ATC SCM100PSL > Audiograde - Editor's Pick 2024

Bucking the trend
The ATC SCM100PSL under review here is cherry picked from the brand’s Classic Series of dedicated standmount hifi speakers (which share drivers and internals with the pro range, albeit in more domestically friendly cabinets). And while this isn’t a new speaker by any means, it’s been evolved over recent decades, meaning the real acid test is how (pardon the pun) it still stands up today.

Pushing the envelope

What also changed during my time with these speakers is my preconceptions of ATC’s ‘house sound’. Having read many a rival review that hinted at the product line being more ruthlessly revealing than most or lacking degrees of emotion, not only are neither presumptions true, they also miss the point of what ATC strives for, which in a word is ‘honesty’. Feed them a duff or mediocre recording and that’s what you’ll hear. They won’t overemphasise the negatives but nor will they polish them or mask them out with an overblown bottom end or forward midrange for example, to distract your attention.
The flipside to this though is what happens when you feed them a quality recording, where you’ll be rewarded with a sound that’s often nothing short of astonishing.

ATC SCM100PSL in summary

Powerful, articulate, neutral, effortless recovery…I could go on as all these qualities apply in equal measure to these speakers. And its the equal part that’s the lesson here, as the ATCs don’t favour one element over another, because it is an exceptionally evenhanded loudspeaker that offers a genuinely transparent window into the music. Providing you’ve the right amp to do them justice, they’re also incredibly non-fatiguing thanks to how distortion free and uncoloured they are.
While similarly priced rivals may excel or impress in some areas beyond the ATCs, few are as accomplished across the board. And while others may be formed from more exotic materials in easier on the eye packages, the SCM100PSL is a thoroughbred with a clear purpose, to replay music as accurately as possible, and in doing so, sets the benchmark as best in class.

ATC SCM100PSL
Audiograde