# ATC SCM-19 v2 speakers



## admranger (Jul 12, 2013)

I apparently was a good boy and received some ATC SCM-19 v2 speakers over the holidays. Maybe my whining paid off?

These replaced my long serving B&W LCR 6 speakers that I was using as fronts. I still have one as my center channel, letting Audyssey deal with the timbre issues, if any, for theater.

I would have gotten the SCM-40's but my wife likes smaller speakers and so I went with the next best thing.

First off, these things are massive for small (19 liter internal volume) speakers. They weigh in at over 32 lbs each! The main driver weighs in at a over 18 lbs! It's motor is massive (I've held one in my hands). 










Mine are black (again, wife's preference). 

I just unhooked my B&Ws and hooked up the ATCs. No other changes were made to the system. They are used for 2-channel, movies, and tv listening. I have Audyssey set to 'bypass L&R' so no processing is done except for the crossover point (80hz for starters) to send those low notes to my two subs.

I'm still breaking them in and getting used to them but here are my initial impressions. I apologize for the vagueness you'll see below, but I didn't note when each of these things became apparent, I just noted that it happened (for the most part).

I find myself hearing things in songs that I hadn't heard before. For example, a background guitar that wasn't heard before is now clear. Things like that. Alice in Chains - Unplugged is a good chance to hear some of this.

What is crystal clear is the widening and deepening of the soundstage, as well as more precision in the placement of instruments and vocals. 

A fun track for a wide soundstage is the heavily processed Halo soundtrack, especially track 10, "Under Cover of Night" where the drums are 4+ feet wider (on each side) than the physical location of the speakers.

The speakers are very revealing, as has been stated on reviews. I was warned about this by Brad Lunde, Owner of Lone Mountain Audio, the US importer of ATC speakers. These speakers won't warm over a bad recording. You'll hear it and you'll want to strangle the engineer who did the mixing. 

For instance, a very lovely song is ruined by the poor choice of a microphone resulting is silly levels of sibilance like Judith Owen's "Train out of Hollywood", featuring Keb Mo. I love this song but a more appropriate microphone would have minimized the sibilance. In addition, the recording is overly bright in my opinion and the ATCs don't let you forget it like say, a Sonus Faber or Vienna Acoustics would. Just be ready for this if you buy these speakers. I was because Brad had warned me and I had a couple of extended listening sessions with ATCs, courtesy of Brad.

Your reward for such revealing speakers is the level of detail in each recording that you'll hear. It's quite amazing how many details in my music I was missing.

The retail price may seem :coocoo:, and it probably is given the full sized speakers you could buy with that kind of money. However, the competition was the Vivid V1.5's, which are nearly twice the price. However, I believe that I have received good value for my money. In other words, the ATCs are worth it to me and I love them! You need to hear these speakers. They are very impressive indeed!

I'm very happy and I hope to carve out some time to sit down, listen to some familiar tracks at appropriate volume (though the ATCs sound good at low and moderate volumes, I'd like to get about 85dB before rendering judgement on a song), take notes, and report back.

There are already a couple of reviews out there, so you get some sense of where I'm coming from:

Stereophile review of the ATC SCM-19 v2

The Absolute Sound review of the ATC SCM-19 v2

Here you can find the specs, etc. on these ATCs:

ATC SCM 19 v2 details


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Good score! Fwiw, I love the look of the speaker in the picture. Rustic almost. I'm also an AIC fan, and I recommend "dirt". Your new speakers will show the layers of Layne and Jerry's voices like never before. The guitars sound new as well. Not trying to be presumptuous, but I've been through discovery mode a few times, and it was a fun one.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Very nice, I love sealed/acoustic suspension speakers. I often find myself listening to my little sealed speakers and thinking they sound as good as my big 'ole floor standers...


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## Bruce Fisher (Nov 24, 2007)

wow - those are gorgeous


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## gorb (Sep 5, 2010)

Those are some great looking speakers. I have been interested in ATC for some time now, but I've never managed to listen to any of their products. Maybe one day


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## admranger (Jul 12, 2013)

willis7469 said:


> Good score! Fwiw, I love the look of the speaker in the picture. Rustic almost. I'm also an AIC fan, and I recommend "dirt". Your new speakers will show the layers of Layne and Jerry's voices like never before. The guitars sound new as well. Not trying to be presumptuous, but I've been through discovery mode a few times, and it was a fun one.


Thanks -- I'll have to check 'dirt' out. I only got the AIC unplugged b/c it was well, unplugged. 



nova said:


> Very nice, I love sealed/acoustic suspension speakers. I often find myself listening to my little sealed speakers and thinking they sound as good as my big 'ole floor standers...


Sealed boxes are nice. The SCM-40 floor standers are really amazing. They go very deep, never struggled with Lorde's "Royals" or London Grammer's "Hey Now". Of course, I heard them at the recording studio in the Palms Hotel, so the room was perfect, acoustically. Still amazing speakers.

My previous speakers, the B&W LCR 6's were ported. They're not bad, but they can't compete here (nor were they ever intended to).



Bruce Fisher said:


> wow - those are gorgeous


Thanks!



gorb said:


> Those are some great looking speakers. I have been interested in ATC for some time now, but I've never managed to listen to any of their products. Maybe one day


Vegas Vacation!


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## SQBubble (Nov 12, 2007)

Nice write up, i must add that i also moved to ATC SCM7 (latest smallest version) from b&W 685 and Polk lsi9 and Adam F5 just recently since it was a good deal, and it is indeed a gem! first, the look and built quality of the woofer and tweeter are gorgeous, authentic, elegant, simple and top notch quality. Next, the performance is quite stunning for such small speaker, its truly an awesome blend of HIFI and Studio monitors...

the most obvious thing about these speakers are the lifelike vocals and instruments... 
also playback at high volume is always tight and controlled, huge dynamics.

ill be sticking with these for quite some time!! like OP said, worth every penny especially when you find a good deal , dont hesitate, gorgeous performance speakers with LOADS of potential--


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## admranger (Jul 12, 2013)

SQBubble said:


> Nice write up,


Thank you and congrats on your SCM7's.

At a recent LV Audio Club meeting, it was noted by one observer that they appeared to work better at higher volumes. I like them at all volumes, but they certainly don't stink it up at reference level playback.


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