Pass INT-25, split decision and maybe option?

To @audiojan if I may suggest, its the combination of your INT-25, SilverSmith Fidelium cables, paired with your PAP speakers all together, exactly what and why you are hearing what you are enjoying less now if you are more into a system with warmth and body to the sound. If you truly came from a tube system, with your PAP speakers, that prior matching likely worked well together for you in a more engaging way, correct?

We see you don’t believe your new cables have anything to do with it yet I happened to catch your post on the PSAuido forum with the same handle name about how much more airy and open your new cables are compared to Cardas Clear Beyond. I'm a Cardas owner and CBs are pretty open, airy, and detailed too. So, If this is the case, detailed + detailed + revealing = more revealing detail and less of a plush sound imo. Top end is likely much more tipped up now I'd guess.

Sharing fwiw, my main system is all tube. My secondary system is a tube preamp paired with a solid state amp of Pass lineage to help keep it a bit smoother etc.

Matching & Pairing:

If I were in your shoes, I’d be chatting with every owner to be found with your same PAP Trio15 Class speakers, and inquire more about which TYPE of amp and cables they choose to pair up with most and why.

Tube integrated:

Its easy to see why many here are recommending a tube integrated to you instead. Its not that your INT-25 is not a good choice, I just believe you are hearing more of everything now and the lushness of "tube" is not there any more. Note: I sold three pairs of the older Cardas Golden Cross cables to Pass owners with similar comments as yours and what you are experiencing right now - if it helps to know. 

I'd be looking for a tube integrated to demo next and compare, decide from there. 

To @audiojan its not that we believe your INT-25 could not work, but we all have been in a situation where the sound was too much in one way or another and lacking in other areas compared to our "last" system setup, for example. Then we find ourselves fine tuning in other areas upstream, like changing DACs or (sure enough) trying different cables again etc. It’s kind of a balancing act to get there.

I had a pair of these popular [other brand] OCC cables once that were so open, transparent, huge sound stage, and simply were not as engaging, and for my taste they were a bad match for one of my amplifier setups. Went back to simple pure copper ICs and speaker cables I had before. All the sudden things settled down, quite a bit actually. The midrange music was back again. Two other buddies had the same cables, same issue, all of us resold them. It happens some times with different setups. Some cables I've tried can cause situations like this too, fwiw.  

A few last thoughts, free to try fwiw:

• Warmup: As a quick test, can you leave your INT-25 powered on for 48hrs, particularly so if it’s been sitting cold in a box somewhere and before you received it? No joke, I had recently rotated my older Pass/Forte’ amp back in recently and it had been out of rotation for six (6) months. First try was not smooth, grainy, too etched. Left it on for a few days, went back and listed again, and a very nice change on the first startup back into the system. Better every time since. That’s one things to try.
• Toe-in: Are your PAPs toed in quite a bit now? Can you try to toe them back out almost straight forward for a bit, listen for a while, see how it goes, then slightly toe-in again if needed at all, or none.
• Cables: do you have a local shop you can borrow any other less open/airy ICs going between your main device/DAC etc to your INT-25?

Best of luck, just a few thoughts before you jump ship to a tube integrated. This whole thread has me thinking too what my next consolidation move might be btw.

To @audiojan did you happen to notice the other cable thread and questions going on right now, one member posted something similar about your same SilverSmith Fidelium cables?

I’d recommend you message this member [@sls883] and ask more and why they changed to something else, our what changed since.  Maybe worth checking into this more potentially, look here:

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2766914

@audiojan ..." these the most neutral, detailed, yet smooth cables I've tried."

Yep.  Exactly what the INT-25 is showing you more of too. More neutral, more detail, less bloom.  And so it goes.   

@bjesien 1 watt should give you 96db near the speaker so should hardly be conversational at the level you are setting it. Something is off.

Mute button on somewhere, lol.

To @audiojan - There are plenty INT-25 units out there running perfectly well. Well tested they are leaving the factory. I live 15 minutes from Pass Labs btw, tons of it around me. Never heard of this kind of failure before, so once they check it out, will be interesting to understand what they find inside. Bad part or did something come loose inside.

So whoever you got it from or possibly some kind of dropped-box issue during shipping can happen. Would likely require a pretty heavy drop to loosen anything inside - one other guess.

Ask:

Was it brand new or used, and did it come in the all original Pass Labs box and internal packing inside when you received the amp?

To @audiojan The reason I asked about new/used and "factory boxing" is I have been sort of tracking along with different audio things getting damaged in shipping.

Last batch of larger and heavier items I shipped were all hyper bubble wrapped, foamed, double-boxed, after friends having very nice components getting damaged and/or rattled apart inside. .

Ask:

• Was the INT-25 shipped to you in the original factory Pass Labs box?