Active ATC vs Spendor / Pass Labs
I had a lovely demo. of a Pass INT 60/ Spendor D9.2.
Had all the musical flow, engagement at all volume levels that I could ever want. A truly impressive demo.
But……. I have always wanted an active ATC SCM50A is what I always dreamed of owning with say a Benchmark LA4 Pre. about the same $$$ where I am for either combo.
I have heard the ATC - different room and gear. But I didn’t do the all listening levels demo. like I did with the Pass / Spendor. Just at a medium / loud level and was so very impressed. I can’t demo the ATC again, my dealer only orders them as someone wants one from ATC direct due to the current economical environment.
So… will I be unimpressed ordering the ATC at all level listening levels or will it not have the Pass / Spendor engagement factor that we quite frankly very addictive ?
I am really at a crossroad as which way to go.
By all means, do whatever feels right to you. None of us will be listening to your selections, nor should we be emotionally invested in those choices. Positively speaking, I’ve ATC SCM 50 actives and to my ears they do everything quite well and scare others who have engaged them. Same with the ATC SCM 20 passives I run. You’ve choices to make, not mistakes with the pieces presented. |
@lonemountain Isn't language interesting? What I obviously failed to convey is that others who have listened to my ATC SCM 50 actives have found them scary GOOD! The immediacy, sound stage, dynamics and slam are astonishing. I see them as my end game transducer. Period. |
I'm actually happy when listeners find their balance. I tired some very good tube preamplifiers with first the ATC SCM 40As and now my ATC SCM 50As. My personal experience was that the preamps were too slow for the active setup. When I converted to different solid state pre-amplification, Sugden, ATC and now Luxman, the pace seemed to pick up substantially affecting the attack speed. I do not experience aggressive or thin sound. Your mileage may vary. |
