ATC Speakers...Do you use them with Grill On/Off

In theory they won't sound very different at all because these have rounded edges on the baffle - so the grill plays no role in helping to reduce edge diffraction - so the imaging/soundstage should be unaffected.

With large open weave fabrics, all you could expect is a very slight attenuation above 6 Khz of 0.5 db to perhaps 1.0 db at 12 Khz. It might be just audible. This may be perceived as more clarity with the grills off. If your amp has a treble tone control you could achieve a similar effect as taking the grills off by moving it up one notch.

Consider that anomalies from room acoustics: the floor and wall coverings and furniture may swamp any grill on or off affect

Further to Shadorne above, please note that IMO,
1) ...doesnt allow the speaker to dissappear completely: speaker placement. In correct placement, it will disappear. I had no localisation at 1m away.

2)That is most usually a wire/ connector matter. Clean connectors, try a different I/C, then a different spkr wire.

I used to play grills off, it made me feel better psychologically, I could see the killer midrange and the industrial look is inimitable. (Then I got married:( Oh well)

I concur with Gregm. In order for the speaker to disappear(which is one of the more important aspects in any system), speaker placement is usually crucial. Since speaker placement is governed by the room in most cases, the size of the room will play a part. You have mentioned in another thread that the size of your room is 13.5' x 13.5' and mentioned here your listening distance is 8' away. With the size of your SCM40 I presume the speakers are close to wall boundaries especially the front wall, and your chair is close to the rear wall. Did you try pushing the speakers further away from the front wall and your listening chair further into the room so as the listening distance to the speakers is reduced to 6' or 7'? Speakers often disappear easier if they are placed further away from room boundaries ie. in a large room. If limited by the size of the room, some room treatments will help. Setting up considerably huge speakers in a relatively small to mid-sized room is often trickier and needs careful planning and attention.

Cables will help *only slightly* in reducing shrill or sharp sound from high-frequencies(electronics to a larger degree) but will not make the speakers disappear. Speaker placement and room treatments will.

I am not sure whether ATC speakers are best set up with little or no toe-in, and perhaps current ATC owners can advise. If sound is little direct, you may want to try as little toe-in as possible.

Happy listening.

I use the silver Chord cables.

I am not sure whether ATC speakers are best set up with little or no toe-in, and perhaps current ATC owners can advise. If sound is little direct, you may want to try as little toe-in as possible.

In a large space you will not notice much effect from toe-in (as they have wide even dispersion) - so just point the straight out and you'll generally get the widest sweetspot and smoothest in room response (think of your speakers as two floodlights and you want to evenly light up your room). I would suggest experimenting with toe-in if they are placed close to side walls (3 feet or less) - to reduce the amplitude of early reflections (best to keep near reflections at least 3 feet from a speaker).

Ryder has some excellent points - where you sit and how close the speakers are to the side walls is very important for the soundstage and image. A really small space suggests using a diagonal configuration with listening chair roughly 6 feet back from the plane of the speakers (avoiding the middle of the room - don't sit in the exact middle). I can't emphasize enough the importance of space around the listener.