Integrated amp -- Pass Labs vs Luxman vs McIntosh


I posted a similar query earlier but did not get a lot of responses unfortunately. As mentioned before, my speakers are Sonus Faber Olympica II, currently driven by Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, in a 20x15 dedicated media room. As an aside, I’m already working with GIK acoustics to treat the room. As much as I love the Cronus Magnum II, it’s clearly struggling with the speakers and room dimensions. I have been doing some research and narrowed my choices to the following (Note: mostly looking for used since my budget is $5 - 6k max)

Pass Labs INT-60 -- love the fact that the first 30 watts are all Class A; these don’t come up for sale often though. I’ve heard that these are as close to the tube sound one can get without compromising what makes SS great. I listened to INT-150 a couple of years ago and was really impressed. From what I’ve read, the 60s are clearly a step up in every way. Besides, I’ve always been fascinated by Pass Labs.

Luxman 590AXII -- I have yet to read anything negative about these. I like the fact that they are a class A design. Unfortunately, the only Luxmans I’ve listened to were 20+ years old and did not leave much of an impression (polite to a fault).

McIntosh MA352 -- A friend has the smaller brother, MA252, which I really like but not sure if they have enough juice to drive my speakers. None of the dealers near me carry the MA352 so I have to rely on feedback alone. I like the fact that this is a hybrid.

Another suggestion from a dealer is Naim SuperNait 3, but honestly I don’t know if it competes in the same playground as the aforementioned amps.

My goal is to find a nice balance between the strengths of tubes and SS -- retain good 3D soundstage, instrument separation, midrange magic, but not at the expense of bass and dynamics. I do understand that I cannot expect an SS, regardless of class A or not, to have the same lush, holographic presentation of tube amps, but want something that gets as close as possible.

I would love to listen from owners or people who have heard the amps before. Since I’m buying used, I will not have the opportunity to return them so due diligence is necessary.




arafiq

Showing 3 responses by yyzsantabarbara

The new CODA integrated I believe has similar tech as the CODA #8 amp that lot of people are raving about. You should check them out since I think they are giving you a lot bang for the buck. The PASS guy(s) and CODA guy(s) came from the same company.

https://destinationhifi.com/collections/coda-technologies/products/coda-csib-integrated-amplifier?va...

@arafiq  The guy to go on the CODA gear is teajay. He has stirred the pot up pretty good around here getting the word out on the new CODA gear, specifically the #8 and #16.

I was actually thinking of the #8 to pair with my new Thiel CS3.7s + Benchmark HPA4/LA4 preamp. However, the Benchmark guys convinced me that their AHB2 amp in mono will work on my 2 Ohm load so I will try another AHB2 (home trial it) before I try the perfectly matched CODA #8 with the Thiels.
I got nothing against coda but yysantabarbara had the coda integrated you mention, had the krell 300i at same time, ..... and sold the coda. He kept if for only a couple of months. ymmv.
I now have the CODA 07x preamp + CODA #8. I sold the CODA CSiB and kept the KRELL because the KRELL had more features that I could use, internal DAC, HDMI, etc.

People are saying the CSiB is very close in sound to the CODA separates. On my power hungry Thiel CS3.7 I find the separates are much better than the CSiB. In fact, this is the best sound I ever got from these very hard to drive speakers.

The CODA separates sound like a mix of the KRELL K-300i and the Benchmark AHB2. Very detailed, smooth, "wet", and powerful. I have the AHB2 also connected to the CODA 07x preamp (it has 2 sets of XLR outputs) and use them for RAAL SR1a headphones. The CODA and AHB2 are a great pairing with the proper matching speaker. The Thiels are too power hungry for AHB2 in stereo and mono. It is not a bad pairing just not the best.