I recently purchased a used pair of ATC SCM50ASLT loudspeakers. They were made in 2019 and are in perfect condition.
My pre-ATC system is:
Cambridge Audio R50 loudspeakers with original drive units (as far as I can tell) but Falcon Acoustics crossover
Michel Alecto mk2 monoblocks upgraded to 250w/channel spec
Trichord Orca pre-amp with Never Connected PSU
Chord Qutest DAC
Primare NP5 network streamer hard wired via Ethernet to a NAS
Chord Signature Reference loudspeaker cable
Chord Signature Tuned Array RCA analogue interconnects
Chord optical interconnect
Topping D70 Sabre Pro DAC (on test)
SMSL SU-10 DAC (on test)
The room is 5.58m x 3.63m with hard floor and soft furnishings. No room treatments yet.
The sound from this system is great, with great drive and dynamics and some sound staging and instrument separation. It plays music really well. However, with busy tracks the sound collapses, sound staging and instrument separation could be way better and bad recordings do sound terrible
I bought the ATCs as "end-game" loudspeakers but the results have been baffling. The ATCs fire across the 3.63m width of the room and have been moved around. Cables are balanced Mogami Neglex 2534 with Neutrik XLR connectors.
The improvement in the sound quality is marginal. There is some more detail and air and sound staging, while the bass (to my surprise) is more extended and punchier. However, the improvements do not make anywhere near a compelling case for keeping the ATCs over my previous system. The balance is different for sure and probably more even (but I have no in-room measurements yet) but that can be corrected.
How can this be? Is there something wrong with my ears?! Or is my previous system better than I realised? How can a £16k (RRP) pair of ATCs not blow away my hotch-potch ancient hifi?
Can I emphasise that this is a genuine post and not an anti-ATC post. I am just baffled and grateful for others' insight.
I had plans to build point-to-point external crossovers for the R50s, and that plus room measurements and DSP would I think make the previous system indistinguishable from the ATC system, and at a fraction of the cost of the SCM50ASLT.
My pre-ATC system is:
Cambridge Audio R50 loudspeakers with original drive units (as far as I can tell) but Falcon Acoustics crossover
Michel Alecto mk2 monoblocks upgraded to 250w/channel spec
Trichord Orca pre-amp with Never Connected PSU
Chord Qutest DAC
Primare NP5 network streamer hard wired via Ethernet to a NAS
Chord Signature Reference loudspeaker cable
Chord Signature Tuned Array RCA analogue interconnects
Chord optical interconnect
Topping D70 Sabre Pro DAC (on test)
SMSL SU-10 DAC (on test)
The room is 5.58m x 3.63m with hard floor and soft furnishings. No room treatments yet.
The sound from this system is great, with great drive and dynamics and some sound staging and instrument separation. It plays music really well. However, with busy tracks the sound collapses, sound staging and instrument separation could be way better and bad recordings do sound terrible
I bought the ATCs as "end-game" loudspeakers but the results have been baffling. The ATCs fire across the 3.63m width of the room and have been moved around. Cables are balanced Mogami Neglex 2534 with Neutrik XLR connectors.
The improvement in the sound quality is marginal. There is some more detail and air and sound staging, while the bass (to my surprise) is more extended and punchier. However, the improvements do not make anywhere near a compelling case for keeping the ATCs over my previous system. The balance is different for sure and probably more even (but I have no in-room measurements yet) but that can be corrected.
How can this be? Is there something wrong with my ears?! Or is my previous system better than I realised? How can a £16k (RRP) pair of ATCs not blow away my hotch-potch ancient hifi?
Can I emphasise that this is a genuine post and not an anti-ATC post. I am just baffled and grateful for others' insight.
I had plans to build point-to-point external crossovers for the R50s, and that plus room measurements and DSP would I think make the previous system indistinguishable from the ATC system, and at a fraction of the cost of the SCM50ASLT.