Just got the call - my ATC amp is now in!

Yep… the AD has just called to say the new pre/power amp is in! :slight_smile: He’s popping round Thursday pm when it’ll be goodbye to the SN2/HiCAP-DR and hello to the ATC CA2/P1. I’m still twitchy about moving away from NAIM but I think it’s the right thing to do. The ATC amplification is, IMHO, simply better than my current SN2/HiCAP setup. I’m sure if I was to throw a lot more money at the NAIM amp side (so perhaps 250DR with a NAC282 and perhaps a HiCAP-DR) then NAIM would, again, rein supreme but that’s a massive leap in price; 8.5-10K. It’s an extra 4-6K I’d rather spend elsewhere like a new streamer… maybe even an NDX2!

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I presume you have ATC speakers? Presentation will certainly be slightly different. Recently I heard the new ATC SIA 100 -2 playing with ATC SCM40 speakers, for me that combination was synergy in true form (loved that wide open soundstage with precision resolution) but then its to be expected as both components are by ATC. If I had the money I would purchase that system in a heart beat, and it would be a system for life (well at that moment at least!)

Yes… to go with the SCM40s. :slight_smile:

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Congratulations on finding something that’s right for you.
Would be interesting if you could elaborate further. The SN2/HICAPdr is a little more dearer than the ATC combo - not saying that quality is always appropriate to price. What was it that fell short with the Naim and put right with the ATC ?

There is less colouration with the ATC amps. IMHO, NAIM amps seem to give a ‘warmer’ sound which I perceive as a little over blown in the upper bass; or certainly at the ‘cheaper’ end of the NAIM amp options that I’ve been exposed to! The ATC is much flatter across the whole frequency range which sounds clearer and more detailed… perhaps truer to the source? Reading various reviews, both magazine and owners, because I’m not in a position to listen to NAIM amp setups running to 10K, I get the impression that the more you spend on NAIM amplification then the truer to life it gets. As to what you get for your money, I read somewhere that the margins for ATC are a lot smaller than they are for NAIM, both for the factory and the dealer. So it might be, when looking at the cost of the product, that there’s not much in it. I mean the build cost for the two setups might be much the same but NAIM work to larger margins. Just what I read on one of the CA2/P1 reviews.

Good choice there mate! I’m envious :heart_eyes:

An active SCM40s are really nice!
Congrats for making that jump.
Tho if I were to make that switch, I would keep my Naim pre.

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