Roksan Caspian M2 + ATC SCM40 = Big mistake

[lukanio63]

There is a large rug in the middle of the room as well as curtains in the window and few pieces of furniture. It could be better damped but I really don't think this is it.
I will have to do a bit more research but heard good things about pmc speakers. Someone was recommending pmc twenty 23 to me before but there are quite expensive and I would not risk spending that much without listening to them first.

 

[Bluedroog]

have you checked that your speakers are wired up in phase ?

Good point, surprised no one else including myself thought to ask.

 

[Igloo Audio]

There is a large rug in the middle of the room as well as curtains in the window and few pieces of furniture. It could be better damped but I really don't think this is it.
I will have to do a bit more research but heard good things about pmc speakers. Someone was recommending pmc twenty 23 to me before but there are quite expensive and I would not risk spending that much without listening to them first.

I'm assuming you have bought the previous ATC SCM40, rather than than new curved cabinet, and do you have any idea of the speaker age? Are you driving the SCM40s with the Roksan integrated amplifier or by using a pre-out to the Roksan power amplifier? Have you tried both amplifier configurations?

Regards,
Peter

 

[muzzer]

Seeing both sets of speakers you have had are giving a harsh sound then it points to something wrong elsewhere in your system.

 

[lukanio63]

have you checked that your speakers are wired up in phase ?

Speakers are connected correctly. Just double checked them.

I'm assuming you have bought the previous ATC SCM40, rather than than new curved cabinet, and do you have any idea of the speaker age? Are you driving the SCM40s with the Roksan integrated amplifier or by using a pre-out to the Roksan power amplifier? Have you tried both amplifier configurations?

Regards,
Peter

I'm bi amping the speakers using an integrated to run MIDs and heights and the power amp for lf drivers.
It is the old square version of scm40 about 3 years old.

 

[Purité Audio]

There is a large rug in the middle of the room as well as curtains in the window and few pieces of furniture. It could be better damped but I really don't think this is it.
I will have to do a bit more research but heard good things about pmc speakers. Someone was recommending pmc twenty 23 to me before but there are quite expensive and I would not risk spending that much without listening to them first.

PMCs and ATCs are both pro monitor based, i would expect them both to have a fairly flat frequency response and therefore sound pretty similar placed in the same position, I would look at the room and speaker/listener placement first.
Keith

 

[lukanio63]

Seeing both sets of speakers you have had are giving a harsh sound then it points to something wrong elsewhere in your system.

I'm not sure what could be the problem. At first I thought it could be the CD player but I'm also running a logitech squeezebox and it gives the same effect. Don't think there is anything wrong with the as amps. Also tried two different speaker cables but with no success. I'm coming to the conclusion that it is not a good idea to match roksan with Atc.

 

[johnacurtis]

How about taking the power amp out of the mix and just use the integrated?
I too like the PMC speakers I demoed the Roksan gear with! I still think my WB Arcs may have the edge though! By the way, I bought these speakers secondhand, as would never be able to justify their new cost!
What speaker cable do you use by the way?

 

[lukanio63]

Nothing fancy. Its a good quality speaker cable supplied by my local dealer musicraft in Derby.

 

[Whaleblue]

Speakers are connected correctly. Just double checked them.


I'm bi amping the speakers using an integrated to run MIDs and heights and the power amp for lf drivers.
It is the old square version of scm40 about 3 years old.

Are the amps matched for output?

If not that would produce odd results!

Try single amping, probably easiest to just use the integrated to start with.

 

[johnacurtis]

At the end of the day it is only you who will know when it sounds as you want it to sound, so you may end up trying lots of kit before you find the system for you!
I did use chord epic cable in my system to try it and that just made it sound like the old naim system! That lasted about a week!
Must say that my a Rega RP8 through my Roksan amp sounds as good as I need it to be to my ears! Just listened to janis joplin and the black keys and just put a big grin on my face!
I'm sure you will get there too!

 

[tommyt]

You might like to listen to some spendors. I initially went for the a6r to go with my caspian m2 but in the end upgraded to the d7 because I wanted something a little more forward. The a6r offered a nice full but detailed sound that was easy to listen to and sympathetic to poorer recordings, more so than the proacs I auditioned them against. You could probably pick up a set of the older a6 for similar price to the scm40. See if you can listen first though.

 

[Whaleblue]

If the amp simplification doesn't solve anything I'd seriously reconsider whether your room is causing problems. You have a rug, but how much hard floor is exposed? What type of floor is it? Can you try the spekakers temporarily in a different room?

 

[Blzebub]

What do you mean?

You have a problem higher up the chain.

 

[merlin]

Most of the time I listen to it at very moderate / low volume levels. The room is about 3.5mx4.5m. Speakers are opposite the sofa close to the walls.

If I spent most of my time listening at low volume, ATC would not be the first speaker I personally would look towards. They work better at more realistic levels IME.

If the sofa is up against a wall, you might want to try damping the rear wall with some fabric.

 

[Tw99]

I've just moved into a new house and currently the lounge has bare wooden floor, a 4M long floor to ceiling window with no curtains, and little furniture. My SCM40s sound absolutely terrible! Really bright and spitty, and the sound overall is echoey and lacks definition.

But of course, it's not the speakers at all, it's the room... I am now on a quest for soft furnishings.

 

[MikeMA]

Hi! I'm in need of some advise. I own the roksan caspian m2 set up- integrated, power amp and cd player. I was running MA RX6 speakers with it but I felt that the speakers are not a great match for the amp. The sound was ok but not detailed enough and vocals were sometimes a bit harsh, especially female vocals. Having read lots of reviews I decided to upgrade my speakers and I got myself a pair of ATC SCM40's. The result is terrible. The vocals are even more harsh than before! The sound is more detailed and I quite like the low end that is produced by the speakers but there is far too much of the hights.
Could you please recommend perfect speaker match for the caspian m2 amps? Or perhaps different amp for my ATC's? I can not stand the vocals that are being produced right now. Please note I can only afford a second hand gear.
Best regards,
Lucas

Lucas,

Ive never heard the particular MA or ATC speakers you have, but had the Roksan Caspian M2 CDP and integrated amp (but not the separate power amp) for a while.

I used them with a variety of speakers, including Rogers LS3/5As, Spendor S5es, Harbeth HLP3 ESRs and M30s. I never found any of these combinations harsh or otherwise unpleasant sounding.

I bought the Roksan combination on the spur of the moment as a stop-gap while my main CDP was being repaired, and to be honest I wasn't expecting them to sound as good as they did. I was atually quite impressed both in terms of sound - particularly bass grip - and quality of construction. I only sold them because I had too much other stuff.

If it were me I'd be looking at room layout, furnishings and different speakers before changing CDP and amp

J

 

[Igloo Audio]

Speakers are connected correctly. Just double checked them.


I'm bi amping the speakers using an integrated to run MIDs and heights and the power amp for lf drivers.
It is the old square version of scm40 about 3 years old.

How about taking the power amp out of the mix and just use the integrated?
I too like the PMC speakers I demoed the Roksan gear with! I still think my WB Arcs may have the edge though! By the way, I bought these speakers secondhand, as would never be able to justify their new cost!
What speaker cable do you use by the way?

Are the amps matched for output?

If not that would produce odd results!

Try single amping, probably easiest to just use the integrated to start with.

Exactly, try the integrated on it's own to rule-out the power amp / bi-amping and then we can turn to the speakers and room.

Peter

 

[Musicraft]

Hi Lucas

I'll call you later on today.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[hp1]

The efficiency of scm 40 is 85db ,its probably got L pads on the hf and mid to get them to a similar level to the bass unit .
I think You are going to need an amplifier with a much higher current delivery than a roksan intergrated to get them to sound wholesome.
Biamping wont help either,probably be worse.