KEF 205/2 with Pass XA series amps??


Checking for a friend; does anyone have any experience with Pass XA amps and KEF speakers? A friend of mine has a pair of the KEF 205/2's and is interested in Pass amps(XA-60.5 or XA-100.5) so I am checking around for him to try and get some of your opinions and if it's a good combo. Any help is much appreciated.
128x128johngp
Pass labs xa 100.5 amps are driving my kef 203/2 in a small room about 200 sq ft. I believe it's perfectly matched, it sounds better than other audio equipment I have heard in a showroom. Soundstage is wide and deep, perfect for classical music, great match up.
I recently onwned 205/2 and have Pass 150 int.(150W)
They match very well.Kef is very natural speaker and the pass has authority to control bass and very fine details.
I have heard a combo of 205/2 and some model of Pass amp at a local dealer. IIRC, it was a 100 watt/channel, current model. The room was pretty large. Unless the combo was pushed to a volume level that I found unnaturally loud, and somewhat painful, it was actually a very musical combo. So musical, in fact, that I actually preferred it to the Levinson-amped KEF The Blade statement loudspeakers in an adjacent room. Although I am not a metal-dome tweeter fan, the KEF Reference series is one of the most musical speakers I've heard with metal tweeters. Only occassionally did the highs get rough or edgy sounding. Most of the time, these speakers sound fantastic, IMO, smooth, detailed, natural and with a wonderful soundstage. Therefore, I would think you are smart to go with an amp that won't push the KEF tweeter over the edge of neutral. In SS land, Pass, Odyssey, Asthetix, and McIntosh come to mind as such amplifiers. There are probably others as well.
I'm the friend Johngp is talking about. Hoping someone who owns KEF Reference 207/2, 205/2, or 203/2's can add their impression of Pass amps with the KEFs. I'm open to recommendations throughout the series of Pass amps.
Thanks for any help!
Yeah seems quite a few speakers do come alive with power but I think it's current they really desire. My Usher Be-20's sounded ok with a Classe CA-300 but with a VAC Phi 110(110 wpc) or a pair of Pass XA-100.5's on them they come alive, sounds like a 500wpc class a/b amp. Thanks for the help.
No clue. My KEF r's needed loads of power to come alive so I bi-amped, giving the woofers double the wattage as the uniQ drivers tailoring the sound to my music & basement listening room. I read in one of these forums a listener got his KEF's to come alive by adding a dedicated electric circuit. these speakers are worth the effort though.