happychappy
Happy Member
A black pair went on eBay the other day for this price, I wonder if they are the same ones Isobarik is referring to?
ATC SCM 40A Active Speakers
- Thread starter Isobarik
- Start date
A black pair went on eBay the other day for this price, I wonder if they are the same ones Isobarik is referring to?
I have been reading this thread with interest and the downsides you mention turn me off. Because of age/illness I can no longer bend down and reach power switches located on the rear of equipment. I currently turn my kit on/off at the mains switch, after switching them to standby. I wonder how risky that is?, Does a remote control power switch compromise the performance of your system?
John Phillips
pfm Member
I really like the SCM40As. I auditioned them almost seven years ago. They were on my short list to fix some problems I perceived with the smaller Proac floor-standers I had. The Proacs were very good. I had had them for quite a few years. But some problems I perceived gradually emerged, including:
1. Above a certain volume I felt uncomfortable with the Proac sound. It got "thick" and lost detail. I suspected that they started to run out of steam and began audibly level-compressing the audio. Most of the time this was no problem but when I felt like a little more volume they didn't work as well as I wanted.
2. Bass was remarkably deep for their size but not very tight. In particular the bottom end of piano was not very realistically reproduced compared to concert hall experience.
The SCM40As fixed the above (and more). IMHO they gave a closer approximation to live music experience. Furthermore, they seemed to give a very good insight into what was on the recording. I observe that some may think this reveals too much, making poorer recordings "unlistenable". I didn't find this. And some seem to perceive clean high-volume reproduction as "thin" and needing high volume to "come alive". I didn't find this.
I eventually bought SCM50As because I decided I would never forgive myself for not having the SCM40As' bigger brothers. They say that "you never regret your luxuries." I certainly don't.
One of the advantages of active drive according to ATC is
”An active filters performance is not changed by the temperature of the drive unit voice coil as they are not directly connected to them. A passive crossovers performance (filter shape and crossover frequency) will change with voice coil temperature which, increases with SPL (input power). This leads to passive loudspeaker systems having a slightly different sound when driven at low SPL compared to high SPL. The performance of active ATC systems changes very little with drive level.”
Active Amplification | ATC Loudspeakers
atc.audio
TheFlash
Reiki Audio
You wouldn't even consider my vintage Pioneer Urushi stack, my 10+ year old dCS Puccini or even the aforementioned Arcam A49 then.
Personally, I tend to focus more on engineering quality and manufacturer reputation than on warranty, as these two factors suggest strongly the likelihood of an issue occurring in the first place and the cost and hassle of sorting it if it does. ATC are right up there on both these counts. But it's your money.
manicatel
pfm Member
I wouldn’t have thought switching off at the mains would cause any damage. But a chat with an ATC dealer or emailing ATC would confirm one way or another.
I’ve not found any negatives using the remote power switches. I have tried not using them but didn’t pick up on any/much difference. But to be fair I don’t really go in for believing I fancy mains cables & fuses etc. So I’m less likely to be overly worried about a switch in the mains route. Others may disagree with that.
Riotvan
Snoofer in the Woofer
I’ve switched off my two actives and subs with one switch for years and never had issues. Now i only switch the two subs with it but again no issues. As long as it’s a good switch the equipment won’t care. It‘s designed to not blow up when suddenly losing power, how that happens it could care less. If you’re talking something with standby functionality like an Oled tv that does a pixel refresh after going to standby then yeah it’s different.
Salamander
pfm Member
I'll assume these are the ones now sold. Looks like you could have missed out on a bargain.
2018,ATC SCM 40A Active Speakers In Ash Black, Very Good Condition - RRP £7,750 | eBay
These speakers provide exceptional sound quality and are perfect for any audiophile. The front right and left speakers feature XLR audio inputs and a wired connectivity option, ensuring a seamless connection to your music source.
www.ebay.co.uk
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John Phillips
pfm Member
I use that mains power approach here. It's just one data point but there have been no problems here with equipment reliability and no problems with sound.
My entire audio system has been plugged into a mains block that is turned on and off by a remote-controlled mains switch since 2008. For the last 6.5 years that has included active ATC loudspeakers. The system has been turned on for one or two sessions most days, otherwise off. My universal remote control is set up as per your practice to put kit with a standby mode into standby first before turning off the mains.
FYI, ATC publish this in their electronics FAQs:
10. Should I leave my ATC active loudspeakers switched on all the time?
If you are using your ATC active loudspeakers regularly then leave them powered on. However, if they are not going to be used for a longer period of time – for example inactive for 6 hours or more – then it is best to power them off. This will help to extend the life of the components and also reduce energy consumption.
I think studios who use anyone's active loudspeakers would be very unhappy if there was a significant reliability problem with mains power-on and power-off. I assume that was considered when ATC designed and launched the integrated amp pack in 1985, before ATC was "discovered" outside the audio professionals' world. And the SCM50 and above amp pack been continuously updated since. It is now on at least release 13 so I assume any issues are long since eliminated.
Isobarik
pfm Member
I did have these in mind. But not too disappointed. There will be others, a friend of mine knows someone who's selling his in the very near future.I'll assume these are the ones now sold. Looks like you could have missed out on a bargain.
2018,ATC SCM 40A Active Speakers In Ash Black, Very Good Condition - RRP £7,750 | eBay
These speakers provide exceptional sound quality and are perfect for any audiophile. The front right and left speakers feature XLR audio inputs and a wired connectivity option, ensuring a seamless connection to your music source.www.ebay.co.uk
Going down to Telford on Wednesday to have a listen, I'll be taking some records and CD's with me. I believe they are the Mk2's.
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Isobarik
pfm Member
It depends on how much the 40A's will cost me! I haven't a price as of yet.
This isn’t really true. The classic range is obviously great but the price difference is huge. The 40s are a great speaker in their own right.
Tis the way of pfm, chap posts wanting to spend £3K, gets told to spend at least double that
If you’re happy with Naim NAC42.5, you can use it with 40A. However, you’ll need a “custom” cable to connect your Naim Hicap to 40A.
I had used an active pre with RCA to 19A(XLR), it worked great. Currently using passive preamp(RCA) to 19A XLR. So not hear anything odd and happy with what I can hear.
Have had the 19A since 2018. No, I did not stray and only the 20A interest me, so far.