![]() ![]() In mid-2013, ATC decided to consolidate its US presence by reassigning the responsibility for consumer speakers to Transaudio Group, which had represented ATC's professional products in the US for many years. I'd been lent the SCM11 and SCM40 by ATC's then importer and distributor for its Consumer models, Flat Earth Audio, of Connecticut. I am not surprised John Marks liked it as much as he did, though I would point out that its measured behavior suggests it will work better when listened to fairly close." John Atkinson concluded his measurement report on the SCM11 with this: "The ATC SCM11 is a well-engineered little speaker. I wrote about ATC's SCM11, a two-way stand-mounted speaker, in December 2009 and about the SCM40, a three-way tower with ATC's famous dome midrange, in April 2010. I don't think that all of Audioengine's customers are using their 5+s on desktops with computers I suspect that many use them as the main speakers of a stereo system. ![]() What makes me think that US audiophiles might be getting ready to seriously consider ambitious active speakers is the market success of such models as Audioengine's 5+ ($399/pair). I wonder whether that conventional wisdom might be crumbling. Although powered speakers offer advantages in implementing crossover slopes and in amplifier efficiency, over the years, I've been told many times that US audiophiles absolutely insist on choosing their own power amplifiers and speaker cables. Perhaps one reason ATC's profile in the US has always been lower than Harbeth's or Spendor's is because US audiophiles historically have resisted the idea of active speakers. (An ATC speaker's model number indicates its internal volume, in liters eg, the SCM19 has a volume of 19 liters.) Its very wide and shallow cabinet is reminiscent of Sonus Faber's Stradivari or Elipsa. The EL150 is ATC's "statement" model, at $47,770/pair passive and $84,999/pair active, in the standard veneer of burr magnolia. One Consumer speaker appears to be in a class of its own. There are also Pro models with double woofers that lack exact Consumer twins, in that the Pro versions are stand-mounted while the Consumer versions are towers. Those two aluminum cabinets are unique to the Pro line. The entry-level SCM16A Pro and SCM20ASL Pro active monitors (both about to be replaced, though old stock may still be available) have distinctive aluminum cabinets with curved sidewalls and radiused front panels and edges, built-in front-panel tilt-back, and no grilles. However, such design twinship is not always the case. The passive pro model uses a Speakon connector for its amplifier input. The Professional SCM50 is available (as active or passive) in black paint, and has a blanked-off cutout on the front panel to enable relocation of the tweeter above the midrange driver if the cabinet is to be positioned horizontally rather than vertically. The Consumer SCM50 is available (as active or passive) in a choice of Black Ash, Cherry, Maple, Oak, Pippy Oak, Rosewood, and Walnut, or (by special order) in a veneer of any legally available hardwood. One such pair of twins is the SCM50, with ATC's 1" soft-dome tweeter, 3" dome midrange, and 9" woofer. In many instances, ATC constructs pretty much identical speaker designs for both markets. With two exceptions, the pro models are offered in a finish of semigloss black paint. All of ATC's Professional speakers are active, with some also available in passive form. The four models in their Consumer Entry Series, including the entry-level Entry SCM7, are passive only. Gordon Holt purchased were ATCs.ĪTC offers both Professional and Consumer lines of speakers, the latter in wood veneers and, usually, in both passive and active versions. The last pair of loudspeakers Stereophile founder J. Celebrity owners of ATC speakers include T Bone Burnett, Coldplay, Enya, Diana Krall, Lenny Kravitz, Ziggy Marley, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, the late Lou Reed, the Rolling Stones, Paul Reed Smith, Sting, and Roger Waters. The company remains independently owned, and their productswhich include preamplifiers, power and integrated amplifiers, a CD player≭AC, and a new CD receiver with USB inputare made in England. In an effort to rectify that, ATC is updating their loudspeaker designs and changing their US distribution arrangements.ĪTC developed the first soft-dome midrange driver, and pioneered self-contained active ( ie, powered) speakers. It does seem that ATC has gotten less attention in the US than its older and younger British siblings. When I mentioned all that to a quick-witted audio buddy, he immediately came back with "Middle Child Syndrome!" That makes ATC a few years younger than Spendor (1969) and a few years older than Harbeth (1977). (ATC) as a maker of loudspeaker drive-units. In 1974, in England, Australian Reverse-Pommy pianist and recording engineer Billy Woodman founded the Acoustic Transducer Co. ![]()
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