I very much doubt you’ll be disappointed with Active 40s loud or quiet . Tbh my average listening level since owning Active ATC’s has probably reduced which can’t be a bad thing .
I have the 40A’s, listening at lower volumes is not a problem, I agree with @Pete.T compared to my previous set up my Dave is set 4 dB lower. I also had home demos of both the passives and actives, not at the same time, I preferred the actives.
@anon4933806 note that listening distance and room size is also going to affect how hard you need to drive the amps. If I am sitting in near field at 1 meter distance from speakers, drawing say 1 W of power from my amp and hearing say 90 dB of direct sound, if you are sitting at 4 meters, you would be hearing only 78 dB of direct sound from that 1 W! You would need to draw something like 15 W from the same amp to get 90 dB to your ears (or more or less depending on room size, reflections etc).
With the 40’s you are going to be needing a bigger room and listening distance anyway, so you will be driving those ATC amps harder than me for sure, even if you don’t listen that loud.
If you are considering the 40’s, I really recommend a home trial. I was not able to tame their bass in a 4 X 5 meters space which has many huge openings to adjacent rooms and huge windows on one wall (but many others here are happy with them in various spaces).
Yeah the S-tweeter in the 20 was way better than the non-S in the 19. But the 20ASL had also other types of obviously better resolution, especially in the mids…
Nor what I hear every day or what I heard in my very extensive comparisons of active vs passive (driven by 250DR) SCM 40s both at my dealers and at home. And openness and soundstage depth are both so better with the actives at least to my ears. I can only conclude that different listeners just listen in different ways.
I listen to a good deal of classical music, ranging from solo violin to full orchestral and the active 40s give a physical presence and positional stability to instruments and voices that is utterly compelling and IMO unmatched at anything like their price.
Roger
hi @PeakMan. I agree with you on your ‘unmatched at anything like their price’ comment. But I think there was a review (maybe HiFi Critic?) that compared active and passive versions of ATC50s and the version with a NAP500 up them was marginally preferred. Of course, given the price of the NAP500, I’d expect it to bring something to the party that the active amp packs don’t, at around 15% of the passive amp’s cost. I suppose passive gives you that flexibility, at a price? Personally, I didn’t feel the need to search beyond the actives for performance once I’d heard them.
Sounds like home demo is the answer - as I stated when I compared 40 actives v passives my nap 300 was packed up for sale the same day! The actives in my room (which is tricky) were so much better than the passives.
I suspect a lot of performance is lost in the cross over of passive speakers…….
Gary
I think I bought these SCM12’s the year they were released, 2002 if memory serves.
They still amaze me every day. The sweet spot is small, but once you’re in it, the soundstage and sense of depth and space are great. I spoke to ATC about getting them serviced. Their reply was if they aren’t damaged and sound fine, then they don’t need servicing.
These speakers have been part of the living room for 20 years and are either playing music or TV for 3 or 4 hours a day.
The SCM19 has the same main driver as this, I don’t think anything has changed. But the tweeter I believe is now an in-house unit. Should I demo a pair… I don’t think so. These speakers sound great.
Daz
You’ve kept them in pristine condition too! Good work
Thank you, I’ve been really lucky. They’ve survived house moves, children, Dysons…
I re-tighten all the screws and bolts about once a year, and they get some beeswax on them when I have time. I still use the same NAC A5 that was gifted by the dealer when I bought the 282.
I may take ATC up on their offer of a service. The tweeters are still in stock, and apparently, the mains might benefit from a re-coning. The crossover parts are all still the same as modern models, so they could be swapped. But the guy at Gypsey Lane said they would put them on the test bench first to decide if anything really needed doing. And the quoted price was very reasonable. Tweeters are £67, new cones £130 each, plus 2 hours labour at £60. Cheaper than an oil change.
Daz
It’s heartening to know that 20-year old speakers can be serviced, and for a reasonable sum.
From what I have read about ATC, and which helped with my decision to go for ATC is that they are an “old school” company in a good way
I meant the comparison of 50PSL and 50ASL.
I’ve written about my experience with active vs passive ATC’s earlier. In my case, 40’s were so clearly inferior to 40A’s that there was simply no contest. The passives were driven with SN2 + HCDR. Nowadays I use 50ASL’s.
Very nice ! Are they Cherry veneer ?
Probably cost more to post! Tweeters I would think is a must and you could do them yourself. The main cones look so clean they ought to be good unless the suspension etc is getting tired
Yes they are. The new curved shape is when the cabinet work was out sourced abroad (please correct me if I’m wrong). The SCM12s were handmade in Gloucestershire. An old friend who now makes bespoke kitchens, used to make cabinets at ATC.
I was doing insurance stuff the other day and found the receipt. £799. Wowzers. But then again, my Seamaster Automatic was £899 the year before.
The curved cabinets of the entry series are sourced from overseas to reduce costs . All the Classic series cabinets are made close by to ATC I think and I’m pretty sure ATC bought the company who makes the cabinets ???
@Patu same amps as i have now. I did the comparison between the 50asl and psl with the ca2 pre and P2 power amp
So in my case all electronics are from ATC. In your case the passive ATC’s are driven by an amp from a different manufacturer. Thats a big difference.
ATC electronics should reduce the gap but even ATC themselves would tell you that the actives are superior to passives. Different flavor to each of us I guess.