We are blessed with some very obliging Hi-Fi manufacturers here at Audio T Swansea, and chief amongst them is ATC. Whether it’s because the delightful Dave at ATC used to be our General Manager; the kettle is mysteriously always warm whenever he calls; or that we sell lots and lots of lovely ATC product, we simply cannot tell. Suffice to say, whenever we express a wish to borrow something ‘extra’, mountains are moved and lovely things arrive.

In this case, a long-standing customer of ours with a substantial pile of Naim Audio equipment wanted to replace his venerable Naim SBL loudspeakers. Having heard the SCM50PSL in active trim (a stupendous performance), and knowing our customer’s tastes very well, Nic suggested the ATCs. Our customer (Mr D) had already read a few reviews (including a couple of Audio T staff blogs) and agreed that they may well fit the bill. We set the ball in motion.

A Little Background…

The Acoustic Transducer Company, or ATC as they are better known, has been a stalwart of the studio monitoring scene for five decades. Founded in 1974 by Billy Woodman to manufacture custom drive units for the professional audio industry, ATC quickly made its mark with a 12″ bass driver—a design capable of handling more power and producing less distortion at a higher sound pressure level than any other unit on the market at the time.

In 1976, ATC introduced a groundbreaking soft-dome midrange driver, which delivered a wider bandwidth, more uniform dispersion, and significantly lower distortion than was previously thought possible.

The following decade saw the launch of complete speaker systems, alongside further versions of high-power PA drive units supplied in OEM form to leading manufacturers and performers—early customers included Pink Floyd and Supertramp. Today ATC speakers can be found in prestigious venues such as the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Festival Hall, and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

Having established a market for reference-quality, precision-made monitors, ATC went on to develop a succession of smaller loudspeakers, ranging from the compact SCM7s through to the 10s and 20s. Available in both active and passive versions, these models brought ATC’s renowned performance and reliability into the music lover’s home.

In 1996, ATC launched its first stand-alone high-performance electronics. The SCA2 preamplifier and SPA2-150 power amplifier (later joined by the SIA2-150) were built in line with ATC’s philosophy, achieving performance figures that remain impressive to this day. The latest versions continue to deliver outstanding precision and musicality and come highly recommended.

ATC continues to design, engineer, and manufacture all of its drive units at its factory in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Arrival and Installation

A couple of weeks post-request, two very large black flight cases arrived in front of three very happy boys…

it’s not every day a lad gets to feel like a roadie.

And a couple of days after that, two of those happy boys took a road trip to darkest West Wales.

Moving the Naim SBLs from a client’s room is simplicity itself, despite appearances to the contrary – each cabinet rests upon the one below, with the tweeter mounted upon a pair of pylons. Installing them in a client’s room is the part that requires some expertise. Happily, the client’s son—who inherited them—has a certain amount of engineering prowess.

a pair of cherry naim audio sbl loudspeakers from the mid-1990s these are in great nick.

just about all the instruments i can name are used here plus several that i can’t. a great warm-up album.

Removing the SCM50 from their containers, however, is a two-man lift and should only be considered once the stands have been placed in the likely-correct position that long experience will recommend. Once fired up and playing something suitable to warm the speakers with—Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in this case—and following a welcome cup of tea and a biccie, the installation process could begin.

Finding the Sweet Spot

a curious album we only ever seem to play when we want to set up a pair of speakers.

Nic starts with a single loudspeaker connected and plays Ballad of a Runaway Horse by Rob Wasserman and Jennifer Warnes. What we listen for is the bass level and quality from Wasserman’s double bass. If you start with the speakers placed as far apart as your seating position and close to the rear wall, then gradually move them forward into the room, the bass will initially drop off, then become stronger again as the speaker finds a position where it works with the room to reinforce the bass. Repeat the process with the other speaker, and have them both firing straight out into the room.

Once that is done, sit in the primary position and listen to the left-right soundstage. With your eyes shut, can you point to where the music is coming from? If you’re pointing at the speakers, we need to move them closer together. When we can hear one singer and one double bass only, and the sound apparently does not emanate from the speakers (they should, in effect, disappear), then we’re getting pretty close.

The next step is toe-in, and it’s somewhat subjective. Having the speakers firing straight into the room will yield a wide soundstage with a big sound. Aiming the speakers towards the listening position will yield a smaller, more intimate experience. The trick is to balance the intimacy—solid shapes of instruments/vox held in a 3D space—with the grand stage still remaining apparent.

Big Sound, Beautifully Controlled

With the SCM50, this is not so difficult to achieve. Properly driven with quality amplification and source components, they of course sound huge, but retain a remarkably fast and taut character, with instruments and voices given such a beautiful, natural treatment they sound alive.

You expect such large boxes to sound bombastic and, given the correct source material, they will scare you half to death if that is your whim—all without raising a hair. They have an effortless, unbreakable persona and radiate a sense that everything is simply correct.

AC/DC’s The Jack — a track that extemporises on the theme of, ermm considerate social hygiene.

AC/DC’s The Jack from their first (international) album High Voltage—which is hardly the last word in production value—is presented as I expect the band wanted it to be. Its dense mix is opened up to its full breadth and depth and we can hear the positions of the instruments pinpointed in the soundstage, rather than them all appearing together from somewhere in between the speakers.

Bass isn’t a fat, bouncing jelly in the middle of the room, but a solid, discernible instrument tightly held in its own space. Kick-drums are hard and rapidly compress the chest—just like they do in your favourite upstairs-room-at-the-pub venue—and I find myself thinking that that is exactly what Bon Scott et al were trying to achieve. It’s enormously satisfying.

did i mention a substantial pile of naim equipment? needless to say, it sounds stupendous.

“I’ll Have a Pair in Walnut Please”

willy deville’s album ‘miracle’ is worth a spin…

It was Willy DeVille that did it for our Mr D. Three lines into Nightfalls from the album Miracle, and he turned to Nic and said:

“I’ll have a pair in Walnut please. They are available in Walnut?”

“Yes, they do come in Walnut.”

the current state of our primary demo suite. air conditioned too.

Visit Us for a Listen

The ATC SCM50PSL currently reside in Audio T Swansea’s primary dem room. They are playing with our all-British Rega P10/Apheta 3 turntable with Aria phono stage, Linn Selekt digital media player, Chord Electronics Ultima 3 preamplifier and Ultima 5 power amplifier—all connected with Black Rhodium cables. (The Hi-Fi rack is Italian!)

Why not pop in for a listen – you won’t be disappointed.