ATC scm 7,11,19.What amp are you using?

I am a big fan of ATC and the SCM7s but they are surprisingly power hungry.

I biamp cheapo Behringer amps, a configuration which is supposed to be pretty powerful, especially since I am listening nearfield on my desktop and only use these for my TV and computer.

Other Audiogoners have suggested that the Behringers are not as powerful as their specifications suggest, but they clip suprisingly quickly with SCM7s.

So ATCs can probably take as much money and power as you could throw at them.

"Affordable" might be the hard part - maybe a used Aragon 4004 MK II? Bryston?

I also look forward to other replies.

I own all three models.

There are a number of great amps that can power these. They work well with 60 to 100 watts pc minimum, solid state over tube.

Great candidate amps include Bryston, YBA, Exposure, Chord, Roksan, NAD and LDF. Expect to pay between $1,000 to 5,000.

Better yet, just buy their active line and be done with it.

Each of the above amps will impart a slightly more forward or relaxed sound within the speakers. I personally like the Exposure 2010S with the 7s, NAD's M series with the 19s, and the YBA Passion with the 11s. There are particularly good historical write-ups on www.sonicflare.com and Positive Feedback about ATC products.

There are a limited number of audio specialists around ATC gear. I can recommend Sound Asylum in Venice, CA. James Gregan is an excellent source for matching specific electronics--has handled the line for a decade and always has inventory on hand.

A fellow audiogoner named Shadorne regularly speaks of his ATC speakers. You might want to ping him as well.

I have been using these for almost 20 years. I have a live touring company and also own the 150s. I personally love the build quality of these (bomb proof)and how they play all genres of music well. You hear exactly what the recording is--very little color added--as thin and neutral as can be. The sound is not for everyone and they love to be played loud.

With that said, I am the biggest fan of this product line. The quality is present through out the line, and surprisingly, not much sonic differences between models. The 19s will sould better "out of the box" and you will need to burn in the 7s and 11s about 500 to 800 hours at least.

I have tended to always to drive them hard and use them as farfields (even the small ATC's play loud) - so big beefy SS amps have been my preferred choices in the past - something like Bryston 4B. If you listen nearfield at quite low volumes at a mixing desk then a Bryston 4B is certainly not going to be as refined as a Class A amp. For a near field application I don't have personal experience with ATC. My guess is that ATC's SIA 150, which operates to two thirds power in Class A, would be a great bargain compared to something like a Pass Labs X60.5 (pure class A). I imagine it has the similar MOSFET type designs in their active speakers...probably not the last word in an amplifier but solid performance that exceeds what the speaker can do and good value.