If you can afford the XA160.5, I would go with at least the Pass XP-20, or the XP-30.
Personally I would look at $10,000 plus list price preamps.
Personally I would look at $10,000 plus list price preamps.
ARC LS27 vs ModWright LS36.5 for Pass Labs XA160.5's?
As the title suggests, looking for some opinions on which way I should head. Both can be had for the same price, but the ModWright will come with a 2yr warranty as it's an ex-demo unit from a dealer. What would some of you knowledgeable folks do? Anyone happen to have experience with either of these combinations? Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to hear them in my specific system first.
System right now consists of:
Pass Labs XA160.5 amplifiers (will be running balanced, 30kohm input impedance)
Focal Scala Utopia speakers
As-yet-undetermined DAC
No analog front-end at the moment
On paper, the LS36.5 is better in terms of impedance matching but I've read a lot of folks have great success pairing ARC pre's with Pass Labs (the editor of Tone Publications said the Ref5SE sounded amazing with XA160.5's for instance). I would assume the ARC is a better preamp based on price and pedigree, but folks say the ModWright punches way above it's weight-class. Just looking for some opinions from the audiogon crowd! I'm leaning toward the ARC but worried about a mismatch despite reading the opposite from some users online.
System right now consists of:
Pass Labs XA160.5 amplifiers (will be running balanced, 30kohm input impedance)
Focal Scala Utopia speakers
As-yet-undetermined DAC
No analog front-end at the moment
On paper, the LS36.5 is better in terms of impedance matching but I've read a lot of folks have great success pairing ARC pre's with Pass Labs (the editor of Tone Publications said the Ref5SE sounded amazing with XA160.5's for instance). I would assume the ARC is a better preamp based on price and pedigree, but folks say the ModWright punches way above it's weight-class. Just looking for some opinions from the audiogon crowd! I'm leaning toward the ARC but worried about a mismatch despite reading the opposite from some users online.