Experience with ATC 20A-2 Active speakers?

i have experience with the ATC SCM-50A, SCM-12, SCM-7, and SCM-10A and both of the ATC preamps.

firstly, the ATC speakers all sound nearly identical, the only real differences are in bass extension. the 20s use the same driver as the 50s, which is, IMO, the greatest mid-range driver ever. if you get these speakers, look into the tweeter upgrade (if they don't have the new tweeter). i've not yet heard the new tweeter, but all accounts say it is far superior to the older one, which some viewed as the only nit-pickable flaw to them.

as far as the preamps go, neither impart *any* sonic signature to the sound at all - they are stunningly transparent. my brother uses the smaller one for his 50s and i use the larger one for mine. we've done comparisons before and the difference is in detail. the larger one simply allows more music to come through, but the smaller one is exceptional at the price.

for the size of your room, the 20s are likely an excellent choice. please feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

I have NO experience w/ the 20 but do have experience w/ 50 & 100. In that light, I can confirm Lazarus' quick assessment above -- except of course the compression at VERY high (unnecessarily high IMO) volumes that settles in w/ the 50 whereas was unoticeable with the bigger model.

The 75-150 midrange driver is, of course, one of the best upper mids in production. I don't know which tweet they use (vifa in the older models?) but it shouldn't be difficult to find out -- and upgrade if you feel necessary.

I beg to differ slightly re, the pre: the bigger model was extended & detailed, the smaller one seemed less so -- both being somewhat limiting where details were concerned. I listened with an attenuator as a reference, so my comments ALSO reflect the addition of an extra circuit in the chain -- Lazarus is living with the pre, so is more experienced.

Oh yes, the sound: to be short, excellent.

I'm using the ATC active 20-2's (purchased from can hi-fi 2 months ago) in a 13 1/2' wide x 30' long x 8'high w / 3 openings @ the side to other rooms.
I'm using a Dodson dac connected to a Bent Audio pre (silver transformers). All balanced connections.
The sound is marvelous; room filling everywhere. Actual spl's can be over 95 db in the rear of the room w/o distortion.
I'm not using a sub yet, no real need to. If I ever get another speaker, it would be a larger ATC active.

In the room with me right now I have a pair of: active 50's; active 10's and active 20's. I also have the SCA2 and CA2. I am not related to Lazarus28 :-)

I do not consider myself an ATC nut, I own other equipment and speakers too :-) Including a Paradigm servo-15 - which I happen to be using with the 20's right now.

Firstly, the 20's use a Seas Excel TWEETER, which it shares with it's bigger brothers (50's 100's etc). The 20 does not use the midrange driver of the larger speakers but instead uses a 6" ATC mid-bass driver. Enough nit-picking.

The room I have is 20x14x8, with a couple of openings into other rooms. In this room the 10's are a little bass light, the 50's are just right and if I didn't have the 50's, I'd be quite happy with the 20's bass response. The subwoofer is an "experiment" in acoustics and I'm crossing over the 20's at 40Hz.

The treble on the 20's and 50's is first class, the 10's use an older vifa tweeter which I thought was pretty good, until I heard the Seas unit.

I'm not going to eulogize the 20's - speakers are a very personal choice - to my hearing they are very good indeed. If you've heard Harbeth's you'll have some idea what your getting in to (I recently had a pair of compact 7's). I've had ref3a DiCapo's and thought the 10's better - again a personal choice.

As Lazarus28, the ATC preamps sound the same. You should decide based on whether you are going to use a balanced source, and want balanced outputs (in spite of its XLR connectors the CA2 is single ended) and whether you want more inputs and a more sophisticated phono stage. Balanced only really makes sense if your running long cables. That said, a benefit of balanced cables is that good ones can be obtained cheaply from mogami/belden/canare at guitar/pro audio shops.

One thing to know, these speakers weigh over 60lbs - they somehow feel heavier and need a robust stands - about 18" tall with a tidy sized top plate.

One more thing, if your are a "serial changer" of equipment, then ATC are not a good brand to buy new, you'll loose a lot when you sell. Try to get a good deal from a dealer if buying new, or watch the used section here..

Thanks for your responses. The bass has always been the problem in the room. I just sold a pair of Tyler Acoustic Linbrook Signature System (with bass modules). While I loved them from mid-bass up, the bass was just not there and what was there was boomy and poorly defined. i have tried other speakers and they all seem to suffer the same fate in the room. I have tried different room treatments, but with no real luck yet. I was hoping that the ATC's smaller size, yet potent bass might be what the doctor ordered. I am also intrigued by the midrange that everone raves about. I have always felt that my system lacked immediacy and the sense of being there. One last question, is the CA-2 hard and does it become fatiguing over time?

no it isn't hard or harsh at all and i've never known it to be fatiguing.

I am an ATC fan - I have been living with the SCM20-2 Actives for years now. They are nothing short of amazing. But, quite sensitive to the ancillary equipment, of course! The preamp and/or DAC used is critical - there is no hiding from these revealing speakers. These will sound incredible in a room that size. If you are going to use a subwoofer with these, I have great results with the REL S2 - the smallest driver of the S series. I also have a pair of ATC-SCM10-2 passive monitors as well as a pair of the new SCM40 passives as well. I will be selling the SCM20-2 actives, if you are interested.

The Subwoofer Pros 12 or 18 would be another great choice if you feel the need for a sub.

I have the scm 19 v2 and I wish sometimes I did have active sometimes...but my modwright seems to be a nice balance and drive them wonderfully...don’t over do room (bass traps) with them...it can be that much of a difference between meh or now were talkin....no need for sub in my room...thought I needed...but i had over damped...now its opened up and way more dynamic....setup with them is the pay off.