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What hifi system would you choose up to 25k

Markus S said:
I'll cop out of that. I've never heard 150s, for once, and there was more than a year between the 110s and the 25s. Completely different systems and rooms as well. My impression was that the 110s sound a bit more agile than my memory of the 100s, but take that with a truckload of salt.
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Ok thanks, I'll hopefully have a listen to them soon.
 
vln said:
PaulieGB,


As many others here have suggested, I would go for active speakers as you can avoid a lot of headache chasing the perfect matching power amplifier (whatever that means) and speaker cables - when you buy an active speaker, you get a perfectly tuned all in one setup with the inherent superiority of an active XO. I would spend the majority of your money on the speakers.

As for the rest, I'd really just buy a competent pre amp that has the features you need and move on. If you only use digital sources, then obviously a PreDAC like the Benchmark DAC2 might appeal, or a Linn DSM, or any preamplifier with a digital input - your actual digital source can then be something quite cheap like a Sonos or a squeeze box.

You seem to have set your mind on ATCs and owning some myself, I am not going to argue with you. Two things:

1.) you seem to have had a demo at ATC themselves? It is unfortunate that they only had the 25 and the 150 on display, and nothing in between - choosing between the 50, 100 and 150 is dependent on your room size and how loud you listen; I have 100s in a 22.5m2 room, but I rarely listen very loud so I get away with it

2.) the 50/100/150 all have a slightly better mid range driver and (I think) a slightly better tweeter than the 25; also ask about the forthcoming tweeter which is designed by ATC themselves and should be retrofittable to the 50/100/150, but not to the 25s, due to space issues

Best of luck with your quest!


Samuel.
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Hi,
It was at ATC headquarters , I did see the 50's and 100's there, I will defiantly have listen to the full range before committing.
Cheers,
 
Cesare said:
Just to add some more options, have you considered ATC subs? You could try the 25s/50s/100s with a sub (or subs)... This may give you the acreage of driver without the wider 150 baffle which might be more to your taste, or better in your room.

Fox, you mentioned newer Questeds as being not as good as the old. I think i've only heard their current V3310 ones (assuming they haven't changed in 5-10 years or whenever I heard them), and thought they were absolutely spiffing.
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Hi ,

I am considering subs, the engineer there does suggest buying the larger speakers instead of the 25's and adding a sub. I would still like to have a listen though.
 
Some second hand AVI ADM40's.

I'd also upgrade them with the new uprated tweeters and add a pair stereo AVI subwoofers that are hidden from sight inside a custom made TV stand.

The rest of the money would be spent on a second hand mid-range AV receiver, a big TV, a custom silent running gaming/media PC and a pair of AVI DM5 speakers for the rear surrounds.


EDIT - and a VW Polo. :D
 
I would just pull the trigger on a used system you fancy, have a play about, then go from there.......

(into a perpetual cycle of box swapping?! :) )
 
Fox said:
Nah, Quested doesn't have those drivers anymore and he's gone into a new range that are better than Genelec but sub SCM, he had a brief moment in the 80s when he totally nailed it and then it was gone.... Anyway the original of ATCs kept a house from falling on me. I like that about them, they have a good story and they all work well together, big subs, big centre, big mains big rears: seven boxes of pure awesome. Doubt I could afford to move as the quested are 300liters... each with five drivers per box. Truly mindless power and horrific to manage. But I did get the centre speaker looking like Peter's current midfield design.

I think eventually I would have given up on polishing the Isoturds but god what a palaver, just ditching them and the stealth amps led to Big Trouble in Little Anglesey.

It all worked out for the best.
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£25,000 would buy you a very nice custom install from Quested. Custom made speakers and room treatment all designed and installed by Quested. :cool:

That's my lottery win system.
 
paulieGB said:
Thanks Andy,
I'll look into getting home demos, that does sound like a sensible idea.
I'm really looking forward to listening to these speakers again.
They were on stands in the demo and the mid was ear height.
I'm not interested in using these for movies either, I'm just a little cautious as to buying the 25's and later getting the itch to get the larger speakers, so a sub has been an idea of mine.
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This the question you have to ask yourself - what's more likely: you buy the larger speaker and regret not buying the smaller one, or vice versa?

This is the thread I started when I had to decide between the 50s and the 100s:

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=120812

There are many more ATC threads on this forum, and also many dealing with which preamplifier to use with them, so it's worthwhile to dig around for a bit.
 
If you are looking for an active Studio monitor, then also have a look at the SP Acoustics SP1 active monitors

http://www.spacoustics.co.uk/page19.html

You may not recognise the brand yet, but Steve Phillips was the senior designer at AE for many years and has also worked at ATC. He is now one of the senior designers at Kurt Mueller, who are the world’s largest manufacturer of speaker drive units.

His studio monitors are now replacing B&W Nautilus and 801s in several top London recording studios. They have had rave reviews in both the pro and hi-fi markets. They are made to order and so can be customised to ensure that SWMBO is happy.
 
If you can, try and get a listen to some of PMC's "no compromise" AML2's on heavy stands if you've been listening to ATC 25s.(http://www.pmc-speakers.com/products/professional/active/aml2). Check out - http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/pmc_unveils_new_aml2_active_reference_monitor/

I've had the 25s and, whilst wonderful, I found the "oil rigs" tricky to accommodate. The AML2s on the other hand are dead easy and are very similar to the ATCs to me; I think the bottom end is a bit better on the AML2s and you get Bryston amps too.

As for the rest, I'd get an Auralic Vega and a Mac as a source, stick them in a nice rack and use an ipad/iphone to control it - job done. Also get some good room treatment.

I do hanker after some ATC 50s but they'd need to be pretty special to oust the AML2s.

Spend the rest on going in a Mig 29 somewhere...
 
paulieGB said:
Hi ,

I am considering subs, the engineer there does suggest buying the larger speakers instead of the 25's and adding a sub. I would still like to have a listen though.
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Subs are interesting, even with the bigger ATC speakers... when used here with SCM100s as simple stereo (L/R) bass extension you get to keep the. SCM100s but add a nice extension to the bass that takes them into a different to SCM150 territory, hearing my own recordings on SCM150s and SCM100s plus sub, I can hear precisely what the sub brings to the party and it's quite a different presentation, 150s rumble but 100s plus sub rumble with a lot more texture around the sounds, its as if the bass cone of the 150 is getting close to xmax. The 12" doesn't get stressed and hands the really tough stuff to the unported sub.

Used like this, I have a feeling the standard amp packs are having a much easier time with 100s than 150s, the subs get their own 600W amp and the 100's tri-amp only gets to see a 12" driver as specced, (the same amp packs as the 50/100s are used to drive the 150's 15" driver and in a standard -- not anni 150) so by adding dual active 15" subs you already have way more excursion real estate effectively 4-way actives that have complete and effortless control of bass with matched crossover points that make integration a breeze.

Subs are more flexible as well, if you just listen to stereo prerecorded music then probably 150s are the way to go, but with a pair of subs you can have Stereo Sub Bass, Monoised Sub Bass, Discrete LFE for L/R mains or rears or just summed all speaker sources bass extension. Subs comes into their own when you go multichannel and when you need control over when and when not to use them.
 
Most speakers benefit from a really good active sub or two. Sadly, really good ones are expensive.

 
Sweet, and nicely proportioned for the 50s to throb and woob

I never really get why truly good subs have to cost so much, but that's the ticket price so that's the butthurt you get for going there.

Mwahaha!

9e4arabe.jpg
 
IanW said:
The above order of importance is spot on.
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I personally see it in the following order...


Master quality tied-with Choice of Hardware
hearing ability
Room\Speaker response
seating position
Emotional state
Room Temperature
 
Subs do require a bit of care when you already have moderately bass-capable speakers. You can under spec as I did with the otherwise excellent BK monolith. The single 12" sub was ok, but it was not actually doing anything except when cranked up to the point you could hear it (and thus you were listening to fine sub 30Hz xmax THD)

7506476598_72fa6aca7d_c.jpg


I tried a Shun Roo but it barely danced, so I had to aim higher (or lower depending on how you view these things)
 
I am looking at sub options for my 50's, any opinions on atc C4/6, JL Audio or velodyne.
Many opinions expressed on getting a "pair" of subs??
I can hardly afford one beast!!
 
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