Pass Labs ALEPH 5 vs ALEPH 2


Both the ALEPH 5 stereo and ALEPH 2 mono blocks produce 100 watts into 8ohms. Is one better than the other and why?
I am running a Camelot Uther IV dac directly to amp and to Virgo II speakers.
sgunther

Showing 5 responses by cdma

Mr. Nelson mentioned more than once publicly 2 is his favorite ! I owned 5 and own 2. IMO, 2 is better. Maybe I should try 3 since my speakers are on the sensitive side.
Each outputs 100w into 8 ohm but 200w into 4 ohm for aleph 2 only. I believe aleph 2's have higher bias current and damping factor because separate transformer and separate enclosure for better heat dissipation.
You're patly right, that's what was shown in service manual but doubling down shown in my owner's manual. Based on its circuit, more likely 200w for 4 ohms. If fact Aleph amp is so good that I'm going to diy myself after the parts and enclosure arrives.
OTOH, rule number one, you need the speakers on the efficient side in order to appreciate how good Aleph is because its full-time class A and single-end/2-stage design.
Subaruguru,
I haven't pay too much attention to P in the past so have no idea about what you said. But I do remember seeing somewhere that Aleph amp prefers higher pre-amp output and a possible stepping attenuator upgrade for P. Also if I use bigger transformer, cap and heatsink, I might be able to increase the bias for better sound and higher current. Now I'm thinking about fine tuning my Aleph 2 and upgrading ARC LS-3b to P. What do you think about P comparing to the others ? a noticable upgrade from LS-3b? Thanks !
Sayas,
Thanks ! SC-4 is sensitive so I have never gone beyond 12 o'clock.
Back to the orginal topic, IMO, 2 and 3 are the best choices in the Aleph family based on the design and spec if speakers are sensitive enough.