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Thinking about a pair of ATC SCM40

Many thanks for the replies guys. Luckily, the retailer that I'm using has an active set. So I can do an A/B test. Albeit with a different front end. He is a chord dealer, so maybe a Hugo tt2 in front. Now I'm looking forward to Thursday even more ;)
Crikey, I'm almost as excited as if I was actually buying them!

Now, please post your handful of carefully selected test tracks here so we can offer you conflicting advice (it's a forum thing).:)
 
Excellent for the OP, if you prefer the actives make sure you have a home demo before buying. It’s such a relief knowing that your speakers have all the power they need.
 
Ah yes, the demo tracks. I listen to anything from Paul Simon, Sinatra, Robben Ford, Dixie Dregs, Rush, Hendrix etc etc. Basically guitar based rock, blues and jazz. I'm old enough to be heavily influenced by the 60's and 70's, as I grew up through both. I don't listen to classical or anything mainstream from the last 20 odd years.

As for power. The amp has 250 wpc and can drive down below 2 ohms, so we should be okay. The amp I heard last week was a Rega Aethos, and after about 30 mins warming up it sounded pretty good. The thing that struck me the most was how clean and punchy the speakers sounded.
 
I suspect that anyone hearing the passive 40s and active 40As, regardless of the quality of the amp(s) driving the former, will buy the actives. And the Hegel is a mighty fine amp.

Even Hegel’s best amplifier the H30 is unable to power and bring passive curved SCM40’s up to the performance level of SCM40A’s.

As good as this combination is -

Hegel P30 > H30 > curved passive SCM40

however the above combination sounds flat and lacklustre compared to this combination -

Hegel P30 > SCM40A
 
Even Hegel’s best amplifier the H30 is unable to power and bring passive curved SCM40’s up to the performance level of SCM40A’s.

As good as this combination is -

Hegel P30 > H30 > curved passive SCM40

however the above combination sounds flat and lacklustre compared to this combination -

Hegel P30 > SCM40A

I have the chance to listen to a Chord Dave in front of the actives...who knows? Of course I will have to get this past 'she who must be obeyed'. Could be tricky.
 
OP if you’re looking to hear the utmost from SCM40A’s with a DAC/Pre then a DAC/Pre along the lines of CEN.GRAND Audio’s DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe gives a spellbinding performance with SCM40’s.
 
I have a pair of 40s driven by a 250DR firing across the room in a similar size to yours. They benefit from being toed in and I have them about 30 cm from the rear wall behind and one is about a metre from the side wall. They do have a fairly wide sweet spot though, I find I can sit on either end of the sofa and they still sound great. I had them in an almost square room before and I think they sound better in the current room. They do take a bit of finessing to get the position right, I have found a centimetre can make a surprising difference. Worth investing in some Linn Skeets or similar to move them about, you can remove them from below the spikes once you have them in position. I might be biased but I don't think you can get a better speaker at the price.
 
I think whichever speaker you get, you will be made up with them tbh. I’ve had many speakers and to my mind the SCM40’s are top of the tree of what I have had. They are superbly musical, non-fatiguing and just found right. Bass has huge kick for a sealed cabinet too.

Do modern Naim amps image as mine (Olive NAP250) was flat as a pancake on most speakers? Interestingly that was not the case when I used my ZAP250 which used tweaked NAP250 boards!
 
Another SCM40a user here. Fantastic speaker, hard to beat unless you’re spending considerably more. I auditioned the passive version both at home and at the dealers. A mate has the passives with an extremely capable Vitus Audio amp, a real powerhouse. I still prefer the active version. To my cloth ears, the actives are more open with a cleaner upper bass/ mid section. Detail & separation is superior.
The passives are still a superb speaker. We auditioned them against other passive speakers costing twice as much & the ATC’s were better to our ears by some margin. However the step up to the actives was another easy to hear difference.
Do let us know your thoughts after your dem.
 
Perhaps more useful input from me to the OP…

I love what ATCs can do. I’ve had active 50s.

My only criticism is that IMO they need to be played quite loud to come alive. By no means awful at lower volumes, but the temptation was always there to crank them up a smidge (or more than a smidge!), which is not always ideal.

Perhaps in a bigger room that’s less of an issue.

So, audition at home, and try to audition at varying levels, not just “audition loud”!

Hope that helps.
 


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