That was my finding with the 250 v 250.2. The olive 250 had a lot more guts and sounded just far better 
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You know that feeling when you connect a new stereo equipment, and it just feels right?
The 72/180 gives me that felling. Mye Phono amp - Lejonklou Kinki 3 also. All the ATCs Ive had - SCM7, 11 and 40 too.
The 202/200, 282/250-2, 252/300, Supernait 2, Supernait 3 and Nait 50 too - but not as strongly as the 72/180
The 72/180 with the ATC11 do not give the best “sound quality”, but it gives me the best musicality. To my ears. Some hifi produkts I have listen to give me the feeling of a nice handwriting - beautiful, but difficult to read. I will rather have a ugly handwriting - easy to read.
If that makes sence. Perhaps not.
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The Nap 250-2 is anything but slow with a Nac 52. Same Naim Prat but better bass than the CB 250 and olive 250 thru NBLs imo. I would trade for Nap 135s but no room for 3 pair active.
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Likewise with 32.5, 282, 272.
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Thanks for contributions.
I will choose the «right path»..
- HiCap
- NAP 250 Olive
- ATCSCM40MKII
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Any chance of listening first? When I auditioned active SCM 40s against passives, the passives were driven by a 250DR. I felt the 250 was not quite up to the task as the music dragged a bit, especially in the bass. I felt a 300DR was needed, or active SCM 40s, which is what I eventually settled on.
Roger
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I second the suggestion to upgrade with a Hicap but in place of the Nap 250, I’d add a pair of Naim 135 monoblocks. IME the Nac 72 scales quite well with better gear and the Hicap/Nap 135 will be a substantial upgrade over the Nap 180. The 135 sounds like the 250 but IME is significantly better in every way. Best of luck!
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No need.
Ive owned the ATC SCM40MKII with 282/250-2 before.
Thank you the 135 is for sure something I very much would like to try.
Sadly they dont come around tgat often
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Agreed; same result here; it wasn’t until the 250 was cranked up to 10 to 10 / 5 to 11 that it sounded right. Great for dance / metal / flight of the Valkyries, but hopeless for late night listening.
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Very true. And when they do they usually need an expensive service. However, if you want to avoid going down the “chasing gear - financial rabbit hole” by putting together an audio system that can easily become endgame for many enthusiasts, then a 72/Hicap/135 setup paired with an excellent source and speakers could well be for you. 
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It really scales beautifully: 72/HC/135s.
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Beautiful system! What speakers are you running?
I have owned the Nac 72 Hicap, Nap 140, Nap 180 and Nap 250, along with the ATC SM11 and Naca 5. The 140 delivers a narrower frequency response than the 180, whilst the 180 delivers a more limited frequency response than the 250. The 140 seems quicker and more responsive than the 180; the 180 seems quicker and more responsive than the 250. However, after using each amplifier for a few months, I kept the Olive 250. With a good CD source such as the CDX-CDX2, a good vinyl source and a NAP 250, my SCM 11s produced excellent bass; I had to move my speakers further away from the walls with the 250, compared to the 140 and 180.
I’ve also owned NAP 135s on other speakers; the 135s are more neutral, and depending on the speakers, they can end up sounding a bit drier compared to the 250, which delivers greater density. In my own experience, with mid-range speakers, a 250 works well with the SCM 11 and 19.
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Linn 150s. I had ATC 19s before the Linns and they were also used with my 135s (current) and a 250 before that.
I agree with Alto that the 19s work very well with a 250.
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Interesting to hear.
Do you find the NACA5 to be good enough?
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I had Naca 5 as well as the earlier Naca 4. I’ve always liked both speaker cables and found them to sound very similar; I did slightly prefer the Naca 5 though, finding it to sound a bit cleaner overall.
If you’re using Olive amps you should use NACA5 cable.
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It all depends what music you listen to and what in the music stirs your emotions. The reason for my response as above is that for me music needs to be full range to be at its best - and even the SCM40 needs a sub for the bottom octave. If hearing/feeling the weight of the music is unimportant to you, or the music to which you listen has little or no content there, then a sub would be far less relevant.
Also of relevance is that bass is the most difficult part of the spectrum yo reproduce well, which is why decent full range speakers are expensive, and decent subs might cost more than small speakers they supplement. (And with own amp subs negate any concern about amp ability in the bass).