I have no experience with Naim speakers, but I wonder as to whether the SL2 would be the obvious solution in your case, paired with the 250DR… Just speculating after quite a bit makkoli in the Far East…
Well, good idea.
Those are probably 2nd on my list.
But they are getting longer in the tooth now.
I bought a pair of Allaes a year ago (which turned out to be a bit battered) and simply couldn’t get all the tasks done to set them up in the room, so didn’t keep them.
But they remain an option.
cheers
Jim
Your front end calls out for a 250DR. Personally I would do the power amp, and then sort out the speakers… Your are on track for a great system!
Well, not sure whether there was something wrong with that particular 250DR.
But I suspect that even a perfect 250DR would probably be too much for my type of low volume listening in my current room with my speakers.
If so, then getting a 250DR without also changing speakers makes no sense.
But then I might need a new room!
I’m very happy to kick back, float downstream and let the music play - and perhaps one day in the distant future a 372 might suddenly appear…
Ever thought of headphones Jim ?
I tried some very average ones that I already own – Bose Noise cancelling (which are dreadful for SQ) and some old flat Sennheiser that were much worse than my speakers.
But I haven’t seriously considered buying good headphones as wearing them doesn’t appeal and this would divert funds from a single-minded path towards better SQ.
Also, I like listening mainly at low volumes - as well as occasionally at medium and high volumes - so it’s not a problem for me.
Ah i see - i thought you had kids or neighbour issues hence the low volumes.
Well, I do have kids sleeping right above the listening room.
And I admit that when they weren’t there last night I listened at 25 instead of 20.
And in the day time I usually listen at 30-40.
So there is some enforced restraint there - but it doesn’t bother me enough to make me want to invest in headphones.
Also, I worry that listening loud via headphones or speakers can make me lose my hearing quicker than I otherwise will.
Given the hammering my ears got at gigs and in clubs for 3 decades, it’s time to stop blasting them now!
Having read this thread and the many mention of the active 40’s I was intrigued to hear them for myself and duly did this afternoon. Started off brilliantly with Nick Caves push the sky away, the vocals were sublime, very much their best hand I think. However some tracks such as Elvis Costello’s indoor fireworks from King of America was very harsh sounding, an irritant you just wanted off. Overall I found them difficult to get a grip of, nothing seems missing or coloured in anyway, everything is laid at your feet clean and dry, but they often lacked the cohesion I’m used to. A bit too studio monitor for me perhaps. My own speakers are Fact 8’s which I thought would be in the ballpark, but it could have been the electronics, Bel Canto pre and dac, and I’m not sure what the streamer was unfortunately, but I only listened to Tidal as that’s my main source with a 272/250 at home. Are they quite dry by nature?
Bobby, I personally would not use a dry or forward source and preamp with them. I have mine set up just where I want them now that I serviced my SC2DR recently.
They are a very revealing speaker, but not too brutal. I have had more ruthlessly revealing speakers before these, my Spendor D9 was exceedingly brutal with poorly recorded music in my room / system.
I guess try another demo. with a 272 or similar ?
JimDog,
I suspect the NAP150 will drive them btu won’t get the best out of them. I gather that the original ATC SCM series were more demanding of power amps but the current ones are more accomodating. The NAP250 has plenty of grunt with the SCM40’s and is what I would aim for if I were you.
On the other hand why not borrow a pair on home dem and try them? It will be interesting to see if you like them.
As for them being harsh referred to later in this thread then I can’t say my passive ones have ever sounded harsh (Unless the actual recording is harsh) - in fact they are very well controlled across the frequency spectrum I feel.
Jonathan
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Was this at your house or a dealer?
It was at a dealers. I think a home demo would be a must tbh. What surprised me about my Fact 8’s is how forgiving they were compared with the FB1’s they replaced. The ATCs today were anything but forgiving. That said I don’t doubt their quality, and it may be the room or the source that they were revealing, hard to know. I like my system to be easy to follow the separate strands while still coalescing into one musical whole. Today was all detail but oddly it didn’t bind together as it should. The only way for me to assess them properly though would be with a home demo, Naim electronics would also remove another unknown, so best not be too hasty to judge.
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Bobbyrab … active ATC40’s (the 40A) have the power amps built into the speaker cabinets and can be either driven directly or via a preamp. Sounds like you auditioned the passive 40’s …
The active version is far better 
No it was the actives with a Bel Canto pre/dac. The power amp as you say is built in. The 272/250 I mention is what I use at home with the Fact 8’s.
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… in which case, I would simply drive your ATC40A’s direct with your 272.
If the home demo proves problematic, then take your 272 along to the dealers for audition with the ATC’s.
The sale of the ‘surplus’ 250 and your Fact 8’s, will help finance the ATC’s
The was an excellent review in one of the HiFi mags which raved about Naim 272 with ATC40A’s.
IIRC, there are a few other forum members using exactly that configuration.
Also Bobby, the 40A are a very clean speaker. As in bugger all distortion, even at very, very high sound levels.
That may be seen by some as dry or sterile sounding. As always YMMV if that is an issue for you or not.
Yes I think there’s an element of personal taste here as well, I always think that speakers are the EQ of the system and need to suit the room and the listener. I think a revisit with the 272 might have given a better idea of their character, too many variables from my system. I don’t think my facts will distort, certainly not at the levels I play them so I don’t think it was that, but certainly the cleanliness was on some recordings too abrasive. What was interesting was rather than spike them the dealer had them on some sort of cup system that allowed him the slide the speaker into different positions, so he pushed them back towards the wall a bit, which doth dulled the abrasion but lost a lot of the soundstage. Anyway, this is all sounding very negative and I don’t mean it to be, they are without doubt amazing speakers, I started with the Nick Cave track and they were so good I thought they were a no brainer, and maybe they will be with the right set up, but not sure I’d want to lose so many things that didn’t suit their presentation based on the set up yesterday.
Not sure that a demo at a dealer using the speakers unspiked, too close to the rear wall and with ‘unknown’ entities (unfamiliar sources, not in your existence system) is really the best demo to give justice to the audition.
But hey, if you decide to dismiss them
on that basis… I guess it’s your call.
As long as you enjoy what you already have, good for you … we can’t all like the same 
I never found SCM40A unforgiving or harsh at all.
Gear and room in particular can make a huge difference. I image SCM40A may perhaps lack bass depth in a really huge room.
I would definitely audition at home with your regular gear and listening room before making a decision.
SCM40A and 272 in my room sounded stunning, musical yet accurate. Unforgiving is the last word I would have used to describe the sound.
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