Yes, yew. My favorite finish.
Hi @Pylod. The front baffles are 0.8m from the wall behind them. The room is about 9mx6m with a ceiling around 5m. The 50s drive the whole space with ease, but still sound great a low volumes late at night.
not a great picture but my old SCM50As and the very same pair that are currently for sale, as mentioned above
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Thank you so much! 80cm from the front buffles means they are approx 30 cm from the backwall on the rear.
I have considered the 50`s as well. But my room is just 4x5 meters with a 3 meter ceiling. But afraid of overpowering with bass.
No possibility to get some on loan, here where I live 
Cherry doesn’t fade, it’s one of those woode that darkens with age, especially when exposed to light. It also becomes more orange as it darkens, which may or may not appeal.
Some wood finishes contain a UV filter which can slow down the darkening process considerably - a bit like putting sunblock on your skin.
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Sorry to correct you. However, with the ATC SCM40 in cherry finish, they do lighten. If left in strong light, especially direct sunlight, then they will lighten or bleach in colour. Mine were the Mk2’s and bought new in the first year of release. Maybe the veneers on the 40’s have since changed? I know the 50’s have a superior veneer finish. However, I would not wish to leave them in strong light, unless I was guaranteed the light would not effect the finish. They are beautifully finished. 
They must have some very unusual chemicals in the finish if they are lightened by sunlight, as cherry simply doesn’t do that.
My room is the same size than yours, except the ceiling which is 2.6m high. The Scm50A placed against the long wall were a bit too much here. It would have been acceptable for low level listening, but for normal listening level (70-75 dB) they offer too much bass here. The Scm40 should be a better match imho.
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I totally agree with you. It was almost like the effect of applying bleach to some material. I would say the speakers were subjected to the maximum of 6 hours of sunshine per day in a bay window open opining, weather dependent. I just wanted people to be warned, just in case. The one major difference between the 40’s and 50’s, besides the quality of the veneers, is the coats of lacquer that some 50 finishes get.
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I should have said worried about Cherry discolouring tbh Chris . You’re right that Cherry tends to darken but as No Naim mentions I have seen some that have noticeably lightened . This is most likely due to poor storage in dealers rather than the wrong lacquer I’d say .
Also looking through the pictures on this thread , all the Cherry models look excellent and well kept so probably nothing to worry about.
It is not the wrong lacquer, but the how many coats of lacquer some of the 50 models get, as compared to the 40 cherry finish. I only have one photo from those days, but it does not show the effect of sunlight. All I can say, if all things are still equal with ATC 40 cherry finish, then you have been warned about the effects of direct sunlight
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We are now well aware that ATC loudspeakers have at least one thing in common with orcs: sunlightintolerance.
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@Pylod ATCs have a reputation for working well close to a wall, particularly the non ported models, although my dealer warned that positioning relative to the wall does make a difference. I got these speakers because another customer of my dealer passed on them and went for the 100s instead because the 50s lacked a bit in the bass department. Prior to the opportunity to get the 50s for a good price, I was getting the 40s. I never actually heard the 40s at home, but at the dealers, in a fairly small dem room they beat all comers and didn’t overpower the space at all. Good luck with your search, I have a feeling ATC will definitely have something for you.
One thing I’m mindful of is a rumoured cut in UK VAT by 5% which would save £750 off RRP on 50’s.
I would have thought any wood will lighten in direct sunlight. The likes of cherry will definitely darken in normal ambient light but not in direct sunlight ime.
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That’s been my experience with active 40s. I have found them a lot more room-tolerant than my previous Kudos C20s, which I tried and failed to get to work in my room. However, they still benefit from playing around with positioning and moving away from walls where that is possible. I ended up shifting them from firing across to firing down my rectangular room.
It was well worth it in the end, though.
Roger
Here’s my 50ASL’s driven with Linn ADSM/3. Ironically, going active with ATC’s is the reason I don’t currently have Naim front end. Still waiting for 372 to be released though 
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Thank you @Monkey_Jim and @Nico for your thoughts. Will def look closer into those classics. Maybe also after a chance to hear them some place first. The middledome looks just so intriguing.
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