Excellent!!
I would get the 332 and 300 first; my 250 DR was fine at driving my passive 40s. Moving up to the NC250 gave an all-around improvement. But I think the biggest change was adding an NPX300 to the 332. When I compared the 332-300-250 against the 332-350, I preferred the former, but to be fair, the 350s weren’t fully burnt in. Of course, if you could afford the 332-300 with the 350s in one hit, then go for it.
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Jonathan, you have heard both passive and active versions of said ATC speaker, and while the great majority seem to say the active is the way to go, I see that you have a real desire to own a pair 350 mono’s. I have active DBL’s so I’ve been an active fan for years, but recently I’ve pulled out some SL2’s that I’m running passive with a 300DR and they are just so crispy, tidy and immersive. I just get so drawn to the music through them, and that’s passive. As good as ATC amp packs are, my gut feeling is that they are no where near as serious a power amp as a naim offering so I often wonder if one of the bigger naim amps is the way to go with ATC. BUT, with the latest preamps like the 332, there is a balance output so just so tempting to go active SCM50/100/150, easy and probably cheaper overall. I’ve heard the active versions and they just make you want them, they are really that good, I just keep going round in circles with this one. Agree that the two companies seem to have the same approach to music, they are both big on real engineering and the result is staggeringly good. Love the videos of the ATC factory, there is no BS, just pure science and know how, again like naim.
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@PeakMan
big thx for the information. Following Your profile, no subwoofer (s) involved ?
My dealer immediately propose a setup with a REL sub included, rather big space 50 sq m. However, I would prefer first the ATC’s alone getting used to their signature before eventually adding a sub.
Hello Mario,
In some ways, it doesn’t wonder me if active listening could be less emotional than passive.
Active is certainly more natural and realistic but each time I listened to active systems, something disappeared and the fun was less.
But passive DBL should be equivalent regarding the fun factor to passive SL2.
At home the passive DBL are a real fun factor, even more than the Intro which are in this area one of the best Naim product, and such as the SBL.
Perhaps you should try again passive DBL and compare them to passive SL2.
And then if the SL2 are still more playful, I would say there’s somewhere in the system something to check.
For sure that doesn’t mean SL2 are not enjoyably but the DBL have to be at the same level of musical pleasure or something is in my opinion not at his place.
I’m interested in your experience feedback.
Anecdotally, my ATC dealers prefer passive speakers with 3rd party amplifiers (a case in point I am aware of was 150pslt and Hegel amps).
ATC 150ASLT £27000
ATC 150 PSLT £22300
NAP 500. £27000
I’m not moving in those circles so would not presume to say one way or the other. Personally I really like active speakers, but my only experience is with my 40A’S and a DBL/six-pack set up fron the early 1990s…
Hi Mario,
I’m not sure what amps you are running with your DBL’s, but I must say that the DBL with both 6x active 135’s and also 3x NAP500’s impressed me hugely back in the day - indeed both remain amongst the finest systems I have ever heard.
As for active v passive ATC’s my gut feel says that active represents better value for money, however as you say if you have the money to afford some pretty serious amplification then passive can certainly perform at similar levels and perhaps offer even more musical engagement.
There are pro’s and cons to both approaches technically as I detailed in my SCM50 review, but as a reviewer I simply must go passive really, as active would just prove too difficult to accomodate and would prevent me being able to review power amplifiers or integrated amplifiers and that’s too limiting.
It’s no real hardship though 
because for over thirty five years I have loved the sound of Naim amplifiers at the heart of my system. As I said in the concluding paragraph of my NAP350 review:
This is an audio ecosystem that makes playing music exciting again, and will lead you to spend as much time in record shops or listening to music as you did when you were 16. You’ll sometimes arrive at work looking haggard after a late night spinning just a few more tracks. Your boss won’t like it, your bank manager won’t believe it, and your mother-in-law won’t understand it.
I can’t think of any better reasons for buying it. Turn on, tune in, drop out . . .
Totally agree with respect to ATC though - their engineering is second to none and as you say there is no BS. They totally understand every single element of their product design and engineering and are in total control of all of it. They’re master-craftsmen through and through and offer staggeringly good value for money. I can’t really help with your dilemma of active v passive except to say that personally I would be thrilled with either…
JonathanG
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What makes you say that? The individual amps in ATC’s amp packs are tailored to the individual drivers in a way no passive power amp can be. And ATC have been making the amps almost as long as the speakers themselves, at least in the professional range.
As to which is better, at this level I think it’s more a question of personal preference than some “objective” difference. I have compared active 40s with passives driven by a 300DR. I can understand why some listeners would prefer the latter, but for me, listening to a full orchestra for example, the imaging and the way it renders the orchestra puts the actives ahead by some margin.
As a reviewer, Jonathan’s requirements are a bit different to most of us as he needs to be able to swap in alternative amps. For the rest of us it surely comes down to our own ears and musical tastes.
Roger
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Agree Roger, my passive / active experience is well documented.
In my room (key point) and my ears I much preferred active 40’s v passives with Nap300, full SL loom. Nothing wrong with the passives and 300 it’s just I preferred the active presentation - great we have a choice.
Personally I have little interest in playing around finding matching amps - ATC have already done that for me!
Gary
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Every now and then it’s good to remind ourselves of the benefits of active amplification.
There’s plenty of ways to tweak the sound to your liking with active speakers, source and preamp being the most obvious ones to start with. Cabling and streamer/transport also matter.
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For me also, the amp search for 50s is over, only the active version
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Hi Mario, you won’t find many unhappy ATC active users and you’ll probably find fewer who aren’t happy with the on board amp packs. I can recall similar amplifier thoughts before I bought my first pair of ATC’s but very quickly my mind moved on. ATC do offer what I think they still call their Anniversary amp packs with the classic series, there isn’t much literature on these but come standard on ATC special edition models (screenshot below). I briefly enquired about them when I ordering my 50s but never got the impression I needed to. I never think about amplifiers anymore, just DACs and Streamers…
I recently borrowed an amazing Emm Labs DV2 DAC/Pre for a few days and my 50s effortlessly showed just how good that DAC is.
Peter.
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Thanks for the detailed response Jonathon, really appreciate your thoughts and professional opinion. And to Peakman, no disrespect to atc ampacks, anything they make is worth owning. But not having a poweramp from the company who make the best ones is just a little hard to get used to. The best point made that as a reviewer, passive atc gives you alot more scope to include reviewing more products. The NAP350 monos are the most powerful naim amps made asside from Statement, so quite an achievent and highly desirable, but the active atc’s just have too much going for them. I have 300DR on tweeters and 2 x 250DR on mid and bass. Its phenominal, but boy does it take up alot of room. When I strip the system down, I have stuff everywhere. My dream is SCM150A with what ever replaces the 552 which I own and cherrish, but thats a very long term goal and by that time, I’ll be too old to be setting systems as big as mine so I guess the puzzle will just answer itself.
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Hi, let me know if you keep it.
Even if it costs 30k, it’s good to know for eventual future setups
Don’t think that will need something else honestly after having my 50As
I only had it for a few days as I didn’t want to get too accustomed to it tbh… I use a Meitner MA3i which is a ‘stripped’ down Emm Labs DV2 and shares a lot of its components, most notably the processing hardware and output stage. I bought the MA3 a few years ago before Naim’s latest streamers appeared so I can’t compare. The Meitner has a superb lossless digital volume control which gives 100% resolution at every volume level and sounds excellent.
Emm Labs / Meitner recently updated many of their products to i status and offered an upgrade service to existing customers. I had this done in January, they replaced most of the internals apart from the power supply. The difference wasn’t subtle, it actually took me some time to get used to the same box sounding so different and most importantly better.
This improvement really made me wonder how much better the flagship products would be so I borrowed the previous generation DV2, I could definitely tell the difference and hear all the extra resolution and nuance etc but going back to my MA3i was no let down thankfully. ‘If’ I had a spare £25k to swap I’d buy a new DV2i in a heartbeat. Emm Labs are a great little company and their products share a lot of Naim’s strengths like musicality and timing. Definitely worth an audition alongside Naim, Linn, DCS, Chord etc.
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You’re right they sound better on unfortunately! Lol
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You’ll get used to them very quickly and they do keep everything protected which is no bad thing really.
How are you getting on with them?
Hi yes settling in nicely. I had the fw change also in the last day or so. I had to pull them out a little further into the room and slightly further apart since the update. They love being away from all walls. The sound is sublime better than anything I could have hoped for. Thanks
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I found they took a while to settled in. I came to realise I wasted my time with positioning until they had burnt in!
Enjoy
Gary