Buy the speakers…….register with a Chiropractor
Thinking about the SCM11 (85dB @ 1W @ 1metre) for my Nova (80W). Any experience/views? Appreciate that ATC recommend a min of 75W but as it is 8 ohms with fairly flat impedance curve am hoping it will be ok. Going for a demo next week.
I think the ATC SCM 11 will work well with the Nova.
A fine set of speakers and look forward to hearing how your demo goes.
Amazing combination with a Nait XS2 (70w),no problems driving them at all as flat impedance curve and benign phase angles apparently.
SCM11s work well with some boundary reinforcement and are in my opinion are fantastic speakers.
In fact I sold some recently and have just bought another (used) pair. The 6 year warranty is transferable if you go used.
There is a great review in HiFi Critic in which they are rated very highly.
Enjoy the demo.
I’ve used this combo and it worked well but you dont want to hear the SN3 is better,
The thread has now taken an unexpected turn and and started to make me wonder if I fancy a pair of SCM11s!
oh you do!!..l as you know i went from 7 to 11’s pretty quick… the 11 is not quite as lighting fast as the 7 but deffo richer and more rounded with the extra few lower Hz making a good difference… its still no slouch tho!
Agghhhh!!
I asked Richard from ATC which model was easiest to drive for my parents Atom , he said the 11’s . They chose on the wall 7’s which sound excellent and plenty of volume .
I had this combination and was extremely pleased, changed the 11’s for 40’s to get more bass and better mids.
I was wondering about the ATC HTS7 for the bedroom system. Good to know they work well.
They are now at my friends house run by a Unitilite , that’s a really fun little system . My mum who is very very particular didn’t like the silhouette behind the grills on the HTS … so they bought some Neat Iotas instead which work much better aesthetically for them .
I bet. My SN3 will stay with the Kantas. So it’s definitely a match for the Nova I’m looking for…. for now….
I have not heard the 40a as yet as I changed my amp from 250 to an accuphase amp which made my 40s sing I do agree you need at least a 300 to control the bass and power them properly! I may well have gone down the active route otherwise! But my system works so well I couldn’t imagine changing it. I think the amp is all important to match correctly if you don’t go active!
I’ve just demoed the ATC SCM 11 with my Nova. I also listened to ProAc Tab 10, Proac D2R, B&W 706, Dynaudio Emit 20 and… the real surprise, the Neat Iota Alphas.
I’m in a bit of a spin. I really liked the ProAc Tabs, lovely sound, soft but present, precise but very easy to listen to. The speakers are for the lounge so low level listening is an important attribute. D2Rs definitely needed more power, the Nova couldn’t cope, the sound was good but the the Tabs were a better match.
B&W706, within 3-4 seconds it was a no. Just not what I’m looking for. Lacking the cohesion of the Tabs, too bright for me and bass, whilst pretty decent, just not fast and tight enough.
Dynaudio Emit 20 were also a pleasant surprise. Good bass for the price but I think too much bass for my polite, chilled-evening-with-a-glass-of-red-type-purposes. If I was in the market for a good all-rounder at a reasonable price, I’d consider these.
Then the ATC 11. Exactly what I had read (a lot) about. Clear but not shrieking, precise but not closed, fast and pretty deep. No need for the sub then. Played well with all the music I threw at it from Melody Gardot to Chemical Brothers to Sault to Dire Straits to (my favorite current test track) Fishies by Cat Empire. Nova was in control but of course an SN3 would be better.
There was a slight issue though and I’d value some feedback. Towards the end of the session (about 40 mins) I got a bit of listening fatigue. I asked the dealer and he said they had about 40 hours on them. Have others experienced this and does it settle after more hours?
Then, the pleasant but problematic surprise- the Neat Iota Alphas. Within seconds I could picture them playing away and accompanying that glass of red perfectly. The ribbon tweeter is very impressive and the Nova controlled these little beauties very very well. Bizarrely, for such a small speaker, I wondered whether there may be a tad too much bass for my purposes. But low level listening proved to be very enjoyable.
So… a real headache. I need to listen to the Proac Tab 10 Signature version and then perhaps revisit the ATC SCM 11 and the Neats.
Those Neats are wonderful and work in many systems/ rooms. IME, they do want 20cm+ behind them and a bit more to the sides, and do want a bit of toe-in. Because of firing downward, they could also be carpet/ floor-dependent, though I have heard them with a range of things underneath them and always been impressed.
The ATCs and Tabs may well beat both them for tonal neutrality and stereo image a bit, but I’d be surprised if the Neats were not ahead on involvement and fun. Let us know what you pick!
There’s a tendency with sealed box designs to think ‘just plonk them down almost anywhere, they are gonna be great.’ Not so simple in my experience. Experimentation with positioning is worthwhile. I have found that my SCM7s benefited from moving them closer to the back wall. Subjectively, this made the bass and mids fuller. I had previously thought they could be a bit tiring and toppy. Hope that helps with the SCM11s you are considering.
@JamesBKK So I would say, whatever distance your dealer has behind the SCM11s, next time you hear them, halve it and see what you think…
Of course, you might find that everything changes when you get the speakers home and set them up in a different room. Good advice from Chris above about positioning, and especially distance from the wall behind, but ask your dealer if you can try at least one or two pairs at home before you commit.
Thanks all. Very helpful as usual. Will try and get a home demo.