Four Leaf Clover' on a compilation CD to Van Morrison's difficult-to-handle guttural drawl in 'The Last Laugh' from Sailing to Philadelphia, the ATC delivered the goods in a free, natural and easy manner.
  
• Hi-Fi News verdict: A studio-quality speaker that combines fine engineering, solid built construction and accurate, musically satisfying replay in the home.

ATC SCM 50 SL Active

• They are remarkably entertaining to use and froma reviewing perspective phenomenally transparent.
• All in all the Active 50 represents tremendous value for the money, I'd challenge anyone to produce a loudspeaker, amplifier and cable system that came anywhere near this performance level at the price
• If what you want form your system is high resolution, high power handling and high entertainment this is one of the finest solutions available

ATC SCM 50 SL Active

• They tell you precisely how it is - how big, how fast and how much bass extension.
• You hear every transition, be it studio effect or chord change.
• In terms of resolving power for your pound, this amp and speaker combo is superb value, all the more so if you like to play music loud and long.

ATC 50 PSL Pro

• There's a ringing quality that I'd only expect to hear at a live concert.
• They've got such an even spread throughout the frequencies.
• I Love the sound now. I'm so impressed with the ATCs: I'd love to isolate one thing they do particularly well, but they simply do everything.

ATC 50 SLT Active

• The Active 50’s will rock all night long. But they will also “classical” all night long as well. The ATC’s do not play favorites when it comes to genre. Rhonda Vincent’s bluegrass “Good Thing Going” on the Rounder label (11661-092-2) was just as convincing and enjoyable as the new and stunning K2HD re-mastered “Antiphone Blues” on FIM (LIM K2HD 026).
• True to its design goal, all the good qualities and lack of adverse qualities of this speaker meant that listening fatigue was not a factor. We never had the feeling that we had listened to these speakers and the music playing through them “enough”. It was easy to listen to them for hours, which we did several times.
• If they are good enough for guys like Michael Bishop, Doug Sax, George Massenburg, Bob Ludwig and Pink Floyd, they’re good enough for me.

ATC SCM 20 SL

• Thoroughly tuned, the sound that does not lose the coolness is attractive, so it presents accurate point of sound based on delicate sound and solid middle / low range without prejudice to specific genre. You can also expect a grandeur and a deep bass that is as big as a big one.
• The new SCM20 PSL has been recognized for its value in the market for the book-shelf speaker and has a long-standing basis as a standard model, as the new tweeter has been improved to better respond to high-quality playback environments. It is indeed ATC's core bookhelf speaker.

ATC SCM 20 SLT

• First of all, ATC 's SCM20 PSLT is recommended for speakers. This product is a tortoise version of ATC's representative book-shelf speaker SCM20.
• As a reference, ATC SCM20 is always selected as a standard speaker of the bookshelf speaker. It is recognized as one of the most outstanding standard speaker which is recommended without any hesitation.
• The ATC SCM20 PSLT is full of masculine images based on a traditional enclosed, rugged enclosure, and has a bargain base that can not be easily tamed by ordinary amplifiers. Basically a two-way system. The most noticeable thing is the 6-inch type super linear magnet driver, which is a key component of ATC and a source of strong bass. As the weight of this unit is more than half of the speaker weight, it plays a central role in reproducing deep bass and dynamic midrange.
• There is a sound that does not lose the coolness that is thoroughly monitored and tuned, and there is no prejudice to a specific genre, but there is a long term which expresses the sound of the sound source without coloring.

ATC SCM 20 SL

• This long-established loudspeaker has been subject to numeorus refinements over the years, most notably ATC's 'Super Linear' magnet technology, which inhibits the generation of eddy currents within the motor.
• It has bass to die for. It was clearly on a diffrent plane from the rest, in the explicit way it gripped the bottom end and drove through the musical message.
• It would be very easy to fall in love with this main driver. It's extraordinarily clean, with a tight dynamic grip that seems to enhance voice articulation substantially.

ATC SCM 20 SL

• I've written about this speaker on and off over the year and I ultimately awarded it a Golden Ear Award.
• The two-way, sealed-enclosure compact continues to impress me with a combination of midrange dynamics, natural musical timbres, and surprisingly realistic mid-bass structure.
• It has an unapologetically forward and clinical presentation that might be off-putting to audiophiles of the laid-back presentation. But I don't find "laid back" very persuasive nor do I believe music is typically recorded that way.

ATC SCM 20 SL

• The ATCs excel in the midband and treble, delivering clean, detailed, undistorted sound at high levels, enough to appease the most critical sound engineer while at the same time avoiding any fatigue-inducing 'edges'. This means that either the professional or the civilian can listen to the ATCs for hours on end without inviting earache.
• Vocals, particulary those with lots of character like Leon Redbone's or Willy de Ville's, are reproduced in such a lifelike manner that the net result is an above-average number of goose bumps.
• What ATC has done is endowed the SCM20 with dynamic capabilities which are found only in massive or expensive systems. That exceptional cone travel of 40mm, the ferro-fluid cooling, the watch-like build tolerances and the bomb-proof enclosure combine to provide the dynamic capabilities which allow the SCM20 to play loud without compression and without blurring any low level information.

ATC 20 SLT Active

• I had immersed myself thoroughly in active operation for several days and this was no hardship as I revelled once again in the clean response of ATC's remarkable midrange dome, which retains its unusually constant dispersion pattern although here it is part of the main driver.
• Piano, as usual with ATC designs, appeared solidly at the end of my room and the wizard Alfred Brendel gave me one of his rare excursions into Bach.
• The result was exactly the same: a clear victory for the active version... On the present evidence if you are equipping or re-equipping your music room with a system of some class ATC can make a good case for investigating the active approach.

ATC SCM 40

• Klang: absolute Spitzenklasse
• Preis/Leistung: sehr gut
• Speakers from ATC are found in the world known recording studios. With the SCM40 there it is the legendary technique of the English also for home use.
• The CD contains a selection of top-class jazz pieces that demand a lot of musical sense from a loudspeaker. With Andreas Aarum's Master of Disaster, the SCM40 had to prove that it was up to this standard. The furious piece, however, seemed to please her well, and her well-dosed and absolutely precise bass reproduction gave the music an extra boost. Equally playful, she also appeared at See Me by Jean Hubert, whose voice made her shine in full timbre splendor.
• And above all, it is one of the few loudspeakers that sounds good both close to the wall and free-standing.
• Incorruptible precise speaker with outstanding bass reproduction and particularly homogeneous sound character, they do not hide the recording studio roots. Especially in the disciplines of timing, transparency and illustration they are far ahead.

ATC SCM 40, P2 & CA2 Mk2

• They still exist, the long-established companies that have enjoyed an excellent reputation among professionals and music lovers for decades and have escaped the fate of being pushed by the lifestyle brand by some private equity firms and subsequently being hogged away with maximum returns. For example, the English company ATC
• Sonically, the ATC-Kombi does great things. At what sound this system offers, it can safely measure with systems several times more expensive. On the turntable is Zaz's album "Zaz". Often the Frenchwoman is referred to as modern Edith Piaf. Even if I did not sign that, there are - to the luck of Mrs. Geffroy alias Zaz - some differences. However, as for the energy and joy she seems to be spraying while singing, she is really reminiscent of Edith Piaf. And this radiance, this joy the ATC station wagon brings wonderfully authentic.
• Add to that a truly phenomenal resolution and a tonal balance, which immediately make it clear that here professional monitors were the inspiration for the development. Medium and treble are definitely right, really good. And the bass? Playing in our rather large listening room sovereign the advantages of the closed housing and shows wonderfully variable, controlled and, where necessary, quite powerful.
• The electronics contribute their part: Neither the preamplifier nor the power amplifier show weaknesses, but play with the speakers like a piece.
• Conclusion: For a long time we did not have a chain in the listening room that offered such an extremely good price / performance ratio as the combi preamplifier CA2 mk II, power amplifier P2 and speakers SCM40 from ATC. Everything is just right here: elaborate technology, clean measured values ​​and the most important thing - an absolutely outstanding sound.  

ATC SCM 40 Active

• The thing that smacks you in the face with these speakers first is the way music is exquisitely integrated and balanced. Like music you’d take to a desert island akin to Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, these are really a pair of speakers that represent the best of what is easy to live with.
• The other obvious trait is room filling soundstage and scale. I’m not going to be telling you anything you probably wouldn’t envisage – it’s down to the simple physics of the drivers, their size and coherence together.
• Every crack and crunch the synthesisers make extending your amazement of their capabilities.
• As sure to that soul churning experience you get after listening to speakers of this quality, the pleasing mouth popping sound as you turn them off if the final peg of thinking, ‘God I want a pair’. 13th Note performers unhesitatingly and unflinchingly!

ATC SCM 40 Active & CA2 Mk2

• Anyone who is enthusiastic about large studio monitors often faces the problem of convincing their spouse of setting up wide boxes in the living room. The solution could lie in an attractive, relatively close-to-the-wall floorstanding ATC loudspeaker.
• Easily bent into the listening position, the boxes are characterized by a completely homogenous, sculptural reproduction that never looks artificial. The ATC acts as a performer of the given and only provides extravagance if they are included in the recording.
• Subtle sound textures and complex orchestral interludes never get in each other's way and are fully reproduced: the flow of the breeze that goes through the flute, the characteristic sound signature of the violins, the complexity of the orchestral stage. This is done with an accuracy that does not noticeably diminish even when the stepless volume control of the pre-amplifier ATC CA2 is at two o'clock.
• The SCM40A takes on storm and urgency with stoic serenity. The longer the active members stay with me, the more my hearing involuntarily adjusts to the quality and artistic interpretation of the recording.
• This is studio monitor precision at it's best, combined with the living room-friendly form of a neat, state-of-the-art loudspeaker, which plays sovereignly but never superficially spectaculary, in an informal, self-evident manner.
• How carefully the ATC captures the special mood, with a generous applause and donation.
• It remains to be added that the ATC preamp borrow also features an excellent phono section for CA2, and the settings are just right for my low-output MC Valencia from Ortofon
• The ATC SCM40A is simply world-class when it comes to playing records, and the rest is a matter of personal concern: for some listeners, the self-contained Briton will initially seem unspectacular, and for heavy metal fans there will be elsewhere more Sause at a lower price The SCM40A is by no means designed as a sound reinforcement instrument for level orgies, but as a very serious sound transducer for the finest in music with all its facets and sovereign naturalness Very well done!

ATC SCM 40 Active & CDA2 Mk2

• This is a startlingly immediate system. The 44.1 rip of Emiliana Torrini’s Gun has a presence and visceral ‘she’s right there in the room’ quality to it. Her staccato intakes of breath are vivid and absolutely real, while the gradual increase in scale and volume to the track is handled with absolute imperiousness.
• And the bass… the low end on offer here is exquisite. The technical arguments for why active speakers can generate better bass than an equivalent passive design are worthy and entirely accurate, but are no substitute for listening to what this system is really capable of. The sledgehammer low-end of Scratch Massive’s Waiting For A Sign is simply awesome. If you want bass that you feel as much as hear, there’s very little else available anywhere near this price that can out slam this setup. What sets it apart further is that there’s nothing I’ve ever heard anywhere near this price that combines this gut-wrenching impact with the agility this system possesses. As a combo, it is utterly addictive.
• The role that the CDA2 Mk2 plays in all this is subtle, but effective. It gets all of the basics right with a wonderfully linear volume control and a total absence of unwanted noise, but beyond that the quality of the digital-to-analogue section is entirely noteworthy. It takes a little time to appreciate quite how good it is because it is so natural and unobtrusive, but it allows this system to demonstrate truly lovely tonality at times.
• This, then, is a rather special system even judged by the hallowed standards of Beautiful Systems. It is comfortably one of the very best implementations of active speakers that I have had the pleasure of spending any time with. It does the things we have come to expect from equipment in 2018, offering a sensible footprint, flexible inputs and elegant aesthetics. It then combines all of this with a performance that is utterly and unequivocally joyous. The active loudspeaker is no longer simply the optimal choice on paper, it’s a real world champion too.

ATC SCM 40 Active

• ATC specs are engineering specs, not advertising specs. The speaker is rated from 48 Hz to 22 kHz with a – 6 dB point at 48 Hz. No advertiser would quote a spec like that. It isn’t the kind of hype that sells loudspeakers. Most manufacturers would simply say something like it goes to say 30 Hz and skip how far down the roll off was. It isn’t a lie but it tells us little useful. Also recall I mentioned ATC calls this a 6½” woofer. Almost everyone else would call it an 8” woofer because the convention is to measure the frame size. ATC measures the diameter of the cone, the real size of the driver. You can trust people who give you facts, not hype.
• ATC, unlike the majority of manufacturers, makes all their drivers. And all their employ underhung voice coils where the voice coil is shorter than the length of the magnetic gap. This is common in tweeters but quite rare in other drivers. It costs more and is a little less efficient but gives more accurate reproduction because the voice coil remains in the 'focused’ part of the gap, where the magnetic lines of force are more linear even at high drive levels and/or at very low frequencies (the lines of force are less linear at the edges of the voice coil). This doesn’t mean that over-hung is lousy. But if maximum fidelity is the goal underhung is the superior choice.
• Adding everything together and how easily the ATC SCM40A can be used to produce a simple, elegant, high performance system this is a heck of a speaker system. And if you want a speaker system that allows great live recordings to make you think the performance is real, this is a must audition. Add a preamp and a source or two and you have a simple high performance system. The last speakers the great Gordon Holt bought for his own use were a set of ATC SCM50A active speakers because ATC speakers were among the few that made great recordings sound real. That’s enough of a recommendation for me. Simplicity and performance and relative economy gives the ATC SCM40A a very, solid 2016 Most Wanted Component nomination and highly recommended!

ATC SCM 40 Active

• The ATC SCM40A is the latest addition to the company’s range of active floorstanders. It is an attractively slim speaker with curved sides
• All three of the drive units are made in house by ATC, which has been building cone and midrange dome drivers for some time, but only developed its own tweeter in the recent past.. All three units are capable of sustaining high sound pressure levels if required; power handling has always been a strong point thanks to ATC’s pro audio heritage.
• The ATCs are full bandwidth speakers that have grip in the bottom end and a total absence of ventilation on the cabinet. The bass is deep, solid and, thanks to the active operation, tactile. It has a degree of solidity that makes everything feel like it’s in the room, that and the ability to play at the sort of level that approaches that of live sound you get in a studio control room.
• I had a lot of fun with this system and it has reignited my enthusiasm for active operation; there really needs to be more speaker systems like this. But for now the combination of NAC-N 272 and SCM40A is all the system most of us will ever need, and the best sounding three box system I’ve enjoyed to date.

ATC SCM 40 Active

• For my taste and experience, ATC combine much of the dynamic characteristics of horn drivers, while leaving behind the shouty, cupped hands sound. Even more importantly, they also don't bleach their timbre the way horn speakers seem to do. 
• They also show the immediacy and speed of electrostats, if perhaps not quite as much resolution. They are, however, much more able to play loudly and dynamically than electrostats as well as having much larger sweet spots than electrostats tend to have. 
• Vocals are extraordinarily clear and clean—likely due to ATC's mid-dome driver which covers the range from 350Hz to 3.5kH - essentially single driver reproduction of the vocal range. With vocals produced from a single driver, performance is enhanced. The mid-dome driver did its ATC magic. Well recorded vocals have a clarity, immediacy and "speed" that few other cone driver brands have. 
• If you have ever hankered to crank up a song you love, there are few better speakers than the 40A for that experience. Try "Până Când Nu Te Iubeam" loud and you might find yourself laughing in a way a lower volume level won't suggest. 
• I like the place the 40A plays in the ATC line. It's an angel's balance of the somewhat kinder, gentler domestic line with a slice of the precision of their studio line. Absolutely recommended.

ATC SCM 40 Active

• The soft dome is a revelation, especially with acoustic guitars. The romantic Mexican string style in “Puesta Del Sol” by Sean Harkness combines mellow richness with clarity. This accuracy is a hallmark of ATC.
• Another instrument with excellent recreation on these floor-standers is the saxophone. John Coltrane sounds stunningly pure in “Naima.”
• ATC’s long held reputation for accuracy is put on full display. Pick any number of popular classic recordings and the results are the same, spot-on pitch and tonal clarity.
• You can voice the SCM40As to your taste with interconnects and choice of preamplifier.
• If you’re tired of the cable and equipment hassle, I can’t suggest a better pair of active speakers than the ATC SCM40As. They produce sound well beyond what their price tag suggests, especially considering that you will eliminate at least a few thousand dollars in speaker cables and power amplifiers.

ATC SCM 40 Active

• 84 out of 100 points
• Price / Performance: "outstanding", "Highlight"
• "Active monitors are expensive, square and misshapen - so goes the stereotype. The new ATC is by contrast an elegant column speaker that brings all the virtues of the English Super monitors."
• "Ultimately, transparent and high-resolution monitor in the elegant floorstanding speakers format. He plays incredibly neutral, by drawing and holographically, thereby using very precise bass and stupendous fine dynamics.

ATC SCM 40 Active

• The SCM40A has three power amps (and an active crossover) in each enclosure. There’s a 150W module for the bass driver, 60W driving the midrange and a 25W amplifier for the tweeter. It all comes wrapped in a solidly made, curved cabinet, finished in cherry or black ash.
• The way they reproduce dynamics is excellent. They have the reach to convince with the large-scale dynamic swings of Swan Lake, punching out crescendos with enthusiasm. There’s an impressive dose of muscle here, and the kind of low-end authority only really capable big speakers truly manage.
• Every subtlety is sharply defined with the speakers keeping organised and controlled, yet fluid, even when the music becomes complex. Most hi-fi – even true high-end kit – has problems making sense of Radiohead’s 15 Step. Not these ATCs. They take all in their stride, revealing a lovely cohesion throughout the frequency range. Resolution, timing and dynamics are all spot-on.
• Terrific detail resolution; exceptional dynamics and control; composure; integration

ATC SCM 40

• A reminder that so many reflex ported designs are't doing bass right.
• The way it integrates its superb low frequencies with the midband is a joy; in this region it’s more searching than many, but is never harsh unless the source and/or song is too. It sounds like a veil has been lifted from in front of the music and it gives an explicit insight into the proceedings.
• Everything snaps into focus and arrives at the right place and time
• Treble is airy, spacious and well etched. The looped hi-hats on Beatmasters Who's In The House? are crispy and scratchy, which is just how they should be
• There's no gilding of the lily with the SCM40, everything is handed to you in am accurate and unalloyed way.
• Given a serious source and recording, the new ATC SCM40 is superb – I know of no price rivals that give this level of accuracy, speed and insight. It strings the rhythmic elements of the mix together brilliantly, punching out subtle dynamic in a marvellously satisfying and visceral way.
• It’s capable of a level of transparency you normally only expect from loudspeakers at three or four times its price.
• Superlative clarity; excellent phase coherence; sublime bass

ATC SCM 40

• The main feature of the sound would probably be the raw speed of attack. Transients have curves so steep you wonder if ATC has found a way of achieving infinite bandwidth. 
• It’s a realism, an honesty that tells you exactly what that session sounded like in the studio, but done with style. There’s a wholesomeness to the sound, I hate that word, but can’t find a better one. The sound is perfectly revealed, but never brash.
• The bottom line.. I’m sold. I can’t live without them. I need them in my life and will have to make the change. Putting my Living Voice OBX R2′s back in was pleasing and frustrating in equal measure. Yes, they are a lovely listen, but the lack of comparative  clarity and speed is something that I can’t live with. Many will disagree, in some systems the SCM40′s will sound too revealing. If the electronics are forward, they will sound forward and with this much detail that will be too much. Audition carefully, but please, do audition. In the right system, you would have to spend £10k to get anywhere close to this sound quality.

ATC SCM 40

• Quality of the mid band reproduction is probably among the strongest sides in SCM40s sound identity, and this should be probably attributed to the midrange driver being used. The loudspeaker proved extremely clear and detailed though at the same time it appears that there is a character somewhat tolerant to mediocre recordings.
• Musical instruments were characterized by very good presence while voices, both solo and chorus, were detailed, perfectly focused and with very good description of both the feeling of motion and the transition between different groups in the sound stage.
• It is clear that the SCM40 includes some of the key elements that have made ATC especially likeable to a specific audience: It is an accurate, neutral loudspeaker with some considerable potential for high SPL listening.
• We are dealing with a product designed with the discerning listener in mind. A listener with a music collection both significant in size and variable in quality, who needs to take advantage of this collection by using an all around and user-friendly loudspeaker. For anyone who belongs to this profile, the SCM40 sets -in my opinion- a reference level.

ATC SCM 40

ATC SCM 40

• "Class C (Full-Range) Recommended Components 2013"
• The SCM 40s could play very loud without seeming to make excessive demands on any of the amplifiers I tried them with (Luxman L-505u, ATC SIA2, Leben CS600), so their 85dB sensitivity rating probably should not be a matter of concern.
• I won't go on at length about the SCM 40's sound. The family resemblance to the SCM 11 was strong: it sounded like an excellent monitor speaker (which the SCM 11 is), except with more bass—and, for the price, unusually well-controlled, well-extended bass. I gather that some people hold to a stereotype that ATC speakers are for rock'n'rollers, by which I assume they mean large-scale dynamics, but also slammy bass and etched treble. Well, you can't prove that by me. Indeed, my sister-in-law listened to some Jane Monheit on the SCM 40s, then turned to me and said, "These speakers just sound 'sweet.'" I agree.
• To sum up, the SCM 40 is an almost amazing value for the money. It's built in the UK by a company with as much heritage and credibility as you could ask for. As the top of ATC's entry-level line, it embodies the realestate advice about buying the cheapest house on the nicest street. Its sealed-box bass loading makes it (as far as I know) unique among relatively affordable floorstanding loudspeakers. So, if Stereophile's "$$$" code (in "Recommended Components"), indicating exceptional value, could be given to a loudspeaker that costs more than $4000/pair (which I believe it can't be), I would plaster a "$$$" right on the SCM 40's front panel.

ATC SCM 40

• "Class C (Full-Range) Recommended Components 2012"
• ATC SCM 40: $4000/pair–$4300/pair, depending on finish Built in the UK and representing the top of ATC’s entry-level line, the SCM 40 is a three-way, sealed-box floorstander. The solid, compact (38" H by 9" W by 12" D) cabinet is handsomely finished in cherry veneer and houses the same 3" dome midrange found in ATC’s most expensive speakers. Though it couldn’t match the holographic spatial effects of the Harbeth P3ESR, the SCM 40 produced unusually well-controlled, well-defined bass and was always emotionally engaging. “An almost amazing value for the money,” concluded JM, but cautions that it is not quite as coherent as the smaller SCM 11. (Vol.33 No.4)

ATC SCM 40

• The SCM 40s' performance was excellent: a wonderful fullness in the sound of JA's solo electric bass, with well-integrated upper harmonics.
• No toe-in gave a wider soundstage and sweet spot. Total toe-in gave wonderfully solid center images. Most important, toe-in or lack of same did not adversely affect the SCM 40's tonal balance; neither did my standing up vs my sitting down. 
• The SCM 40s could play very loud without seeming to make excessive demands on any of the amplifiers I tried them with (Luxman L-505u, ATC SIA2, Leben CS600), so their 85dB sensitivity rating probably should not be a matter of concern. On smaller-scaled music, the SCM 40s could get out of the way, if not quite disappear. John Marks - The Fifth Element #59

ATC SCM 40

•  And again we have to deal with the extraordinary freedom in creating high levels.This can not be described in simple words, this necessarily must be experienced. The ability to play very loud without a hint of distortion is a very interesting experience.
• Fleshiness of sounds that get in the bass and lower midrange is simply amazing. Clean bass issuing from the sealed enclosure makes us think the reason why almost all manufacturers worship so much the vented columns. Stability offered by the bass foundation is simply not to be underestimated. Like this should play all the columns of ambitions.
• The juiciness that acoustic instruments are receiving, the authenticity of the sound of piano, the vocal performances are gaining credibility as an authentic tone until one wants to go to concerts just to see if music can sound better. And most interesting is that all this is achieved without the feeling of warming the sound. Juiciness and midrange definition makes the sound very emotionally engaging without a hint or impression that it is luscious. 
• I am very glad that there are such columns as ATC. Good British school, which leads to believe that the search for the perfect sound makes sense. 

ATC SCM 40

• Listen to The Rolling Stones' Monkey Man and you can add the words ‘dynamic', ‘detailed' and ‘subtle' too. The ATCs have the incontestable authority to take the song by the scruff of the neck and bring it bounding to life.
  
• The SCM40s enjoy crisp timing, an expansive, explicit soundstage, and fine stereo focus.
• Low frequencies are deep, taut and responsive, the midrange occasionally torrential in the amount of detail and expression it delivers, and percussives at the top end shine benignly.
  
• This winningly even and musical tonality is apparent whether playing small-scale, subtle recordings (when the ATCs sound like they've shrunk to the size of dextrous standmounters) or full-on orchestral blow-outs (when they sound big enough to fill a concert hall).
• Thrilling musicality and authority; built like a bank-vault door.

ATC SCM 19A

• SCM 19A:
  82 out of 100 points Price / Performance: : "very good"
  "Represent with phenomenally sharp, closed picture, perfect impulses and transparent audible tone colors monitor tradition in the best sense."
• Not every manufacturer follows the call of the market - ATC this time. After the SCM 40A, there was a desire for a more affordable yet active floorstanding box. The highlight of the SCM19A: the cone-dome hybrid driver.
• The ATC SCM 19A impressed us with musical precision, superb audibility, and sleek, perfectly crisp pulses.
• Particularly impressed with the fantastic image and the ability to facet the music to the smallest detail without annoying.
• The advantages of active technology she casually and with an impressive self-evident. Thus, the manufacturer, who enjoys an excellent reputation in the professional field, represents a real alternative in the hi-fi sector. The SCM 19A once again combines the precision of a studio monitor with the superb transparency of a genuine gourmet box. Best of both worlds?

ATC SCM 19A

• The ATCs excel in a surprising way. The presentation is quite forward, but really captures the atmosphere and mood. ‘Presence’ is an overused word, but it suits here.
• The lack of colouration, massive dynamic range, ability to reproduce transients, and accurate imaging are beguiling.
• They produce a real feeling of width and depth, and a lifelike presentation. In particular, lead vocalists seem to be in space front of the speakers.
• The obvious test of any piece of equipment is its ability to make you keep listening.  As I start the first draft of this review, we have most of the family arriving for Easter on what was tomorrow but is now today. It is three in the morning and I am being moaned at, not unreasonably, for carrying on pulling things off the shelves to listen to.  That, in a nutshell, is the ATCs. They make you want to keep finding things to play.  A number of tracks are probably the best I have ever heard them sound. Richard Bowles, Hi-Fi Wigwam, April 2017.

ATC SCM 19A

• The dynamics and transients are really excellent... The top end is so detailed with not a hint of any harshness as the tweeter is one of the finest sounding I have come across, with Robert Len’s trumpet sounding sweeter than ever.
• The ATC scm19a speakers have all the potential for offering up this album with an extra-large serving of quality. The dynamics and transients are really excellent…with the ability to create a large scale sonic picture in my smallish room. The top end is so detailed with not a hint of any harshness as the tweeter is one of the finest sounding I have come across…Listening to the scm19a speakers has proved to be a very rewarding experience
• The Speaker Shack awards the ATC scm19a speaker with a Highly-Recommended product rating. Giancarlo Massironi, The Speaker Shack, March 2017

ATC SCM 19A

• I was tremendously impressed by the high end response of the scm19as for its transparency, smoothness, and definition. I never heard a harsh sound out of it. It compared very favorably with the ceramic tweeter in my own Marten Django XLs, which is really quite outstanding. 
• I immediately noticed the lifelike presentation of voices that really seemed to jump out from the speakers and exist in open space. In-concert vocal recordings were really special
• Images were rock solid and it was easy to pinpoint the position of the other band members behind her. The soundstage had such a natural spatial presentation that nothing stood out as being too small, too large, fuzzy or floating. Everything just seemed to be in its correct place. 
• The ATC's are capable of sounding very dramatic when the music and performance call for it, a result of their fine dynamic contrasts, tonal character, and nuance. Instruments and especially voices were realized with a vividness and transparency that were top notch. Additionally, for a small speaker, they could really fill the room and play very loud. 
• This extended and tuneful bass really drove the music forward and made best use of every cycle of bass there was. 
• The midrange was smooth and involving with no hint of problems around the crossover point. I've already told you how great these speakers sound on vocal recordings, but the same was true on instrumentals and large scale orchestras. Detail and transparency were also terrific for a speaker in this price range.
• The scm19as are a wonderful advancement in the state of the art of active loudspeakers. You could easily spend three times as much on comparable separate components and not do as well. I strongly encourage you to seek out the ATCs and give them a listen.

ATC SCM 19A

• Performance was simply stunning. Newton and his guitar did something for me I didn't think I'd feel with these ATCs. Their ultra-transparent midrange imparts a subtle fluidity to the vocal and even the softest guitar notes sound slightly liquid on the leading edges whilst retaining speed and authenticity.
• If you’re looking for a no brainer approach to high fidelity sound at a reasonable cost with great looks and build quality, and one that lowers the box count I'd strongly recommend a demo of the SCM19As.
• AT A GLANCE
  • Sound Quality: very engaging, exciting and honest
  • Build Quality: strong solid build, nice veneer and amp pack integration
  • Value For Money: in the grand scheme of finding a great sonic match amplifier and stands, ATC take away the burden of wasting money and time with the designs synergy
  • Pros: Honest and insightful sound Incredibly transparent midrange Confident stable soundstage Lovely design and finish

ATC SCM 19A

• SOUND QUALITY: Even if you’re familiar with the dynamic largess and gloriously un-hyped presentation of the standmount passive SCM19, this active tower moves the game on in unmistakable ways. In raw terms it goes louder with less distortion while exhibiting tighter control, wider and more finely graded dynamic contrasts, a deeper, harder-hitting bass and greater rhythmic impetus and drive. Yep, rather than peering through the window, we’re standing in the open doorway of the studio, here.
• It’s an inky black recording from which the SCM19 extracts an enormous amount of character, the way the voice has been treated is particularly obvious but this doesn’t undermine its appeal. You can hear way down into the mix and appreciate the subtlety of playing from every member of the band,
• Sonically, this ATC floorstander can face down most £5-6k passive designs that require at least £2-3k of amplification to fulfil their potential. That said, some of the contenders peddle their own wellengineered tech and look more impressive than the functional ATC.
• CONCLUSION: Clearly shot through with the solid engineering and acoustic expertise loved by fans of ATC around the world, the SCM19A is an important and effective addition to the company’s extensive domestic lineup. Used in anger with high octane rock it will make most similarly sized passive floorstanders sound somewhat flat and loose. But it does the delicate stuff with great care and finesse as well. A better advert for properly implemented active design at a relatively sane price I’ve yet to hear.
• LIKE: Studio-class insight and neutrality; fabulous dynamics and bass; build DISLIKE: Starkly functional appearance
• WE SAY: If you really want to hear what your music collection sounds like, look no further

ATC SCM 19

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2017"
• Designed around a sealed enclosure with curved side panels, a lute-shaped cross section, and a volume of 19 liters—hence the model number—ATC's SCM19 v.2 is a two-way loudspeaker with a 1" non-hemispherical soft-dome tweeter and a 6" woofer, the 3" dustcap of which is said to function as a midrange dome; both drivers are of ATC's own design and manufacture.
• Comparing the ATC to a similarly small, sealed-box loudspeaker of some renown, the classic BBC LS3/5a, JM found that the SCM19 v.2 "exhibited an arresting increase in resolving power."
• JM summed up: "The SCM19 might be all the speaker most people will ever need. Well done. Highly recommended." (Vol.37 No.6 WWW)

ATC SCM 19

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2016"

ATC SCM 19

• Stereophile "Class A Recommended Components 2015"

ATC SCM 19

• The loudspeaker offered a considerable potential for detail description and a very good behavior in dynamics towards the lower part of the spectrum, at least with most of our listening material. These sonic attributes were complemented by an extremely attractive and detailed soundstage and a well-balanced transparent mid-frequency region.
• One should add the loudspeaker's excellent behavior when performing at high levels, a property that makes the SCM19 the best small loudspeaker in macrodynamics that we have listened to for some time now. With proper amplification, you can listen to quite high levels without any hint of audible compression, while the woofer suspension seems to offer an unlimited displacement potential.
• Reproduction of the mid-frequency part of the audio spectrum is one of SCM19's most compelling performance attributes. Extremely lucid and revealing, without being tiresome, allows the listener to immerse into the music composition and to enjoy it. Voices are well articulated and both the feeling of presence and the timbre accuracy of the musical instruments are rendered with precision, resulting in effortless and pleasing listening sessions.
• SCM19's stereo imaging is one of the best we have come across lately. The loudspeaker easily "disappears" from the listening room and gives way to a vivid and crisp soundstage with well focused individual sound sources, very good described musical instruments groups and a natural feeling of source movement and space, provided that all these are included in the recording in the first place. The listener receives a sense of closeness and the virtual stage features good depth and a well-defined width, all elements that are quite descriptive of the recording/mixing process.
• Conclusion: SCM19 is, doubtless, one of the top compact loudspeakers that can be bought at the moment, in this price range, especially if one looks for a tonically-accurate and good-in-dynamics design, which respects the program material. Under these circumstances, it is an excellent choice and, most likely, will be one of the ATC's all-time classics in the future ! Highly recommended.

ATC SCM 19

• What Hi-Fi Awards 2016: Best standmounter £1500+
• “These ATCs are analytical yet never sound clinical or passionless. They remain transparent to the original recording and system electronics. And when it comes to insight and honesty, we haven’t heard any better for the money.”
• "Partnered with a suitably powerful amp, the SCM19s wow you with a dynamic, detailed and rhythmic sound..."
• For:
  • Honest and insightful sound
  • Impressive dynamics
  • Composure at higher volume levels
  • Crisp rhythmic drive
  • Rock-solid build
  • Impressive drive-unit engineering

ATC SCM 19

• Wether you like to immerse yourself in the technology or prefer to simply focus on the music, reviewer Wes Marshall thoroughly enjoyed the loudspeakers and here is just a taster of what he thought:
• "ATC’s trademark effortless sound was still there in the SCM19 V2 -- but sound is the wrong word. What I heard was so effortless that I never heard a trace of the existence of a crossover and separate drivers. It was as if the term headroomhad never been coined. The small details of Flint’s sad yet inviting voice shone right through, all adding up to her beautiful timbre. Nor did her faultless diction ever sound forced, and there was no exaggeration of the upper midrange. This sort of sound will entirely disarm those who still maintain that studio monitors are “too revealing."
• "The ATCs did a better job of catching the naturally decaying sounds of instruments in a room than any other speakers I know of.”
• “Ever since I bought my first pair of ATC speakers 20 years ago, it’s been my opinion that you can never go wrong with ATC. I nominate Billy Woodman for the Audio Hall of Fame."

ATC SCM 19

ATC SCM 19

• There’s a clear sense of how large the recording venue is, the SCM19s picking up the subtle acoustic clues that allow us to perceive that size. Piano notes are delivered with solidity and finesse.
• We’re struck by the layers of harmonics the speakers resolve and the natural way these standmounters render the varying intensity of the keystrokes.
• The leadings and trailing edges of notes are crisply defined without sounding artificially hyped. These speakers really sound right at home here, delivering a presentation that’s as convincing tonally as it is spellbinding dynamically.
• These ATCs are highly analytical yet never sound clinical or passionless, and are transparent to the original recording and system electronics. Buy with confidence.
• For: Honest and insightful sound - Impressive dynamics - Composure at higher volume levels - Crisp rhythmic drive - Rock-solid build -Impressive drive-unit engineering

ATC SCM 19

• It’s an inky black recording from which the SCM19 extracts an enormous amount of character, the way the voice has been treated is particularly obvious but this doesn’t undermine its appeal. You can hear way down into the mix and appreciate the subtlety of playing from every member of the band,
• Piano really shows what this speaker can do. I get totally carried away with Haydn and Beethoven pieces that usually fail to keep me interested.
• The SCM19 makes a good case for Billy Woodman’s assertion that what’s right for the studio is also best for the home. Transparency is what you want in both locales, the engineer might be listening for something different to the music lover, but they both want to hear as much as possible. In that respect this is a killer product, it tells you exactly what’s going on in the mix be it good or bad. It lets you hear how Jimi or Jimmy or Jeff played the mind blowing stuff they did and that’s what life should be all about.
• Very revealing; superb bass and fine timing; well built

ATC SCM 19

• SCM 19 is Stereophile's Editors Choice of 2014
• "In addition to the musical and technical virtues of a competently executed sealed-box design, ATC's SCM19 two-way monitor (reviewed in June 2014, Vol.37 No.6) is big enough to make a major sonic impact in most listening rooms of reasonable size, and small enough not to trip over its own feet. Low distortion, zero fatigue, great looks, fair price. WNTL?"

ATC SCM 19

• What is your current audio system? Right now I am listening to Bricasti's M1 DAC fed mostly from Parasound's Halo CD 1 as a transport, Nordost digital cable, Cardas Clear analog cables, ATC's P1 power amp, and ATC's sealed-box SCM19 loudspeakers, which are a huge bargain at $3700 in the US. The ATC SCM19 is a great example of really delivering the goods for a very justifiable price. The whole system sounds fabulous. - An Interview with John Marks - Positive Feedback ISSUE 74 , July/August 2014

ATC SCM 19

• A good part of the 19’s opulent character is attributable to the superb on-and off-axis dispersion of the mid/bass unit, i.e., its power response. I never felt head-locked in a tiny sweet spot. 
• The true greatness of the SCM19—and its most striking feature—is the lifelike relationship between that tonal balance and the speaker’s midband and treble-range dynamic output. 
• In low-level resolving power, the SCM19 conveys musical intimacy like few loudspeakers of this class. When I listened to the direct-to-disc recording of classical guitarist Michael Newman [Sheffield Lab] there was a near holographic sense of the artist playing, breathing, inhabiting the listening room. It’s a sensation that’s eerie in its communication of speed, tonal color, timbre, and ambience. And during Grieg’s Four Lyric Pieces [Sheffield Labs] the diamond-like transparency and color from the eight musicians of the Chicago Symphony Winds was breathtaking. This disc’s imaging has always been pristine, but here there was substance and dimension behind each image.
• As I hear it, there’s a very short list of rivals that play in the league of the SCM19. And even fewer at this attainable price point. Although this review should speak for itself, let me reiterate: The ATC SCM19 is, without reservation, a superb monitor that should excite and please the most discriminating of listeners. My highest recommendation.

ATC SCM 19

• The SCM 19 v.2 decisively strode ahead of the SCM 7 v.3 in seven-league boots in two areas: resolution and bass extension. The SCM 7 had no distortion that I was aware of, but the SL driver in the SCM 19 was so much more revealing that it was not funny. Hand in hand with that was much more bass impact than I ever would have imagined possible from a glance at the ATC's published specs of these speakers' - 6dB points: 60Hz for the SCM 7, yet only 54Hz for the more-than-twice-as-expensive SCM 19. That was not what it sounded or felt like.
• The SCM 19 v.2 nearly best-in-class resolving power (Vivid Audio's four-time-as-expensive Oval B1 still pips it here, I think) shone on my longest-serving test track, "Easy to Love", from Ella Fitzgerald's The Cole Porter Songbook, Volume Two. The pulsing of her vibrato as the last word of the song trails off was as present and full as never before.
• To sum up: ATC SCM 19 v.2 delivers bass extension, detail, fullness, and presence to such a greater extents than its smaller sibling, the SCM 7, that I consider the 2200 / pair more it costs to be more than justified. Indeed, to be so much the better value at 3699/ pair that I fear that for many listeners, buying the SCM 7 would be a false economy. The SCM 19 might be all the speaker most people will ever need. Well done. Highly recommended. John Marks - The Fifth Element #85

ATC SCM 19

• It is pointless to find any tendency in the representative series of ATC. However, if I mention the tendency of sound, I can mention the intense density of the executive, the sound field, and the precise sense of location.
• When you hear the sound, it is not hard at all. The spring is refreshing and fresh in the Vivaldi's four seasons, and all the songs are relaxed, clean and clear. There is no doubt that it is a reference of intermediate audio.

ATC SCM 19

• "With heavyweight construction and fabulous veneer, this is a classic, studio-friendly ATC design for the home. If you want to hear the nuts and bolts of favourite discs and are prepared to cope with their shortcomings, it's nigh on unbeatable."
• Very revealing of recordings and associated hardware
• Lovely real wood veneer
• Consummate power handling
• Wide dynamic range

ATC SCM 19

• "Have the muscle to deliver seismic shifts with considerable conviction."
• "If you think hi-fi is about hearing whatever the source delivers, good or bad, these are for you."
• An honest sound that brims with insight, dynamic and punch
• Rugged build

ATC SCM 19

• From the earliest moments of hearing, the feeling, when listening to the SCM19, is one of calm and homogeneity. The speaker behaves with respect to the program, creates a perfectly balanced image that is neither too far nor too near to the listener and offers great potential to questions of detail, and focus both the width and the depth of the hypothetical stage.
• The middle area is distinguished for its analysis, balancing between the pleasant nature of the monitor and the restful sound and the speaker will satisfy the listeners of vocal works with the immediacy and precision in articulation, and the focus of the voices.
• The SCM19 is the most complete speaker tested, on the side of the homogeneity and also seems to have a considerable potential for high levels without colouring. If you are looking for a speaker that approximates in the best possible way the "accuracy" case, is relatively small in size and has a reasonable price, your search can end here. This, clearly, for the best speaker of the test.

ATC SCM 19

• What ATC speakers are all about is resolution and this cannot be achieved with a coloured balance. That mean neutrality and you need an amplifier that pulls in the same direction. If you want colour in your music look for it in the source material, and while tonally colourful hi-fi can be tremendously entertaining it can ultimately do a disservice to that music by subtly remixing it.
• While I don’t listen to a lot of classical music myself I do appreciate a bit of dynamic range and space alongside the all-important bone-crunching bass, and I can’t help but enjoy the results I get with this speaker. The sheer girth they afford EST’s Tuesday Wonderland when the double bass and piano get into a groove is a delight that few speakers which I could just about afford can deliver. If it’s the sound of music you are after, forget Julie Andrews and check these out.
• It also has wide dynamic range thanks to the power handling capabilities of the main driver, which means that when a loud transient comes along you are left in no doubt about it. The phrase “good power handling” can be misleading. It doesn’t merely mean you can play long and loud, it also means that there is no compression of dynamic peaks. So music with wide dynamic range is revealed in all its glory from the quietest to the loudest notes.

ATC SCM 19

• Top 10 hi-fi speakers by Techradar - ATC SCM19 (£1,500):
• Like PMC, the ATC SCM 19 has a pro heritage and has been screwed together with a whole lot of hi-fi know-how. It contains one of ATC's legendary drive units and a plethora of high-class engineering all squeezed into one of the finest boxes around. But be warned: this is a warts-and-all speaker that won't gloss over the sound. However, for many people, it will be the closest they can get to those precious studio master tapes.

ATC SCM 11

• SCM 11:
  Sound level: 89% Value for money: "excellent"
  Universal and really good. The ATC is an excellent compact speaker with both pronounced audiophile as well as dynamic skills... She is appealing to long listening sessions and has no special musical preferences. She takes what comes and does damn much of it. An affordable one Allrounder from Great Britain. Well done!

  "The current version of the ATC SCM 11 is the passive version of the SCM 16A studio monitor and an all-rounder that offers balanced, audiophile sound characteristics with a slightly dark, full-tilted high fun factor."

ATC SCM 11

• What Hi-Fi Awards 2017: Best standmounter £1200-£2000
• “These speakers manage to knit everything into a cohesive, musical whole”
• This is the 11th year the SCM11 has  won a What Hi-Fi Award, winning in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, making it the most consistently successful speaker design in What Hi-Fi award history.

ATC SCM 11

• What Hi-Fi Awards 2016: Best standmounter £800-£1200
• “It’s hard not to be totally enamoured by the ATC SCM11s. For the money, they seem to do everything right – and their solid curved cabinets look the part too. When it comes to speakers, or even hi-fi kit in general, there are few better ways to spend £1200.”
• "ATC has struck gold again. These are the most talented standmounters anywhere near this price."
• For:
  • Fine rhythmic drive
  • Agile and precise
  • Clean, neutral balance
  • Subtle dynamics
  • Hugely transparent

ATC SCM 11

• Venerable veteran designer and reviewer Martin Colloms has reviewed the SCM11 in the latest edition of HIFICRITIC and awarded it a ‘Best Buy’ accolade:
• It sounded substantially evenhanded on both rock and classical music, with clean and clear singing voices... Voices sounded clear and focused
• Percussion was a particular forte, keeping the differentiation of instrumental sounds very clear, coupled with explosive mid-bass dynamics.
• They sounded quite uncanny on rock and pop material, in part because so very few competing designs in this price bracket really get to grips with the beat. Here bass, midrange and treble regions drive in unison with almost no aural confusion; it’s a foot-tapper’s delight
• If you think that this reads like a positive review, then you would be right. Not only does the ATC SCM11 reach beyond its class for sound quality but it does so through exceptional engineering, and shows seriously good taste in balancing the frequency response. Although it’s not perfectly neutral in the midrange, the listener is mightily rewarded with enthusiastic musical drive, great dynamics, very good clarity and detail and exceptional bass rhythms. Build quality is first class, and the lab report would grace a design at five times the price. It proved easy to fine-tune its location in the listening room, and is also an easy amplifier load. The ATC SCM11 is a clear winner and readily achieves a HIFICRITIC Best Buy accolade.

ATC SCM 11

ATC SCM 11

• The ATC’s are a solidly built real wood veneered ‘stylishly classic’ speaker which embodies a solid listen. Their strongly braced infinite baffle construction allows for their representation of the music to be truly outstanding, they give insight into the most intricate of tracks or can relaxingly and effortlessly flow with less busier material.
• The ATC SCM11 are at the absolute top of their class and you really would have to spend much more to even be able to stand up confidently against these awesome little speakers let alone better them. 
• Recommended for being the most insightful, engrossing, fast, fun and accurate speaker to have ever graced its price range.
• Bass guitar and kick drum produce a pounding rhythmic beat that is weighty, propelling and perfectly timed, while the snare drum has that fast rise time explosive “crack” and the following drum shell sounds included too which I feel is essential for true hi-fi sound. 
• I could easily live with the lithe dynamics, the outright faithful treble resolution, the midrange tonal accuracy of these speakers and oddly enough, I could easily live with that roll off in the lower bass registers as well, because the fast, taut, communicative and powerful bass that they do produce, more than compensates in that area.
• Recommended for: Tonal accuracy, fast and lithe dynamics and taut powerful bass. At the price there are very few if any rivals.

ATC SCM 11

• Best standmounter £800-£1200, Awards 2014
• “The new SCM11s are a drastic improvement over an already talented performance,  and they have the good looks to match. ATC has raised the bar it set itself.  This isn’t just a step up – it’s a running leap.” 

ATC SCM 11

• Best standmounter £800-£1500, Awards 2013
• ATC has struck gold again. These are the most talented standmounters anywhere near this price
• These speakers manage to knit everything into a cohesive, musical whole.
• The whole frequency range is superbly controlled. Nothing we did could wrong-foot these speakers, which remain composed no matter how hard we pushed. 
• And the trait we like the most about the original SCM11s – their natural, balanced sound – is here, too. Whatever we feed the speakers, the sound comes out uncoloured and uncorrupted.

ATC SCM 11

• "It’s ultimately that sense of clarity and transparency that makes these speakers so intriguing; it’s like staring at something either incredibly beautiful or profane that you almost feel guilty looking at but just can’t turn away from!"
• "They have a way of laying bare the essence of a musical performance or recording through sheer lack of editorializing."
• "Absolute truth or enhanced beauty?  Only you can (and should) decide...  But if truth is your goal, I haven’t experienced a better speaker to provide it than the Version 2 of ATC’s SCM 11."

ATC SCM 11

• “This is a reflection of how effortlessly revealing the SCM11 is...”
• "This speaker is capable of communicating the message in the music to a greater degree than virtually all the competition at the price… I suggest that you listen to a pair of ATCs, if it’s this pair all the better because you’ll struggle to find more musical thrill power for your money elsewhere."

ATC SCM 11

• "Class B (Restricted LF) Recommended Components 2013"
• The ATC SCM 11 is a fully-ready-for-prime-time loudspeaker with excellent resolution and dynamics, etc., but, even more important, the ability to create musical involvement. I intended to listen to just one track's worth of Gregorian chant from Consortium Vocale Oslo's Exaudium Eum (SACD, 2L 2L43SACD), and ended up listening to the whole thing. What more can I say? What I can't say is whether the SCM 11 will be the ideal speaker for you. 
• Compared to the Aerial Acoustics Model 5B, the SCM 11 provided similarly well-controlled bass, but had a more articulate upper midrange, slightly wider soundstage, and better dynamics. (Vol.32 No.12 Read Review Online)

ATC SCM 11

•  The sound has a thick consistency, and the bass rumblings are firmly and clearly marked. It makes no room for any coloration. We are dealing here with a surprisingly stable bass given the dimensions of the speakers.
• The sound is all the time a very neutral, yet very spontaneous. 
•  I like this brand, I like the sound. It is a studio element, characteristic grain known for expensive, high-end devices. This dynamic, this eager spontaneity, and this detail and pitch-diameter. I hope for more such speakers.

ATC SCM 11

•  "None of the competitors are able to convey the sound of instruments in the 6th symphonies of Mahler with such precise accuracy or untangle the complicated maze of music by Radiohead Electioneering in such a casual ease. That is, in general, that's all. This is truly a great speaker. Do not buy anything for the money without trying first SCM 11. Dynamic and detailed, allowing ATC to reveal all its wort.

ATC SCM 11

• “If you can call transparency, detail and dynamics a house sound, the SCM11s are ATC all the way. It’s easy to think upon first listen that ATCs are tilted towards higher frequencies and a little lean-sounding, but this is largely a trick of their transparency and accuracy. There’s no mid-bass bloat or overhang, and no coloration that passes for warmth. They also fill out over time -- as I’ve found with the 20-2s, bass response improved after 100 hours or so of use.”
• "Can you name another company that manufactures its own drivers, amps, and preamps, creates custom designs for large installations and is a fixture in mixing studios throughout the world? Whether active or passive, you’re buying into unique engineering prowess if you go ATC." ( Robert Learner Reviews the ATC SCM 11s )

ATC SCM 11

• The ATC  SCM11 punishes prejudices about closed cabinet and it offers excellent 104 dB maximum SPL and 46 Hz draft. 
• If I had to choose (between PMC DB1 i, KEF Q 300, Klipsch RB-81 II), I would personally take ATC: Rarely, the precision of a monitor and the vocal beauty of a high-end speakers were united so perfectly.
• Outstanding acoustic transparency of the small monitor: No matter with which music genre you confronted them: their impressively neutral and sensational natural resolution ran like a red thread through the hearing test.
• In the bass, the ATC is just mainly on precision.
• Measurements: Balanced, slightly sloping towards higher frequencies, very low distortion even in the bass

ATC SCM 11

• "A very fine little speaker that's at its best with good, natural recordings where it adds little and reveals much"
• Very high levels of detail
• Admirably neutral tonality
• Surprisingly extended in the bass
• Good imaging

ATC SCM 11

ATC SCM 11

• "There's a lot of detail there, but we weren't entirely prepared for the amount the SCM11s revealed. Nor were we at all expecting the bass drum to have so much weight."
• "Piano possessed considerable weight, but also great clarity and definition, and even scale. In recordings of voice and piano both retained their individual character and avoided getting in each other's way"
• Very high levels of detail and admirably neutral tonality, open in the treble and surprisingly extended in the bass. Good imaging too.

ATC SCM 11

• Despite the extremely low sensitivity, the playback is completely devoid of dynamic compression. The transition from the track, where the delicate piano sounded on the track, when already has a drum set, each time striking dynamic contrast ratio.
• The ATC acoustics easily transfers such murderous dose of power while maintaining high intelligibility and naturalness of the harmonic sound.
• They totally let go of the sound itself, there is no hint of binding. The scene a little wider and deeper than that of the other speakers, and focuses so clearly that it is possible to distinguish even the voices of the choir, recorded in the temple with a high arches (in such phonograms usually dominates the reflected sound).

ATC SCM 11

• Interestingly midbass driver implementing CLD technology to suppress the third harmonic in the midrange. Protective cap is designed as a soft dome with a diameter of 45 mm (reminds of a dome midrange transducer). The voice coil is wound flat OFC wire. Massive magnetic system theme is optimized for linear operation with a large amplitude of the moving system.
• Acoustics has a massive sound with warm and, I would say, too dark tonal balance. 
• Mids encouraging human, rich tone. 
• Bass here, or rather midbass, this leads to the leadership of acoustics in the category of "big sound from small speakers."
• Response model is quite flat, though the mids are gentle decline with the center in the region of 2-3 kHz. The top as well decently swamped. 
• The lower frequency limit of 50 Hz. This is a super figure in view of the closed design! As CED, the distortion level is below 1% up to 40 Hz, after which it begins to rise sharply. Very low THD in the midrange speakers. 

ATC SCM 7

• SCM 7:
  "Very good" (68 out of 100 points)
  Price / Performance: "very good"
• Breathtaking clarity that would make even the best of the small British guilds envy. Astonishingly, even in the near field, a real spatial feeling of depth and of breathing instruments set in instead of a series of small mono-sound sources.
• Almost magically she projected Christy Baron's breathy voice in "Mercy Street" in the listening room and followed even with the slightest listening level of every musical and tonal fineness with care and thoughtfulness and remained wonderfully musical and coherent.
• Despite its quantitative limits one of the finest small monitors of our day.
• "A dream monitor for quiet and near field listeners. It sounds ultimate balanced, silky-transparent and deep spatially."

ATC SCM 7

• “I’ve not written a long review for a change. This one is short and sweet – just like the 7s. Combine the imaging of the old Proac Tablettes, the surprising bass of a Totem One and the enthusiasm of an old AE1. Each of these speakers is renowned for having a special and memorable characteristic. The diminutive ATC SCM7 seems to possess a good measure of each. It’s one of those speakers that is so addictive and so unassuming that I think I’m going to have to buy a pair. They are like the cutest animal in the litter – the one you simply have to take home. Over time their musical consistency, honesty and downright practicality are simply undeniable. The thought of being without them has me reaching for a tissue.”
  • Pros: Emphatic, transparent, detailed presentation. Solid imaging and strong dynamics. Great build.
  • Cons: At this price, nothing.
• Ful review
• Designer's comments

ATC SCM 7

• Hi-Fi Choice Group Test Winner: With a powerful amplifier, a smooth source and properly positioned, ATC’s SCM7 is capable of a wonderful flowing musicality that gets into the groove like no other here. In a well-matched system, you will be amazed at its rhythmic and dynamic alacrity.
• The ATC brings its own unique skill set to the party, and does things none of the others here can. It is tight, taut, rhythmic, propulsive, expressive and unerringly musical. More than any other speaker
  here it gives you the sense that music is foremost an emotional experience.
• It’s the high quality, small and sealed cabinet that does it; it doesn’t store any energy and has no bass port to huff and puff, and the result is that bass transients are lightning-fast with no overhang.
• Piano has a solidity of tone that you can’t not love, and fl utes and fl ugelhorns have a simple purity that’s only available when there’s no cabinet joining in the party. Even with a relatively light bass, jazz sounds gloriously propulsive, the listener getting their rhythm cues elsewhere. Bliss.
• The most musically convincing here, but you’ll need a serious system to drive it. A worthy winner

ATC SCM 7

• It was immediately apparent from the first application (at a moderately but not insanely high volume) of the Irrational! But Efficacious disc's "Full Glide Tone," which begins at 5Hz (!), that the SCM7 was, for its size, bombproof. The woofer's excursions at subsonic frequencies were just plain huge. And while no sound emerged, the lack of sounds of distress or mechanical noises was most impressive.
• The SCM7 deftly handled the "Channel Identification" and "Channel Phasing" tracks ofStereophile's Test CD 2 (Stereophile STPH004-2). Image specificity was excellent, and the difference between the in- and out-of-phase segments was as great as I've ever heard.
• The SCM7 offered pinpoint imaging. "Easy to Love," from Ella Fitzgerald's The Cole Porter Songbook, Volume Two (CD, Verve 821 990-2), was a prime example
• The ATC SMC7 v.3 is an extremely competitive entry in the British Shoebox Monitor sweepstakes. That it's made in the UK by a company known for making professional monitors, and has first-class fit'n'finish and addictively engaging musicality, are strong arguments in its favor.
• Well done, indeed, and highly recommended. I look forward to the arrival of ATC's SCM19. John Marks - The Fifth Element #83

ATC SCM 7

• SCM7 no doubt they are the best speakers in the test. They have the best bass, middle and top, and the individual parts of the band are perfectly bonded together to form an inseparable whole. Columns are actually incredibly consistent, did not allow for figuring out where the range begins and where it ends. 
• Coming back to the lower range, I have to say that, despite the apparent moderation, but not thinness, ATC, if only they hit the appropriate recording, can utter a pretty hearty, full sound. Bass sounds great on them - you can admire this instrument. It's a blast, but a lot of detail about the work of the strings, fingers, distortion
• Well you can hear the room in which the musicians are playing, whether damped "dead" studio, where the walls are lined with a thick layer of felt, creating an anechoic chamber or in the living room acoustically, where reflections from the walls of creation by the atmosphere of the recording. Such differences SCM7 communicate well.
• Speakers playing very consistent, very clear signal from the amplifier. Quite unusual resolution of bass and midrange.

ATC SCM 7

ATC SCM 7

• They are small, cheap, easy to set up and offer excellent sound - ATC SCM 7 is the perfect speaker for small spaces.
• Low tones surprise with their suppleness and elasticity. Hitting the strings of a bass guitar on the track "The Man forms of the Planet of Marzipan" of the Marillion band was fast and accurate, free from any resonant reverbs.
• What we perceive as an abundance of low-frequencies is mostly their coloration distortion. It is heard best on the example of foot percussion - the "seventh" ATC system is a quick "shot" (full and fleshy, and not - as you might think - dry and barren) and almost immediately returns to the starting point; nothing rumbles, nothing drags.

ATC SCM 7

• Turning to the ATCs and rehearing the Kreisler CD, both the studio's own character and that of the solo fiddle - especially ita harmonics just before the guitar and bass come in - were more natural.
• In fact the SCM7s moved confortably ahead of the group. They could take high levels without strain, timbres were consistently more truthful and timig was excellet.
• Jff Beck's claim that "You shook me" encompased "probably the ruddest sound sever recorded" was simply laughed aside by the ATCs.
• Despite it's hunger for power, the little nipper from ATCwalks smartly away with the blue ribbon. The SCM 7 wins for its smooth , well-timed delivery and the sheer convenience of size.

ATC SCM 7

• Here's my quick and dirty sonic description of the SCM7 speaker; it combines the dynamic agility of the Thiel PCM monitor with the harmonic suavity of the Aerial Acoustics model 5.
• In a nearfield environment your ears will cry uncle long before the speakers begin to exhibit any signs of audible distress.
• The ATC SCM7 does a very credible job of throwing up a cohesive three-dimensional soundfield. On phase-coherent recordings such as my own live concert CDs of the Boulder Philharmonic orchestra the ATC speakers deliver a remarkably accurate picture of the entire orchestra on stage to the point where I can even discern the different seating heights between the woodwinds and horns.
• They are among the most dynamically satisfying small-footprint desktop monitors I've ever heard. In terms of fit, finish, and overall performance they keep up with speakers that are nearly twice their price. But the SCM7's are not merely high-value speakers. They are so good that even folks who could pay far more for a desktop speaker will discover that $1200 will purchase speakers that are all they could ever want.

ATC SCM 7

• ATC SCM7's first second surprise: the sound of this magnitude is difficult to expect from these speakers. Such a foundation and a low-key confidence even more. After a minute surprise dissipates. Left alone with a warm, confident sound. 
• With high, but not a champion resolution where formal sounds are in perfect balance with the musicianship. So, monitors and music: how deep is ATC capable for this dive? What we see on the surface, almost perfectly: this restraint and style. British style.
• Frequency response curve of this system is very smooth, without any serious attacks. Mids barely noticeable ahead of the rest of the sensitivity range. 
• For low frequencies the sensitivity of smooth descent - the lower frequency limit is one of the best in the test.