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 P2 Pro

• “I was very happy with my monitor speakers, but they seemed to lack bass extension; Matt Colton has active ATC SCM150 ASL PROs in his room, so I thought that an ATC amp might give me more bass.”
• “The bass extension was great, but there was also a noticeable improvement overall — a smoothness that gave improved detail and clarity” 
• “The difference wasn’t subtle with the P2 PRO. I called Ben Lilly, Technical Sales Manager at ATC, and told him he couldn’t have the demo unit back until he had sent me the one I bought!” Barry Grint, Alchemy Mastering

ATC P2

• The P2 has a remarkably light touch and a degree of transparency that is uncommon among high powered amplifiers. It allows the colour and variety of each recording to shine and unveils the method of their creation without undermining musical engagement. Even old favourite’s like Conjure’s ‘Wardrobe Master of Paradise’ (Music for the Texts of Ishmael Reed, American Clavé) reveals layers of detail that usually remain hidden. 
• You might get fancier metalwork and shinier connections but I guarantee you won’t find more grip and control. This means you get precisely as much kick drum as the engineer was able to capture.
• The ATC is a very even handed and capable amplifier indeed, it eschews an ‘impressive’ sound in favour of quietly getting on with the job of revealing more of the music than the majority at its price and doing so in an effortless fashion. Jason Kennedy

ATC P2

• Put simply, it just sounds ‘right’. In fact, this became a difficult review in some ways as I spent so much time enjoying the music that I kept forgetting I was supposed to be assessing the product. Still, when a component makes you concentrate on the music to the exclusion of all else, it must be a good one.
• In terms of spatiality, the P2 made my loudspeakers simply disappear. There was no sense of things being stretched artificially in width across the soundstage or depth vanishing off into the distance. Nor did the amplifier try to project things unduly, or seem to be throwing out random detail as if in an attempt to impress. Instead, it just took the material and pulled absolutely everything it needed to from it. As a result, the P2 made everything a truly compelling listen.
• There was an intimacy to Miss Krall’s vocals and she was placed perfectly centre-stage. Her voice had real form and every subtle intonation and intake of breath sounded just that little bit more lifelike. In this respect, the P2 seemed less a hi-fi component and more a direct conduit for the music.
• At the bottom end, the P2 digs deeply and in a very well controlled manner. Yet again, it managed to pull that little bit more from everything.
• In terms of detail, the P2 struck gold once again. Instruments were lifelike and beautifully atmospheric, no matter whether a recording featured a soft solo acoustic ensemble or a grand orchestral bombardment.
• The amplifier seemed more able than most to separate out the instruments to make everything easy to follow, but only if I chose to do so. I could concentrate on a particular violin or trombone if I wanted to, yet the overall cohesion of each performance was stunning. Even during the most dynamic of crescendos, which the P2 would expand with gusto, there was no hint of muddle or compression. Adam Smith, Hi-Fi News, March 2017.

ATC P2

• DYNAMIQUE: Le P2 a cranement dejoue tous nos pieges musicaux, notamment le solo de batterie sur "Company" par Patricia Barber ou les frappes tous azimuts ecoutees a haut niveau ont retenti de maniere physique sans saturation ou distorsion audible.
• ATTAQUE DE NOTE: L'ATC est un amplificateur rapide dans ce sens ou il respecte totalement le rythme de la partition en ecoute... La lisibilite este tout a fait excellente avec des contours de notes precis.
• SCENE SONORE: Autre consequence de cette velocite, l'espace sonore este tres bien proportione avec une focalisation nettes des interpretes.... La grande harmonie spatiale du P2 qui rend la restitution absolument credible.
• TRANSPARENCE: L'ATC P2 reussit le pari de proposer une ecoute a la fois nerveuse, rigoureuse et rafinee... Un savant cocktail de dynamite et de soie ou la neutralite reste au premier plan.
• VERDICT: Les fabricants d'enceintes acoustiques qui construisent des electroniques ne sont pas legion. L'anglais ATC est de ceux-la et il le fait brillamment.... A decouvrir absolument, sans aucun a priori.