ATC SCM 20 ASL (Active)

• ATC have long been advocates of active loudspeakers – their SCM50ASL is possibly the most popular example at the serious end of the market and for good reason. I used to use the substantial SCM150A actives as a reference but I haven’t had an active two-way standmount at home, so when the SCM20ASL was launched an opportunity was grasped.
• The power amps in an active speaker are connected directly to each drive unit and therefore have considerably greater ability to control them. ATC SCM20ASL active speaker review https://the-ear.net Another advantage is that electronic crossovers allow the designer more freedom. For a start there is no need to second guess the nature of the amplification as is the case in passive speakers: the crossover’s characteristics don’t change with level as the power handling factor is not an issue. ATC includes an all-pass filter in its active crossovers, which allows for the phase response to be optimised through the crossover point, something that is very difficult to achieve with passive designs and rarely seen.
• The SCM20ASL is a meaty loudspeaker whose height (45cm) is only slightly greater than its overall depth (41cm), and it weighs a persuasive 24kg (bend the knees). The driver complement is classic ATC: a six-inch Super Linear mid/bass allied to a one-inch S-Spec soft dome tweeter with dual suspension, both drivers made in house at the company’s Gloucestershire base.
• A lot of the weight comes from the amplification and electronics pack on the back of the SCM20ASL’s cabinet. This comprises two Class AB MOSFET amplifiers, providing 200W for the woofer and 50W for the tweeter. That should be sufficient for most domestic requirements and then some. 
• It’s the immediacy that makes these ATCs so engaging. The precision snare work on MYT’s Till Tomorrow is combined with studio effects, which undermine overall sound quality but makes the music no less exciting and fresh. Bill Frisell’s live cover of Shenandoah starts quietly before the band joins in with a swell that is rarely so well delivered. The active nature of the SCM20ASLs gives them dynamic range that passive speakers can only dream about. It also gives them control, and it’s this that makes good recordings come alive in the room and makes the sound so real.
• Conclusion:
  • I have to say that the SCM20ASLs have nailed it for me. These apparently simple and relatively compact loudspeakers get to the parts that few others do and make the music so appealing that doom scrolling is no longer a thing. They may not have DSP electronics offering all manner of tweaks but this is very much in their favour. The SCM20ASLs are an all analogue, linear power supplied musical truth conduit that will have you glued to your music for years to come.
  • I would go so far as to say that they are a cure for audiophilia nervosa: you’re no longer thinking about how to make the system better but just wondering which album to play next. Upgrades to the signal path are however always audible so those who want more will be able to continue the quest. The ATC SCM20ASL is a speaker for all but the most incurable of tweakers.
    

ATC SCM 20 ASL (Active)

• ATC’s speaker models tend to have long lives by general industry standards. The standard, passive SCM20 was first introduced back in 1990 and continues in production to this day.
• The SCM20ASL are chunky, medium-sized two-way standmounters. They stand 45cm tall, weigh a hefty 27kg each and give off a no-nonsense functional aura that we find hugely appealing.
• The SH25-76S tweeter is a twin suspension design that is designed to suppress mechanical rocking motion through its travel, so reducing distortion and improving resolution. Its chunky motor system is based around a large 60mm Neodymium ring magnet.
• Below 2.2 kHz, the signal passes to the long-running SB75-150SL mid/bass unit. This has an unusual diaphragm that combines a 75mm dome with a 15cm cone to ensure a wide operating range and uses one of the biggest magnets we’ve ever seen on a driver of this type. This drive unit alone weighs 8.4kg, which is more than many complete speakers do. The large 75mm voice coil and short coil/long magnetic gap configuration all go into making a drive unit capable of accepting high power inputs while generating low levels of distortion.
• We have the active versions here, so speaker sensitivity isn’t an issue. The SCM20ASL packs 250 watts of Class A/B power into each cabinet, split into a 200-watt amplifier driving the mid/bass and a 50-watt module for the tweeter.
• They are neutral while avoiding the sterility that many other products that aim for such a balance struggle with. The integration between the drive units is wonderfully seamless. The speaker’s character changes very little as we move away from the sweet spot, which suggests well-controlled dispersion characteristics from both drive units and a well-engineered active crossover.
• The SCM20ASL’s resolution of detail is astonishing. They pick up the low-level instrumental stands in Quincy Jones’s Back On The Block set effortlessly and manage to arrange that mass of information into an organic and convincing whole.
• Voices come through with outstanding clarity and naturalness, and when the recording includes the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Chaka Khan and Ella Fitzgerald, that’s a real treat. The speaker’s sense of control is absolute, where even complex tracks such as The Places You Find Love are delivered with unusual composure and calmness.
• They are agile too, and have a firm grip on rhythms, which gives these monitors the ability to convey the ebb and flow of musical momentum well, and when the music demands, deliver it with excitement and drive. These are not speakers that add flavour in an attempt to make the recording sound better than it is.
• They deliver whatever the original signal has, nothing less or more. ATC’s aim is honesty and transparency, and we think it has succeeded.
• What Hi-Fi? Verdict: ATC’s SCM20ASL is about as insightful and transparent a speaker as we’ve heard at this level. Be warned though, their honesty-first approach won’t suit all
  • Pros: +Astonishing clarity, control and resolution +Taut and articulate bass +Rock solid build
  • Cons: -Ruthless in exposing flaws in recordings and partnering components -Some may crave greater low-end weight and muscularity

ATC SCM 20 ASL (Active)

• And top-notch the ATCs definitely are. They may only claim bass down to around 55Hz, but that proves more than adequate for a huge range of music given the dynamics and definition on offer here, which are respectively massive and really sharp-focused.
• Play Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra from her Mayhem album and the speakers deliver a hard-charging, superbly weighted sound while keeping both the vocal and the multiple layers of the mix crystal clear, right from the opening percussion and bass.
• They sound big and fast, thumping the track along in perfect Europop style, and prove willing to be cranked hard to fill the room with music.
• With the immaculately recorded recent release of Mozart piano sonatas by Angela Hewitt, the ability of the speakers, when they’re set up with a slight toe-in, to create an entirely convincing image of the instrument, with both scale and finesse, is wonderful. That sense of the instrument in the room with you, and the walls of the listening space pushing out to represent the recorded ambience, is as impressive as the clarity of each note in the Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman variations
• ATC has been making active speakers for ages, but the SCM20ASLs couldn’t be better suited to the streamed music age. There’s an appealing purity to speakers such as these, connected to a network player via a relatively simple interconnect run. The look of the speakers may be classic, especially in those real-wood finishes, but this is in every way a very modern system solution.

ATC SCM 20 ASL (Active)

• Following up on his review of the passive SCM 20 SL back in January, Tarun Sharma - A British Audiophile - has reviewed the new active SCM20ASL on his You Tube channel.
  The review was overwhelmingly positive and the SCM 20 ASL has been graded as 'Outstanding': ATC SCM 20 ASL Review by A British Audiophile
• ATC have just launched the SCM 20 active stand mounts but without the uber fancy finishes of the 50th anniversary model they're a lot cheaper than the floor standing version as well despite having essentially the same parts
• the SB75-150SL midwoofer is one of the finest transducers in existence the 150 mm 6-in driver contributes to about 40% of the weight of this speaker i go into details about the underhung voice coil massive superlinear motor structure and decoupling central 3-in dome in my review of the passive SCM 20s so I won't repeat it here
• the SCM 20 ASLs are the cheapest active speakers to feature ATC's S-spec 25mm 1-in tweeter: the same SH25-76S driver is used right up to the range topping SCM 300 ASL T's that sell for £52,000 a pair
• there is the ability to adjust the bass from - 2 to + 3 dB and alter the input sensitivity each driver has its own dedicated amplifier with a 200 W MOSFET class AB amp driving the midwoofer and a 50W one for the tweeter; the crossover is at 2,200 hertz with a second order Linquitz Riley slope
• Sound quality: what I loved about the passive ATC SCM 20s that I reviewed at the beginning of this year was the mid-range presentation: the combination of detail body and texture is the best that I've heard up till now
• the active versions of the SCM 20s are maybe just a tiny bit cleaner in the mids -it's hard to say without having them both here at the same time because it's a close call. but what the self-powered versions definitely have going for them is a more dynamic tighter bass and airier top end. it's nice that you can fine-tune the bass to suit your tastes and room as well
• the fact that sealed boxes roll off more slowly than ported designs, all help to get more bass extension than the stated 55 Hz at - 6dB: I suspect the SCM 20s were digging down to the mid-40s in my room
• the passive version of the SCM 20s retail for 4K and that leaves you 2 and a half K to spend on a power amp, not an integrated. there are some power amps that may get you close such as ATC's own P1 power amp that's similar to the one used in the Actives to power the midwoofer
• I doubt you'll get the same fidelity and control through any passive combination I can think of for 6 grand. that's the benefit of a proper active solution there's just significantly less loss through the crossover
• if you want to hear clarity sound stage and imaging get them well away from room boundaries, as you can see behind me. I wound up with a fairly conventional position with regards to towin the speakers pointing just wide of my shoulders
• in terms of grip control and overall fidelity, especially in the mid-range, I don't think you're going to get there for 6 1/2 grand for speakers and amplification, even with the Synergy god smiling, and that's why the ATC SCM 20 ASLs get an "outstanding" from this channel