My experience with ATC SCM 12

Overall ATC sound is too polite and
mellow.

They are that. Flattish midrange with rolled off treble and bass is not everyone's
cup of tea. Tonality/timbre is more ATC's forte - especially in small models.
Most listeners like more bass and treble emphasis. Your comment about also
disliking Dynaudio suggests that your tastes are more towards B&W ported
designs of similar size - I think they will work much better for you - more
emphasis in the presence region and better bass extension (bigger soundstage).
You probably will be happier with a small monitor that "sounds big" - look for
those kind of comments in the reviews.

You may well like the Triangles based on your stated preferences. They are more in the direction you indicate relative to Dynaudios. I have both Triangles and Dyns in my house.

System matching including interconnects and cabling as well as provision for room effects are important to get the sound that you like. I have ATC SCM11's, Audio Research LS3 and Bryston 4BST and my most used source is a McCormack UDP-1 Deluxe. With Kimber KCTG interconnects the sound is very treble oriented and the bass is light but with Kimber Hero's (copper), there is better top to bottom coherence and the bass is much better and the treble smoother. I have had other systems, however, that favor silver interconnects. Member Philojdet's comments about tweaking are valuable.

ATCs love big, clean power. The Maven is just not to their level IMO. Mikecohen's system is perfect for ATCs. ATC's entry level speakers are deceiving in that they entice people to use budget amplification with them.

If you use an amp like the Bryston 4BSST, they'll sound magical. If you use lesser amplification, they're flat, dull and boring. The first time I heard ATCs, all I thought was why does anyone like these things. Then I heard them bi-amped with Naim monoblocks and totally got what they're all about.

I almost made the mistake of buying a pair of SCM11s to pair up with my Bryston B60. I thought they matched price wise and, and both had that studio honesty sound to them. Bringing my B60 into the shop for a demo saved me some money and aggravation.

If you shove a rocket up their backside, the ATCs will come alive in a spooky way. ATC's integrated amp is a perfect match if you can afford it.

They're very similar to Totem Mani-2s in that they deceivingly need huge power behind them for such a small speaker.

Try all the free stuff like proper placement before spending money though.

I have had a similar experience with the ATC 12's. I am driving them with Classé Audio CAP151 integrated... They are little beasts but sound dull in the upper registers... and to my ears they don't image very well at all. For now they have been relegated to storage and replaced with Thiel PCS... which image very well but have no bass to speak of. I was thinking of selling the 12's; but as the amplifier has provisions to allow I may hold onto them for a little longer and possibly try for supplementary amplification.

Any suggestions for a power amp to couple with my integrated to drive them properly would be most appreciated...

Thank you all for your comments.