upgrade from atc-scm11
hello all !
i am thinking of upgrading my secondary system . plenty of sources (main being my pc), a Naim XS and a pair of atc-scm11 on atakama hms2 stands.
sound is fine but i think that by upgrading amp and speakers it might be even ...finer.
room size (home office) is about 3x4 meters.
so questions are : are atc-smc19 any better than 11 ? i mean will they sound even louder and refined as the 11's ?
will upgrading xs to supernait (so the matched system would be scm19) also help ?
you know, being a fan of the classic bbc sound (harbeth or stirling nowadays) i find myself suprised (!) to enjoy to such extent the sound of the atc monitors (in this secondary system). i also have upraded from scm7 and i find 11 even more enjoyable, so although everything is ok, except maybe for a little more bass, i am thinking of stretching this enjoyment even further !
do you think that i should try and change naim with another -non-naim- amp together with scm19 ? (finding the family of atc standmounters so fine i am ONLY considering ATC, especially 19 . i guess scm40 would be too much for the room, and would require EVEN better amplifications .. which are not in my plans right now 
)
please, tell me what your opinions about all this .
What is it about the SCM11's or the Naim/ATC pairing that you're finding lacking?
He said he wants a little more bass.
yes, a little more bass. and maybe a (even) bigger sound(stage).
if the differences are minor .. of course i am staying as i am now!
i want you to compare the sound of atc-scm11 to the one of the scm19 .. (do the host same set of woofer/twitter ? i mean both of them) .
finally i want you to compare the sound of xs+11 to the sound of snait+19.
hello all !
i am thinking of upgrading my secondary system . plenty of sources (main being my pc), a Naim XS and a pair of atc-scm11 on atakama hms2 stands.
sound is fine but i think that by upgrading amp and speakers it might be even ...finer.
room size (home office) is about 3x4 meters.
so questions are : are atc-smc19 any better than 11 ? i mean will they sound even louder and refined as the 11's ?
will upgrading xs to supernait (so the matched system would be scm19) also help ?
you know, being a fan of the classic bbc sound (harbeth or stirling nowadays) i find myself suprised (!) to enjoy to such extent the sound of the atc monitors (in this secondary system). i also have upraded from scm7 and i find 11 even more enjoyable, so although everything is ok, except maybe for a little more bass, i am thinking of stretching this enjoyment even further !
do you think that i should try and change naim with another -non-naim- amp together with scm19 ? (finding the family of atc standmounters so fine i am ONLY considering ATC, especially 19 . i guess scm40 would be too much for the room, and would require EVEN better amplifications .. which are not in my plans right now 
)
please, tell me what your opinions about all this .
I've got a headache coming on.
What is it about the SCM11's or the Naim/ATC pairing that you're finding lacking?
There you go ben - amazing the extra info you can find out when you ask.
if the differences are minor .. of course i am staying as i am now!
i want you to compare the sound of atc-scm11 to the one of the scm19 .. (do the host same set of woofer/twitter ? i mean both of them) .
finally i want you to compare the sound of xs+11 to the sound of snait+19.
You have a larger mid/bass driver on the SCM19 (their SL spec driver they use in their higher end models), and you get extra cabinet volume too. Basically, cleaner, clearer, more headroom (mid/bass) and they'll reach down a little deeper too. They're the same efficiency as your SCM11's, so they won't sound any louder for a given volume in comparison, but they will have a little more presence in the lower registers. You may find that with more capable amplification, the SCM11's might be fine.
Even for SCM11's, I would usually recommend the Nait XS as a starting point - and obviously the same would go for the SCM19's. Personally, I think you'll find the SCM11's will improve if you beef up your amplification, so certainly a Supernait/SuperUniti will get more from them, or you can add a power amplifier to what you already have.
The SCM40's are a little different to it's little brothers, and as a result requires a little more careful partnering. Your room size is borderline for these, depending on the volumes needed. They will certainly require better amplification in order to get the most from them.
I think it'd be worth popping along to your dealer to try your combo out with 11's and 19's, and then try alternative amplification if you feel the need. Only trying out these options will you know which route to take.
What is it about the SCM11's or the Naim/ATC pairing that you're finding lacking?
There you go ben - amazing the extra info you can find out when you ask.
if the differences are minor .. of course i am staying as i am now!
i want you to compare the sound of atc-scm11 to the one of the scm19 .. (do the host same set of woofer/twitter ? i mean both of them) .
finally i want you to compare the sound of xs+11 to the sound of snait+19.
You have a larger mid/bass driver on the SCM19 (their SL spec driver they use in their higher end models), and you get extra cabinet volume too. Basically, cleaner, clearer, more headroom (mid/bass) and they'll reach down a little deeper too. They're the same efficiency as your SCM11's, so they won't sound any louder for a given volume in comparison, but they will have a little more presence in the lower registers. You may find that with more capable amplification, the SCM11's might be fine.
Even for SCM11's, I would usually recommend the Nait XS as a starting point - and obviously the same would go for the SCM19's. Personally, I think you'll find the SCM11's will improve if you beef up your amplification, so certainly a Supernait/SuperUniti will get more from them, or you can add a power amplifier to what you already have.
The SCM40's are a little different to it's little brothers, and as a result requires a little more careful partnering. Your room size is borderline for these, depending on the volumes needed. They will certainly require better amplification in order to get the most from them.
I think it'd be worth popping along to your dealer to try your combo out with 11's and 19's, and then try alternative amplification if you feel the need. Only trying out these options will you know which route to take.
OMG !
I'm borrowing a pair of SCM40s tomorrow, to be driven with 300W of amplication. I have no idea what the 11s and 19s sound like but I can let you know what the 40s do for me 
My room is about 4m x 5m
What is it about the SCM11's or the Naim/ATC pairing that you're finding lacking?
There you go ben - amazing the extra info you can find out when you ask.
Fair ciriticism!
To the OP, David describes the driver differences accurately. The 40s use ATC's stunning studio soft dome mid driver. It's worth pointing out (without trying to start any arguing) that David is not a particular fan of the 40s and certainly prefers the 11s and 19s.
IMO it is not a matter of any of them requiring any more 'careful partnering' or more powerful amplification. The qualities of the ATCs (all 3 models, and beyond) are such that they will all respond to an upgrade / change in amplification. So each of them will benefit from going up the Naim ladder, and it might be that your 11s would satisfy you with this upgrade, but I suggest a demo would be sensible to know for sure. Whilst all the speakers are voiced the same, each upgrade (11 -> 19 -> 40) will give you an improvement in bass depth and midrange clarity.
As for room size, I have 40s in a similar sized room, probably a bit smaller, with no problems. The fact that they are sealed boxes mean they cope close to walls / corners better than most and their accuracy / neutrality means they have fewer 'in room' problems than many speakers. Of course, acoustic treatment would assist.
hello all !
i am thinking of upgrading my secondary system . plenty of sources (main being my pc), a Naim XS and a pair of atc-scm11 on atakama hms2 stands.
sound is fine but i think that by upgrading amp and speakers it might be even ...finer.
room size (home office) is about 3x4 meters.
so questions are : are atc-smc19 any better than 11 ? i mean will they sound even louder and refined as the 11's ?
will upgrading xs to supernait (so the matched system would be scm19) also help ?
you know, being a fan of the classic bbc sound (harbeth or stirling nowadays) i find myself suprised (!) to enjoy to such extent the sound of the atc monitors (in this secondary system). i also have upraded from scm7 and i find 11 even more enjoyable, so although everything is ok, except maybe for a little more bass, i am thinking of stretching this enjoyment even further !
do you think that i should try and change naim with another -non-naim- amp together with scm19 ? (finding the family of atc standmounters so fine i am ONLY considering ATC, especially 19 . i guess scm40 would be too much for the room, and would require EVEN better amplifications .. which are not in my plans right now )
please, tell me what your opinions about all this .
PMC, Neat and MonoPulse. Great with Naim and sweeter than ATCs.
Nuff said.
Harbeth SHL5 the most balanced speaker out there and works well with Naim.
Harbeth SHL5 the most balanced speaker out there and works well with Naim.
read my signature
upgrade (possibility) refers to my 2nd system . -
Harbeth SHL5 the most balanced speaker out there and works well with Naim.
read my signature
upgrade (possibility) refers to my 2nd system . -
Oops sorry! P3 ESR then?
p3esr is a FANTASTIC speaker. but ...by mistake i'm very happy with naim+scm11 as an alternative second system. so i would like to stretch this situation a bit
PMC, Neat and MonoPulse. Great with Naim and sweeter than ATCs.
Nuff said.
Hi plastic penguin
ATC monitors are low distortion, flat and honest designs. Simple
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
PMC, Neat and MonoPulse. Great with Naim and sweeter than ATCs.
Nuff said.
Hi plastic penguin
ATC monitors are low distortion, flat and honest designs. Simple
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Very true, but they roll off at 60hz and the guy wants more bass. PMC, Neat, and MonoPulse are good suggestions. I would add Dynaudio to the list.
What is it about the SCM11's or the Naim/ATC pairing that you're finding lacking?
David @Frank Harvey Hi-Fi, Coventry, incorporating HiFix
Hi-Fi and Home Cinema specialists, and exclusive UK agents for SVS and Ken Kreisel's KK Sound home theatre products.