Question for Steve or anyone familiar w/ ATC active systems

I pointed you out Steve knowing many studios are using this company's Active loudspeaker system with great results. Have you or anyone else heard them? Are they as superb as I hear? Some have said we are years behind in audio with respect to this system.

One can't deny that sometimes the masses can be loss when it comes to ideas. Case in point: I,like most I know heat their hot water in a hot water tank continuously until we need it. When I heard from my gas company that we were one of the few civilized countries in the world that still do this. They sold me on a storage-less (instant-on)gas system and now I only pay $24-$25 a month for hot water and gas dryer bill. Who would have thunk it?

Maybe it is true that this particular active system is as great as they say?? No cables,amps or speaker matching to worry about any more. I am looking more into it.

I would appreciate any insights any one has into them.

Thanks, Tom

 

I'm about to become an ATC dealer. I can let you know what I think when I get some product.

 

Here's a link: http://www.atc.gb.net/news/2005/kempster.html

They also are used as home systems as well. from what I hear,they are miles ahead technology wise from our day to day passive speakers.

Tom

 

Wow. I'm wondering what you're going to think of them, considering they're pretty incompatible with low-powered amps. Even the smallest bookshelf monitors from ATC need at least 100wpc to really come alive!

 

I used to have a pair of the active 20's, and have heard the 50's and 100's on many occasions. They are a very neutral & accurate speaker with good levels of detail , but not the ultimate in low end extension as they are designed to be soffit mounted. They appeal to both people who like accuracy, and those who want musicality. You could do a lot worse, and they are also very good value, considering the amplification on board. Oh, they also go very very loud!

Hope this helps

Dave

 

ATC are famously the speakers Dave Gilmour uses in his studio.

I heard their absolute bottom of the range, entry level passives (SCM7) at Cornflake in London, on the end of the entry level Naim 5 stuff. The bloke actually having the demo left as he had another demo to go to around the corner, so I asked if I could have a quick listen.

Blimey. Absolutely superb. The Nait 5 is only 50W, V-A, but it sounded well alive to me

 

I asked something similar here. The best I can gather is the active approach is more incisive. Some who's opinion I like, prefer the ATC passive approach for enjoying music in the home. I'd rather access the music than the recording of the music.
I'm thinking of getting the new passive 20's as my ATC amp will drive it just fine. 50's? That's where the active might appeal to me. Unfortunately it isn't easy to get a listen.

 

The ATC300's are probably the best non-panel speaker I've ever heard.

 

I use the non active 50s in my second system. Rtaher remarkable speakers. The midrange driver is quite possibly the best dynamic driver made along with the Genesis ribbon tweeter.

 

I just received my dealer pack and literature today. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother or not. As you've pointed out....they may not be my thing. It all depends on how they sound, though...and I admit that I'm curious.

 

Coming from a fellow Quad 57 fan...I take this statement very seriously.

 

link Steve's memory is getting like mine?!

It is that driver which is at the heart of the line from my 12 up through to the 5 figure behemoths, they measure the same. I know it's exactly the same driver in the 12 & 20 for sure.

It's a phenomenal driver, or how a broken speaker sold itself to me.

Retailer Canadian HiFi no longer sells ATC due to a dispute about who was responsible for using a really bad shipper consistently delivering damaged goods. I received a pair of SCM12 and was blown away at first listen. That first song was by The Flaming Lips and somewhere two minutes into it I awaited a cool little bit that was to come exclusively out of the right channel, but it didn't arrive. Puzzled I moved closer and closer until I realized the right speaker wasn't working and I had been listening to a single speaker! Totally disappointed and thrilled at the same time. I was sold.

It was also educational to learn just how much information comes from the midrange and how little from the tweeter.

 

The Naim amps are high-current, so they're always a bit surprising when it comes to driving speakers. For quite a few years, I drove a pair of Spendor S20s, which have a low sensitivity rating of 84dB, with a Naim NAIT 2, which had somewhere between 15 and 21 watts per channel. Sure, it wasn't a combo that performed well with large scale music or rock, but otherwise it was a magic combo.

 

Well, you can buy many pristine pairs of 57s for the price of those ATCs...