Recommend me Bookshelf for Office

ATC SCM11

WHAT-HI-FI Best stand-mounter £800-£1500, Awards 2013.

“ATC has struck gold again. These are the most talented stand-mounters anywhere near this price”

What Hi-Fi - October 2013

Overview

We’ve given ATC a lot of Awards for the SCM11s over the years. They’re versatile and balanced, and we’re very fond of them. In fact, we don’t bother putting them away anymore – they’re an important part of our stock of reference kit.

So when we heard of a new version, we had mixed feelings. Updated speakers are always exciting, but it’s hard not to wince at the thought of someone going all Frankenstein with them on some operating table

Verdict

The new SCM11s are a drastic improvement over an already talented performance, and they have the good looks to match. ATC has raised the bar it set itself. This isn’t just a step up – it’s a running leap.

I've never heard the ATC's that everyone speaks so highly about. I need to see if I have a dealer near me (CT).

I've had both the Kef R300 and the Kef LS50 in my office system without a sub. My room is small at 11W x 12.5L x 8H and the amp I am using puts our 135 watts into 8 ohms.

I ended up keeping the LS50. I think that in part it was due to the speakers matching the room size better than the R300.

In my setup the LS50 has a very smooth mid-range and open highs with good solid bass. Obviously, they don't have the deepest extension, but I find the bass satisfying for all genres of music.

The R300s had a bit more dynamic punch for rock music, but in my small room I found the highs to be a little too bright and sometimes to the point of harshness. However, in a somewhat larger space, they sound great.

Both sounded enjoyable in different ways, but ultimately, I found that the LS50s were the best fit for that space. I think they're an excellent speaker, especially given their price.

I"ve never heard a sub integrate properly with a speaker that doesn't go into the 30's. It's almost impossible to do so if you look at the basic physics of it all. Spoke to Richard Vandersteen about this a few months ago and he did a paper on this subject and agrees. This is one reason he won't make a satellite/sub system. Just be careful about it. Will you use stands? If so, you could do a floorstander with a narrow footprint.

That's significant power for an office system.

Much would depend on how close you will be to the speakers.

If you are looking for something on the desktop and your listening distance is less than 5 feet, something like a powered monitoring system like the Genelec or similar may work best.

Across the room and passive, the KEF LS50 or the new Sierra 2 would be a good start. You may not have thought about it, but what type of sound do you like from the midrange? A metal cone sounds different than paper. I prefer paper generally; sounds more 'alive' to me.