ATC SCM7 or Legacy Studio HD for small living room?
Herb Reichert - 09/27/18 Stereophile Review: https://www.stereophile.com/content/legacy-audio-studio-hd-loudspeaker Reichert gives his impression of the HD while noting the criteria for comparison (vs Harbeth 30.2 Monitor - his system standard). |
jjss49 oddiofylMy friend suggesting the Legacy actually has a pair of the ATC active towers, and -LOVES- them like no other. He has owned -numerous- other speakers for decades and heard dozens more. Says there is almost no comparison. And the simplicity of basically only needing a REALLY good source and hopefully a really good/proper room for them, seems so appealing. Alas, I am poor, and have a tiny home! jjss49- everything you mention I have also read from many other folks, or heard in passing, so I'll take as likely truth. My CD player is a modified Pioneer PDS-504 (I can't recall the company that would perform upgrades to these in the late 90s, but they had been at least a little popular?). The amp I'll be using is a new Rega Elex~r, (signal running thru a Rega DAC~r) which I know will power the Legacy perfectly well, and likely would power the SCM7s ok if not "fine", but I know they would shine with more dedicated wattage/voltage. Thanks for expertise folks. |
ATC are excellent no doubt,but IF I were to buy anything ATC it would be a powered version. i agree w this - still have my scm10 and 20 actives, fondly recall that driven by arc ref 3 linestage the sound was lovely lovely... need to break them out and listen to them again sometime soon passive atc’s are fine but you just need a very strong, pure solid state amplification to do them justice (not cheap) one just needs to understand with all atc’s they are real monitors, in that they don’t smooth over warts or harshness... they play pretty much exactly what is fed to them for you to hear, and so you had better have a damn good signal coming in, or they may not bring the joy one may seek |
oddiofyl I KNOW!!! I was thinking and wishing the same thing!! My million pesos business idea-- manufactures need to keep like 5-10 pair of just beat up ugly well used speakers that they can rent to folks for like, $25 a day plus shipping. If you liked them, then they discount the rental from the price of the new speakers. If you don't like them, well at least you learned empirically first hand how they would work in YOUR space, with YOUR gear, and YOUR cables, and YOUR furniture!! |
lonemountain ATC has a stellar pedigree, and I -know- they are a serious and real speaker builder. I have never heard anyone who's owned them ever regret or wish they had waited and bought something else. For a small-medium monitor, I know they can be trusted and impress!! |
milpai thank you for your thoughts and experiences with the Legacy speakers. It's unfortunate that it's not easy to try out speakers in your space and see how they mesh with your room, dimensions, furniture, components, etc to see if "what I heard in X space with Y gear at a show/friends house really fit my taste! Let's see if it holds mostly the same in my space!!"!!! As mentioned, my room structure and lay out are really a tad bit of an insult to 'proper set up', so I try to be realistic. I don't have issues that annoy me, other than I just can't have a true symmetrical set up, and have true full sound staging and space. The Epos I have, actually don't sound nearly as good as they could because of this, again, wish to be realistic. From what I have read, the character of the Legacy fits my taste most. ATC does as well, but......Legacy is a bit of an unknown/not super common name. I sort of like that!! Appreciate your help! |
jjss49, I have loved those Epos, ever since my Step Father had them in his entertainment system, and still love them for exactly what you describe. The ATC sounded 'different' when I heard them in a couple other peoples spaces, but the tone and presentation was the same, which I liked a lot for it's character. Granted, I also know they were powered by a dedicated solid state amp in both cases, but I will have a decent enough powered integrated for my space. I know ATCs fair much better with decent power to them. |
The ATC SCM 7 is a good sounding speaker and sounds like their large ones, just with a roll off that occurs higher as its a smaller woofer. The SCM 7 was Billy’s idea of a legacy british hi fi speaker, great midrange, terrific piano and orchestra, small size and excellent bass response for a 5 inch. Uses the same tweeter and same "small coil large gap" woofer as the larger speakers. There is a cool QC test of the SCM7 woofer at the end of this factory tour - 20 volts at 7Hz. The hand made driver has to with stand that to pass and go in a speaker. https://youtu.be/dF-Ux7h1Auk |
I have heard the Legacy Studio HD at AXPONA a couple years ago. I could not believe it was this speaker that was playing the music. Because there was a floor stander next to it and the music had the weight and scale that would suit the floor standers. So I was surprised when they told me that it was this small speaker they were playing. Of course I did the "confirm, but verify" and was it was indeed the small speaker. Another one like this was the Atohm GT speaker. Even smaller than this but had amazing bass and scale of a floor stander. I agree with your friend on the Legacy Studio HD. Have not heard the specific ATC you mention and hence cannot comment. |
epos es12’s are a very nice speaker, excellent midrange purity and good coherence top to bottom i have not heard legacys but i suspect the atc’s will be a step up in refinement from the epos, and, with a very good and powerful power amp, would probably play louder without strain than the epos that said, there are many excellent standmount speakers for 2 grand a pair that may be very good for your application, and a good bit easier to drive than the very inefficient little atc’s |
