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For a nicely balanced system, you really should be looking at an NDX2, ideally with an XPSDR. As an alternative there are various DAC upgrades you could look at. For a good room filling sound, try the speakers 2M or so apart.

Some use blocks, some connect directly to the wall. More important is a good dedicated mains supply. There are plenty of threads about this; the search facility is your friend here.

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Hi Sanj and welcome to the forum.

That’s a nice system you’ve assembled and my first thought woukd be to do nothing except listen to music for a month or two, to let the system run in and your ears adjust to it’s sound.

As for the speakers, it is often said that ATC SCM 40s are not sensitive to position. I have the active version of the SCM 40s and my experience is that they do benefit from being away from walls where this is possible. I’d certainly move them further out from the wall and try to get the front faces well forward of the rack. They look pretty close together in your photo, so I guess you’re listening fairly close: ideally you and the speakers should be at the corners of an equilateral triangle. This near-field setup should give you a bit of leeway in placement.

I agree with others that your source is the weak link and an NDX2 would be a good replacement, but an alternative would be to track down a good used nDAC and use that with the digital output from your ND5XS2. The nDAC is long-discontinued, but it still a very fine sounding DAC.

And, finally, if you do get a chance to play the ATCs a bit louder, they may surprise you by showing just what they’re capable of — they really do come alive at volume. Enjoy!

Roger

(Apologies to @seakayaker, this was not meant as a response to your post.)

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Welcome to the mad house, at this level of amplification I would definitely look to upgrade the source minimum to a bare NDX2 and later on XPS DR so that you know exactly what you gained on adding the PSU on a bare NDX2.

ATB.

Speakers typically 6’ to 8’ ft apart measured from inside to inside of the cabinet, usually at least 2ft off the back wall measured off the back of the speakers. Tape measure and painters tape and pencil are your friends

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Welcome Sanj.
That’s a great system you have. I would agree with what has already been said. If you can, separate mains, good cable management/dressing and speaker and listening position can make a huge difference. I have the same speakers as you and recently started a thread ‘quick REW question’ if you are interested. It has helped me figure out the best speaker and listening position. Some room treatment can also make a big difference if that is domestically possible.
There are some very knowledgeable people on the forum who are always happy to help. I also agree with PeakMan that the ndac is a great product. I do regret selling mine but it wasn’t compatible with my current system.
Happy listening.

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Sanj just seen your post i have atc scm40 passive, excellent choice may I suggest if possible for you. Can you have 2.2 metres measured tweeter to tweeter distance between speakers.
Also distance from tweeter to back wall at least 900mm slight toe in, I have also found a rake of around 10 degrees very beneficial to opening the soundstage very rewarding. Even though Atcs are sealed design they can be very fussy regarding placement. Perseverance with placement can yield a stella soundstage

Hungryhallibut where have you been for months

Thanks everyone,you guys have really gave me some great advice,will crack on tonight to reposition the speakers and will will see if my dealer has a ex demo NDX2,as ive blown my budget out of the window.

What do you guys use to manage your cables.

Thanks again everyone.

I found that adding a pre-loved nDAC (with external PSU) to my ND5XS2 gave a significant uplift to the SQ.

If you can’t get an nDAC (LONG time out of production) many afficianados on here would recommend Chord.

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As MikeD says above, I added a Chord Qutest to my ND5 XS2 and it was a great addition. (I have subsequently added the Chord Mscaler but take it in steps whatever you do).

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An NDX2 would be good. You might consider skipping the XPS and going straight for a 555PS. It’s twice the price, but better than twice as good (some would say, including me).
There are some really good prices on NAP300s at the moment. It would really make your ATCs sing. It’s a big step up from the NAP250.
Right, now I’ve just spend £20k of your money, I will shut up now :man_facepalming: (ex dem market is really good right now though. I move around any dealer within 100miles to find the best price. Given the money you can save, it’s worth looking around)

Just ordered the NDX2,Just got a text from my credit card company you have reached near your limt😂

Thanks everyone.

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Sanj, we also have passive SCM40S and agree they probably need to be further apart, further from back wall and slightly toed in to tall triangle with your ears at the long peak. Assuming no wild children or animals, put grilles away in a cupboard somewhere. Experiments with curtain drawing etc often changes sound for the better and before lashing out on fancy adapters, get an electrician to install a hefty cable dedicated mains spur with multiple good quality unswitched sockets just for the hifi.
Enjoy playing and listening before spending too much elsewhere, BUT those ATCs do like lots of power, so eventually went to vintage monoblocs, but modern 300 would do the job. I’d advise against listening to active versions unless you are happy to change to them………

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Sidewalls. The thing is that if your loudspeaker have a wall next to them, you’ll hear the soundwaves directly from the loudspeaker but also indirectly reflected from the sidewalls. If this reflection is significantly later than the primary sound, your brain filters it out. If it isn’t it just muddles the sound. A source upgrade is in such cases waste of money.

But hey ho, you’ve pulled the trigger (congrats, I wish I could). Hence, if there is a sidewall nearby, consider putting up a canvas or some acoustic panel there. It will have more effect than the source upgrade at 10% of the price.

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Hi Sanj
It would be interesting to know your room size and system orientation in the room.

Hi Everyone,thanks for all the replies,just installed the ndx2,moved thr speakers away from the wall and part 6 feet.

Jesus it’s another level from the Ndx5 xs2,just more soundstage,more deeper bass,more clarity.

The great gig in the sky never sounded better.

What’s my Christmas present this year supercap or a power supply😊

Thanks everyone.

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If you really want to hear a big difference, treat yourself to a 555PS (ex dem is the same price as an XPS) :wink:

Just bedding in a 555ps that replaced an xpsdr. The xpsdr was a bit meh, although it was an improvement. The 555 is a bit wow.

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Should’ve moved the speakers before hooking up the new streamer for a real comparison :wink:

Will try to move the speaker back and compare,555ps what you guys doing to me,the ball and chain has already threaten the divorce papers.

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