Which is to say this: the soundstage is spectacular, wide, and deep, with true definition. Now, I mix on British speakers (ProAc Studio 100's-yes, they're bright but granted, they're hi- fi speakers), and I recently switched, so I'm not scared of new speakers. They are refined, reserved, laid-back, and unsympathetic. In a word, these speakers are very British. Which can be an advantage if your speakers are bright. So, when used in the standard nearfield position on the SSL, they ended up firing about a foot over my head as I was sitting down. I found that the angle of adjustment isn't enough to give me the placement I wanted on top of my desk. Like, say, if your console's meter-bridge is too high to allow the tweeters to be anywhere near on-axis with your ears if you stand the speakers up. Yes, I know that sideways is the worst possible orientation for nearfields (it has to do with phase coherency and dispersion-see Billy's comments below), but sometimes it's the best option. They must be oriented vertically by means of two fixed feet on the front corners and an adjustable one in the rear. The enclosures are curved, which means that there is no way to lie them down on their sides. The design is gorgeous, but it leads to a placement problem. Their amps will eat any voltage in the world, they have attachment points for the near-universal OmniMount system, and they'll push 108 dB max continuous SPL when asked. These speakers weigh 60 lbs each, and they're the best constructed of any I've ever seen. It houses two monoblock amplifiers, a 50 W for the tweet and a whopping 250 W for the woof, and it's wrapped in a die- cast aluminum cabinet that is, quite literally, built like a tank. The SCM20ASL Pro is a really heavy, active, two-way design with a 6.5'' woofer and a 1'' dome tweeter. So I brought in my good friend, engineer/producer Jason Lehning, to do a point-counterpoint with me. I had the ATC combo for over a month, and I'm struggling to sum up the pros and cons without coming off too hardcore. Sometimes the UK comes off somewhat reserved and detached, but I discovered that the secret is in giving up any preconceived notions and enjoying the apartness of it all. It's a killer city-full of culture, history, and an overwhelming sense of grandeur. We'll end with a statement from ATC founder and chief designer Billy Woodman. let's start with Reid's take on the ATC's and follow it with Jason's. Therefore, with this review and all the others we publish in Tape Op, I suggest you make your own choices starting with whatever knowledge you gain by reading the reviews and learning about the reviewers and their work, and then seeking out firsthand experience with the gear, if at all possible. While their opinions may differ, what they say objectively about these monitors is actually quite similar. Even if you don't know any of their work, from what each of them says about the ATC's-and about mixing in general-it becomes very clear that Reid and Jason are both exceptional engineers with well-trained ears. I might like something while you may find it unusable for your way of recording-even if the like/dislike is for the exact same reason! That's why it's interesting to read a double review like this. as I mentioned in my intro to the Dynaudio double review, all of us are picky about our gear, and that's why it's great we have so many gear choices. And after reading Jason's opinion on the ATC monitors, I have a better understanding of why The Bees album sounds so damn beautiful. It's both sparse and lush at the same time, with beautiful pop vocal arrangements that remind me of the music I loved when I was younger and less jaded. I happen to own and love The Bees album Starry Gazey Pie. He spent the first part of the year engineering and co-producing the upcoming Guster album, and he just recently recorded a single for Tonic frontman Emerson Hart (which Reid will be mixing). Reid may think Jason's claim to fame is being Reid's good friend (just kidding, Reid!), but others will recognize Jason's name on albums by Lyle Lovett, Bryan White, Alison Krauss & brother Viktor Krauss, Bill Frisell, The Derailers, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis. The second viewpoint is from producer/engineer Jason Lehning. He's worked on hundreds of albums of all genres he's won one Grammy and mixed on three Grammy-winning records and his expert mixing has contributed to many Top-10 chart-toppers and Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum sellers. He was a mixer in 2005's Pot Luck Studio Project, he moderated the Mixing Panel in 2004, and he was a panelist in 2003. The first viewpoint is from Reid, who many of you have met at the last three TapeOpCons. Here's another "double" review of a monitoring system-this one orchestrated by F.
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