cakyol:
I am not seriously looking for a new amplifier. I have had our ML-333 since it was new in 1995 and have no plans to replace it. However, just for fun as a background task, I try to keep up on recent developments so that I have a plan in case the ML-333 fails beyond repair and needs to be replaced.
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From one point of view, they may be the best, but I would not use them because they would break my home power budget. The specifications for our speakers recommend an amplifier in
the range of 125-250 watts, although more or less can suffice. (I currently have
more!) So, I started looking for suitable Pass amplifiers and looked closely at
the XA100.8, which is “only” 100W. It is a mono amp, so I would need
two:
https://www.passlabs.com/amplifier/xa100.8
When idling, two of these together would draw a total of 900
watts from the wall.
Our home solar and battery system do not provide all of our
power needs, but through most of the year, the system allows us to totally avoid
buying on-peak power, which costs about 8x as much as off peak power. The large household power users (e.g. pool pump) are all scheduled for late night so that they can use off-peak power
from the grid. Air conditioning runs when it needs to throughout the day, which can’t be
helped. When AC and the pool pump are not running, the house consumes about
500-600 watts (standby appliances, stereo system, refrigerator, ceiling fans,
computers and network.) If I were to add two XA100.8’s to the mix, turned on,
this typical power consumption would more than double. The Pass amps would be
the third largest power-user, after the AC system and the pool pump. This would destroy the strategy for avoiding on-peak power purchasing by a large amount. Now, I could
leave the amplifiers powered down and power them up only when I needed them,
but:
- This would put me in a
position of having to think about how badly I really wanted to listen to the
stereo, thus diminishing the pleasure, and
- I
would have to consider restricting my listening to off-peak hours (9pm-9am),
and
- I
would have to plan ahead to listen to the stereo, since the amplifier manual
(which can be found on the link above) recommends a 1-hour warmup
time
I’m afraid that, for me, this puts the Pass products in the
same categories as LP’s and tube amps as being more trouble than they are worth,
especially when equal performance alternatives are available. So, I wish many
more happy years for our existing amplifier so I can delay indefinitely what will be a very
difficult choice. Perhaps I am just not that dedicated of an audiophile.
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