Coda #8, Pass XA25, or Schiit Tyr to replace PS Audio M700

@thriftyaudio Wrote:

Replaced the fuse and listened at lower levels for a few days.  Reached out the Schiit Audio six times by email without a response.  Spoke with their guy at the retail location north of LA and asked him to have someone call or email me.  He said he would pass my information along, but I have not received a response.  I wanted to find out if a different pair of amps from Schiit would do what I want.  Since they won't respond to my requests I can only do one thing.  The Tyr are being returned within the fifteen day return window and I am moving on.

I agree, in my opinion that will be the downfall of Schiit audio, poor customer service!

Mike

@thriftyaudio That's too bad! I have always gotten a prompt response when I've reached out to Schiit. I don't know why you wouldn't have heard anything back. Also weird about the fuse issue. I hope the XA-25 turns out to be the ticket for you then.

@sid-hoff-frenchman I think the fuse was due to the 0.5 Ohm issue at 17000 Hz playing at over 80db measured from three meters away.  The Schiit AI said the Tyr were not at match and the Aegir2 or Vidar could be better matches.  Without a response from Schiit I won't give them another chance.  

At least Nelson Pass has responded to every email I have ever sent to Pass Labs and the only product I had at the time was a licensed Stasis amp from Nakamichi.  I will put my trust in the Pass products.  He believes the XA25 will work well with the Acoustats and the Rythmiks.

If there is an issue, I believe Pass Labs will help me work through it.

Received the XA25 this afternoon and connected it right away.  It is a used unit and I am the second owner.  OMG, so far this is amazing.  The bass control is so far beyond anything I have ever experienced with the Luxman 1040, NAD 7600, PS Audio M700, Nakamichi PA 7Aii, and Schiit Tyr.  I actually had to adjust the Rythmik F12SE subs to a lower crossover (from 100 to 80 Hz) and lower the gain on the subs.  The soundstage is beyond what I was hoping for and the separation of instruments is amazing.  Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man made me feel like I was in the 1st or second row center seat.  I know it is just a few hours, but wow!  This is better than anything I have ever listened too in any audio store.  

I will let the newness sink in and provide follow up later.  I also need to confirm the spectral analysis in correct.  The bass may still be a bit rich.  Time to play.

Congrats! I had XA30.8 the bass was big.  When I upgraded to X260.8 I actually had to change the interconnects as the bass was completely overpowering everything. When you’re changing amps it is a major impact to the sound of your system and might require cables changes as well as changes in speaker placement. Give the Pass amp a few days to settle and start playing with speaker placement. Pull them more into the room and consider bass traps. Room acoustics is something we often overlook but is an extremely important aspect of tuning a system. Good luck!

Wow, am I amazed at what a difference the Pass Labs XA-25 makes compared to the Schiit Tyr, PS Audio M700, and others.  The soundstage is more of a wrap around rather than left to right or top to bottom.  The featured instruments (or voices) are distinct with depth on the stage.  

The only drawback I have is the max output with my inefficient, but amazing Acoustat 1+1 speakers, is 89 db measured at 3 meters (9-10 ft).  I use this measure since that is the prime listening location, although most of my critical listening is off to one side by three feet.  When I scale back the PS Audio Direct Stream Mk. 1 to 92, rather than 100, the peak is 86 db, but the sound is purer.  This is good for 99% of my listening.  Just can't crank it for the one or two parties of the year (then only for 30-60 minutes).  I can live with it.

The sweet spot is enlarged with this amp due to removing the speaker toe-in previously utilized.  I found the soundstage was improved without the toe-in.  This is a first.  I also lowered the sub active crossover to 80 db.  The XA-25 really bumped up the bass in the Acoustats.  The final adjustment was a -24db to the high and a -12 db to the subs.  A small but impactful difference.  The SPL Crossover really helped.  I am certain a JL CR-1 could provide similar results.

The XA-25 does run warm.  I have elevated it two inches and provide 6+" above and on all sides.  I turn it off over night, or when I am out of the house.

I thought I needed dual monoblocks for this type of soundstage.  It makes me wonder what this amp would do as dual monoblocks?  I believe I have my power amp for the next several years.  Thanks for all your thoughts and comments.

@thriftyaudio, "the 0.5ohm above 17000Hz"!

How much musical information do you expect at that frequency?  It is higher than most instrumental overtones, so way above the fundamentals.  Also, you must have very good hearing if you are over 25-30 and can still hear that high in the range.

But then possibly if your music does include anything that high, an amp may make sounds of protest perceived at a lower frequency. ;^)

Regardless, nice to hear you found the XA-25.

@pryso I agree with you regarding my hearing (old) and amount of music over 17000Hz.  The data shows a draw of 0.5 Ohm dip at 17000Hz for my speakers and two different amps have had issues when the playback included sections above 17000 Hz.  The M700 put out a slight shrill (audio clipping) that annoyed me.  I believe the shrill started below the 17000 mark.  It could have initiated at 15500 Hz.  The Schiit Tyr actually blew a fuze (one side only) in the same music passage.  Fortunately these issues have led me to the XA-25 which is by far the best sounding amplifier I have ever owned.  I don't have to worry about it now.

Congratulations on your new amplifier as a fellow Pass owner I think you made the right decision and will have many hours of listening pleasure with it.