These are no snap-together boxes as is often found at this size and price-point, rather high-quality, precision cabinets which are heavily damped and sport bi-wire terminals. Small they maybe, but lightweight and flimsy they certainly are not, partly due to the 3.5kgs of the huge, underhung magnet system on the mid/bass unit with its 45mm voice coil. While the standard finish options of cherry or black ash offer real value-for-money. The seven litre cabinets are rather ‘dinky’ in appearance (their volume giving the model its designation) and measure just 30cm high with a pleasing curvature to the box. At the annual audio extravaganza that was the Penta Show, I would rely on a pair of active SCM 50 three-ways for public demonstration of one audio technique or another: one year it was Ambisonics, another German DAB radio via satellite, both seemed revolutionary at the time. Stupidly, I lent them to an acoustician who promptly damaged them beyond repair. I still recall fondly the pair of SCM10s, in stunning piano black, which I acquired during my time on Hi-Fi News magazine. Little wonder then that it has been constantly revised and updated since that time. This is why many believe it to be the ultimate midrange transducer. ATC went on to redefine studio monitoring with this driver which was chosen to mix ‘big name’ bands including Sting, Pink Floyd, the late Lou Reed and Supertramp. It not only boasted a more uniform dispersion over a wider frequency range, but did so with much lower distortion than was believed achievable at the time. Here was a technical tour-de-force which became a firm favourite among many working in recording studios and sound reinforcement. Quickly making its mark with a driver capable of handling more power and generating less distortion than anything else available, it was just two years later that ATC’s ground-breaking soft-dome midrange drive unit was unveiled. It was formed in 1974 by pianist and Australian engineer Billy Woodmann to make custom drive units for the professional sound industry. This company has gained a formidable reputation in both professional and hi-fi circles, and rightly so to my mind. To have the SCM7 two-way bookshelf as an entry model in an expansive range speaks volumes about ATC’s ability to create natural-sounding loudspeakers which are not only British designed but also British built and based on their own, proprietary drive units.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |