ATC active vs. passive

@lonemountain 

appreciate the detailed response

1. I have a big room, 45 x 15 ft

2. listen to classical, piano and large scale orchestra at high volume 

3. absolutely love tube sound and have the ability to bi amp a passive system if needed. I enjoy the harmonics that tubes bring 

4. I value accurate tone and timbre of musical instruments, especially cello piano and violin. 
 

5. I have an all analog system with TT and tube everything in the chain 

knowing all this, would you still recommend an active over passive ? 
in what situations would passive be recommended? 
 

Thanks 

As stated often here, it's best to audition, both if possible. I understand that can be difficult to do but we all perceive things differently. My experience as an active speaker designer / manufacturer is that, all else being equal, an active version and a passive version of the same speaker can sound very different. Even when using the same amps. I won't go into the many benefits of active speakers here (there are volumes written about the subject by people much smarter than me) but my experiences strongly suggest that active systems usually perform better if properly designed.

I understand your concern about the amplification used. Like yourself, I prefer tube gear and use tube amps and preamp in my personal systems. Our active speaker systems are different than the ATC active systems in that you can use any amplification you choose, be it solid state or tube gear. Some of our customers use 300B SET tube amps and other use 200 watt solid state amps. They both sound different and both can sound great. The customer makes the choice.

I have not heard active ATCs only passive so my comments speak only to active vs passive system. 

At the shows I have heard both the active and passive ATCs. The passive speakers were being driven by a S.S. amp. I thought the actives sounded much better. In fact, I really liked the actives and thought the passives were pedestrian sounding. Could have been any number of factors.

we have both the 40 actives and passives on display

so if you want to demo both we can do it for you.

Dave and Troy

audio intellect NJ

Atc dealers

I'm interested in 50 and above. Where can I demo those in NY/NJ/MA/CT area?