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Alternatives to Pass Labs

Pass Labs are great amps but are expensive too. Are there any other good amps (stereo and or multi-channel) that are as great sounding as the pass labs products but not as expensive? I had an (borrowed from a friend) an Aleph 3 and I felt that the Aleph was on SS(solid state) amp closest to the tube sound but at the same time retaining the SS features.
harrygoldsmith

Showing 2 responses by tombowlus

tombowlus
416 posts
 
Pass Labs amps are on my current short list, too. I agree that they are a bit pricey, but they are one of the few amps which I have yet to hear any real unfavorable reviews of. In addition to Pass, I am considering Theta, McCormack, Classe', Bryston, and Krell. Possibly the Parasound Halo JC 1's, but I do hear some widely conflicting reviews.

Tom.
tombowlus
416 posts
 
FWIW, I never did get a chance to audition a Pass Labs amp, but last week I was able to audition a number of amps from McCormack, Theta and Edge with my Thiel CS3.6's, and my favorites were the Theta Enterprise monoblocks. The Edge NL-10 also sounded very nice, but was not as musical as Theta. Even the "little" Intrepid 5-channel sounded much better than it had a right to with my Thiels, so from what I can tell, Theta is really creating some amps worth considering at their various price points.

I think that I am going to go with Enterprises on the 3.6's, and an Intrepid for center and surrounds.

Tom.
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