I listen to the ATC speakers every year I go to Axpona. I always like them ; preferring the active speakers to the passive. This year the new active bookshelves
caught me off guard as being a step above the norm. Just having the right tone; just sounding exceptional .They were better than the larger $30K plus ones next door. I was considering purchasing them being around $11k and not needing an amp. However ,I did look at the front end of the system. A $14k preamp and a $29K
Playback designs Dac. I'm pretty sure that greatly added to the sound I was hearing.