best solid state integrated to match with B&W 685s

Realremo,

If a choice is to be made, I am a believer in putting more money in the front end (source and pre/amp) due to GIGO considerations. In reality, most people building systems over time see-saw between improving quality of speakers, amp and source - eventually ending up with relative balance of quality across the board.

Your old receiver and digital source are clearly the limiting factor now, and the 685's are good enough to hang with and do justice to even mid fi gear costing a lot more.

That said, ATC speakers as a whole are in a different league than the 685's - but what would be the point of putting all that resolution downstream of a compromised signal at this point? They may actually sound less satisfying than the 685's because they would be reporting everything going on in front of them - both good and bad.

Now if you were to pair the SCM's with something like a Naim integrated and an excellent DAC like a Benchmark or Berkley, then you would be in business... Just something to think about.

"One possible system, is a Benchmark DAC1 sourcing active speakers."

This is an interesting idea. Bob, how would you configure a subwoofer in this set up?

I heard some pretty incredible active ATC's in the showroom, but of course they were beyond even my wildest high-budget dreams. My Q3 bonus was pathetic, I will not make a purchase until after Q4. In the meantime, I will continue to research. If we consider the NAD C355 or C375 + the B&Ws, that budget is about $1250 to $1650 - which active speakers + preamp are in that price range? I probably won't upgrade the head unit until I have a more firm understanding of which DAC's will re-clock (considering the PS Audio unit now, also the Music Hall 25.2, but don't want to pay for a volume pot I won't use).
Also, thanks for all the help.
And finally, after some sub-woofer research, I have a new understanding of transient response, and I doubt I could get a good quality sound for music from a sub that costs less than $700. This system is music only. Who wants muddy bass?
Still, at $1350 (B&W 685s + $700 sub) I still am not in range of the ATC SCM11s (+/- $1800).