Pre-amp Dac for ATC SCM10As or T16

Hi guys.. and gals*

*delete as approprite

Hoping you can help, I posted a 'Hi' thread some time ago which kicked off, as is so often the way on the internet, into a fairly hefty mana debate. So I'm back with a few more questions.

Active speakers- whilst I've been saving for a long time now for a pair of the ATC SCM50As my wife has just gone and spent come of the cash on soft furnishings (I think she did it on purpose when she saw the size of them), so we are now down to the ATC SCM10As, the T16s, or the Dyne Air 6s. Does anyone have any thoughts? it's a large room, but I'm not worried about filling it atm, once renovations are finished the listening room will be about 14ftx8ftx8ft, I will listen across the room.

Source - well, I was planning on the Advantage S1 or Accuphase (one box solutions), but noticed my dvd player has optical out... i'm thinking a good external Dac / Pre with spdif in and balanced out would be perfect. I was thinking the CA2 (Atc), but not sure if it has a a dac in it?

All help would be great

 

The CA2 doesn't have a DAC, but it's a very good preamp. Stello have a preamp/DAC that seems like a good bit of kit, but now they have a UK distributor it's £1500 (wish I'd bought one of these direct from Korea when they were about £2.50...)

ATC 10s are great in smaller rooms (I used to have a pair), but are now nearly £2K new (they were £1200 when I bought them). £2K would get you a pair of Active 20s secondhand, which is what I'd go for.

-- Ian

 

I would also be considering the Tannoy Ellipse 8's if I were you! They also come in the iDP form which, like the Air 6, has a room correction EQ and so on I think.

 

s/h active 50s can be had pretty cheaply.

 

Yup, you can get 2nd hand 50s for GBP2500 or less if you hunt around a bit, tho at that price they usually have the older tweeter and more often than not the basic black 'pro' finish.

In any case, at their current prices I would definitely buy any ATCs 2nd hand.

As for the preamp, the CA2 is a stunning little piece of kit, especially at 2nd hand prices (GBP350-400!).

Dunc

 

my comparative knowledge at this level is limited, but I have plumpted for the Dax Decade which is a dac/pre-amp. Dunc and I plan to pair this with his ATCs sometime this month to see the fit.

 

I just bought a CA2 and last I checked, Emporium Hi Fi have a 6 month old CA2 for £500 and Horsham Hi Fi have an ex-demo one that you could also get for the same price. Or you could wait for one to come up from a private seller for £400.

I managed to get a CA2 / SPA2-150 combo in fine condition for £1400 (RRP £4000) last week but that info's not much use to you if you have already decided on ATC's actives. I also wanted the SCM50A's and at 2nd hand prices they are a bargain, but my wife would have bloody killed me (ATC passives are much more "wife friendly"). I really think the SCM50A's would be too big for your room, wouldn't go any bigger than SCM20's.

Re. the Air 6's, I used to own Dynaudio Acoustics BM15's. I was not that impressed by these and trust me they are not a patch on the ATC's. Dynaudio Acoustics products are designed by a company called Munro Acoustics in the UK (I know a guy who worked for them). Even though they use the Dynaudio drivers, the execution of the design is definately not on a par with the "proper" dynaudio gear. ATC has a much longer association and more respect within the pro market than Dynaudio Acoustics. (apologies to any Dynaudio Acoustics owners but that's my experience)

Anyway, the SCM20A's seem to be turning up with great frequency on the 2nd hand market and are a real bargain. I'd get them.

Andy

 

Thanks for the contributions gentlemen,

Re 2nd hand. Well, the original plan was to get the ATC's second hand and to strap myself up with the cd/preamp.

Now the wife has been spending it's going to mean that I either get a cracking deal on a 2nd hand dac/pre or cd/pre and strap myself up on the drivers instead.

If there was ayway i could get the a pair of 2nd hand drivers on credit I would do, but as this is not a possibility I can only go to the ATC10s or T16s. The dynes are reasonable well respected on some of the pro audio forums, but my heart wasn't really into them anyway... in a year or so upgrade from the smaller ATCs..

Are there any more suggestions as to a DAC/Pre?

Has anyone got anymore suggestion

 

The Benchmark DAC is well regarded, and has built in pre-amp. Have not heard one myself but there was one on sale here recently. I think UK s/h is around £600.

 

Ouch - I'm pretty sure the US price for the Benchmark is around the $800 mark (GBP450), and that's brand new!

Dunc

 

Well, our business is actually importing and distribution of high end car audio products, we bring over two brands from the US, but for all the grief we get over 'grey' imports it would be extremely bad form do then do so myself.... remarkably tempting isn't it?