The Sound
Contents
Your editor is a fan of two-way monitor speakers. And preferably as neutral as possible. Revel, Dutch & Dutch, Grimm, TAD…. that kind of work. A three-way that is really spot on and coherent, is rare. This ATC SCM40 sounds bizarrely well balanced. In fact we hear no transition between bass, mids and high. And that is very impressive for a three-way system.
Although ATC has already shown that they really can do it. The SCM40A can do that too: a tight and defined bass, silky but detailed mid and a deliciously airy high.
And here we hit the core of this speaker: it’s so smoooooth! What a flow we hear. The Bryston may not be the most refined power amplifier on earth, the match with this ATC SCM40 is great. Everything is just right. It is tight, detailed, open, fast and silky. And partly because of that, everything is playable: from ballad to electronic and pop. Now you have to take into account that it stops around 45 Hz; so basement deep bass is not really there, but the fact is: the bass is beautiful. Pierced, fast and pointed. And stilk, it does not go deeper than the Focal that uses a port to get to that lower regions. But that in turn causes a little more distortion and loss of detail.
But we are guessing that this ATC SCM40 is enough for many a living room. It sounds great: 20 Hz. But you also need to be able to release the energy in the room. And in many rooms a 20 Hz wave (or a quarter of it) doesn’t even fit, so the neighbors are treated to rattling glassware and you think…. “Now, where is that bass?”. Not very practical.
Sound stage
Besides coherence, imaging is also a striking strength of these ATCs. We hear a huge image. Both in width and to the front. There is also depth behind the speakers, but it goes – in our room – mainly to the front. What we like; it provides more involvement. Voices are beautifully stable between the floorstanders. And the various layers are also well separated from each other, which makes listening interesting.
Detail
This is a crazy one… the ATC SCM40 doesn’t seem like a resolution miracle, but everything is audible and easily trackable. We feel that the ATC SCM40A – the active version – has a little more focus on the midrange, making it a bit more audible. With the passive version, the midrange is tuned a little more relaxed and the resolution is a little less. But still it is very easy to follow different layers – we are talking about nuances – and it is perfectly possible to have long sessions without getting tired. And that is something that certainly not all speakers do equally well!
Feature mismatch
A moment to a striking mismatch. Namely, it goes thoroughly wrong with the Purifi Eigentakt. The problem is that there is just bass lacking. The midrange and treble are fine, but the bass is bare and rough. Surely that’s more common with Class D and tricky speakers. Where the Bryston 4B just keeps delivering power. The Eigentakt just seems out of breath and empty. So beware with Class D and this ATC. Our advice: make sure you have a nice fat amplifier that can really deliver power. Then the ATC SCM40 just treats you to audio heaven.
(RE: ATC SCM-40 Review)
Gentleman: A nice review to a often-reviewed loudspeaker.
You mentioned that:
” The Bryston may not be the most refined power amplifier on earth”
If you are referring to the 4B-3/Cubed?, I believe you should look elswewhere for the source of any “lack of refinement”.
Also, the loudspeaker was tested/measured, a on/off axis response abberation was noted, yet we/ the reader are not provided any test/frequency response graphs. It’s difficult to offer any feedback to a ‘response’ graph when none is made available. Howwever, ATC themselves should be queried regarding the FR deviation/s noted.
Additionally, at E6,300 (Euro)/pair, it’s disappointing to see the use of the most common/cheapest speaker connector terminals used on the SCM-40; that connector type is seen on very inexpensive loudspeakers. Or am I mistaken -regarding speaker terminal quality?
Finally, at/around 6,300 Euro, consider the KEF ‘REF-1’ stand-mount loudspeaker for audition/ review. It’s always instructive to add/compare another highly rated loudspeaker in a similar price range.
pete jasz
If you go to the secition “Measurements and Samples” in the index, you find a gallery with all the measurements.
The Bryston 4B SST3 is a very nice amp, but – in our opinion – not comparable with – for example – a Pass labs power amp in terms of finesse. That’s what I meant with that.
I think termination was fine. I’m not impressed with very expensive terminals. If they are solid and make a good connection, that’s fine with mee. Big and bulky terminals don’t sound better… 🙂
We will try the REF-1 for sure… The R7 was also a very decent speaker.
(RE: ATC SCM-40 Review)
Gentleman: A nice review to a often-reviewed loudspeaker.
You mentioned that:
” The Bryston may not be the most refined power amplifier on earth”
If you are referring to the 4B-3/Cubed?, I believe you should look elswewhere for the source of any “lack of refinement”.
Also, the loudspeaker was tested/measured, a on/off axis response abberation was noted, yet we/ the reader are not provided any test/frequency response graphs. It’s difficult to offer any feedback to a ‘response’ graph when none is made available. Howwever, ATC themselves should be queried regarding the FR deviation/s noted.
Additionally, at E6,300 (Euro)/pair, it’s disappointing to see the use of the most common/cheapest speaker connector terminals used on the SCM-40; that connector type is seen on very inexpensive loudspeakers. Or am I mistaken -regarding speaker terminal quality?
Finally, at/around 6,300 Euro, consider the KEF ‘REF-1’ stand-mount loudspeaker for audition/ review. It’s always instructive to add/compare another highly rated loudspeaker in a similar price range.
pete jasz
If you go to the secition “Measurements and Samples” in the index, you find a gallery with all the measurements.
The Bryston 4B SST3 is a very nice amp, but – in our opinion – not comparable with – for example – a Pass labs power amp in terms of finesse. That’s what I meant with that.
I think termination was fine. I’m not impressed with very expensive terminals. If they are solid and make a good connection, that’s fine with mee. Big and bulky terminals don’t sound better… 🙂
We will try the REF-1 for sure… The R7 was also a very decent speaker.