So what’s been going on? And what on earth is that blue Sugden amp doing there?

These are good questions!

For a start, we had our two day ATC event back in early May. Despite holding it on a bank holiday weekend, it drew a sizeable audience and the Saturday developed a splendid summer party ‘vibe’. Despite these positives, it arguably failed too. Given that it was all about the merits of active operation, it’s ironic that the first sale to be stimulated by it was of our demonstration SCM50 loudspeakers, but in passive form. The 6-8 week lead times for replacements made this feel a little double edged too.

The stars of the show were supposed to be the SCM20 actives. We had ordered our demo ones in Burr Magnolia, having sold some 50’s in this finish in the past and thought it stunning. Ben Lilly brought our new pair straight from the factory. They were opened up with some anticipation and initial reactions were not wholly positive, they seemed a bit yellow. A few weeks on and we seem to be taking to them far more positively.

Good as the new active 20’s are, it  has to be said that the active SCM50SE’s, pictured above during the ‘interview’ section, made an even more compelling case for themselves and diverted our attention from trivial matters of veneer colour.

Another attendee to our event, one who has passive 50 tower’s in the Burr Magnolia that we recalled, was interested in how significant simply going active would be for him. He has a Naim 552 running into NAP 350 mono’s and this raised an issue that we’ve run into in the past, that of explaining that the SE’s are about more than just some fancy metal trimmings and posh veneers.

The SE’s curved, damped and layered cabinet walls are of significance and the electronics are considerably better too. The upshot is that the SE versions of both SCM50 and SCM100 justify the price differential by being a whole lot more beguiling than the, already excellent, standard ones.

We struck a deal with ATC on their black 50 SE’s with our own demonstration use in mind and promptly sold them to the man with the pretty Burr Magnolia passives. Seeing his speakers a year or so on, brings us hope that our ‘errant’ 20’s might acquire a more appealing (richer, redder, warmer) hue in due course.

Anyway, if you have an itch for one year old ATC SCM50 towers in passive or active form or fancy a bit of a deal on some very young but unusually striking SCM20’s. Think Simpsons yellow but with a skin condition, give us a call.

Oh yes, Sugden. There is a link!

Going back roughly thirty years, Sugden products were part of the signals line-up. Limited space played it’s part in us drifting apart. It’s a long and convoluted tale. We had already run across an A21SE a few years ago and knew that it is an accomplished piece of work. The current version of the basic A21a seems quite a bit better built that the ones from 25-30 years ago and it sounds better than we recall too. Mind you, speakers and source components have also improved over time.

Suffice it to say that a proper listening session a week or two later led to us investing in three items for demonstration.

The massive irony here is that if you are looking for a prefect match for larger ATC loudspeakers, the A21 is unlikely to be it. The Masterclass IA4 pictured above in ‘bronze’ finish could well be ‘it’, though. The IA4 seems devoid of aggression or harshness yet sounds dynamic and spirited too. Spacial matters are handled superbly but the unforced midrange purity, something that’s evident across the entire class A line-up, is truly special.

So far, we’ve had stunning results with various Dynaudio models, plus the inevitable Falcon LS3/5A’s. There is a great deal more listening to be done. Interesting to see this Australian Sugden review also using Dynaudios.

One feature that Sugden was trialing when we last dealt with them was offering colour options for the anodised fascias. At the time, I recall they thought that maybe working to a RAL paint colour number would be the way forward. In practice, anodising is such an inexact science that there were some serious ‘misses’.

The upshot is that there are now some standard alternative colours that are known to work and that you can specify for a modest increase in price. Two finishes are ‘free’, namely titanium and charcoal. We have the A21a in the latter but have let bad taste run riot with the other two. At least keeping hold of the demo amps should be easy 🙂

Audiomica Consequence

How thoroughly inconvenient that the Consequence series should turn out to be so accomplished with Accuphase electronics. We borrowed some to see what they do and found ourselves ordering a set for demonstration. The various digital cables have proved to be particularly persuasive.

We have a significant slice of the Audiomica range on demonstration.

And? Yes it works really well. Whilst many will buy it simply to have the best version of the LP12, they won’t have to be deaf to appreciate it! Over the standard plinth, it brings greater neutrality with the most obvious gains being in bass control and clarity. We are equipped with Klimax LP12 both with and without bedrok. Comparative demonstrations can actually take place in sleepy Suffolk 🙂

Reinforcing our commitment to the Scottish brand, we now have a nice, new, crisp, and black Kilmax DSM streamer / preamp settling in too. This is proving to be an excellent partner for active ATC’s amongst other things.

A short break is planned . .