Have l become unstable?

No, not unstable, at least no more than the most of us, given the territory.

As far as your ATC's go, it might be worth considering whether if any loudspeaker/amp combos get much better than yours. Exemplary engineering, legendary midrange unit, first class in house customised treble unit etc. I suspect you will lose nothing but gain a lot in terms of bandwidth and dynamics. As far as kick-ass speakers go ATC are up there with classic high end JBL's.

The SCM40 SMA  not only an obvious contender for one take on the current state of the art, but it's also one massively favoured by many, many recording/broadcasting professionals.

@lowrider57  Yes, and hardly surprisingly it's also something that many try to foster and exploit. Just look at the most common type of ads compared to those from yesteryear. They promise nothing, and suggest everything.

Which of us has not been taken in at some point? Until you realise and accept the limits of what is possible in audio you will never have peace of mind and always be at risk!

Many experienced audiophiles feel that in real terms little progress outside loudspeaker design (and some fans of Quad, Klipsch, JBL, Tannoy DC's etc would even dispute that) has been made in the last 50 years in both the fields of recording and playback.

ATC are extremely natural sounding and sound much like live music. You will however lose some typical “hi-fi” treble and bass emphasis as ATC are voiced very neutral (unlike most designs). Relatively speaking this means the mid range is more forward than usual because the response is flat both on and off axis throughout the frequency range (most designs and especially two-ways tend to be weak off axis in the upper mid range resulting in a “U” shaped EQ presentation. This “hi-fi” style speaker sound is incredibly popular but not quite natural sounding)

The detail is all there with ATC especially in the mid range - just turn up the volume a bit and the bass and treble details will blossom too.

Thank you so much for insightful and useful information.  I've enjoyed the current system for years, just wanted to shove the envelope a bit.  Thanks again.  Ciao

One relatively low $ way to “shove the envelope a bit” is improve your IMO excellent Unitiserve front end with HRS isolation, damping block and a Pardo LPS

works.... for me....

Yes ATC’s . But for Buddy Guy , you’re gonna need Polka Dots too! I’m envious, I can’t afford ATC . One of the most powerful , clean sounding shows I ever saw was Supertramp’s Crime of the Century Tour at the restored Warner’s Theatre in Fresno . I talked to a sound engineer and he said “ ATC”. I realize your not doing live music but it applies in this senereo. So if you go Gloss Black , get the white polka dots ! Cheers .