Pass....Accuphase....or......


Hi Audiogoners!

I need a new power amp to my Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation (18 watts minimum recommended input power / 8 ohm).

Have a Mark Levinson No.532 that keeps broking down and it's getting too expensive to fix in Europe. 

Music: Classical/symphonic and jazz.

Room: 13 x 26

Preamp: Auralic DAC/Pre (but this can change....)

Ideas so far:

Pass Labs XA-25 (hype or really good and powerful enough?)

Accuphase A-48 (too polite?)

If you have a minute....I need ideas in that price range...+/- $$. Thanks!

 

southofdallas

Pass would by my recommendation, but you should audition it with your speakers to verify that it's enough power.

Pass has it's own sound and you 100% need to listen first, as some reach nirvana and others can't spend much time listening to it.  

Luxman and Ayre should also be considered.  Ayre too has it's own sound and some fall in love with it.  I'm on team Lux myself.

I tested the Pass 250.8 at home with other speakers (Audio Physic Cardeas) but I was not impressed. I hear people saying the XA 25 is a different Pass. Can someone comment on that?

Luxman don't have many power amps to choose from....i think.

I play only HD-files from my hard drive so an integrated is a waste of money. Maybe a Pass HPA-1 can be my future preamp and I get a nice phone amp as well.

Your room is almost the same size as mine. Last year I briefly owned the Parsifal Ovation, great speaker BTW. I have my doubts that the XA25 will be enough. It depends on what you listen to and how loud. The Parsifal is a pretty demanding speaker IMHO. More (and quality) power will be rewarded.

I had the XA-25.  It is really good and will replace 18 Wpc no problem.  I used it with 50W min speakers.  There were a rare few recordings that would clip the highs momentarily at loud levels and I sold it.  That was a mistake.  I now have Corwalls driven by the Pass Int-25.  The XA was in another league with a good tube pre.  It was neutral, no sound of its own, and never sterile.  I found the bottom octave very well defined but weak.  A REL sub blended transparently and it was truly Really good.   Impressive dynamics, noise floor and drive.

The XA-25 is one to audition then. The Parsifals can produce big amounts of low frequencies in my room depending on placement so maybe they work fine with the XA-25?

 

I wouldn't rule out the Accuphase, but I would give it a listen before buying. Some people do feel that Accuphase is polite, but to me it is just very low distortion.  

As far as matching with your speakers, Accuphase claims to double down to 1 ohm..  The December 2023 Stereophile has a review and measurements of the A-300, which is not exactly what you want, but may be helpful.  The A-300 also was named Amplification Component of the Year in the December 2024 Stereophile.  Don't count it out without hearing it.

Like I said above, probably not enough power. Make sure you can audition before purchase or buy it used.

The A-300 is a beast....almost like the one I already have. The problem with these big expensive amps is that it is almost impossible to service them if they breake after the guaranty is gone. I don't have the money to send them around the world for service. The last problem with the ML was 3.000 USD. That's why I want a more "normal" amp.

I have owned Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation speakers since 2010 driven mostly by a Luxman L-509u integrated amp and more recently by a class A Luxman L-595A SE integrated amp which sounded lovely as did an Accuphase E-380 120W class A/B integrated amp.

Last year I had a chance to acquire a pair of Verity Audio Arindal speakers - one size up from the Parsifal but a little more sensitive at 93 dB (vs 89 dB for the Parsifal). I drove them for a short time with the L-595A which I replaced with an Accuphase A-48 amp and C-2900 preamp. What a wonderful combination! The Luxman L-595A was my introduction to class A amps, but the A-48 took everything to the next level.

Accuphase class A amps are legendary - from their integrated amps like the E-650, E-800 to separates such as the A-48, A-80 or A-300.

I would highly recommend pairing Verity Audio speakers with Accuphase or Luxman amps - but especially Accuphase.

 

If you're in Europe, the Rotel Michi M8 monoblocks could be auditioned/buy used or new. It may be a better route to futureproofing as you can throw any and every speaker at it, i.e., when you move on from that Verity Audio someday.

 

 

Accuphase built to very high standards…they don’t breakdown easily. Consider their latest A48S, which has more than enough power to drive your speakers. As @tomcy6 pointed out…low distortion, tube like harmonics that Pass Labs and Luxman simply cannot match. I choose Accuphase over T+A, Dartzeel, Pass and Luxman to pair with my Canterbury’s. 

If you are in Europe, you absolutely must research the Symphonic Line amplifiers made in Germany.

The Verity are not going anywhere ;) The amp may change,  the preamp too....but not the speakers. 

You could find a used michi m5 or m8 but the m8 is more expensive but sounds great and power any speaker.read the review of the m5.enjoy the search.

Accuphase is an interesting company which produces high quality components in small batches by hand to very high standards.  They have limited their size and production volumes to 5,000 units and only have about 85 employees - 26 of whom are engineers.  They are primarily focused on the Japanese market and only about 30% of their units are destined for export.

According to the Management and Corporate Policy posted on the Accuphase website, they limit production to 5,000 units per year and are not looking to expand:

"One of the corporate principles that Accuphase has observed since its
beginning is the conscious decision not to pursue expansion. In a free economy,
most companies try to grow. However, demand is not unlimited. If we were to
chase the numbers, trying to sell more and more products and compete only on
price, we would lose our ability to create truly high-end audio components.
We therefore are not increasing our staff numbers (currently about 80, similar
to the time of the company's founding), in keeping with the principle of "small
numbers ‒ exceptional talent". Rather than trying to expand the scale of the
company, we believe in quality over quantity. We adhere to a low-volume
production schedule, building and marketing only about 5,000 units per year. But
with regard to the products that we are making, we passionately care about their
sound, their performance, their quality, and their design. We do not ship a
product unless it fully meets our exacting standards. This gives it lasting value
and ensures the excellent reputation of the Accuphase brand."

https://www.accuphase.com/company_profile/a2_management_policies_2.pdf

Those Michi sure are VERY powerful....but I am leaning more toward the Accuphase brand.

toronto416: Nice company! I like their approach to business...no shareholders....no hurry.

Pass Lab products have the reputation for being built to be extremely reliable. This reputation is based not on verbiage from their website, but rather by very rarely having a problem in peoples system.
They are typically very conservative in rated wattage and have huge power supplies that will happily drive most anything. They have a sound type, driven by listening tests more than specs.  They are slow to break in, so any audition of a PL amp should allow more than 100 hours before forming an opinion.
Good luck in your search!

I use an Accuphase A-36 power amp and Accuphase C-2450 preamp along with Fritz Carrera speakers and an Aurender A20. The sound is sublime. I owned a Pass Labs XA25, Boulder 866, Ayer VX-5 Twenty, Luxman 509z, and a few others and all are great amplifiers. However, I cannot recommend any over the A-48 you mention. The only reason I didn't go with something bigger than the A-36 is because my speakers do not require more power to achieve the great sound those Fritz speakers are capable of producing. I also use the A-36 with Klipsch Chorus IIs. Perhaps not a popular choice for many but I love their house sound and I also use a 10wpc Luxman tube amp that has a synergy with those speakers like no others I owned or heard. The ONLY other recommendation I have is get a matching Accuphase preamp. I have tried other premps, both SS and tube but the Accuphase preamps produce the best sound for me.

@OP  - The build quality of the Michis is not in the same league as the Pass. And yes, the XA 25 is quite different sounding to the 250. The 25 doubles its power as impedance is halved so it has a lot more real world power than the nominal specification suggests. Pass Class A amps are very refined sounding so they can sound less "loud" than some other designs - that puts some people off on a quick audition. The XA 25's input gain is slightly on the low side so you need to check overall compatibility with your system. I think your Veritys are on the high side of average efficiency-wise so it will probably work. As always, the best solution is to find a good dealer who will provide an audition with your own DAC/Pre and speakers.

For what it’s worth, here is my input as a hardcore Accuphase fanboy. For amplification I have C-3900, and A-300s, driving TAD CR1TX. I’ve had other models before.

Please consider the following input based on my experience:

  • Incredibly smooth and distortion free Class A power. If you like distortion, which sounds nice for some music, you can add it with DSP pro-audio plugins. If your chain has it you can never get it out. 
  • The power ratings are always under specified. I’ve never had a lack of power even with smaller models at normal listening levels
  • Extremely well made and reliable. I’ve never had a breakdown and don’t know anyone that has. Maybe someone here has experienced a broken Accuphase but it is unicorn rare. 

I have recently discovered Audionet and I am really enjoying an AMP 1 v2 and their PRE G2. They are worth an audition.

I use an XA25 to drive a set of ZU Omen Def Supremes in a 24x21 room it is far more powerful than the ratings would make you think. The amp easily powers to 95 db at my listening position with power to spare. The ZUs are effecient. The amp is built like a tank. It is my final amp purchase I couldn’t be happier with a product. 

I have owned XA25 for 5 yrs.  25W Class A and it has over 80 W output capability.  I bought this brand because of reliability.  It is overbuilt!  It weighs 49 lbs.  It gets warm.  I have 100dB Klipsch Cornwall clones.  I use a passive preamp.  The sound comes through neutral with dynamics, clarity, great soundstaging.  This is the only Pass Labs built single ended.  

I have heard Luxman solid state.  It is warm and luscious.   An attempt to have a tubey sound.  This is not a bad thing. Not sure who services them in the US. 

Accuphase is near the top for solid state.  It is just a natural beautiful sound. It has been a long time but Accuphase and Klipschorns were memorable IMO.  A very small dealer network and not sure about service.

All of these companies make very nice equipment that you will not get tired of. 

I had the Parsifal Encore and they like to have some power 18wpc won't show you the potential of these speakers. You can also get something with a bit of bit as they are naturally pretty laid back.

The Luxman rec is good but after owning Luxman amps for 15 years I can't really listen to them anymore, maybe bored or just wanting something different.

Great speaker give them some breathing room and enjoy!

+1 @bjesien as an owner of the Parsifal Encore I totally agree with your recommendations for something with both power and a bit of bite.

I have the XA 25.  Digital source is the Esoteric K-01XS, pre is Benchmark LA4, speakers Rockport Atria II (which, thankfully, I bought before the 50% price increase!).

Yes, it IS really good.  My room is a bit larger than yours, 25x45, and the XA 25 can fill the room - I listen to "classical" music and it is supremely satisfying.  Caveat: my speakers are 4 ohm so the XA 25 can deliver 50watts.

The XA 25 is actually push-pull, but is pure class A.  Pure is a word that I would use to describe the sound.  Do read the reviews, the professional reviewers can describe the sound (actually the absence of any signature) better than I.

It is 100% revealing of the source, unforgiving of poor recordings but displays the glories of the best.

I absolutely recommend that you audition this amplifier.

 

I do not know why people use the phrase “too polite” while referring to Accuphase.   I have no idea what that means.  I have an E-800 and a C-2900/A-80.  They each sound great.  

I have not heard Accuphase amps, but recently added a Pass XA-25 to my system.  I have previously owned the First Watt M2 and Sit-3 amps.  I am using the XA-25 with high sensitivity open baffle speakers (100dB, 8 ohms) and Fritz tower speakers (unknown sensitivity, 4 ohms).  My description is that the sound is enveloping.  Detailed, beautiful.  It digs deeper into the music than my two other amps, a 45 stereo amp and 46 monoblocks.  I love those amps with the open baffle speakers, but the Pass in my system just makes me smile and listen for longer. I also get the sense that it has more powerful than advertised. Also it is built like a tank.

@jc4659 

I have tried to drive this point home to the OP in two separate posts. I fear it will go unheeded.

they are highly sensitive speakers, why not a tube amp?

Because they are not highly sensitive speakers.

They aren't even mildly sensitive speakers.......

Coda Model 16 or the S5.5. I have had several Pass models, the XA60.8, and the 160.8, and each take a back seat to Coda in terms of well...everything.

 

How about a Coda S5.5. The quality is just as good as Pass labs and they sound amazing. I have a #8 and it's amazing!

It's almost like a Harbeth in the sense that it's not likely to offend you. That said, you don't want cheap power either, cause that will show.

Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation:

89 dB @ 1W @ 1m

Power handling 18 - 350 W

Nominal Impedance 8 ohm (minimum 4 ohm)

 

@toronto416 how  did the sound improved with the Parcifals going from class AB to A? Would you recommend class A?