ATC Speakers...Do you use them with Grill On/Off


Hi,
I recently bought a pair of ATC SCM40 speakers. I am using it in a room of about 180sqft. Listening distance is about 8 ft.
I use a Symphonic Line Power Amp with them. The Power amp is very revealing and extended on both ends. Paired with ATC, I am getting very high resolution tones but I also feel that when I listen with the Grills off, here are some issues I see:

1. I get some direct sounds from the Tweeter and Midrange (its a three way speaker) which doesnt allow the speaker to dissappear completely

2. Even though I hear more detail with the grills off, I also find sometimes the sound is not relaxed, its a bit sharp

With Grills On...problem (1) is almost solved.
Problem (2) is solved to a good extent if not fully but it happens at the cost of a little loss in resolution. The leading edges are slightly less prominent. But surprisingly I find it more musically right when its playing with the Grills On. I am wondering what ATC recommends and what other ATC owners have experienced in this regard.

Is it that, since I use a very revealing amp along with a very revealing speaker I am facing this situation ?
What kind of cables are generally preferred with ATC ?
pani
oh...haha, i meant 4/5 of an inch. I dont think the speaker will even even sit right with 4-5 inches of lift.
Great!!
But raising it 4-5" on the front will tilt the speaker significantly...did you try tilting in steps to see how much tilt works best ?
Pani..it worked for the soundstage height. Now voices seem to come from the top of my 61" TV on some materials. I did not notice a decrease or increase of sound tonality. Just better soundstage, and more holographic!

I actually raised the front apprx 4/5". Thanks for the advice!
I have my ATC SCM20 on 24" stands and always wanted them higher as the soundstage height is parallel to where the midrange hits (i read that on a review for the original 20s, and i can conclude that when the ATC are on a temporary 30" stands, the soundstages actually does rise)

Hmmm.. i think i might give this a try! THANKS!!!
Okay, out of no where I tried something and it worked big time for me. Kinn, you should try this too....I just tilted the speaker backward by few degrees using a single spike on the front black platform to lift it a bit and WOW...it took the stage back, warmed up the mids and highs...made everything so much more listenable...this one tweak is easily worth $500 for the improvement it brings at least with ATC 40.

Try it out.
I use them with no toe in and grills on. It seems though as with the grill on, the sound is a bit natural and more controlled, though i do think at times i am missing some details. *this might be all in my head btw* haha

as for toe in, it makes the sound stage a bit small and narrow, and the high frequency seems to beam at you more. Therefore, I have absolutely no toe in at all.

I have them in a 14x18 room. 2.5-3 feet from the side wall,6feet from the back wall, and about 7-8 feet apart. I sit about 8 feet away from them.
I am not sure whether ATC speakers are best set up with little or no toe-in, and perhaps current ATC owners can advise. If sound is little direct, you may want to try as little toe-in as possible.

In a large space you will not notice much effect from toe-in (as they have wide even dispersion) - so just point the straight out and you'll generally get the widest sweetspot and smoothest in room response (think of your speakers as two floodlights and you want to evenly light up your room). I would suggest experimenting with toe-in if they are placed close to side walls (3 feet or less) - to reduce the amplitude of early reflections (best to keep near reflections at least 3 feet from a speaker).

Ryder has some excellent points - where you sit and how close the speakers are to the side walls is very important for the soundstage and image. A really small space suggests using a diagonal configuration with listening chair roughly 6 feet back from the plane of the speakers (avoiding the middle of the room - don't sit in the exact middle). I can't emphasize enough the importance of space around the listener.
I concur with Gregm. In order for the speaker to disappear(which is one of the more important aspects in any system), speaker placement is usually crucial. Since speaker placement is governed by the room in most cases, the size of the room will play a part. You have mentioned in another thread that the size of your room is 13.5' x 13.5' and mentioned here your listening distance is 8' away. With the size of your SCM40 I presume the speakers are close to wall boundaries especially the front wall, and your chair is close to the rear wall. Did you try pushing the speakers further away from the front wall and your listening chair further into the room so as the listening distance to the speakers is reduced to 6' or 7'? Speakers often disappear easier if they are placed further away from room boundaries ie. in a large room. If limited by the size of the room, some room treatments will help. Setting up considerably huge speakers in a relatively small to mid-sized room is often trickier and needs careful planning and attention.

Cables will help *only slightly* in reducing shrill or sharp sound from high-frequencies(electronics to a larger degree) but will not make the speakers disappear. Speaker placement and room treatments will.

I am not sure whether ATC speakers are best set up with little or no toe-in, and perhaps current ATC owners can advise. If sound is little direct, you may want to try as little toe-in as possible.

Happy listening.
Further to Shadorne above, please note that IMO,
1) ...doesnt allow the speaker to dissappear completely: speaker placement. In correct placement, it will disappear. I had no localisation at 1m away.

2)That is most usually a wire/ connector matter. Clean connectors, try a different I/C, then a different spkr wire.

I used to play grills off, it made me feel better psychologically, I could see the killer midrange and the industrial look is inimitable. (Then I got married:( Oh well)
In theory they won't sound very different at all because these have rounded edges on the baffle - so the grill plays no role in helping to reduce edge diffraction - so the imaging/soundstage should be unaffected.

With large open weave fabrics, all you could expect is a very slight attenuation above 6 Khz of 0.5 db to perhaps 1.0 db at 12 Khz. It might be just audible. This may be perceived as more clarity with the grills off. If your amp has a treble tone control you could achieve a similar effect as taking the grills off by moving it up one notch.

Consider that anomalies from room acoustics: the floor and wall coverings and furniture may swamp any grill on or off affect
I've found wires an area to look closer at when trimming out a system.

I'd about bet a pair of Nirvana SL cables in there somewhere would allow you to keep those grills off. there are others too, but the SL make almost anything more listenable without sacrificing detail or resolution. The SX ltd do a better job in keeping the music punchy and dynamic, yet a bit rounder and not overly sharp.

Good luck