I almost missed this comment…
I thought active speakers still followed the amp/crossover/driver sequence.
Are you saying that the ATC active speakers feature a speaker crossover BEFORE the music signal reaches the “active” amplifier in each speaker?
This would require an internal (inside speaker) amp for each and every driver - with some pretty clever electronics to pull it all together.
If this is the case, this should make for a startlingly good sounding speaker!
Have I understood your comment correctly?
Absolutely this. My ATC SCM40A's each contain 3 amplifiers. The wiring from amp to driver is incredibly short and the crossover handles the low current of a signal rather than the higher current of an already amplified signal. If you hear active and passive versions of a speaker using the same drivers in the same cabinets, you'll be amazed by the difference it makes.
Should we assume the ATC internal amps are CLASS-D?
And run warm!They're actually AB.
I's not that recent. Properly active loudspeakers, rather than just powered passive loudspeakers, have been around for quite a while. In ATC's case their first active crossover was from 1982 and the first version of their ongoing three-way active crossover/amplifier pack has been in existence since 1985. I feel sure they cannot have been the first.This is something of a breakthrough, as an amp feeding a driver directly is almost unbeatable!
It sounds like - for the first time ever - active speakers have come of age. ...
They are high-bias class AB. The three-way amp packs take about 50W per side at idle (the SCM19A has two-way of course). They have a large heatsink extending from the rear of the loudspeaker between the grab handles to keep them cool. Compare active and passive in the second photograph here.... Should we assume the ATC internal amps are CLASS-D?
Does anyone have any recommendations for stands? ATC reckon they need to be heavy and not open frame.
Does anyone have any recommendations for stands? ATC reckon they need to be heavy and not open frame.
Does anyone have any recommendations for stands? ATC reckon they need to be heavy and not open frame.
Quite tempted to go for a pair of 19s in satin black with Partington broadside stands if I can source them.
Does anyone have any recommendations for stands? ATC reckon they need to be heavy and not open frame.