Pass Labs Amp X350.5 or X350.8 anyone compare?

I would try something smaller in class a. I had several JBL models loved em (after updating the crossovers and wiring) . Tried an x350.5 and it overshot the speakers sweet spot. You must listen very loud. I used Aleph 1.2 with my 4343 and I thought I overshot the sweetspot. Best of luck.

I've always had great service from Reno HiFi. Glad you had the same, Ozzy. I would expect nothing less from Mark. Someone will get a good deal on that X350.8 that Ozzy had for audition when it is sold as a demo unit at a reduced price.

That's cool...good to know.

Reno HiFi was excellent, I had to pay for the shipping both ways. Otherwise yes, I got a complete refund.

Ok, cool Ozzy, that's a fair and honest review. I suppose it boild down to taste and system matching with that particular .8 amp. Did you get all of your money back, may I ask?

As this thread shows. I have had the new Pass Labs X350.8 for comparison purposes to my X350.5 amp. At first I wasn’t sure if the new .8 was an upgrade over my X350.5. Then I thought I was sure it was, but once again I have changed my mind.

I have been tweaking things to get the best sound out of the X350.8. But, I always thought that there was something wrong with the ‘presence’ range. You know that area that defines voices and the general soundstage. The .8 always sounded darker than the X350.5. And the treble sounded distant.

After many hours of playing the new X350.8, I reinstalled the X350.5 into the system a few weeks back. And you know what? I like that sound better. I knew it as soon as I turned on the power button that was the sound I was so familiar with and preferred.

Now, I can’t imagine that Pass Labs produced a new amp that is inferior to the previous model. No, I guess I would have to conclude that my preference to the .5 is that my whole system (including cables) were voiced with the X350.5 amp.

Changing to the .8 version was just not right with my present equipment and perhaps with my old man hearing.

So, I boxed up the X350.8 and sent it back to Reno HiFi. What a great guy Mark is and how lucky I am that he allowed me to really put the X350.8 through its paces for comparison purposes.

Hello Ozzy. Hope you have updates on the review. Thanks!

I agree. Thanks!

Dave, this guy is clearly trolling and has nothing worthwhile to offer you or anyone else on the topic of how the Pass .8 series will match your speakers.

So I suggest we DFTT (Don't Feed The Troll) and eventually he will light somewhere else where he can goad others into responding to his insecurities.

@P59tetel

What have you been smoking?

Name one respected reviewer that loves JBL.

They are not REALISTIC, just boom and sizzle.

Don, what didn't you like about that JBL model when you heard it?

It is as it is. I still hope it will become different.

Boo whoo would care to stand next to you and listen to your sales pitch. Your demon meaner would make clients run to the CDC in Atlanta asking for a potential cure to your particlar contagion. Tom

Too funny. I can believe that!

Don, Maggies do certain things really well, but let's just say that Dave's JBLs absolutely smoke them in terms of dynamics and bass impact, and we can leave your foolishly-instigated pissing contest at that.

I give you another example. Last years on a show were over 50 distributers. One of the worst demos was with Lyngdorf.

It sounded harsh, fully 2 dimensional, almost no focus and the low freq. were aweful.

I took a person with me to this room because I wanted to show him something. He already knew it was worse.

We went into the room and I said to him; focus on the persons who give this demo. So he did, and I said: They really don't know how bad it is?

Even people who work in audio can be F...mongols!

You know Bo, come to think of it, you're right on that point. There's a lot of know-it-all types, and what have you. That extends into other hobbies and interests too, such as cars.

@Dave;

You can't blame him. Because he doens't know what your speakers are. And that they are different compared to other JBL speakers.

People who have audio/music as a hobby think they know a lot. But often they don't. I have seen this in 16 years of time many times.

In my country they are even more stuppid. In audio there are a lot of F..mongols. Having a poor sound is one thing, but believing it is good is even more stuppid!!

Wow, talk about elitism and snobbery! lol. Again Don_c55, I'm happy with what I have and I really don't care what you say one way or the other. I know damn well how the speakers sound. They *do* sound good with heavy metal, but they also sound good with acoustic guitar and female vocal. I am gonna stick to my pledge not to get into a pissing match here. However, your Maggies are not the be all end all or the cat's meow of speakers either. They are not perfect. You are delusional if you think that. It's not even the flagship of Magnepan!

With your Magnepan speakers in terms of highend focussed on all parts for the absolute sound there is still a lot missing. Even when people pay me 100 dollar each day I do not want those speakers at my place. They are okay, they are not that special. In 16 years of time I am in this business I have heard them very often. Visiting clients who have them, it is still incomplete for all parts for the absolute sound. Pass labs is superior in quality compared to Magnepan. The person who developed these speakers is not even allowed to tight up the shoes of Nelson Pass.

@Cal3713

JBL is nothing but an old school rock speaker regardless of price.

Burned out, old heavy metal heads are there only fans.

I stand by what I said.

Sounds good, Ozzy! Let us know!

Now that the X350.8 has enough playing time, this weekend I'm going to re-install my X350.5.

I know that I stated previously that I was going to keep the X350.8 but since I'm not rich, I would just like to double check one final time.

If I can make a good deal I will buy the 350.8 in a few months. I am looking forward to own it!!

Cool Bo. Let us know how you like it!

Yeah, the irony of someone with a $5500 retail set derogating the terrible quality of the $20000 speakers is just awesome. So many egos in this place... gotta love it when they get squeezed a little (sorry Don).

Exactly, and I'm not gonna get into a pissing match with this guy ie "my speakers are better than yours," "my JBLs smoke your Maggies" and blah blah blah.

To each is own, as usual. As long as I'm content with what I have (I still would like to upgrade the amp, preamp, and the sources) that's all that matters in the end. The truth of the matter is, I've spent hundreds of hours in front of these JBLs, and I'm happy, and I know how they sound.

If I can make a good deal I will buy the 350.8 in a few months. I am looking forward to own it!!

We all make mistakes. It doens't matter!!

Yeah, the irony of someone with a $5500 retail set derogating the terrible quality of the $20000 speakers is just awesome. So many egos in this place... gotta love it when they get squeezed a little (sorry Don).

In any case, I'd still like to hear any additional reports on the .8 series... please keep them coming.

Thanks Cal3713, I appreciate that.

Thanks Bo. Exactly. I dunno what this Don_c55 guy is talking about. I doubt he has heard the high end JBLs thoroughly. The S4700s *when broken in* can be very delicate indeed. And furthermore, they fit my listening profile as I listen to mainly classic rock, blues, and free jazz. With a little metal and punk on the side. So basically, I like them, they're the right speakers for me, and that's all that matters.

Ha! Clearly Don_c55 didn't know anything about the actual JBL speakers that Dave_72 owns. $20,000 is not mid-fi.

@ Don_c55

JBL S4700 is maybe not the most refind loudspeaker. This 20.000 dollar set of speakers can still be a good combo with Pass labs. Because you need the power, control and musical sound for the JBL S4700.

@ Dave_72

Pass Labs is overkill on JBL speakers IMO.

Get decent High End speakers first.

Thanks again, Ozzy. So I take it a long break in time is key to success. My current speakers (JBL S4700s) were like that; they were dreadful out of the box, and now they really rock the house. However, it took at least 200 hours of break in to even get close to where they are now. A word of warning to any prospective buyers out there!

Anyway, it's good to hear that the new Pass Labs amp is a winner. Again, I was worried for a minute there. If it were me, I probably would have had buyer's remorse! lol.

Joecasey, The .8 monos are my first Pass amps. I've heard .5s only at shows, and too long ago for comparison.

Mmmmm.....I like banana's too!!

After 80+ hours of actual music playing time and several hundred hours with the X350.8 turned on, I can honestly say that the .8 Amp does have superior sound quality over the X350 .5 version.

That is; better bass performance, along with dynamics from a blacker background. There is no lack of high frequencies and the midrange is great! I am going to keep the X350.8 and trade in my X350.5.

Comparing this Amp new out of the box to an Amp that has been used for 5+ years was a little tiring. Both of these Amps have different presentations. The .5 has more of an up front sound with the upper midrange being dominate. So, through the years of ownership I have adjusted my room to smoothen out the sound.

The .8 soundstage is deeper but with all of the frequency range being equal. At first, I thought there was a lack of treble, but after listening for all of these hours, what is there, is more blackness between notes. When a cymbal is wacked it is startling.

To those who like using banana’s, finally this Pass Amp can accept them and also bare wire!

Great information guys, I also thinking about upgrade to the 350.8.

In 5 years of time using many different Pass Labs amps, I did learn one important thing.

With th best powercables and interconnects you can get a superior level out of an Pass amp.

This means it is very easy to loose a lot of the quality an Pass amp can give. So most people spend a lot of money on an Pass amp and don't use a big part of the quality it is capable to give.

You need to understand the properties of Pass Labs. This is including their weakest points. These you need to improve with the right properties of cables ans sources or even with pre-amps.

The best sound possible only will come to the surface when you have created all the properties togheter in a set. Often a set is incomplete. Why it is incomplete? Because most people don't understand what is missing.

07-05-14: Dgarretson
It's an endlessly interesting hobby. This evening I removed an Afghan rug from between the .8 amps(on Stillpoint Ultra SS with coupling bases) and Merlin VSM(on Stillpoint Ultra 5). This redressed the frequency imbalance with a more prominent upper midrange and HF, with improved LF definition. It's now about as perfect as imaginable. Star Sound Apprentice platforms are en route for comparison.

So after all the tweaks and $$ upgrading to .8, now it sounds like .5? LOL!

Ok, thanks guys, I was worried there for a bit, lol.

It's an endlessly interesting hobby. This evening I removed an Afghan rug from between the .8 amps(on Stillpoint Ultra SS with coupling bases) and Merlin VSM(on Stillpoint Ultra 5). This redressed the frequency imbalance with a more prominent upper midrange and HF, with improved LF definition. It's now about as perfect as imaginable. Star Sound Apprentice platforms are en route for comparison.

When I first upgraded from XA160.5's to XA160.8's I did think the highs were subdued. So did at least one of my audiophile friends, who told me he preferred the highs from the .5's but overall preferred the .8's because it had more 'meat on the bones'.

There was a LOT more bass energy in the .8's and this finds it way up into the midrange where it provides a thicker, more palpable presentation.

It's hard to say whether the treble of the .8's actually has less energy or whether the .5's simply have a thinner (more recessed) midrange. The latter is the impression one gets when going back from the .8's to the .5's (I had both amps in my system for 2 months).

I ended up switching speaker cables and now I don't find any loss in high frequencies (system synergy!).

Hope this helps.

Dave 72, I wouldn't say the midrange and treble is subdued. Its just different from what I have been listening to over the past several years. To go from the front row to perhaps the middle is the difference in my opinion,

Dave, I did not get the impression of a "subdued upper midrange and treble" when I compared the XA160.8 to the XA160.5 in Madfloyd's system. He has Pass XP30 and Wilson Alexias.

Hmmm...I'll have to say I don't like a subdued upper midrange and treble. If that's the case with these .8 amps, I'm no longer interested in them.

I sense as well that the XA-160.8s have mostly settled in by 75 hours. I can see how some might perceive the .8 palette as slightly dark or tilted down. However this is deceptive, as there is also ginormous resolving power in the treble and upper mid-range, that emerges without over-emphasis from the most surreal black background that I've encountered in an amplifier. I'm still getting used to it, and am not yet persuaded whether the effect is entirely natural or subtractive. But the attendant absence of distortion, ringing, grain, and glare is definitely a good thing, and the system has never sounded so smooth and seductive.

Thanks for the comments. I also am running direct from my PS Direct Stream to the Amp. The Direct stream is known for its analog presentation.

Ozzy, I did not hear the .8 as darker, but there was definitely more control of the
lower freq. and extension. That may be changing your perception of tonal
balance. The Egglestons need lots of power so it should sound more dynamic
with a cleaner more articulate base and more detail because of the lower noise
floor. But I compared the XA160.5 to the XA160.8 and am not really familiar
with the X series. They should be fully broken in by now.

Interesting...my understanding is that the .8 amps are supposed to have *more* life in the upper frequencies. Anyway, keep up the good work Ozzy!

Just an update on the X350.8. I have about 70 hours of actual playing time and it has been plugged/turned on for many days 24/7. I'm really not sure how many hours it will take to reach optimum, but to me it seems like it is there.

The Amp is much different than the X350.5. The soundstage is much deeper with a darker (more Analog?) presentation.
Has anyone else purchased the new .8 series Amps?