18 We visited ATC’S factory to see our reference speakers, the SCM50S, being made
We begin with the hand-pressed and assembled voice coils. You simply can’t buy a machine that produces ribbon 6000th of an inch by 3000th of an inch out of fine copper wire: this unique contraption was made by the brother of Billy Woodman, ATC’S founder. A dedicated engineer still feeds wire into it today. Reduced heat and greater efficiency within the coil’s usable surface area are the aims here, and finessing the very roots of its drivers pays dividends.
These are tiny differences, but when it comes to performance they will be amplified, quite literally. We mention this, and Lilly smiles: “We don’t make massive claims in terms of power, efficiency, frequency range or amplification. We always try to promise less and deliver more.”
Vanessa Mayo is working on a midrange mandrill, securing the coil with needlepoint precision. “I’m into my 35th year at ATC,” she says. She glances over at her workload: “These have been in the oven and then rested overnight.”
We mention that it doesn’t look easy. “There are no half measures here,” she says. “Everything is tested and has to pass within its parameters at every step of the process.” Lilly suggests that she might have completed 15,000 units by now. Mayo laughs, “Oh, and then some!”
We attempt to handle the ribbon Mayo is working with. It is so fine that our fingertips can barely feel it.
The midrange dome and soft dome assembly is Hugh Burston’s domain. The delicate, highly-specific, fabric dome tweeter and midrange diaphragms (or ‘reindeer noses’ as they are known) are the only parts that ATC orders from a dedicated supplier – and the margin for error on hand-assembling these is mindbendingly small.
As Burston demonstrates the various procedures, it’s clear that one small error – such as a nanosecond of heavyhandedness with that fine glue nozzle – and a midrange driver can fail to make it to the next stage of assembly. And that would almost certainly mean starting again from scratch.
We remark that he must have an eye for detail. “Oh, I can tell who papered
these coils as soon as I start work,” he says. “Everyone has their own characteristic way of finishing them, little flairs in their work.”
Burston says he can complete 40 midrange drivers in an average week, “or 60 on a good one”. On his role, he says, “I like that the whole process is mine. I test it before it leaves – that’s all on me.”
Bass drivers in the SCM series vary greatly in size, but here Toby Keogh is at the helm, one of the very cornerstones of ATC’S foundations. “After 43 years here, they’ve put my name on my T-shirt. It’s so I don’t forget it!” he says wryly. After working in the Scottish shipyards, Keogh had an interview over a few pints with founder Billy Woodman in 1977. “The rest is history,” he adds.
Lilly adds, “Any ATC speaker that comes in for service, anything at all – a custom install, a prototype, an anniversary edition we only made three of – Toby will know about it and almost certainly have worked on it. That level of handson expertise is irreplaceable.”
We ask Keogh if he still loves his work. His reply is almost instant: “I’ve got two more years until retirement, but then I’ll be stood outside, looking in through the window, watching them working and probably wishing I still was.”
We ask him if much has changed here since he started. “We’re a bit bigger,” he says, “But not much.” Raising a cautionary finger, he says, “You can’t let the quality dip.”
Lilly agrees. “It’s a conscious decision Woodman had to make at some point in the 1980s. Did he want to upscale and risk losing this level of workmanship, or did he stay here? He chose to keep things largely as they are.”
We’re about to see a chunk of shiny black metal being magnetised. It’s like a scene straight out of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. A newer magnetiser is gradually being phased in, but this is the original machine from 1974.
Charlie, the steampunk-styled engineer, drops the inky disc into its waxy basin and pushes nine buttons in sequence. Then, a buzz. We wait.
It’s intense, like the moment before Willy Wonka reveals the Everlasting Gobstopper. Charlie retrieves the part from the magnetiser. He grabs a wrench. It practically leaps from his hand, attaching itself to the newborn magnet with a vice-like grip. We feel like breaking into applause.
Once the ATC SCM50 midrange driver is assembled, it goes into the
£599
Replacing the A&norma SR15, current Product of the Year in the portable music player category, the Korean audio brand’s new cheapest player aims to upgrade the entry-level performance of its current line-up through a range of improvements to both hardware and software. The SR25 supports native DSD256 and 32-bit/384khz audio, boasts a faster Quad-core CPU and 21-hour battery life, and is the first A&K player to support Sony’s hi-res-transmitting LDAC Bluetooth codec.