I’m sure that some of you may know from my posts that I decided on active ATC 19’s; this meant buying the Atom HE and selling the XS3 & CD5Si to help with funding
My decision to go active was a feeling that my XS3 was just not good enough for the passive 19’s
After hearing the Atom HE & actives for one more time this morning before a trip to my dealer to strike a deal I had this nagging feeling that the biggest improvement in sound I heard was with my current XS3 and the passive 19’s. It’s a sound that made me say “good grief that sounds fantastic”. And the actives I haven’t ever said that…. are the actives good? Yes they are but the biggest improvement was with passive 19’s and current amp etc
I probably know everything that you are all going to comment so please be gentle with me
I’m very tuned into the sound quality I’ve got through 35+ years of listening to my music with different systems
It would be a £5k+ investment for the current system of demo active 19’s @ £3k plus £2.2k for an Atom HE
There was a lot of people on this forum that said the XS3 just isn’t powerful or good enough for ATC’s
I’m now convinced that the XS3 is absolutely good enough for the passive ATC 19’s
So I’ve now got the dealer demo passive 19’a back at home with my XS3 feeding them and absolutely loving it; it’s a sound as special as I remember it was first time around
Luckily my dealer knows me well and they have been fantastic working with me through my experience’s
Thanks Chris as I was expecting some flack to be honest
I’ve been listening to tons of music this afternoon with the 19’s and I absolutely know I’ve found the right sound for me which I can live with for a very long time
Just to add that honestly the XS3 is plenty powerful enough and has enough quality for the ATC’s.. I now have no question about it as the pairing sounds amazing
See if your dealer has a Flatcap XS tucked away somewhere. I added one to my XS2 (with SCM 11 speakers) and it brought out new levels of detail and refinement.
I did also try a Hicap DR with the XS2 but it was not good, made things sound chaotic!
I’ve certainly tried a bit of gear over a few weeks but I’m now certain I’ve made the right decision for my ears and my room
The CD5Si will be sold shortly which will help fund the ATC’s & stands. I have another two players that can be put into service just in case I need to but otherwise it’s going to be streaming as source
Sometimes, as you may have concluded from reading the many responses to your many threads, it’s best just to do what you want and not ask the Forum for advice. That’s certainly what I did for my last couple of system changes. I took advice from Naim, from ATC and PMC, and from reading around the subject, but I didn’t seek advice publicly. Now just be happy that what you end up with is the right thing for you. All I’d add by way of advice is, now that you’ve decided streaming is the way ahead for you, to get the best streaming source you can afford.
Some years ago, probably in the old forum, there was a discussion about the relative merits of active and passive 19s and 40s. Obviously this does depend on the amps used with the passives, but with suitable Naim amps the consensus ordering from most preferred was: active 40, passive 40, passive 19, active 19. So you are far from alone in preferring passive 19s, though my preference still goes the other way.
So vive la difference and enjoy your finally choice.
The only thing that matters is getting the sound you love. Yes the concensus is that actives are better, but I compared active 50’s to passive 50’s and found they each had strengths and a well known Naim and ATC dealer near me categorically prefers passives.
So you won’t get any flack from me - you’ve found the sound you love, enjoy it!
Yes that was my reaction also, bigger upgrade than I expected, generally not easy to find, but a newer one just appeared on the fleebay.
Another option is to continue on the path of the Atom HE, but for the passive ATCs add a preloved power amp NAP200-DR (needs special cable) or NAP250-DR (has XLR). With the current low prices of all these items (well not the 250 per se) it’s the best VFM now.
I totally understand where you’re at. I’ve recently been playing with a 72/Hi/140 combo fed with the NDS/555DR in my ‘normal’ 552/500 (nonDR) Mani-2 sig system. Honestly, it is tremendous fun and I’ve realised belatedly that musical fun is more important to me than technical excellence.
I agree with the previous comments that you should go with what pleases you rather than be sucked into the prevailing zeitgeist.
Good for you. Obviously everyone will have their own preference whether to have active or passive speakers, or which design will sound better. Some may choose based on the design as sound quality takes a back seat. I prefer passive speakers as I dislike amp modules fitted to speakers.
I’ve always liked ATC speakers but never got to listen or own a pair. There are just too many speakers out there and one can’t have them all. I believe the SCM11 and SCM19 passive bookshelves are the best value, the SCM20SL also looks interesting but I’m not sure if it’s a noticeable or big upgrade from the SCM19s. The SCM20SL does look better than the SCM19 though.
Thanks to everyone that’s been gentle on me and for your supportive comments
For the time being I’ll be using the CA MXN10 streamer, honestly it’s an awesome sounding little unit. I am fully aware it’s not classed as particularly high end and I intend to upgrade it at some point in the future but I’m absolutely happy with the sound at the moment of my XS3, ATC 19’s and MXN10 plus NACA5 speaker cable
The only addition I may make is a genuine Naim phono to DIN interconnect for the MXN10 as I’m currently using some phono leads I had lying about, they are of reasonable quality though
I wouldn’t say that. Over the last twenty years here, I would say that that active has been regarded as fairly niche. (Though this being a hi-fi forum, niche is our default ;-). Lets call it care in the community for sixty/fiftysomethings.) I’d say that many have been put off by extra boxes, extra wires and extra cost. So Naim owners have settled for one bigger passive power amp instead. That may be changing with ATC and PMC etcetera’s offerings.
Given the cost of living crisis, I don’t have the dosh to explore active and take a hit on the Naim boxes I own now, and still less the inclination. Besides, why would I when the existing set is so good?! Which is kind of what you are saying.
Chris
Edit: I fully realise how crass I must appear as a Naim owner mentioning the cost of living crisis. Naim ownership is far from essential, and anyone who owns Naim has disposable income.
The overriding impression I had with the 19 passive vs active was that the amp in the actives was simply too smooth sounding and lost the Naim PRAT sound which I love and it just didn’t have the lovely attack sound of the XS3
Don’t get me wrong the actives sound lovely but I missed the Naim sound
My XS3 sounded much more dynamic and real via the passive 19’s. I did a lot of a & b’ing between the two and the XS3 with passive 19’s sounded so much better; more dynamic and more attack. I listened to tracks that I know very well and it was clear to me that the XS3 and passive 19’s was the sound I was looking for
