I have been looking for information about the need to service the amp packs on ATC active speakers. (Like service for Naim power amplifiers. ) I can’t find much about this. Perhaps a question for ATC, but as some members here have active ATC, possibly they know, or have experience with this?
Is there a recommended time frame for service, and if so, how to go about it?
Regards
Mine are too new to worry about servicing, but there’s contact details on ATC’s website for their service department. I’d enquire that way … and perhaps let us know what you find out.
Servicing is done directly with ATC rather than through dealers (Naim-style).
Roger
I would anticipate in excess of 20 years before anything is needed routinely, but indeed best ask ATC direct (and let us know!)
There was I believe a thread about this issue on the pink underwater swimmers forum. There might be a helpful answer there. I seem to recall the servicing interval depended on how hard the speakers were driven and that in addition to the amp pack service the drive units would get a once over and any work needed done.
I will see what I can find out! Thanks for the responses.
Regards
Can’t think where I heard, so I would check with ATC service, but I recall a service interval around the same as Naim amps 10 to 12 years.
Interesting…… yeah I’m not going to be sending 2x 104kg ATC SCM 100ASLT speaker crates back to the ATC factory from Australia.
I don’t have a spare £1000 or whatever that insane shipping price will eventually be to ship them plus the ATC factory service fee.
I’m hoping there is an approved ATC service agent in Australia to have that done.
There’s different arrangements for non-UK customers I believe. There’s info on ATC’s website, but contact your region’s distributor is the nub of it.
Roger
I had some answers from the ATC distributor here in Sweden.
According to them, service of the amps in ATC active speakers (like caps) should not be necessary in a long time, as they should last at least 20-25 years. The amps themselves should need no other service as long as they work properly. Made to be powered up 24/7 unless you are away for a longer period or there is a risk of thunder and lightning.
In case repair is needed some of it can be done by the local distributor, but upgrades for the speaker involves shipping them to ATC in the UK for calibration etc. Edit: I got a follow up which clarified that they would be able to service caps at the distributor, should it be necessary.
So buying second hand active ATC speakers should mostly still leave a lot of time before servicing caps in the amps would be needed or recommended. And buying new ones give you plenty of time.
Regards
On their website, ATC themselves recommend switching them off if you’re not going to be listening to them for around 6 hours or more. Helps to extend component life and saves power, they say.
Roger
That’s interesting I leave mine on all the time, perhaps I should reconsider that….
Gary
Seems very resonable. I was only refering to what the distributor replied to my questions about service of active speakers. And strictly, this was not a recommended use from them, but a comment that underlines how the speakers and components are built with this in mind.
Maybe there is a difference between recommendations for use of the pro/studio products and the consumer speakers. Or if one want optimal perfomance at once or prefer to have longer life for components.
Regards
ATC’s response seems very reasonable. A well-chosen modern “long-life” electrolytic capacitor should give many years of service. The concern about replacing capacitors arose, in my opinion, from the servicing of “vintage” amplifiers whose power supply capacitors were much lower quality than you can obtain today and the amount of reservoir capacitance was marginal to start with.
I have always turned my amps off between use unless only a handful of hours - the balance of considerations just makes most sense that way to me.
Many amps, not just the latest, last and have lasted 20, 25 years or more without needing servicing - perhaps because they normally are turned off between uses… My - accurate - guess of ATC’s likely service interval was based on experience with other amps.
As advised by ATC when I bought my Active 40’s I switch them off at the end of each day and they do warm up pretty quickly once you turn them back on . The 50’s do take a little longer to reach optimum temperature but the audible difference is minor if anything.
Unless I forget, I turn my 40A’s off when I have finished listening to my stereo for the day. As @Pete.T says, they don’t take long at all to warm up, but if you do leave them on, the heatsinks get quite warm even with no signal going into the speakers.
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