Thanks for inputs but it all sounds a bit “grand designs” and no guarantee it will work…
Current approach is covering the wall with acoustic panels from GIK but thanks for other ideas albeit not too practical.
Gary
Significant price cuts on all ATC models here in the States are now in effect. So much so that I could now buy my 19s for cheaper than what I paid nearly 4 years ago - and by $700.
AFAICT, appears US pricing closed the gap on UK pricing where significant import costs have caused a spread pricing far in excess of exchange rates.
Maybe I’ll upgrade to 40s later this year. Hmm….
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It is very similar in output and dimensions - just a little taller.
Seriously considered the Hobbit - very nice stove, in the end we went for the Town & Country Alandale.
We now have 3 (different) stoves from them…and our local installer stocks/services them.
A common comment in the various reviews is you can better the built in amplification BUT you have to spend a heck of a lot more. ISTR there was a review of 40A vs 40+20K of separate amplification. Yes the 40+separates was better but at significantly more money. Ditto the 50 vs 50A: The active version hits well above it’s price ticket.
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I idly wonder how SCM150aslts would stack up against the very (well, relatively)popular Kudos 808.
Realistically, £27k-ish vs £50k-ish, including power amp.of commensurate quality respectively.
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You maybe able to beat the ATC amplification but I suspect a lot of performance is lost in the cross over is how always looked at it
Gary
Hi Gary
I have 40s in a similar sized room with a couple of Tritraps in the front corners and a couple of monster bass traps behind listening position. I do get some bass inconsistency but it’s not too bad. You have a good amount of acoustic treatment, did you incorporate range limiters to prevent overdamping of the highs and mids?
You surely don’t eat roast hobbit, do you?
Roger
Yes, I do think the active crossover in the various active ATCs I have heard adds something that’s hard to replicate with a passive crossover even with a vey good external power amp, at least for the sort of music I mostly listen to. There is a precision and stability to the location of instruments that renders orchestral music, for example, that much closer to what I hear in a good concert hall seat and which adds a good deal to my musical enjoyment.
But others have different priorities in their listening and will likely make different choices when choosing amps and speakers. What matters surely is to end up with a system that maximises each individual’s personal satisfaction.
Roger
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Hi Stu, no I didn’t, my room challenge is more that the bass gets sucked out, probably as a result of the construction. When I engaged GIK they didn’t mention range limiters per se and focused on the first reflection points (side walls and and ceiling and corners). I suspect to really optimise I would need to take some measurements through REW but am yet to do so - not very techie but prob will do as within my room I can hear the benefits of the treatment. That said I still think more bass response would improve things but I have a second Rel 510 on its way so will let that bed in and then work out the REW software for final optimisation.
I would much rather my room was “plonk and play” but sadly it has needed a lot of effort……
Gary
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Thanks for the reply. Fascinating how different room structure and shape has such a profound effect on bass response.
I have played around with numerous DIY panels as well as the GIK panels and have realised how easy it is to overdamp highs and mids. Sounds like your room issues are vastly different to mine however.
My listening position is towards the back of the room which can give some uneven bass response (although not as bad as previously ported speakers I have owned).
I have realised with experimentation and some research that to get even bass response from that position would require significant treatment.
More recently I have changed my listening position to the 38% rule which has given a much more even response. I can also reduce the volume which excites the room less.
I’d be interested to know your thoughts on how the actives compare to the passives if you have made that comparison?
What I find something of a conundrum as an outside observer, is that the SCM50aslt were too much for your room, yet the same room has led you to acquiring 2 hefty REL501’s to augment the LF output of the 40’s ( which actually can deliver quite a bit of clean bass).
Guys, do yourselves a favor and buy/borrow UMIK-1 measuring microphone and install REW on your laptop. Take few sweeps or RTA measurements from around the sweet spot and see where the problem lies when you say “the speaker is too much for my room”. Most probably there’s 1-2 nasty room modes which give you the feeling of something like 50’s not fitting in the room. These room mode peaks are the most easy thing to fix with DSP. If you use Roon to play your music, just use the integrated DSP with filters to tame down those room mode peaks and you’re done. No need to fix the whole frequency range, the result is usually better by only fixing the real problem. There’s other options besides Roon also. Obviously fixing an analog signal is slightly more complex procedure. I play digital only.
I have ~34m2 listening space and even 40A’s woke up the room mode. This same room mode was obviously there with 50ASL’s also. I used to run Linn with their Space Optimisation, until I measured what the Space Optimisation actually does. It somewhat corrected the room mode but it did so many wrong things at the same time. So it’s better to just measure and do the corrections in the REW or something similar.
Btw. UMIK-1 costs under 100 euros. It’s one of the best purchases I’ve made in this hobby and an insane bargain when you consider the tens of thousands spent in over 20 years I’ve done this. Even if you wouldn’t use it to make DSP filters, you actually see what’s happening in the room. With real time analyzer, you see what happens when you move the speakers. It makes speaker positioning very much easier.
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How do you implement the UMIK readings ? In Roon ?
Not worrying whether your amplifier is up to the job is another huge bonus with ATC active’s for me , it certainly helps with upgraditis .
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The Rel is a sub bass system not a sub woofer per se. The 50’s did put to much energy in the room but the 40’s weren’t as cohesive as I wanted them to be but worked better than the 50’s (2 dealers and all the forum favourite speakers were home tried and all sounded dreadful) - I was getting lots of information but it was not presented nicely….the Rel (now awaiting a second for stereo to be delivered) resolved a lot of that for me and the final step will be to play with REW to see if I can add finishing touches with room treatment.
I had no desire to do all of this as for me it’s about the music not the technical faffing but to quote a well travelled phrase “ I moved house and the sound collapsed” beggars belief how much difference a room makes….
Gary
My key learn is speakers need to match the room so the only answer can be do a demo. In my room the actives v passives with nap300 full superlumina was an easy decision - the actives were streets ahead and by selling my old speakers, Kanta 2’s, nap300 & super lumina it was an upgrade that made me a few quid.
I like the simplicity of actives (less cables / boxes etc.) and with Naim doing streaming pre amps I have options to go new classic assuming they do a higher end 222.
The whole room thing is fascinating hence my counsel of home demo is king!
Gary
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Thanks Patu, I spent 2 years of faffing and will take your counsel re REW. I think my issue was well described my another member - my side wall is a stud wall back to back with another stud wall with a 75cm gap making it like a massive drum skin, the other side wall was a fire place which again has been plaster boarded over ergo a gap
I played “ you want it darker” last week and the wall shudder made my pictures fall off the wall!
I’m not techie so will have a chat with my dealer for some support but keen to see what REW does.
Will report back
Thanks
This tutorial is very easy to follow, even with zero experience (like I had before I followed this tutorial). Nowadays I know little bit more but I still think I’m a novice in measuring.
The tutorial advices for full range correction so don’t go that far. But there’s great info about the measurement process and how to make the corrections. Just limit it to under 200hz or even under 100hz and adjust to your own liking.
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