ATC SCM7 monitor – Disappearing Act

Intro

A few years aga, I used the renowned ATC SCM19 V2 as a reference speaker. The SCM19 was and is an exceptional speaker but unfortunately I could never quite get it right. Was it the room or the amp at the time, I still ask myself that very question. So it was with some doubts that I began the review of the ATC SCM7, the smallest bookshelf in the Entry Series. Will it be another struggle or will it be different this time? Let’s check it out!

Cute, is the first thing my daughter says when she first sees the speakers. The ATC SCM7 is only 30cm high, 17cm wide and 21cm deep. A compact and solid block of mdf weighing 7.5kg. There are four versions. Silk black, silk white, cherry and black ash. Importer Helios sent us the satin black version and it looks tough and elegant at the same time.

ATC speakers are not the easiest to drive. That’s because of their closed system, a trademark at ATC. The SCM7, like its stablemates, has no bassports. Nor is bass enhanced by other tricks, like passive radiators or what not. The enclosure is completely sealed and to get a pure reproduction with bass that is not affected by the room.

Amplification

Such a closed system has it’s merits but also some disadvantages. All ATC speakers are low efficiency speakers resulting in a sensitivity of 84dB. Pretty low because most monitors i get in for testing are mostly 87dB. So you will need a decent amplifier with sufficient power.

But that’s not enough. It has to be an amplifier that delivers stable power. Clean watts we call them at Alpha Audio. And the amp has to “match” the speaker. This speaker definitely stands by the motto “try before you buy”! Deep bass is not on the table with a frequency range of 60 Hz to 22 kHz but the bass that is present is punchy and tight. More on that later.