Pass Lab Amp "Which one"

Glenn Power

New Member
Hi,
I am very keen to buy a Pass amp for my Goldenear Triton 1 speakers,i did have a Hegel H360 which was a good amp for the price,but i found it somewhat sterile and a little to clinical and no warmth,
I would appreciate any suggestions on Pass amps that would be a good fit for my speakers,i have been to my local dealer in Lisbon Portugal,unfortunately he only has 2 models and does not do auditions at home,bearing in mind that the Triton speakers have built in power for the subs,i was thinking of the following
XA30.8
XA60.8
X150.8
INT-30A
INT-60
INT-150
I would appreciate any advice,and merits downfalls of these amps and of course i do realise that with sound everything is subjective,i presently use a Marantz receiver for surround sound processing and using the main L and R pre-outs for my triton speakers,with the Hegel amp that i had i used the home cinema pass through which is of course is very useful for the correct sound level,i stream from a MAC Mini using Tidal master via a Meridien Explorer2 MQA dac (which of course will need upgrading to something more suitable in the near future),my musical tastes are mainly from the 70s/80s including Heavy Rock/Metal,Progressive Rock,Pop,Reggae and Electronic such as Kraftwerk,Yello,tangerine Dream etc, and most of the time at easy listening levels,but sometimes i like to crank up the volume,my room is 25m/275',i am more drawn to a nice analogue/tube sounding amp,
thank you in advance for any suggestions
Regards
RGMD11
 
I am not familiar with the models you mention, but I can't imagine any Pass Labs amp not sounding great. They are said to be similar to a great tube amp in sound. I have an x350.5 driving my B&W 803 D3 speakers. They sound great together. I think the Pass Labs amps generally recommend using balanced inputs, although they can be driven with an unbalanced input (at least the x350.5 can). I am using a Pass Lass x2.5 preamp with balanced outputs. Obviously this doesn't apply with the integrated amps.
Make sure you can live with the heat these amps create. My x350.5 idles at 600 watts. But well worth it.

Terry
 
Hi Terry,

Thank you for your answer and time,i am now at the point of choosing either a Pass INT-30A or INT-60A,but also giving serious consideration to the Luxman L-590mk2,Accuphase E-600 or maybe the E470 and possibly the Sugden IA-4 amp,i am trying to arrange demo's of them all,though my bias is towards Pass,dipped into so many forum's for opinion's,and yes Pass is way up there,highly regarded and esteemed....

Regards
Glenn
 
Welcome! From your post and having listened to the XA and X series (and older Pass Labs amps), I would opt for the Class A XA series. IMHO, that is what makes them sound sweet. But, the X series and INT do provide Class A power up to a point before they switch to Class AB.
 
Honestly, if the Hegel didn't sound good, I am not sure the Pass Labs Amps would be any better, honestly. I have heard Goldenears and I think a tube amp would be a better match. No matter what SS amp I heard them with, they sounded sharp and annoying (floppy bass)., but that is me.

Funny you should say that,at trade shows Goldenear use Pass amps for the demo's,but Sandy Gross the owner actually uses in his own personal setup at home a Line Magnetic
219IA tube amp,and i have been looking at the 508IA which has 48w per channel of Class A,my local dealer has just started stocking these amps and he is raving about them,fantastic build quality and very well priced
 
If you have a chance to audition those aforementioned gear, you are very fortunate. No one around my area carries those brands.

I happen to run Accuphase gear on my Def Tech rig, but I was also considering Pass Labs, and Krell for Class A amplification. I probably would've been just as happy running Pass Labs with my Def Techs.
 
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I have a place within a mile, but they are never really open. I will make an appointment someday.
 
When I was shopping for an int for my salons three names kept coming up ML, Pass labs and Hegel. I was using a parasound A21 drivin by the front of a krell kav 300il and I found the music a little to laid back A H360, H190 and the rost all sounded fast powerful and live recordings sounded live nuff said. I bought the 360 because the 190 got a bit warm when I pushed it. For as great as the h360 made my Revels sound tho' they didn't really jel with my 107/2's ? My theory is speakers rich in the midband wont benefit from the soundengine tech or the 107/2 really need the kube in the chain to play at their best.
 
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