I drank a coffee today and cannot sleep. Thus, I'll spend some time here while it's fresh in my mind.

The ATC SCM25A's were oriented as ATC suggests, with the woofers to the outside. The midrange dispersion is so massive it works this way. Plus to have them the opposite way, would have ports firing towards each other bc of the design.

I've said (and stand by) that the ATC midrange in that design (ATC 150S) is the best midrange I've ever heard. And it still is. It seemed a little too forward in this room, if I could, I would turn the midrange down a smidgen. But the midrange is just magical. It's something you don't forget.

The top end is very good, but nothing sticks out at you. It's sort of in a good way though. It's there, it's raw info, but the blend with the midrange, which is carrying most of it, is so seemless, it sounds good.

The bottom end is far too relaxed imo. Heavy kicks, aren't heavy. There is no impact to the chest. Extension was difficult to tell because there was a sub in the room.

In short, the midrange carries these things through a few types of music. Almost anything without a strong drum kick. But the rest of the range, is amazing. Anything bass heavy, these are not what I would get. If I had an extra $10k or whatever they cost, I would be happy to own a pair though : ) Bc, they are simply amazing to listen to.

Hedd Type 30 - Preface, these were demoed in a rectangular room with no treatment. Painted drywall, drop ceiling. I didn't like these at all. The midrange was muddy, and vague. The tweeter had it's moments, but overall, it's just not good. And we, vibrations1951 and I, spent a fair amount of time with them. At no point did I like them. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but, it's the truth. I don't even know what to add, that's how little an impression they left on me.

Quested V3110 - These were demoed in the same room as the Hedd's. These were amazing, at everything. After a couple tracks, when you figure out that tonal aspects are superb, you check out the imaging. It's extremely good. Extremely wide, deep, and extremely clear. When you closed your eyes, it was like you were watching it, vividly! Even in complicated passages everything stayed separated (unlike the Hedd's) Every driver was remarkable. And again, bc of the wide dispersion pattern of the mid, it works with the woofer to the outside. I like the front ports, I hate ports firing right into walls. Each driver has it's own contour, which from my limited view appeared to be continuously variable. I don't know the info on how it works, these aren't what I'm looking for atm. But you can bet if I had $11k and needed a pair of daily work horses I would pull the trigger on these immediately. The kick had kick, the drums, both skin and metal, had texture, the mids were very clear, uncolored...honest. The top end, was very smooth without being too laid back. It was actually pretty forward, but in a good way. It's also a very revealing driver. All the drivers were very revealing, "fast", and just completely unveiled.

You can flip the square in the design to reverse the tweeter and midrange orientation, or try it 90*. It's up to you, which is nice. With room customization, the contours on the back, and the orientation options, (and front firing ports :) I can't imagine a room these wouldn't work in (size aside). The great thing about them was that they were so intriguing and fun to listen to. You were listening to tracks for the first time, in a long time. But they never lost that "monitor" feel. At every moment they are delivering brutally precise attack, decay, separation, imaging. Even with the best recorded material (which I used on all 3 pairs) you could hear that this was once on someone's mixing board. It sounds amazing, but it's back to what it sounded like at the end of mastering etc. They are a pleasure, but you never forget that you are listening to monitors, not speakers. Even so, they are absolutely thrilling to listen to. I was very impressed at every aspect of the design, the performance, and the quality. It's by far the best monitor I've ever heard, although that's a fairly short list. I really can't believe these aren't more popular. Choosing the ATC's over these is a big mistake imo. Maybe it's because they don't have the name recognition, but these are absolutely amazing. If my budget was $11k (whatever these cost) I would end my search here. They are that good. Just astounding.

The Hedds were out of the running from the beginning for me. But the ATC's, and the Questeds, I would love to have a pair of both. I would happily use both (oh man!) but if I had to choose one or the other, it's the Quested's hands down.

I'm never drinking coffee again.