Atc scm 20

Hi-Fi Corner
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I currently have some ATC SCM 20’s (passive) on loan and thought I would give them their own thread!

The backstory is I had become a little frustrated with my 40a’s, they go from sounding great to fatiguing and I have been faffing around with positioning and sub settings for too long so I arranged a demo of some stand mounts to see if the root cause of my issues was overdriving the room with floor standers.

Tony at Basicaly sound arrived with the 20’s and a nap250(NC) as I no longer have a power amp given my system has active 40’s.

We played a couple of tracks on my current system to get our ears in (40a’s with 552/NDS/555DR) and it was having an off day and Tony picked up on it straight away. Transpires they have an intermittent fault… they are now back at ATC for fixing…. In someways a relief as I thought I was loosing my marbles!

First things first the NC 250 looks very slick in my rack and makes the green lights of existing boxes look a bit dated - well done Naim, very classy looking…

The 20’a are also a lovely looking classic speaker and very easy in the eye in walnut. After plumbing them in they sounded great, all the ATC attributes but…. Being driven passively and not benefiting from a full cabinet I felt they were lacking compared to the active 40’s and 20’s I had previously tried.

Having had them for 2 weeks the combo has really grown on me, yes a little bottom end missing compared to active/full cabinet but sounding wonderful none the less. Not sure if the improvement was “burn in” or my ears adjusting to a passive presentation….

The pairing of the 20’s and the 250 is c£10k, the same price as active 20’s and whilst I think I would choose the active presentation I can see why some would chose the passive - really good speakers in my set up.

The 20’s are supported by a pair of rels and they add a depth that I really like but they sound good without them.

I am down a path now so will try some 50’s and then 20’s again versus my 40’s.I already know I prefer the 20s to the 40’s so a change will likely happen be it 20’s or 50’s

I also noted in my room ATC’s work well at low volumes, nothing to compare them too but many comments suggest they don’t sound as good at low volumes, yes they come alive with volume but all the emotion is there at low volumes.

If stand mounts work for you then I would definitely have the 20’s on your list to consider.

Gary

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Thanks for sharing, i Keep being really curious about the 250nc which is my target.
My five cents about the 20, to me they are the most refined in the atc lineup - way better than the 40. The 50 to me are the most emotional loudspeaker you could buy

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What ended up being the fault on the 40A’s Gary ?

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From my dealer

Quick listen and there’s definitely something faulty with one of your SCM40s (the one that was on the LH channel).

No apparent output from the MF drive unit (might be trying to play HF) whilst the HF drive unit is playing MF audio. Not yet sure if it is the drive unit/s themselves &/or the amp module.

Very apparent when you have another pair side-by-side.

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Sorry to read about that. Hope it is sorted soon.

Fascinating that you have shared thoughts on the 20’s with NC250. Looking forward to see how you get on with other ideas and options in the days ahead.

Following with interest…
Good luck.

Best wishes
R

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I fear if you try the 50as there will be no going back, though haven’t heard the 20s :smiley:

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Financial negotiations with Mrs FC have been concluded so it’s just a case of what works best in the room.

Gary

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But what a room! :heart_eyes:

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Room and garden :+1:

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If you can wait a bit I think there’s a good chance ATC will bring out an active version of the stand-mount SCM 20s in their regular cabinet finishes, or so a little bird told me. Ought to be a good bit cheaper than the expensive special editions and perhaps also than the towers.

Roger

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Had heard that also circa £4/5k

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Thanks for comments, the garden is a labour of love for sure!

Active 20 stand mounts would be a welcome edition, as much as I thought the special edition blue versions were cool they were just too cool for me!

Gary

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Nice write up Gary.

At least you have decided on which manufacturers house sound you prefer and I think you have a good handle on the room’s acoustics which can be tricky. For example, I had the same speakers for about ten years, PMC 20.24s, until I inadvertently upset the apple cart by replacing our cheap wooden floor with a laminate one which has set me off on an upgrade journey on the electronics and a quest for speakers which work better in the room.

ATB

Ray

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I believe they have made consumer active 20’s before.

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They still do, the SCM 20 ASLT floor standers. Someone else recently on the phone compared and preferred them to the 40A, But of course it is all down to personal preference and zoom set up etc.

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Sorry, i should have specified stand mount size. I remember someone from poland selling a pair on ebay a few years ago. I think they would do well if they reintroduced them. Not sure i’d swap the 40a’s for them though.

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Just to clarify. ATC have had stand-mount active 20s in their lineup for ages. They’re in the pro line in a plain black finish. They were designed, I think, primarily for studio use but no reason other than the plain appearance for not using them in a domestic environment. Recently, to recognise their 50th anniversary, they brought out a limited edition with a fancy finish at a premium price and I’ve heard suggestions that, possibly next year, they will market a version of this speaker using their standard range of veneers and high gloss finishes.

As for price, I think it will be well above £5k as that is the price of the plain pro version and nice cabinetry adds significantly to the cost. But they ought to be less expensive than the floor-standers although you’d need to factor in the cost of decent stands.

Roger

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As i stated, I’m sure they also made them in veneered finishes. Now this could have been a special edition or distributor order, would be great if they reintroduced them.

Having just checked the price of the passive 20’s, I would think they would be £5-6k bearing in mind the 19a’s are £4.8k.

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I’ve used the active SCM50s and 100s at work in the past, which means listening to them for 8 to 10 hours per day. Very happy with the sound, but in one room we felt the bass was a bit light. Obviously not fatiguing though!

Last time I looked, the “pro” versions only had XLR inputs, which may be awkward in some home setups.

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I’ve always thought that if tge ATC range the 100 would be the lowest I would consider, preferably the 150 - but that is without using with subs, which might be the solution with the 50 (or 40).