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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
yyzsantabarbara
5,065 posts
 

My 2 amps are very powerful. The incredible CODA #16 and the shockingly good $2k Schitt Wotan (needs a lot of break-in).

The CODA has some serious current because the 150 watts of power are way more powerful than some other higher watt amps I have heard. It has 100 watts of Class A. I use the #16 on the Yamaha NS5000 which has a 12-inch Zylon driver.

The Wotan is not as refined as the #16 but I think it is playing in the same league as $8k amps I have owned. It is not better, but it may be as good and cost $2k. The Wotan has some serious power.

@dpac996 You should try the $3k streamer that PBD sells for the Dream DAC. I had the older one called the STREAM-IF and compared it to the Lumin X1, which seems identical to your Lumin U2. Both were great and sounded rather different. Using Plink on the Dream was my intention. Though I changed plans on the PBD gear. I sold my STREAM-IF to someone who owned a Dream DAC.

 

maxwave's avatar
maxwave
1,031 posts
 

https://youtu.be/6HUCvifOnjE?feature=shared

vinylvalet
924 posts
 

@erice64 Did you mean the ATC SCA2?

If so, I would agree, especially with the actives. Often synergy between like brands trumps everything else.

erice64
6 posts
 
@vinylvalet yes I do. The SC-2 drives an ARC 250 to Magico S5, simply lovely😁 Also the preamp has a low output impedance especially for driving the active speakers, hence the synergy. Guess thats also the reason why my tube amp is driven with ease and force.
lonemountain
484 posts
 

I am the US importer.  The actives will outperform the passives every time, not due to amplifier issues but do to control of phase.  There is no way to control phase in a passive crossover.  This a huge performance issue very few talk about. 

In a passive, a well built crossover has a TON of wire in between amplifier and drivers.  There could be hundreds of feet, especially in air core inductors.  I don't see in any scenario how that could be an improvement over hooking the amp directly to the driver with 1 foot of wire.

Next the ability to calibrate each amp precisely to the driver itself (efficiency of a completed drive unit can vary in the very best of the best manufacturing from 1/4 to 1/2 dB.  1/4 to 1/2 dB across an entire band is very audible.   .    

Next is the ability to sustain large bass dynamics while not affecting the top end HF amp or Midrange amp in any way.  A full range amp cannot do this, as the bass running the amp out of power is well understood.  The way most of us get around the obvious there is through massive OVER power delivered at the speakers, accounting for the loss of power and reduction of dampening factor down as little as 10 feet of cable.  Linear analog amps seem better at this as they have larger reserves inside a power supply.  The why ATC's own amps are class A/B and have a large linear power supply.

Maybe look at trying an ATC P2, which is 300W /channel as a first step.  that will tell you if it's enough and you need the Titan.  Keep in mind a 800w amp vs 300w amp is only about 3-4dB of average level increase.  At 110dB SPL, 3 db more SPL is a small amount.  DO the math on the 150s and see how loud 300W will be.  

Active ATC 150s will play at around 115dB or so long term, depending on dynamic range of the source.  I cannot listen that loud and I ve never run into a hi fi customer that does.  Most people cannot get much over 105dB SPL before they start freaking out.  The 95dB SPL is LOUD, and the 115dB SPL capability (20dB of reserve) is for peaks.     

Is this helpful?  I would think a 300W amp on passive 150s would make one very happy and allow some money to buy a great preamp and a great DAC, Streamer etc.

Brad

Lone Mountain Audio (ATC Hi FI USA)

TransAudio Group (ATC PRO USA) 

 

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