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ATC SCM150 Amp and Preamp recommendations

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. 

ei001h

Showing 2 responses by kofibaffour

kofibaffour
126 posts
 

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

 

And use with this preamp - https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650173001-mcintosh-c53-preamp/

 

You can maybe ask the person listing the preamp if he has the Monoblocks too

kofibaffour
126 posts
 

@ei001h Alright then my recommend actually is gonna be left field if you don’t mind for the Monoblock.

 

Two of this - https://apollonaudio.com/product/hypex-nc2k-premium-monoblock-amplifier-apollon-pnc-2k/

And for the Preamp you can go for either of this:

 

MC12000 - https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650200262-mcintosh-c12000-2-chassis-reference-stereo-preamplifier/

MC2700 - https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650164797-mcintosh-c2700/

Edit: Should've told you why that Monoblock:

 

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

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