Conrad Johnson 350 vs Pass Labs X amp

Do you have long interconnects?.
I tried a pass 350 with my prem 16 earlier in the year with poor results. Slow rather ponderous sound. Could have been that my prem8a's were a lot better, but I think the cj pre amp may have been having trouble driving my 6 metre i/c's.
cj don't recommend long i/c's.

The CJ has a very layered and rich sound with a very wide and deep soundstage and focused images. The Pass has a livelier sound with better extension at the frequency extremes and larger images. So its like trying to decide between blondes and brunetes: both are good. So the ultimate solution is to get both amps. Who cares if its a little expensive? You only live once.

Ethnos - thanks for your post, I will be very interested to hear what you think of the 350 in that set up as it would be the same as mine if I bought the 350.

I got a chance to audition a 350 a few days ago and compared it to a MV60 which is meant to be similar to my Prem 11A. There is no doubt that its a much more dynamic amp with better definition and speed, particularly in the lower registers. It is however a shed load of money as we say here in the UK and a X150.5 would be a lot cheaper. As a bonus it also looks wonderful. Now if I could only afford a pair of XA100s my decision would be easy . . .

I have a 350 and it is very good, the best I have heard to my ears. It drives difficult loads with ease. My Gamut L5 will shut down my Meridan 605s after making the heat sinks very hot. These amps drove my Apogee Dutettas easly. The heat sinks on the 350 get barely warm. I might be loath to use them on Quads because of the power; if you do use restraint.

Martin Colloms found them very good also