[Foxman50]

I had passive 40 MkII for some time and found them more boomy than active 50 stand mounts. Mind you a set of Townshend podiums sorted the boom.

didn’t go with the 50’s in the end as i could not get them to image, always sounded like the speakers were playing the music.

 

[Triode User]

I had passive 40 MkII for some time and found them more boomy than active 50 stand mounts. Mind you a set of Townshend podiums sorted the boom.

didn’t go with the 50’s in the end as i could not get them to image, always sounded like the speakers were playing the music.

The passive ATC 40 is very difficult to drive and requires significant amplification. I have only heard them beginning to sound as good as the active version when driven by an Audia Flight amp which cost over £7k. I still come back to recommending people to try the ATC active 40 connected to a Chord DAC because I think they are a great combination.

 

[Foxman50]

Quite right Nick, but i do think the passives sound better than actives with the right amplification, but then your doubling or trebling the cost compared to the actives.

the passive 40’s respond so well to power and quality amplification.

i also modded mine and gained significant improvements.

 

[gnomen]

When living in a house with a ‘bouncy’ timber floor I too used Townshend air stands under the ATCs (they were custom designed for me, I still have them). They worked a treat. The house where I live now has a concrete floor and the Townshends are not needed. I just use the supplied ATC stands. My ATCs are active, i.e. with built—in amplifiers. Sound is superb. Hope this helps.

 

[dmance]

Despite my experience with various powered (active) speakers, i am a sucker for the transparency I hear DAC-direct. I have a HMS-TT2 stack direct to high eff speakers (DIY voxativ and other 96+dB coaxial drivers with lightweight crossovers) and always supplemented by a REL S510 and Taket BatPro2. I know the linearity may be screwy but the amazing response of the transducer directly coupled to the output of the DAC is something I cant give up. I've tried/auditioned various powered 'studio' speakers: Focal Twin6Be, SM9, Hedd 20's - thinking that if this is what is used to master music then it has to be good. Nope, in comparison, they are all blurry as get-out.
The only 'powered' speaker ive heard that amazed me is the hybrid Paradigm Persona 9H, where the TT2 directly drives everything above 400Hz and room corrected actives drive the low end with many watts of power (the bass drivers just tapping the TT2's signal with an ultra high impedance input). The 9H is a great combination of mid/high finesse and incredibly well controlled bass - no need for anything else, IMO. If it wasn't so GD expensive and big, I would own it now.
Dan

 

[Triode User]

Dan, the contra view is that a more transparent sound than tt2 direct can possibly be achieved by exploiting the superb transparency of Dave linked to a good quality amplifier. In this case I have found that overall this is a more satisfying experience. Note that I do use my TT2 direct as well but I know which I prefer.

 

[dmance]

Dan, the contra view is that a more transparent sound than tt2 direct can possibly be achieved by exploiting the superb transparency of Dave linked to a good quality amplifier. In this case I have found that overall this is a more satisfying experience. Note that I do use my TT2 direct as well but I know which I prefer.

Nick, true, i need to buy a 4-ohm 88dB speaker and try to make it sing with a good amp. I'm just reticent to grow my chain and/or compromise. Its now 2020 and I hope a next generation Dave (digital amp?) can combine TT2's supercap current drive capability *PLUS* a transparent equalizer to correct for any transducer's non-linearity (which may be what a good amplifier is doing anyhow).

 

[rkt31]

Did anybody try wharfedale evo 4 series speakers with tt2+HMS combo. This speaker is getting very good reviews and said to beat much more expensive ones for treble quality.

 

[organicmac]

I remain very pleased with DAVE directly driving B&W 805D3s and DB3D sub. Transparency is wonderful.
Quite loud enough with plenty of bass for organ music. Won't reach Triode's levels of sound pressure but unless Rob comes up with his digital amps that seemed a lot closer when I bought DAVE 2 years ago I am unlikely to change anything.

 

[musickid]

glad your system is doing all that you wished for. amazing how dave can exercise full authority like that. kenrick sound from japan are really into driving active speakers with dave. they are heavily into JBL speakers.

 

[N Quarter]

I am a long time Dynaudio user, and currently drive excite 12’s directly from my TT2. I will be picking up my Mscaler in a couple of months, which was delayed due to a work injury. My plan is to demo Harbeth 30.1’s after hearing P3esr’s recently at my local dealers home. The setup will be Naim Core > Naim NDS > BNC out > Mscaler > TT2 > Belles 150 A Reference v2 > Harbeth 30.1’s . I am hoping this will be my end game setup for years to come. Anyone else using Harbeth speakers here?, I just find them so musical compared to any other speaker I have heard, almost like a musical instrument themselves.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...=HCKvZd1SlzQ&usg=AOvVaw2SuKji-gMMzeum4UqlLGZ9

 

[MaggotBrain]

The passive ATC 40 is very difficult to drive and requires significant amplification. I have only heard them beginning to sound as good as the active version when driven by an Audia Flight amp which cost over £7k. I still come back to recommending people to try the ATC active 40 connected to a Chord DAC because I think they are a great combination.

As the owner of a pair of ATC SCM-100ASLs paired to m scaler/Dave, I wholeheartedly agree with you. The combination is amazing. A few weeks back I listened to the extended release of 1999 by Prince and on the demo tracks I honest to goodness felt like I was in the studio with Prince because the precision and the staging is so damn good. The only drawback, if it could be considered one, is that everything sounds so spectacular from the ATCs it will monopolize your attention and your headphones will start to gather dust.

 

[BPED]

I agree with the comments above. For me going Dave+MScaler direct into ATC SCM19A resulted in an effortless sound and realistic timbre. I am still struggling to find the best imaging though. Speakers disappear when I play music, no issue, bass in controlled but I'd love to achieve better depth of field and even more solid imaging. My reference are Utopias (headphones) and I know that this Chord stack has a great potential so I want to go from very good to great. I'll keep moving boxes around the sitting room!

 

[Triode User]

I agree with the comments above. For me going Dave+MScaler direct into ATC SCM19A resulted in an effortless sound and realistic timbre. I am still struggling to find the best imaging though. Speakers disappear when I play music, no issue, bass in controlled but I'd love to achieve better depth of field and even more solid imaging. My reference are Utopias (headphones) and I know that this Chord stack has a great potential so I want to go from very good to great. I'll keep moving boxes around the sitting room!

Not wanting to turn the Mscaler thread into an ATC active speaker 'love in' but I have found that the XLR cables from the Dave to the speakers can make a big difference. Having tried all sorts of exotic ones I settled on Belden 8760 Eq. If you want more details of what I have tried perhaps PM me and I will happily discuss more.

 

[Amberlamps]

As the owner of a pair of ATC SCM-100ASLs paired to m scaler/Dave, I wholeheartedly agree with you. The combination is amazing. A few weeks back I listened to the extended release of 1999 by Prince and on the demo tracks I honest to goodness felt like I was in the studio with Prince because the precision and the staging is so damn good. The only drawback, if it could be considered one, is that everything sounds so spectacular from the ATCs it will monopolize your attention and your headphones will start to gather dust.

Prince, I know he is dead, but since you felt that you were in the studio with him, did he offer you some pancakes ?