ATC SCM150ASLT

@iseland Thank you so much! I will wait for update :)

I can't think of a better choice of speaker brands to meet your criteria.

Both my sons are EDM (electronic dance music) musicians and often bring their final mixes to my home. First they monitor near field in my studio (Michael Green tunable room) which has active ATC SCM20ASL Pro Mk II speakers. Like headphones without headphone problems for this application. This allows them to hear and correct minor flaws not otherwise obvious when more of the listening space acoustics come into play.

Then they listen to SCM50ASLT active speakers using my main music system which is about the same size as yours. I'm not in the house for this as they can simulate club sound levels (seriously) which would compromise my old ears.

With all that said, I used to have SCM100ASLT speakers in that room and I found them to be too be too large and unnecessary with the addition of the correct subwoofers (one may be okay for theatre but two are mandatory in any stereo music system). Speaking of which...

ATC just last week introduced their new C4 Sub MkII 12" subwoofer (see the linked press release). I'll be ordering a pair and believe that the 50ASLT with these subs to be a better solution than 100s or 150s for your application. You'll have the extra flexibility for proper low frequency room/listening position set up and lower bass response that the 150s. IMHO, this would be your best solution and you'll save some money.

Respectfully, the comments suggesting that ATC speakers are a poor choice for EDM, based on my actual experience, is incorrect. The best speakers will play all styles of music properly and ATC active is always my first choice to achieve this as it is for most professionals in the music industry (I've also linked ATC's impressive client list).

Best of luck to you.

New ATC C4 Sub MkII Press Release

ATC Client List

You are going through the exact process I went trough. I wanted a clean and precise system to which I could add at a later point in time. I did tons of research and landed on ATC also. I listen to a very wide variety of music, so i wanted something that could handle all, if not most. I couldn't be happier with the choice I made.  100ASLT's and a Lumin P1 as streamer, DAC and pre-amp in one.  Ill share as much of what I found in my pursuit. 

Question 1 - Models.

As far as I found out, these all use the same drivers and sound near identical. They might sound slightly different to a variation in weight or additional bracing. I had my mind set on the pro's at first for budget considerations, but the finish is (understandably) quit rough compared to the hi-fi versions.  I ended up with the towers because of WAF in the end. 

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Question 2. Room.

I have mine in a concrete box smaller than yours, 6 meter by 5 meter but with lots of sound treatment and not as much windows. I ended up with the 100's as the 150's would be even harder to place. I had mine in the Livingroom before moving them to the current room and the difference in rooms was quite significant. These puppies need a little room to really sing IMHO. In hindsight I would have chosen the 40's or 50's for my smaller room. 

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Question 3. Pre-amp and DAC.

I went with a one box solution, with lots of room too add or tweak at a later point. I really comes down to personal preference I guess. That being said, I am considering a separate tube pre-amp. When listening to strings or vocals this set up can be quite cold and clinical when streaming.    

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Question 4. Updates.

This is pure speculation from my side, but I would guess an anniversary set is bound to be released at some point? But I imagine they would use the same drivers and upgrade the amp packs as they have done with previous versions. 

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Question 5. Audition SCM150ASLT.

Reach out to ATC directly, I have to say their customer service is beyond good. I initially eyed up some used anniversary 50's and they had me email directly with the person that put them tog ether. They were extremely forthright about specs, possible issues etc. They are extremely happy to help so I would imagine they can steer you in the right direction where to audition?  

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Best of luck

@todbut

1) Yes they sound the same but there are differences in how a ASL monitor and ASLtower sound due to stands used on the ASL. If its sound anchors, the sound would be the same or better on the monitors. If its wooden stands, the towers would be better.

2). Is this room you will have some challenges in that the surfaces on the first reflection points (side walls) are different. There are many solutions but be aware that it’s the differences in surfaces that are the biggest challenge to creating a strong image off axis response (off axis is an ATC strength). Different surfaces reflect different frequencies and reflect them differently in response. In other words, getting off axis reflections to be "the same" as on axis is the way to ideal imaging.

Consider the TV wall; you would need to decrease the triangle size, the couch would need to be closer, but it could turn out better if heavily treated. It may be easier to achieve consistency in this position than that large glass surface on one side and the broken wall on the other. Be willing to try this or at least consider it (I have no idea which one will actually turn out to be better, there are so many variables, but it is important to try different approaches and listen. SO my advice is tell your acoustician to treat the room for both positions). General advice is the further from side walls the better (reducing reflections), but there are SO many other factors.

3) Everything affects sound quality. Consider the 150 a platform to work from and you will hear differences in absolutely everything- preamps, cables, cartridges, turntables, etc. It’s what makes active fun I think, as the transparency is so high that differences in things upstream are easily identifiable. What is the "right" place to start is a really big question that may have more to do with your budget. ATC favors analog, so the SCA2 is pure discrete analog. The newer CDA2 preamp/DAC/CD player could be a place to begin knowing you will move this off to a smaller system later. You will have many other issues that occupy your set up phase which could last a while. But to be fair, a zillion other preamps/DACs would also work. To begin, I would avoid a high color preamp or DAC. GO for transparent and neutral to begin. The handling of inputs properly will be something that matters over time, as it affects you in the operation of the system more than the exact listening to it. As you evolve and the industry evolves and you WILL want other devices in the future. Having more than one input, even if it’s analog, would be handy. I would start with a preamp DAC or Preamp + DAC pairing treating the computer is just one input on the system.

4) There are no changes coming to the 150 in the next year or two. Changes come slowly at ATC as between product development in consumer and pro they have a lot going on at any given time. Subwoofers are the current project, as you can see from the C4 introduction.

Have you considered the existing SE150? This uses the ATC discrete amp package and is the best audio (highest resolution) ATC offers at the moment.

5) Why not fly to ATC in England and audition there?

Brad

ATC US importer

(Consumer and Pro)

@audioslave1561 Nice writeup.

I have two friends that drive their ASLTs (50s in one case and 100s in another) directly with a Weiss DAC501 (in both cases wired ethernet directly in as I do with my 501). I agree; these clean, minimal systems like yours can sound spectacular.

"These puppies need a little room to really sing IMHO." Well said. That's why I downsized from 100s in my room. Those 100s were sold to the friend mentioned above. She has a very large room and they sound spectacular, much better than they did in my room.

"When listening to strings or vocals this set up can be quite cold and clinical when streaming." IMHO, this sounds like a network and/or AC optimization issue to me. I would optimize these (plenty of good threads on that here on Audiogon) before adding a line stage or any kind.