Pass Lab XA30.5 with Totems

If you love the amp, and it doesn't quite work with the speakers (you may be fine), it is certainly an amp worth building a system around, it is a great SS amp. It was extraordinairy with my Merlin VSM-MXes, but still preferred an OTL with the speaker. I agree with TVAD observations about the desire to have these XA.5s provide enough power, I would say that they perform as they do have more power than their ratings would suggest, but there is a reason for the higher powered versions.

I think this amp is very "conservatively" rated. I still think you would want a bit more power for the Mani-2, but that doen't mean it wouldn't work fine under most listening conditions. I would as the folks at Pass, they should give you straight answer.

I agree with the speakers being the starting place for building a system as it defines the basic sound and then sets the parameters for the amps that can best drive the speakers. Some speakers narrow the choices considerably, especially if your preference is to use tubes, and low powered tubes at that.

Fatcataudio, I do understand what you are saying, and it certainly is a consideration, there are certain amplifiers that have a certain kind of performance that is very appealing, I think the Pass XA30.5 wo uld be a very good example, SETs and OTLs would be another, as they have unique qualites as amplifiers, and I agree with you that you could start there and find a speaker that matches well. On the other hand, I agree with Bill that the speaker is likely to be the component that has the greatest influence on the basic sound of a system, and the variations between speakers seem to me to be of a higher order than between amplification ans digital sources of similar quality and price points. For that reason, I still think that finding the speaker you love should come first and then find the amplification for it. Not that you couldn't end up at the same place the other way around, but I think getting the speaker right first will tend to lead you to a more satisfying solution. But there is more than one way to go about it. I knew I wanted tube friendly speakers so that guided my search, but the Merlins than opened up the possibility of going the OTL route or amps with 30 or so watts. If I had fallen in love with Thiels, I could not own the amps I do, not the even the great XA30.5.