ATC SCM 100 SE Active

• All this glory and more is there for the enjoying with these high-resolution loudspeakers.
• I mentioned earlier that I’d made a discovery about ATC actives over the course of this review. They need more drive than average; more than was provided by the MSB DAC or transformer passive Allegri. I was getting extremely revealing, wide bandwidth results with plenty of power but limited emotional impact: something wasn’t quite gelling. So I dug out an ATC CA2 preamplifier and hooked it up. Bam, that did it: the musicians were in the room. Now the Nils Frahm sounded truly live, the piano regaining its full dynamic glory and the performance taking on a spine tingling immediacy. Using a preamp with decent line driving capabilities broke through the last barrier between the listener and the performance to deliver both technical and emotional communication of the first order.
• If you want to move air properly you need a box with volume and preferably a large bass driver. The SCM100SE has both and is very well put together. What makes it so appealing is the ease with which it goes about the business of reproducing not only the full bandwidth of the signal but its full dynamic envelope as well, and if you like to play at levels that approach the realistic, it is in a class of its own.
• I found the ATC SCM100SE extremely rewarding once a key ingredient had been added to the mix. I’m sure that there are other preamplifiers that have the ability to drive these speakers but the results I got with the modestly priced CA2 were pretty damn fabulous.

ATC SCM 40, P2 & CA2 Mk2

• They still exist, the long-established companies that have enjoyed an excellent reputation among professionals and music lovers for decades and have escaped the fate of being pushed by the lifestyle brand by some private equity firms and subsequently being hogged away with maximum returns. For example, the English company ATC
• Sonically, the ATC-Kombi does great things. At what sound this system offers, it can safely measure with systems several times more expensive. On the turntable is Zaz's album "Zaz". Often the Frenchwoman is referred to as modern Edith Piaf. Even if I did not sign that, there are - to the luck of Mrs. Geffroy alias Zaz - some differences. However, as for the energy and joy she seems to be spraying while singing, she is really reminiscent of Edith Piaf. And this radiance, this joy the ATC station wagon brings wonderfully authentic.
• Add to that a truly phenomenal resolution and a tonal balance, which immediately make it clear that here professional monitors were the inspiration for the development. Medium and treble are definitely right, really good. And the bass? Playing in our rather large listening room sovereign the advantages of the closed housing and shows wonderfully variable, controlled and, where necessary, quite powerful.
• The electronics contribute their part: Neither the preamplifier nor the power amplifier show weaknesses, but play with the speakers like a piece.
• Conclusion: For a long time we did not have a chain in the listening room that offered such an extremely good price / performance ratio as the combi preamplifier CA2 mk II, power amplifier P2 and speakers SCM40 from ATC. Everything is just right here: elaborate technology, clean measured values ​​and the most important thing - an absolutely outstanding sound.  

ATC SCM 40 Active & CA2 Mk2

• Anyone who is enthusiastic about large studio monitors often faces the problem of convincing their spouse of setting up wide boxes in the living room. The solution could lie in an attractive, relatively close-to-the-wall floorstanding ATC loudspeaker.
• Easily bent into the listening position, the boxes are characterized by a completely homogenous, sculptural reproduction that never looks artificial. The ATC acts as a performer of the given and only provides extravagance if they are included in the recording.
• Subtle sound textures and complex orchestral interludes never get in each other's way and are fully reproduced: the flow of the breeze that goes through the flute, the characteristic sound signature of the violins, the complexity of the orchestral stage. This is done with an accuracy that does not noticeably diminish even when the stepless volume control of the pre-amplifier ATC CA2 is at two o'clock.
• The SCM40A takes on storm and urgency with stoic serenity. The longer the active members stay with me, the more my hearing involuntarily adjusts to the quality and artistic interpretation of the recording.
• This is studio monitor precision at it's best, combined with the living room-friendly form of a neat, state-of-the-art loudspeaker, which plays sovereignly but never superficially spectaculary, in an informal, self-evident manner.
• How carefully the ATC captures the special mood, with a generous applause and donation.
• It remains to be added that the ATC preamp borrow also features an excellent phono section for CA2, and the settings are just right for my low-output MC Valencia from Ortofon
• The ATC SCM40A is simply world-class when it comes to playing records, and the rest is a matter of personal concern: for some listeners, the self-contained Briton will initially seem unspectacular, and for heavy metal fans there will be elsewhere more Sause at a lower price The SCM40A is by no means designed as a sound reinforcement instrument for level orgies, but as a very serious sound transducer for the finest in music with all its facets and sovereign naturalness Very well done!

ATC P1 & CA2

• Large and spacious recorded acoustic, powerful bass and sparkling highs. Effortless dynamics, and a general insouciant ease when asked to reproduce powerful musical peaks.
• The ATC combo places the different elements of the mix very accurately in space; both left to right and front to back. I am not used to hearing this song with such clarity; and extension to Paul McCartney’s vocals, which come over in a really intimate way – I almost get the feeling I am in the vocal booth with him.
• This amplifier combo proves to have an excellent midband then, very transparent and with no small amount of space and depth.
• An excellent performer, this is a true slice of affordable esoterica – you get a taste of what a really top-flight high-end pre-power amplifier will do, without having to remortgage your house in the process. The ATC CA2/ P1 pre-power amplifier combination may be slightly quirky and fiddly in some ways – seeming very much the product of a specialist British manufacturer – yet it has great appeal to those that are interested in getting a serious bang for their buck, so to speak, and so it comes highly recommended
• CA2: Clean, crisp and detailed sound; Effective performer that’s a fine partner for the P1
• P1: Powerful, clean and very open sound; A hidden treasure – in power amplifier terms

ATC P1 & CA2

• Dual mono design - Take a look inside the preamp and you'll find discrete components in the signal path – rather than integrated circuits – and a great deal of care has been taken over the power supply arrangement.
• The power amplifier is a dual mono design, with a dedicated mains transformer for each channel. The design is entirely consistent with the preamp in attempting to minimise noise while delivering a wide band signal.
• These ATCs sound firmly in control, no matter how complex or demanding the material is.  Listen to the kind of music that makes most amps crumble – we're thinking about The Battle from the Gladiator soundtrack, or Massive Attack's Angel – and this pre/power will take it in its stride, delivering all the drama required without sounding like it's working hard. The same remains true at high volume levels, too. 
• We'd like to go on about the pleasing stereo imaging – it's focused and stable, even when the music gets busy – and the power amplifier's way of taking charge of speakers in a manner well beyond what we'd expect from something rated at 150 Watts per channel, but these things tend to go unnoticed most of the time. 
  
• Honesty shines through... Over the long term we think the CA2/ P1's greater honesty wins out. If you want to hear the recording unvarnished, there are few better ways of doing it at this price level.
• Few, if any, of the CA2/ P1's rivals share such a formidable spread of talents.

• FOR

  • Transparent, honest and revealing presentation
  • Sturdy build

ATC P1 & CA2

• The quality of timing is so good that the musical flow is totally unhampered, free to go where it wants to with a strong sense of purpose.
• Despite having a slightly lower power rating than the Gamut, it has stronger bass. This underpins records like Antonio Forcione’s Tears of Joy to great effect, revealing more about the space he’s playing in than other amps...
• Using both CA2 and P1 together through the 802Ds provided a full scale, full power experience that brings dynamic recordings to
  life.
• If you want to hear the important musical detail presented in a coherent, clear-cut fashion this pairing has remarkably little competition in the two box arena.

ATC CA2 & P1