Integrated Amplifiers - Luxman vs Pass Labs

Hey @Bjesien

Pass makes no secret that he strives for including euphonic distortion in his amps, and it's in the Stereophile measurements too.  I don't have a problem with that at all.  My favorite of all time amps remain Conrad Johnson Premier 8 and 12s, so I'm the last person to suggest an amp should be antiseptic.

What I do believe is going on is that that signature of his just works really well for a lot of people, but just doesn't work for me.  It's like pineapple on a pizza, and trying to determine the absolute right answer to that will never be a good idea. :)

Sorry, no experience with Sugden.

Erik

BTW, I have never heard an amp more full sounding than my current Luxman 507 which sounds closest to a D’Agostino to me. The extension from bass to treble is outstanding, but I never heard the class A equivalents. It may be worthwhile for the OP to compare the two.

I want to reiterate, I don't personally care if the OP buys a Pass or Luxman.  I do think that in many situations the two are so different the OP will absolutely come out of that shoot out with a strong preference of their own.

These are just not amps you should buy based on anyone else's hearing.

Hi @bjesien

I’ve heard Pass in about a dozen situations but can only remember one specifically. I’ll explain in a bit.

At an audiophile’s home near San Francisco I got to hear a full Pass stack with Lawrence audio. It was OK. I mean, I’ve heard many Class D amps from IcePower or A/B from Parasound which would have equaled or bettered what I heard.

In another situation I was at a dealer in the greater Boston area, kind of in the boonies. Unremarkable music presentation is how I would describe it. Everyone around me was excited and I was... meh.

I also went to a show sponsored by Pass near the SF airport where in about 80% of the rooms the amps were Pass. I can’t remember everyone but I can say that the rooms that did not have Pass sounded a lot better. In general the pass sound was scratchy and lean to my ears.

The best I can tell from Stereophile measurements of Pass amps is that the euphonic distortion they are adding is absolutely not working for me. Maybe also a preference for big floppy woofers.  I've never heard Pass with big horn loaded systems myself so I have to go by what I've been told.

I know my view is very much in the minority and often people take me as attacking Nelson himself, and I'm not doing any such thing.  The gear just doesn't go anywhere I want to be.

OP:

I don't know that I'd say Ayre sound is fuller.  It's ... different... almost alien.  It sounds as if it sucks noise out of the room and everything is coming out of a perfect void.  It's an effect you really have to listen to.

I like them a lot, but budget, opportunity and meters landed me with Luxman. :)

Best,

Erik

P.S.. - From what I've gleaned talking to A'goners, who were able to be more objective about Pass than most, they are pretty speaker dependent. They sounded really good with some speakers, especially big fat speakers like Tannoy's and JBL studio monitors.  Keep this in mind while auditioning or asking for recommendations.

I own a 507ux, and heard lots of Pass and the 509ux as well. The two are in no way the same amp.  Full stop.  Before you switch to Pass you must listen for yourself.  You will come away with one of two opinions:

1. You'll think Pass is incredible
2. You can't imagine leaving Luxman.

I personally do not like Pass.  I find it lean at best, and scratchy at worst.  Like it pulls my ears.  I like a lot of Class D amps more than I like Pass designs. However, I recognize I am very much in the minority here, and I don't know which camp you'll fall into but I absolutely do not recommend switching "blind" here.

If you do get to listen though another brand to consider is Ayre.  Also a different sounding amp from both Luxman and Pass.

My point, BTW, is definitely not to convince you that I'm right and others are wrong, just that these amps sound so dissimilar to my ears I can't suggest you personally switch without listening.