Help/advice from ATC SCM40 owners past and present,please

I have had my ATC SCM40 passive for a year now.

I think your room will be fine. Mine are in a room about 4,5 x 4 meters.

I started with a Supernait 2. No real problem with power at all with my prefered volume, but the 250 DR is better, as expected.

I did not try out a lot of speakers, but did compare with Neat. ( and my former Audiovector) In the end the ATC felt rock solid whatever I played during the demo. (Did two sessions) I feel they present the music in a fantastic clear and a matter of fact way, so to speak. This might sound a bit boring, but that is not the case. Voices and vocals are really nice and I feel that going through my old records really is interesting and fun, as the speakers often show them in a new light!

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It was in their demo room at a later date, but yes, also in the show. I recall the passive 50s sounding great with an NDX2/252/300, but I don’t recall them having passive 40s there. One of the other exhibitors (I think Auralic) were using a pair of active 40s which I thought sounded pretty average.

I was there too, and kept going back to the room with the passive SCM50s throughout the day as they were just so good

The Auralic room just down the corridor did have active 40s in it, which I though sounded pretty good though some way behind the 50s whether active (as I think they were the show previous to this one) or passives which on this occasion really did it for me

I have SCM40s in a room 6m x 3.5m x 2.4m (h) the low ceiling height gives rise to a nasty low frequency peak which I find the SCM40s excite rather well, (i.e. its a bit of a problem)

My room is pretty much the same size. I loaned a pair of passive 40s about 6 weeks ago thinking they would be too much for my room in terms of bass. To my surprise I have minimal issues with bass and they never went back. Mine fire along the room and are powered by a 250dr and never seem underpowered to me. I’ve auditioned many speakers over the years and these are the best by a country mile. They are very uncoloured, even across the frequencies, fast and dynamic. Good luck I’m sure you will love them.

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Another observation with the passive version. Get the wrong interconnect, speaker cable or electronics with the 40’s and they will amplify that mismatch with a greater degree than most speakers.

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I heard the Auralic into active SCM 40s at that show and that’s what I now have. I guess I must just have pretty average taste.

Roger

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Your not alone :blush:

Same , I had that set up for a couple of years and my recent change to Meitner MA3 had nothing to do do with the Auralic’s performance, it’s excellent including its app . I was looking to add an Aries G2.1 to the Vega so tried a few different options and overall the Meitner worked best for me . I’ve also kept the Vega G2.1 for now , I might use it for a 2nd system .

@silverback I ran the passives with a Nait XS for a period and enjoyed it. You’ll get more out of the 40s with a bigger amp obviously, but they still sound great with amps on the lower end of ATC’s recommendation.

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To get the most from passive SCM40’s using Naim amplification you’ll have to look at using six Statement NAP S1’s :slightly_smiling_face:

In the meantime and fwiw, we found the NAP 100 did a sterling job. In comparison the SCM40’s are a walk in the park for the NAP 200 DR :+1:

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Huge thank you for the many varied and very helpful responses, it’s very reassuring that so many forum members have had such positive results with the 40 and the 40a. I hadn’t even considered the actives but I will definitely consider them now.

One thing I’m curious about with the active version, with a Naim preamp, would I be right in thinking there is no loss of the trade mark Naim sound by using a different power amp or it is of such a small issue it is not a concern.

The reason I ask is when I have searched the forum about combining a Naim pre with another manufacturers power amp it nearly always seem to throw up a negative response, but an active speaker which is the same thing but brings excellent results, is it just that ATC electronics work well with Naim, just a little puzzled by this.

Again many thanks for the very helpful advice. :+1:

A problem you may have with Naim preamps is that they are not designed to drive long cables which may be required to connect to active speakers. That isn’t to say that it won’t work, but something to be aware of especially if your rack isn’t close to the speakers.

No loss of Naim sound using 552 & NDS with active 40’s for me.
Never thought I would move on my nap 300 but after listening to the actives it was a no brainer in my room.

Gary

Why does nobody mention the 20s?

I think these are a notch up from the 19s and also available in active form as stand or floor mount.

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My son used a NAP100 on his passive ATCs and enjoyed it a lot. I gave him my NAP250 when I upgraded to active ATCs and he was surprised at the improvement it brought, but this was only comparative; he was never unhappy with the 100 until he heard what the 250 could do. If you like the overall sound from the ATCs, then I think almost any naim amp is good, it just depends how much goodness you feel you want or need?

My room is different and I have the minnow SCM7s. Nevertheless I have found ATC’s placement guidance in their owners manual very helpful. Consequently, I have a near equilateral triangle with lots of toe in. This might help you too with the big boy SCM40s…

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Again lots of useful advice, thanks again everyone, the main issues I had have been answered so I feel a demo is probably the next best step, fingers crossed I will like what I hear.

Not to sure if I should try the 19’s then move onto the 40’s and finally the 40a’s that is presuming I can find a dealer with stock.

I had planned to add a Hicap to the 202 just wondering if it would be beneficial to do that first, it would allow me to bring my Bryston into the mix, something I always wanted to try but had been reluctant to as regarding mixing Naim pre with non Naim power but it is just one of those itches I need to scratch ,if I get a positive result, happy days, if not it’s not the end of the world, then I could move the Bryston on or part exchange it which would certainly help the funds. :wink:

As an aside; it is neither difficult nor particularly expensive to run active ATCs in fully balanced mode using XLR cables from a Naim power supply, if your speakers are some distance from the electronics.

You will not be getting a balanced connection from a Naim PSU. If driving long cables becomes a problem you probably need a non-Naim preamp - unless you go to one extreme or the other. The entry level Atom HE or top of the range Statement S1 are the only Naim boxes which offer a balanced output.