Just received my ATC SCM150 passive speakers last week and looking for amplifier suggestions.
I have a large, well-treated room (45' x 16' x 8') and primarily listen to large-scale classical music — symphonies, piano concertos, cello works, etc.
For me, dynamics are critical, but so are tone, instrumental timbre, and harmonic richness.
Front-end setup:
Technics 1200G with Umami Red cartridge
Luxman EQ-500 phono stage
Aurender A100 streamer/DAC
So far, I’ve tried the following amplifiers:
Classe Delta Stereo + matching preamp: very polite sound, but too soft on top, poor bass control, slow and muddy low end, recessed midrange — overall unable to properly control the speakers.
Luxman L-595A SE: gorgeous microdynamics and a liquid, beautiful midrange; however, limited in dynamics and authority due to power constraints. No brightness !
Auris Fortissimo (tube amp): outstanding midrange and highs with a very holographic presentation, but again lacks bass energy and authority due to lower power output.
Luxman 507Z - way too bright for ATC, so assuming Luxman M10 will be just as bright
Given these impressions, I'm now looking for a serious amp/preamp combination that can bring out the full potential of the SCM150s — maintaining musicality and tonal beauty but with the dynamic slam and control these speakers demand.
Budget: ~$20-30k for amplification, ~$10-15k for a preamp (open to used market gear) I'm also open to bi-amping if someone has successfully done it with the SCM150s.
Amplifiers I'm considering:
Electrocompaniet AW800
Simaudio Moon 861 monoblocks
Hegel H30 monoblocks
I'm also looking for preamp recommendations to pair with the above amps — ideally something that adds a touch of tube warmth and harmonic richness, but without softening transients or slowing down the dynamics.
Would love to hear from anyone with direct experience driving SCM150s, or who can recommend synergistic combinations that deliver both the dynamic authority and tonal sophistication I'm after.
I have the SCM 100 Passive paired with my Viola Sonata Preamp and my Musical Fidelity Titan 1000w per channel power amp. The ATC’s are like a black hole for power, that’s why I bought them.
As their advertising suggests you need 1000-1500w of power, don’t be concerned you won’t blow them.
There aren’t many 1000w amps being made as far as I know. Saw a used MF Titan on US Audiomart.
Vitus Audio also make fantastic power amps but pricey.
Truly superb speakers the 150s were too physically overpowering for my room the 100s are Goldilocks.
If we take ATC's documentation at face value. The efficiency of one SCM100 is listed as 91dB/1w@1m @ei
Meaning if you were to listen 12ft away from the speaker and the speakers were 3ft away from the front wall, you'd get to 100dB peaks with a 105W maximum delivery amp.
Note that will be transient peaks not sustained 100dB. For sustained 100dB I'd say the peaks would be around 110. For that, you'd need an amp that can manage a transient peak of 1000 Watts.
The Companiet monoblocks fit the duty but Stereophile's 4 Ohm continuous power test blew a fuse so that's a worry.
The Moon Audio doesn't fail the Stereophile test into 4 Ohm but doesn't reach 1000W transient or sustained load
The Hegel also passes that test but it's input impedance isn't the standard 20kOhms so I'd say if your parameters of listening distance and volume delivery aren't that demanding like I've assumed, then the Hegel is the best bet of the three.
If you need that peak transient SPL for sustained 100dB from that distance away, get two of this rather - McIntosh MC611. Sustained 600W RMS with transients into 1000W whilst having exceptional damping factor because impedance is set to standard. Zero loss of voltage swing.
For the Monoblocks you'd have to talk to shop dealer rypes @ei001h
@kofibaffour
Thank you for the detailed response — I really appreciate it. I just wanted to mention that my close friend, who’s an experienced audio engineer and whose ears I trust, strongly dislikes pairing McIntosh with ATC. I used to own McIntosh gear myself and was never a fan of their house sound, so I’m hoping to avoid that direction.
To give you more context, I primarily listen to large-scale classical music at concert-level volumes, sitting about 10 feet from the speakers in an equilateral triangle setup. Based on ATC’s specifications (91 dB/1W/1m efficiency), I know that reaching sustained 100 dB levels with realistic transient peaks around 110 dB would demand close to 1000W of headroom — so amplifier stability under those conditions is critical for me.
I should also add that I’m not looking to pair a solid-state preamp with the system. I really enjoy the sound of tubes and would like to introduce a harmonically rich element into the chain, but without sacrificing speed, transient response, or overall control — especially given the demands of large-scale classical recordings.
I’m trying to find a solution that meets these dynamic requirements reliably while preserving tonal accuracy and musical realism.
Thanks for sharing your setup — it sounds like a great pairing. The Titan is definitely a beast of an amp, and I completely agree that the ATCs seem to just soak up endless amounts of power without strain. That’s part of what makes them so special at realistic listening levels.
Out of curiosity, what other amps and preamps have you tried with your ATCs? Also, what kind of music do you typically listen to, and how loud do you usually play it? I’d love to hear more about what sound characteristics are most important to you — whether you’re prioritizing things like tonal richness, dynamics, speed, or imaging. And lastly, what’s your main media source — vinyl, CD, streaming, or a mix
The fuse blowout you mentioned occurred under extreme laboratory conditions with continuous sine wave testing, far more demanding than normal music playback. In regular use, I assume, the risk of this issue is minimal. Since I don’t plan to drive the AW 800 M at extreme power levels, and ATC speakers present an easy load, should I still be concerned about this?
Ok, preamps I have the Viola Sonata and the SMC VRE-1. Steve McCormack continuously updates his gear and I need to get the VRE-1 updated/upgraded but they are both very special pre-amps. I would like to own a Spectral pre-amp too, they are also special. I know you want a tube pre-amp but top end SS pre-amps are not harsh and beautifully accurate.
Hands down Vitus to my knowledge and experience makes the very best power amps. I have a long standing love affair with the MF Titan and we have been through a lot of shite together so it would take a lot for me to ditch it.
Please don’t forget you need to spend at least the cost of your speakers on ICs and speaker cables to get the full potential out of you system.
I know you don’t want to hear this.
BTW I listen to rock and acoustic mostly Stones etc at highish volume.
I don’t stream anymore just listen to my ripped SACDs, CDs and DVD-As on my Aurender N20
How about Balanced Audio Technology?! Great engineering design and build quality, most importantly though, fantastic fidelity and SQ.
Call Victor or Steve at BAT and ask about synergy with your specific ATC's. They won't BS you if there are any issues.
For your speakers and system consider....:
Preamp - VK-90 $15K (8 6H30 tubes that will last a long time and sound fantastic)
Amp - Rex 500 (500W @ 8 ohms, 1000W @ 4 ohms) $25K, i bet this amp will have no problem getting the most out of your ATC's. again, ask BAT first.
pricey, but your speakers and other gear costs how much?
....end game electronics, wish i could afford them, i'd get the preamp and the Rex 300 amp in a heartbeat! There's always something better out there, but I bet if you hear these with your gear in your room your search will be over.
Yes, I'm a BAT fanboy, i live close, have been there with my older gear for updates, as i can't afford the new gear, and after many, many years of chasing the right sound i finally found it and can tell you that if i were starting out now, i would just go right to the BAT electronics. Like many others here, i have lost a lot of money with wrong purchases that can't be recovered, but at least I got to the successful finish I'm at now thanks to BAT. Love the sound, with the right speakers, room treatment, and sources, they just make fantastic music, and they're built to last, and look great, and if it matters an actual real USA company!
I have a very power hungry pair of Revel Salon 2 speakers that are magnificently powered by a Hegel H590 integrated amp, in a moderately sized room. You have a nice large room and I would say that the extremely powerful, extremely high current, extremely high damping factor, extremely dynamic, detailed and transparent, non-fatiguing, lush, natural tone and timbre, Hegel H30 mono-blocks are a no-brainer, as they check all the boxes and meet all your requirements for driving your speakers with superb sound quality. For me, my Hegel H590 integrated amp is my end-game amplification. Happy listening.
You’re headed in the right direction if you found the Luxman was too bright. The Luxmans and other Japanese integrateds tend to share that character of an elevated upper midrange. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, it just requires the right speaker matching.
Sim, Hegel and Electrocompaniet all have a warmer, more forgiving character, especially Hegel. Electrocompaniet will be closer to the Luxman sound spectrum but not quite as forward.
How about damping factor over 1000, 2000WATT @ 2 OHM, 2500WATT @ 4 OHM, 1600 WATT @ 8 OHM power delivery peaks and sustained at around 1500 for 2 and 4 ohms and 1000 for 8 Ohms
SCM150SLP are the END speakers from ATC for most people, that said, they need about 500 hours to show you what they really can do! I speak from experience with the SCM150ASLT Special Edition active version. Do not be in a hurry to buy electronics for a month or two. Also, with Munich show coming up, there may be some announcements that pertain to your original question. Lastly, if you are patient, the Trump Tariffs might go away so you'll save some money if you are buying a foreign brand.
The active version only use 350 watts per channel, yet they recommend over 1k watts for the passive version. Could someone explain the disparity? Both version have a max output of 117dB.
The active version only use 350 watts per channel, yet they recommend over 1k watts for the passive version. Could someone explain the disparity? Both version have a max output of 117dB.
''Passive crossovers waste a huge amount of your amplifier’s power. In some cases up half of the available power from your amplifier is lost to heat dissipation in the crossover components.'' See here.
I’d look at a Spatial Audio Raven, Aric Audio Motherload XL, or VAC preamp with something neutral like a CH Precision, Soulution, D’Agostino, or Hegel amp. Or if you go with a warmer amp like Coda, Gryphon, Boulder, or Vitus you could go with a more neutral pre like ARC or Backert Labs. With your budget and a blank slate like the ATCs there are lotsa possibilities that could all sound fantastic. Best of luck in your search.
I've worked with Tom for some years and his knowledge of synergy products with ATC transducers is uncanny. I run ATC 50A personally, he guided me to the ATC SCA 2 preamp which is remarkable replacing a Luxman C900u.
Why not covert them to the active version? Every ATC review I read that compares active ATCs to passive ATCs prefers the active versions. Getting rid of the passive crossover parts that are hard to drive adds to the dynamics you want. For what it's worth the last speakers Gordon Holt, who founded Stereophile, paid his own money for was a set of active ATC 50A speakers. He told me they were the only speakers he knew that made the recordings he made(Gordon did tons of live recordings) sound like what he heard at the live performance.
It seems that high-power solid-state amplifiers are quite rare and extremely expensive when it comes to good quality equipment, and almost impossible to audition due to their size. I prefer not to buy blindly and risk paying a huge amount only to be disappointed. Converting to active is not an option — I could have purchased the active version, but I specifically chose passive in order to experiment with different amplification setups. At the moment, it appears I’m still limited to options like the Electrocompaniet AW800, Simaudio 861, and Hegel H30. Among tube amplifiers, Vinnie Rossi and Audio Research seem to be the most highly recommended for matching my tastes
Well said, it's far from an easy decision and you may need to choose several times before you get it right, but you made an excellent choice with your speakers.
If I was you I’d strongly consider auditioning one of the AGD GaN amps. By all accounts they sound excellent and are easily user upgradeable for the future, which is really nice. Maybe you can find a dealer from the link below, and they’re not nearly as big and heavy as more traditional amps so maybe an in-home demo might be a possibility. Just another option to ponder.
Side note: if you are serious about 1 kW/channel amps, you’re going to need an electrician to install a dedicated 20A circuit going back to the breaker box. That will also give cleaner, lower-noise feed to the audio electronics. Improving the wiring is much more cost-effective than 3rd-party power conditioners or expensive power cords (which are in series with the house wiring).
I'm in the low-power camp, but that's just me. I'm not a fan of large arrays of transistors running in Class AB with slightly different bias points.
Thanks for the advice. I already have two dedicated 20A lines installed — one for each amplifier. My interconnects are top-tier Nordost. Front end is a Luxman EQ-500 feeding an Umami Red cartridge on a Technics 1200G. At this point, all I need is an amplifier and a preamplifier. I’m not interested in anything under 800W/channel, and I’m definitely not interested in Class D designs
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