ATC Sound
Contents
It is fascinating how the ATC SCA2 manages to bring a touch of ATC to the reference system. The kick, openness of the midrange and overall energy is definitely “ATC”; we know that from the ATC SCM40A your author has at home.
ATC feel
What is striking is that this pre-amp gives the feeling of not being there. As mentioned, the whole thing feels very open and fast; transparent. Still, we cannot deny the ATC signature. The difference between with and without (that is, the Sonnet directly on the Pass Labs X150.8, or with the ATC SCA2 in between) is certainly audible: the mid becomes a bit more open and the focus moves a bit more forward. This is a totally different effect than with the Pass Labs XP-12 which actually makes the whole thing a bit ‘sweeter’ and bigger. The midrange gets warmer with the Pass. That’s certainly nice, but it’s also coloration. Just like the ATC opens up the mid.
It has to be said: the ATC SCA2 works in a more subtle way than the Pass Labs: that signature is more audible. So the SCA2 is a bit more subtle on that front. Those looking for the most purist approach: a dac with lossless volume control then remains the only option. A “hybrid” volume control, or a digital control with upsampling tricks is mostly not lossless, making a nice pre-amp the only option.
Energy
What we really appreciate about this SCA2 is the subtle extra energy that this pre-amp brings. Bass kicks get a nice extra kick to them…. A steel-guitar feels nicely enegic and gets a delicious pointiness to it. And a big orchestra is also big in front of us.
But – ATC remains a studio brand – it’s all subtle. And certainly not bigger, thicker or more energetic than it should be. The core and intent of recording is clearly audible. And that makes us happy, because making things bigger and more beautiful than they really are is fun for a while, but quickly gets boring.
And here we come to an important point: we often hear that enthusiasts are looking for a warm and unctuous sound. Or they think that’s what they want. Be careful with that! A little salt and pepper is not a bad thing. And cream is nice, too. In moderation. But if you start throwing cream on everything, everything is going to taste like cream…. There’s no more room for other flavors. And then that cream gets really boring after a while! I think you get our point now.