The Iota Explorers can be recommended for difficult to site locations. Mine are within 12cm of solid rear wall and sound superb. Good WAF as well. There’s a second hand pair on PF that have nothing to do with me.
I’m happy with my open FS104s for now but I’d like to hear what difference wooden stands can make. Shame the Torlytes are not available in other finishes
I loved the small Spendors when listening in the store.
I took them home and they sounded horrible close to the wall. Sounded like they were hollow and dying.
Awesome British sound if you have the room, but for close to the wall, they can’t do it. I also tried plugging the rear port. No real help.
+1 for Something Solid with ATC speakers (I’m using the SCM7s). I started off using the Linn Katan stands I already had, and they worked OK, especially as their tapered top plate matched the SCM7s very well. The standard advice for ATCs generally was “use high mass filled stands.” I went for the Custom Design FS104s and, while they did some things well, I found they completely killed the tune – a very static presentation. Definitely worse that my Katan stands, which was a surprise and a disappointment. I then ordered a pair of Something Solids. Because they’re all custom made, the designer, Mark Orr, was happy to build them from a plan of my speakers, and so they match the new-style tapered ATC footprint exactly. Not only that, he was willing to shorten the outermost rear outriggers slightly to better fit the awkward bay window location. I’m very happy with the result.
There’s lots of discussion about it in the SCM40 thread.
Simon - please could you elaborate on your placing of the ATC 19’s on Torylite stands? The stands appear to have 3 raised ‘studs’ so is it possible to remove these so that the speakers lie flat on the stand and do you suggest blue tack or similar between speaker and stand?
I currently use Custom Design heavy metal stands with filler in central column with my ATC 11s - great speakers in my small hifi room and to my ears preferable to several others I tried including Dynaudio, Neat and PMC.
Bob
Those Torlyte studs are optional and are simply placed on the Torlyte plinth to suit… I don’t use them. The speaker just rests on the plinth with nothing in between for optimum performance.
Hi Simon thanks for the feed back. With the speakers close to the rear wall in my room I’m not getting any treble smearing at all (you may have much more solid room than me, ie concrete floor and brick walls) . It’s actually one thing they’re doing really well and up there with the revels. Lot of details stopping short of bright which i like stop starting with great accuracy. What I’m currently getting is what i consider “recessed” mids or not much energy should i say. So top end sparkle and then deep stuff. The mids are currently just not anywhere close to the revels but! then the revel may be energising the room to much which is very possible and is something i need to acclimatise to. perhaps i should give them the benefit of the doubt and leave them in place for a few days longer!?
The stands for testing purposes are partington super dreadnoughts so a sort of semi open design but and light weight though a little taller than i would use for theses. Might be part of the problem
I must admit i like them a lot more playing louder just when quieter they seem to fall short for me at the moment i would describe them volume wise as excellent mid-high level monitors.
Note:
Today i swapped round which terminals on the back i was using and (i know it sounds stupid) but i did notice a lift in the sound mids are a little more powerful and some what fuller. ill give them a better listen tonight and see what’s what.
Those would be a little pricey for me and they wouldn’t be stable enough on my stupidly thick carpet, They would also have to be of a weight to penetrate the underlay properly, Thought he ACTs would help with that seeing as they’re quite weighty
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Thanks Patu for your insights I would say the 200dr is driving them well really well infact. I think it is as you say room issue and i need a port too energise the room a little more. The room is not a very live room it’s very dead in nature a clap has a near instant stop. As for speakers I know PMC’s don’t work in my room for some reason bass/mids are projected out of the room no idea why that is but wherever i put them the some result though that was for 20-23’s not the standmounts.
Simon thanks for the advice about Torlyte speaker stands
Has any one heard https Buchardt audio speakers?
You’re not the only one to not like the ATC 19. I auditioned them along with the Harbeth 30.1. I perceive the ATCs as cold and unengaging (powered by a SN2). I much preferred the Harbeths.
I finally ended up with the Totem Tribe Towers, which I found better than both the ATCs and Harbeths.
Thanks for you insights. Through all of searching I have actually come from naim all together, moving to class a and finding i much prefer the sound. But I can certainly say that atc’s where lifeless compared to what I’m used to listening to.
I agree with you scm19 and sn2 are not a good pairing as aren’t driven by external atc amps.
For a nice result one should consider pairing them with a 250.
All actives are just spot-on .
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I agree ATC 19s work well with a 250, particularly 250DR. I’ve recently swapped out my 282 with a 252 and it’s made a massive improvement to my system. They are a very transparent and revealing speaker, but partnered with good electronics they shine.
Humm I tried them with all sorts, up and down the price lader at the dealers and in comparison (the important word here) to the revels M106, I’m sorry they’re lifeless. Even with the better components in place the revels set themselves even further in front. The Revels are smaller speakers but they walk all over them in terms of insight, punch, clarity and depth. The sound stage through the revels is also wider and more holographic and the revels are far better built
And one thing I really really didn’t like was the cone is sticky on The atc’s . The dealers ones looked like they had a Santa beard and that I couldn’t put up with.
The only speaker that I found that actually bettered my speakers by a long way, Where the b and w 800 series stand mounts. Which I’ll be saving for. And they actually have front port. Which is what I’m after
I’ll stand by my findings which I’ve done by actually listening and comparing , and in all seriousness I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. I certainly wouldn’t recommend them with speakers such as russell k and revels are out there.
Let’s put it this way. If someone wants a fun speakers with tons of insight and clarity get the revels
If you want ruler flat speaker get the atc’s neither are bad just one is miles better
As I said, partnered with good electronics they work really well. I have mine partnered with NDX2 with 555PSDR, into 252, SCDR and 250DR with SL interconnects & Tellurium Ultra Black II speaker cables. They sound fab, open, transparent, punchy with good bass weight.
I’ve not heard the Revel M106s but would be interested to compare with the ATCs. if you like yours why are you changing?
Need something that can go a lot closer to the wall. The wife has spoken. But I have not found anything that sounds anywhere near as good for similar money. So for the moment the hunt is over till I say save more pennies
Yep the ATCs work well, but there is no doubting the heritage of them is more industrial than consumer… they tend to require good electronics to appreciate them…and don’t sugar cone or draw attention to themselves unduly.
The 19s are fussy on stands, in fact very fussy on stands. I had a huge amount of trial and error. Get it wrong and the sound becomes leaden lacking life, or treble smeared robbing them of naturalness and subtle detail… oh yes they take a ridiculous amount of run in… that’s the industry renown mid dome bass driver from their professional driver range bedding in… you need at least 300 hours on them before they open up… and I am on my third pair of ATCs with those specific drivers and they have all been the same.
Get all those things right… they are very hard to beat… and over the last 25 years I have always returned back to them…
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