Amplifier Experience Gryphon Pass Lamm BAT

Hamburgcity I have not heard Gryphon but with the others you mentioned they must be very good as Bat, Pass, and Lamm are all home-run hitters. I just prefer the quick, natural dynamics and speed of bat. As Rtn1 mentioned I think several U.S. manufacturers are selling at great value new overseas now including BAT from what someone else had told me. Might look to buy new over there, may can get a decent deal from dealer and warranty. Also, at-least with the bat, buy new what you can afford but buy pieces that are upgradeable. Bat has a new VK255SE that is wonderful. I think it has some of the same caps the REX has and is the main difference in the VK250se. This in mono would be great with the 52se and the 52 is able to upgrade to rex.

They are most likely going to do the same type stuff with the Vk600 and wind up with a 650 or 700 similar to the Vk255se. Also of note on upgrade path, with the way Bat does there circuits and the ability to go from stereo to mono and even four of there stereo/mono amps and have them working as one. In other words I could get two more Vk600m-se and not by-amp but have double the current and half the impedance output as I understand it, 1200 watts if I did that.

Thanks Rtn1 and Beerdraft.

With regards to exchange rate you are right. The USD is such that american products were never cheaper BUT and that is a big BUT most European Distributors dont pass on the weak exchange rate at all. As a matter of fact i have seen enough example where the European or UK price are the same or more than in USD but in EUR or GBP instead. The excuses are usually weak but hell Audio distributors and retailers do not seem to bother if they loose business over here!

Most US products are only good value in Europe if bought 2nd hand or as ex-demo. I honestly wish guys i could take advantage of some of thouse Audiogon deals here but thanks to different voltages and the size and wieghts of speakers/amplifiers that is not going to happen easily!

That said Rtn1 BAT Rex and Pass XA200.5 is most impressive! BAT Rex uses tubes, is that correct?
I see you used Karan Acoustics too, how do they compare to Pass XA? You sold the Karan so that says something I guess!

BAT is interesting and price wise more attractive than the others. I wish I could compare them directly. All that upgrade schemes I find cofunsing though at best....

I would go with the Pass Labs XP-20 and the XA160.5. I love the sound of tubes but I own Apogee Divas and need a big amp combo like the XP-20 and XA160.5. I currently own an X350.5 with an XP 10 which has plenty of power and sounds great. I will upgrade to the the XP-20 and XA160.5 sometime next year. It took me years to get my system to sound like it does. I have listened to a friends system that had a set of XA160 and when he upgraded to the XA160.5 the difference was very big. It was 5 or 6 steps better. Somebody above said that there is little difference between the XA and the XA.5 series and I would have to disagree. The original XA series is a single single ended gain stage and does not have the current/ power that the XA.5 series does. The .5 is much more relaxed and effortless and rarely runs out power. The original XA series like easy loads and are not good for the challenge of difficult loads. Match your amp to your speakers. The XA60.5 and the XA100.5 may have more then enough power to run your speakers. The XA60.5 is a more powerful amp than the original XA160. Also keep in mind when you buy Pass Labs you get first class support and they actually answer their phone. I have owned many different high end systems and I have not had anything as good as Pass Labs

The Lamm L2 Reference preamp accompanied with the Lamm mono's setup is a good choice, usually this brand has solid state preamps.. a remarkable feature of this preamp is the polarity reversal switch that allows signal polarity reversal, it help you to find the best album position in polarity.