2. amps-preamps
  3. 161353-98013

Pass Labs x250.8 vs tube amps

I have a beautiful system. Lumin X1 > BAT Rex 2 pre > Pass Labs x250.8> Sound Labs M545 (ESL) in a tiny room (9x 11 ft).  This system has the most glorious SQ: smooth, detailed and powerful , along with great bass. I would say this sound equals or betters any ultra high end system. HOWEVER, I have a problem. My system takes 6 hours of music playing to sound this good. I had X250.5 and I had the same issue. Leaving it on idle overnight doesn’t solve the problem. It is 15 W class A, so it generates quite a bit of heat, and yet I have to still play music. Because my room is small, I don’t crank up too much- maybe this is the problem, but the temperature doesn’t complete stabilize for 5-6 hours. The top reaches 107 deg in 2 hours, but the front plate doesn’t reach 107 until the 6 th hr when it starts to sound glorious. I have never had a tube amp and I am wondering if I can reach that thermal equilibrium and the glorious SQ faster with a tube amp? I worried about the heat generation with a tube amp in this small room, but X250.8 generates 450 W just idling. This is no worse than tube amps like Audio Research 150 Se, which I demo’d and was impressed by. BTW, I need power in the amp because of the esl speakers.
What do you all think?

chungjh

Showing 1 response by rspyder

rspyder
99 posts
 
Hi there.  I had the ARC Reference 10 pre and Ayre MX-R monos.  They turned my audio room (16' x 18') into a hot yoga facility after about 3 hours of play.  Also, I wasn't that pleased with the sound after a visit to the Munich Hi-End Show and hearing what other systems at the same or slightly less price were delivering.  When I returned I continued my research and testing.  I landed on the Octave Jubilee (a hybrid with a solid state power supply) and the Octave MRE 220 w/ the "Super Black Boxes", which are external capacitance power devices (one per mono amp).  They are leagues above my old components in their build quality and sonic performance across all parameters of measurement and evaluation.  To single out just a few qualities: incredible inner detail and nuance - check; accuracy in tone and musical pace - check; a vastly bigger, deeper and more defined soundstage - check; and, a much fuller, deeper and more articulate bass - check again.

But moving to your concerns.  The components need no more than an hour to achieve full potential and the tube pre and tube monos together give off far less heat than just my ARC Reference 10 did (a two box unit with a tube power supply).  Tons of power from the MRE 220 amps with and without the SBBs. 

There is so much great gear across the pond providing far better performance and value.  You only need to visit a handful of European countries to quickly appreciate how much more they are into music than Canada and America.  They've had a head start and it shows.

Ray
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