Hi @jlow, the “ATCs are very power hungry” story is a bit of a myth. They’re not the most sensitive speakers around but they have a pretty benign impedance curve. However, realistic reproduction of instruments such as piano can involve large dynamic swings and even the smallest ATC speakers are built to cope with this. (Founder Billy Woodman was a jazz pianist and set great store by good reproduction of the piano.) This is where a more powerful amp can bring added realism to the sound even when playing at less than ear-shattering levels.
If you can resell without too much loss, I’d give the SCM 11s a try, but be aware that they’ve more to give if you upgrade your amp in the future.
The stand mount sealed box ATCs from my knowledge are very power hungry if you want any volume to speak of, just like most non ported speakers. To obtain reasonable bass requires about 70watts RMS.
I opted for the ATC SCM 50s as they are ported and sound fantastic.
If you want a lot of bass just go for ProAc floor standers the D48R’s will rattle your fillings loose.
I went single wire by undoing the crossovers plate in the rear and simply unbolting the treble wires and moved them to the bass connectors. It’s very easy to see once the plate is off. Better coherence and less connections
It not easy to solder NACA5 with Naim SA8 plugs as an ‘F’ connection to fit with the ATC terminal block.
This is how I had my SA8 ‘F’ connections using Chord Odyssey into a Monacor (same shape/style as ATC). They fit, but only just.
However I would not use the nickel plated Naim SA8 pins into gold plated terminals, dissimilar metals can be a problem, they were for me.
I guess the sound gained more seperation and a bit clearer, but I imagine the cable you choose would impact on what you may hear.
The suggestion of removing the crossover plate is interesting. I won’t be trying it…I have this real ability to drop small objects (screws/bolts) into hard to get into places (boxes/cavities)
It’s really easy… the screws are machine screws so fit onto a threaded insert and atc put enough length on the wires that you can move the whole assembly well clear of cabinet and all you need is a small socket to undo the speaker binding posts that the leads tag to … about 15 mins in total.
ATC’s look great and I’m sure will sound great with XS3.
I run NAC A5 speaker cable and use Chord signature jumpers - does the job if “F connection” is not achievable.
This made me smile - I have “the baby” D20R’s which produce prodigious levels of bass so would only go D48R’s if you’re v confident in yours and your house’s structural integrity!
Hahaha, I’m a bassist so the lower end is definitely important to me, but also live in a condo so tuneful and present bass is more suitable to not getting evicted than structural rocking lol.
