Recommendation for ATC SCM150 Amp/Pre

I may be out of line here, especially never having owned ATC speakers, but isn’t one of the main draws and benefits of owning ATC speakers having the on-board amplification?  Dedicated amplifiers that are matched to each driver seems to be an advantage.  Hopefully, you have researched this thoroughly with the dealer/manufacturer and with other ATC owners so that you are confident you are not missing an opportunity.  
Considering your stated tastes, does ATC offer the option of on-board power for LF drivers only? That way you could consider an active cross-over and run tube amps to power only the MF/HF drivers. Just some thoughts.

Congrats on your awesome new speakers!  I sold ATC speakers for a bit, and if it was me I’d get a Class A amp from the likes of Boulder, Pass, etc. and pair it with a tube pre that would be the Spatial Audio Raven, but the Aric Audio Motherload XL and Backert Rhumba Extreme or Rhythm would also be well worth a look, and all three offer trial/return period.  This is absolutely the way I’d go given what you’re looking for.  The Class A amp will give you some warmth and fullness in the mids while providing all the current the ATCs definitely need, and the tube pre will likewise provide great tonal properties/soundstage and inject some life/tube magic into what is ostensibly a studio monitor.  I would not recommend tube amps with your speakers at all — it’s a mismatch and you won’t get all your wonderful speakers are capable of.  Restrict the tubes to the preamp and you’ll be more than fine.  Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck.  

I would definitely reach out to Aric at Aric Audio to discuss having him build a Motherlode specific to your needs. I have had mine paired to the Coda Model 16 to drive some pretty  inefficient TAD speakers and the sound is sublime. 

@ei001h congrats on those ATCs! I have the SCM40 v2 and drive them with a Simaudio Moon 761. Stunning synergy. Up there with classic synergy like Luxman/Harbeth. The 761 shares the same MDCA tech as the 861 amp, which is what you should audition if possible. The 761 to my ears, is lighting quick, effortless in delivery, and just wide open across the board. Natural harmonic portrayal is a major strength (colors abound)! Sound is overall very authentic and natural. The 761 really brings out a special midrange from those amazing ATC drivers. For the massive SCM150’s I don’t think you can do any better for the 20K price point than an 861.
For preamps you might want to consider Backert Labs Rhumba Extreme 1.4, or Rhythm. I have the Moon 791 which is astonishing for an all in one streamer/dac/preamp but it’s probably likely you can get even higher performance from all separates. As they say, the sky is the limit as long as money doesn’t run out. Definitely check out the new moon amps!

@soix 

Thanks for the recommendations. I currently have scm40 and could certainly see the difference with a high power SS amp compared to tune. I auditioned Electrocompinet 300w monos and I was blown away by what these little speakers could do. This is why I went for 150s. 
 

Yeah, I got to hear an Electocompaniet amp and I can definitely understand why you’d like their amps given your sonic goals. 

@dpac996

thanks for the recommendation. I would absolutely have to audition this amp before I make the decision. What other amps have you tried ?

@ei001h with the ATC passives? Audia Flight FLS-9 Integrated amp ( has the horsepower), Moon 641 integrated.

In prior systems have had many amps (as an EE, I have a passion for power amps)

In no particular order: Luxman M-900u, Simaudio 870Av2, Pass x350.8/250.8/ INT 250, INT 60, XA30.5, X250.5, Simaudio 330A, 760A, Coda CSIB, ARC 100.2, ARC VT100MKII, Primaluna HP , Octave V110, Octave V80SE, Cary SLI-80, Sugden A21, Marantz PM-14S, McIntosh MA-6900, Ayre VX-20, Benchmark HPA2, Bryston 4BSST2, 4B3, McCormack DNA 0.5, DNA1, DNA 125, DNA225, Luxman 509x, 595, 590mkii, 507uxii, Hegel H190, H390, H590, H30; Aragon 8002, Parasound A21, Rogue Audio St100 and the Integrated forget model number; there are more but it’s been a long day.

The Simaudio 761 is special and I’m 100% sure the 861 is even more so. You can’t go wrong.

Have you ever read ATC reviews comparing the active version against the passive version. The active version wins quite clearly every time. The biggest problem driving a speaker is the lousy reactance of a passive crossover. That's why really good 6 figure amps with what seems like ordinary specs sound better, expensive power supplies that can drive a lousy load. A good active design solves this much less expensively. Change your order to the active version and save money and get better performance.

Op we were electro dealer for many years the aw 400s are excellent however the best combo we eve heard with our atcs was the Coda 16 power amplifier which had even better bass control and slam while also having a rich well fleshed out midrange, and a much wider sound-stage,then the electro amplifiers  and we combined that with the awesome zesto leto line stage the sound was incredibly life like  and vivid we were talking about that particular demo for weeks after wards.

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

Atc, Coda and Zesto dealers

The Bryston 14B3 is worth a look. 

@dynamiclinearity I spent hours with the active SCM40’s and passive SCM40’s; The active system used the ATC top preamp/ controller. The passive setup used a Moon 641 integrated amp; same DAC as source and same room, same speaker locations. I preferred the passive setup. Sounded better to me. It’s not always the case that active is the obvious choice. YMMV of course. 

I might add that the last speakers Gordon Holt, the founder of Stereophile bought for himself were active ATC 50s, basically an ATC 150 with a smaller woofer(same mid range, tweeters and amps). And he told me they were one of the very, very few speakers that made the live tapes(and he did many of them including large symphonies, etc.) he made sound the like the live performance he heard while recording. If it's accuracy that is desired rather than 'musicality' then powered ATCs are one of the few routes there.

@dynamiclinearityin audio, there are no absolutes. Just preferences. No matter what ATC speakers (or any other brand) discerning audio enthusiasts end up with it’s all good 😊! Besides all that , the OP clearly is interested in amplifiers for HIS new passive ATC speakers. I doubt he started this thread to have a conversation about ATC passives vs actives. If so OP, please correct me if I’m wrong.

There's a lot of truth in what you say but there's too much 'sounds good to me' in audio which is ultimately fine for each individual but there are products that do allow suppression of belief on great recordings and there's almost universal agreement active ATCs are superior to passive ones.

I have never experienced passive ATC40s(which will vary from amplifier to amplifier) but I lived with a pair about 8 years ago for over a month and they were special.

And you're correct he asked about amps for passive ATCs but they are still on order and probably can be changed and I strongly believe active ATCs are superior and also will save money.

Also ATCs are designed to be active and passive ones are secondary since admittedly there is a real market for them.

I’ve read all the reviews about passive vs. actives and debated for a while about which one would work best for me. While it is true that actives have their advantages, I ultimately decided to go with passives so I could change amplification later on to get different signatures. It’s part of this hobby. I would have loved to get an Active if I could interchange the amps but I was told it’s not possible. I would like to have some measure of control and continue to tweak for the sound I enjoy.

Have the ATC SC-2 which is a brilliant pre-amp. Add an ATC P2 and your done, even with two P2's your are ready for less than 20k (New)

Get Active ATC's but a Tube Preamp! I have a BAT VK-80 Tube preamp and am loving it with my Coda #8 amp. I also am considering getting some ATC's so am interested in this.

One of the engineers at ATC was an intern with us, when he left it was to go to California to work at ATC.

@ei001h If you get the active version, it has a balanced input that conforms to the balanced standard, AES48. A lot of high end audio balanced preamps don't actually support the standard; if they support the standard then the interconnect cable you use will matter far less or not at all (one of the benefits of balanced line if done properly). There are  balanced tube preamps that have no problem at all with the 10KOhm input impedance.

The passive version of the speaker is an easy load. There are now class D amps out there that are every bit as musical (smooth and involving in the mids and highs) as the best tube amps or class A solid state amps so that might be something to put on the radar as well.