Indeed going from passive to active got me an upgraded sound at a lower price! Quite unusual in this hobby!
Gary
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19a with Atom HE then 222 then 332/333 then 332/300/333/300. All these steps in 3 weeks, please. 
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Disagree. ATC and my ears both argue strongly in favour of active operation. The cheapest active ATCs are the 19s so well worth auditioning.
I also see @ninanina has been thinking about and listening to lots of possibilities. That is surely sensible before spending a big wodge of money.
Roger
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Thanks to everyone that I’ve made sense to 
I realise I’ve made changes in a short time but my mantra is ‘you only live once’ so if I’m attracted to something then just go for it!
If the active 19’s appeal to me then that’s the speakers and amp taken care of
That just leaves the source and from what I can make out the Atom HE may be perfect for my needs
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Atom HE a good choice, but I’d also suggest the Node Icon.
Dual DAC , DIRAC, XLR out, sounds magnificent and is considerably cheaper than the HE.
In time also an intermediary analogue preamplifier could be introduced, but the icon sound out the box is astonishing.
Also take a look at the Cambridge EXN100, but i reckons the ICON has it beaten for half the price.
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Or 222/300 to go still further.
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222/300 into scm40A better
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You only live once
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It’s a bit odd justification for purchasing decisions though. It’s as valid for any decision made in life.
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Just turning the volume dial on top of the Atom HE should be enough justification to decide favourably for the Atom HE. It’s such a class product, made in UK for a very fair price.
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It has to sound good and as long as you can afford it then it could be the deciding factor if you’re sat on the fence. I’m very indecisive so sometimes it’s the only justification.
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I’m afraid I very much recognise that. I tell my children that it is an insurance mechanism against poverty.
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That I cannot disagree with.
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I dropped off the ATC 11 & 19’s to my dealer today
They are transferring the 19a’s to their store over the weekend together with an Atom HE
I will take a listen to that setup in their demo room hopefully on Tuesday
I will then decide what I want to go for
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The XS3 has a din socket for preamp out. You could get a cable made up to go from xs3 preamp out to active ATC 19a. That would avoid the need to swap it for the atom he. Just saying.
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Good point, but even here in NL the prices of preloved Atom HE have dropped to a low enough level to make that the prime choice if you don’t need analogue phono.
(DAC-V1 plus a new Node is almost same price)
Atom HE with actives or with a OC preloved NAP200/250-DR (you would need a XLR>DIN cable for the 200) is one big seller.
Altenatively XS3 with ND5-XS2 and vinyl, which is what I chose and love, better than a Nova.
(above that I’ve already seen preloved NSC222 at half price which defeats the point of going SN3/NDX2 and all the power supplies)
Third big preloved option is Nait 50 with bare NDX2 and a very decent turntable and standmounts.
Oh and the “standard” Atom of course, lovely machine for a small system without phono.
The used market is interesting these days.
Not sure how happy preamp output on XS3 would be driving long interconnects into balanced inputs on the ATCs. No such problems with Atom HE.
Roger
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I got a look at the Atom today and it’s a pretty cute little thing
Hope you can turn the display off though
Yes you can
No idea, it was just a thought, I haven’t tried it.
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