I too have similar room issues on that the system is going to be placed amongst existing. I will not be playing my music particularly loudly but still want enough quality to justify my outlay. I’ve been overthinking this for too long now and have gotten to the point of probably buying the Atom HE again and enjoying the music on my own. Thanks for your reply
The Nova is £3000 refurbished and I can get an Atom for £1500, again refurbished. My needs are probably in the Atom region but future proofing pushes me towards Nova however speaker choice with the Nova would be reduced. My quandary is Nova with LS50 or similar or Atom with SCM11 or similar. This situation just about sums up the workings of my brain. I might just go for the Atom HE and add actives at a later date, or maybe not 
. Thanks for you reply
Returning to your original question, will I hear the difference, I’d be amazed if you didn’t. Looking at your subsequent posts it’s clear that if you got the Atom you’d be wondering ‘what if’ about the Nova. The answer is therefore to stop fannying around and get the Nova. You can think yourself into immobility. Just add a pair of speakers of your choice and you are done. Why restrict yourself to ATCs? I have some PMCs with my Nova and it’s a really nice combination. You can pick up speakers pre owned and get a nice saving. Just don’t overthink it. Get what feels right to you.
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Paralysis by analysis indeed. I agree, get the Nova and be done with it. It’s a great all in one, you won’t regret it. Do it before you change your mind.
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I had exactly this dilemma; Atom vs Nova with the Meta LS50s.
In the end after a decent time listening, I plumped for the Atom. It wasn’t just a question of the extra cost as I had the finances for either, but my future needs, as were in the process of downsizing…
My previous amp was the Rega Elicit-R, in a large room in a three-bed property. We have since moved and the Atom now is in a smaller room and is more than adequate.
Definitely the Nova has more grunt and assurance over the Atom, but it just is a more accomplished and smaller visual package to my eyes. If I had needed to fill a larger room, for sure it would have been the Nova.
Do listen to both; only you can decide.
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Thanks HH. I’ve demoed the atom with more speakers than I care to mention and found the Linn 109’s to be the best. I used ATC only as an example and yes I am fannying around too much but there is also an aesthetic, wife appeasing element to consider. I am also wary of not having unlimited funds and want the best I can afford. I appreciate your comments on preowned but I don’t trust myself to buy a decent pair so preowned is out of the question for now. As you can see there is a lot to (over) think about but I appreciate your comments.
Thanks Mike I’m still trying to get over the pic of your feet in the listening position thread:grimacing:
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If you can comfortably afford the Nova, go for it, otherwise you’ll always be wondering, as others have said. And it opens the door to a wider range of speakers.
As for ATC speakers, if you’re going to be listening at lower volumes, I’m not sure they’re the ideal choice. To my ears and with the mostly simply recorded acoustic music I prefer, mine just come alive when the volume goes up a bit. Then they can be quite startlingly realistic and I find the sound addictive.
Roger
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Thanks PM. I’m currently negotiating a deal for a Nova and Linn 109’s as the speakers were great with the Atom. They are unused ex dem 2-3 years old so I’m hoping they’ll be ok. Hopefully the Nova isn’t overkill.
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