Good evening everyone. I’m writing to you because I need your always valuable advice. I’d like to replace my Rega RS10s with passive ATC 40s. I have a Naim NAC 282 preamp and a 250.2 DR power amp. Do you think this is the right choice? Thank you so much and Happy Easter everyone.
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Excellent synergy 
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Have you seen this thread? Lots of good information about ATC SCM40’s and other models.
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Perfect match! They are quite a “powerful speaker” and I found they needed a good 2m apart to really sing.
Have a good read of the ATC thread.
Gary
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Have you tried the search tool? It really is your friend, as they sau. It would have found this very obvious thread as well as many more:
Ideally, you need to listen to the ATC40s. They are excellent very neutral sounding speakers. Lots on here have ATCs and love them.
Other speaker brands will give you other things, such as a more immersive, holographic sound, more weight and grip or a sweeter top end.
ATCs are used for critical listening and are very accurate. Speakers are a very personal thing and sometimes you either like a sound or you don’t!
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I tried 40s with 332 and NC250 and they did not work in my dead sounding room . So as usual try in your own surroundings .
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That was my experience too with passives but active was a different story - shows importance of home demo.
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And it’s not down to the NC250 as it works great with my 50s. Pure combo room interface issue.
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The good thing about ATCs is they have a wide range of speakers and finishes. I have heard the 40s and 50s at dealers. Preferred the grip and bass control of 50s.
Hi Tarantina and happy Easter to you.
ATC 40 with 250DR is not the way I would go. A few years ago I extensively auditioned both 40s and 19s in passive and active form. In particular, I compared active 40s with passive 40s driven by a 250DR. To my ears the 250 combo felt slightly loose as if struggling a bit to control the lower frequencies in particular. It was listenable and pleasant enough, but missing the bass tightness and slam of the actives. I also tried a 300DR and that made the passives much more competitive with the actives. I’ve not heard them with a NC250 but fell the passive 40s really needed a 300 in the OC range.
Those ATCs with their pro heritage are built to be neutral and revealing. But that does expose the source — you’ll easily hear any upgrade. So, I have a suggestion: go for the SCM 19s instead, they work very well with a 250DR and spend the money saved on a source upgrade. A nDAC would fit the bill nicely for a super Naim-based system.
Roger
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I agree. I heard 40’s (passive and active) and 50’s (active) at my dealers. I found the 40’s in both guises to be a tad clinical, but the active 50’s were very good indeed.
I found the 40’s had a lot less bass weight than the Totem Mani-2 Signatures I currently use. They just didn’t produce the amount of bass the size of the cabinet suggested they would, seeing as they must be three times the size.
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I would also suggest a listen to the passive 19’s
I love mine
I have 40Actives and there is nothing clinical about them. They will show up mismatches and reward the for the right choices. I would say they are revealing of what you feed them.
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I also have the 40As, the sound is a mix of dynamism and smoothness, far from a clinical sound… there must have been either a room problem or a problem with the pairing, or both!
I don’t have ATC speakers and I prefer other speakers. However, they are very good. I find them very neutral and clear with good all round performance. As you go up the range the bass gets better with 50s.i would like to hear the 100s, 150s and 200s too.
I prefer Dynaudio and have Focals, which I like very much. Really enjoyed Dynaudio Confidence 50s at dealers. I like my Focal Sopra 2s and the bigger Focals I have heard. ProAcs and Kudos Titans also sound good to my ears. All of these other brands are less neutral than ATCs.
The Dynaudios are easier to listen to. The Focals have sweet top end and great punch and bass slam. Kudos Titan 808s have great grip in their power and very fine midrange.
Some of these speakers are more holographic with a more open and dynamic sound stage than ATCs.
I feel that ATCs are very true to the music and soumd like monitor speakers. But the 50s are better. I am not invested in the brand as they are not my thing.
I understand that some of the other ATCs such as 19s and 20s can be better sounding than the 40s in some rooms.
There’s a big speaker choice out there. ATCs are often less costly than the other brands I have mentioned. The speakers I have and like cost alot more. So perhaps the comparison is unfair.
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I’ve heard the ATCs up to active 150s and they definitely have a common sonic signature, emphasizing neutrality and transparency. Obviously the bigger models go lower in the bass and the entry series (7, 11, 19, 40) is a little more forgiving at the expense of a little less transparency.
While I’d love a pair of active 50s, they’d dominate the room, visually as well as sonically. When I did my first audition at Acoustica, there were a couple of guys from ATC in the shop and they reckoned active 40s were a sweet spot in the range, so I’m content to slum it with my pair.
Roger
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The 40 is a sealed cabinet (“infinite baffle”), and unsurprisingly its spec indicates that bass extension is limited. However some people have reported excellent results with subs complementing them. I certainly don’t think they’d suit me without subs, the 100 upwards being more where I’d think of auditioning - however if I had to go small the 40 with subs might well be the way to go.
Hi, it’s a reasonable thought but in my opinion the 250.2 is not enough power for the 40s. If you’re not willing/able to upgrade your amp to support the 40s I would suggest the 19s, or if you definitely want floor standers I would suggest something that is easier to drive.
I had given a response to ninania, why did it disappear?
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