Interestingly I did power a pair of SCM19s from a Nait XS2 for a while. I thought surprisingly it worked really well. There was a lovely bounce and drive to the sound… kind of like subtle sidechaining compression which really helped with the groove of the music and accentuated the feeling of timing. Yes ultimately the detail was not unsurprisingly constrained compared to my 250 as well grip, but it sounded importantly enjoyable at most volume levels other than say a loud party, or loud orchestral crescendo
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Ok tread and audition carefully. I have been here… I don’t think it’s a great synergy. I suspect more to do with the NAC than the actives. Even a 552 driving actives left me somewhat under whelmed…
I came to the conclusion that Naim NACs work best with Naim NAPs… though as always in this subjective view there will be others that think it’s a dream combo which is fair enough… but just sharing my personal view…
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When I went from Naim stack + passive 40’s to active system, I auditioned 272 + 19A combo at home. Like Simon wrote, it was somewhat underwhelming experience. Maybe it was that I used Naim DAC + PSU before and 272 couldn’t match that as a source or then Naim pre just isn’t great match with active ATC’s. Eventually I ended up with Linn ADSM/3 to front the ATC’s and I’m still using it with 50’s.
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I’m not surprised , when I had my Nait 2 serviced a few years back I used it with my 19’s for an afternoon and it was not so surprisingly very good . Although once I put the 250 DR back in the difference was clear , especially with Bass and dynamics . The biggest jump I noticed was going from Supernait 2 to 250 DR which really is a wonderful power amp and the perfect Naim partner for SCM 19’s IMO .
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Appreciate your thoughts as always. If I ever get to that point I will definitely carefully audition. 
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Well someone’s got to disagree, I suppose. When I auditioned 272/XPS into active 19s vs into 250/passive 19s, I preferred the former and by some margin. There was a physicality and presence that the passive combo couldn’t match and which greatly appealed to me, though not so much to someone listening next to me. And I seem to recall one of the Naim staffers had experimented with Atom HE into active 50s and commented positively on the experience. So perhaps modern Naim, at least as found in streaming preamps, is more agnostic about the power amp it feeds.
Roger
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I wasn’t saying 272 (+ PSU) to 19A wasn’t any good. It was just underwhelming compared to few other dac-preamp options I auditioned back then. I’ve never heard passive 19’s but passive 40 couldn’t match the 40A’s.
Yep I would say preference is passive 19s (with shortish speaker cable run) and active 40s
@Simon-in-Suffolk That’s a very interesting comment of yours. I remember on the ‘old’ Naim forum your posts about the ATC SCM19 and I had the same perspective as yourself, although you were ahead of me. I had toyed with the idea of trying the SCM19A but don’t think I’ll bother.
Sometimes I think about other speakers but there’s no good reason that I can think of. I do have high mass stands though, so might experiment with some low mass wooden mock-ups as a winter project.
It’s amazing how much verve the 19s throw out on the back of the 250. Again, with the pre’s volume pot at 8 o’clock, one can expect tremendous dynamics and engagement. At my listening chair, when using a dB app on my phone, I recall very pleasing sonorous bliss at around 75 dB at that point.
Moral to the story —> get a 250!
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dBA?
I suppose so - makes more sense with how the app (which I no longer have) should report.
If the 19s excitation point seems overly loud when listening, drink more wine.
I suspect you need a 250. I haven’t heard 19s or a SN3, but I’ve had 7s and 11s. A 140 or 180 sound good but it takes a 250 to make them come alive. The 19s probably even more so.
Fwiw neither the 7s or 11s are great at low volumes even with a 250. I do have to turn up the volume to get them going.
I have 11’s with a 300 and similar experience, the dial needs to be up around 8-9 for them to open up.
So … I auditioned 272/XPSDR into active 19s vs into passive 19s driven by 250DR. The audition was at my dealer’s, lasted a couple of hours and was all my music (mostly classical and some jazz). There happened to be another customer in the shop at the same time who was there throughout the audition. At the end we compared notes and agreed that the presentations were very different and that the active setup was more physical, more in your face, perhaps. But our preferences were different. I listen in a concentrated way and for me the active system was more real and took me deeper into the music; my companion who listened more passively, often whilst doing other things, found the actives too demanding to listen to for a long period.
I think this demonstrates the obvious point that we all hear things differently and the importance of personal preferences can sometimes be overlooked. Secondly, that at least for some listeners (such as me) a Naim pre (as in 272) into ATC power amp (as in amp pack on active speakers) can sound excellent.
Oh and of course I agree about the active SCM40s, which is why I have a pair. Incidentally, I seem to recall an enthusiastic review of 272 into active 40s (Jason Kennedy?) in which it was suggested that the idea for the pairing came from Salisbury itself. So perhaps Naim into a non-Naim power amp may not be entirely frowned on by HQ?
Roger
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I used a 172 and later an 82/HC driving a pair of ATC 10a’s for a few years. Granted the 10’s used a Vifa tweeter, but they were very dynamic. Unfortunately, the PRaT was no where near as good as with a Naim Pre AND a Naim Amp driving.
Naim created the Atom HE which is designed for any power amp other than Naim.
However the pre is on 202 level, inferior to the bare 272 , from what I could read recently here.
A power amp superior to the 200 would not be ideal.
I very much doubt it’s better than a well set up 202, although it would be great if I was wrong. Neither is a bare 272 to my ears.
I can only trust some who have compared the 272 bare vs Atom HE as pre. 272 bare is better.
Now 272 bare vs 202 , maybe the 202 is even better.
One thing seems to be sure, the Atom HE pre is inferior to 202. So connecting it to a Nap 300 dr is not a good idea, IMO.
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