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PASS LABS XA-30.5 vs XA-60.5

Hello all,
Has anyone heard the differences between these two amps, and have done A/B comparrisons on them? I have a XA-30.5 that I'm using with Totem Hawk Speakers. The XA-30.5 drives them very well, but I have been told the 60.5’s give you much better smoothness and cohesiveness, better imaging, better bass control, greater ease and greater resolution.

Here's the million dollar question:

I am ready for my next upgrade and have roughly $6000. Should I upgrade to the XA-60.5's or upgrade my Esoteric X03-SE cd player to the Esoteric seperates P-05 transport and D-05 DAC??

I have very appealing offers for both options.

Any Thoughts?

My system:

Pass Labs XA-30.5 amp
Pass Labs X0.2 preamp
Esoteric XO3-SE cd player
BPT 3.5 Ultra Sig. power conditioner
Totem Hawk speakers
AudioPath custom IC's and speaker cable
Shunyay Python CX power cords
roor

Showing 4 responses by onemug

onemug
784 posts
 
Alfa100,
If the needle isn't moving on your 30.5, I would be inclined to keep it. If you do upgrade, go for the 100.5.
onemug
784 posts
 
Alfa100,
I had the XP20 for about a month. It's a great preamp but ultimately liked the sound I'm getting from my tubed CJ mated with the Pass. Knowing that tubes can sometimes be problematic, I told my Pass dealer that I will just send him a check for the XP20 if I ever start having problems with tubes. So far the CJ ART and ACT 2.2 have been perfect.
onemug
784 posts
 
Unsound, good point but here are my thoughts.

Pass amps are balanced, so on paper, if you had a truly balanced preamp that you were happy with, that should be the way to go.

Some preamps have balance output jacks but aren't balanced themselves. You may or may not gain by using balanced connections. You can only listen for yourself and decide.

I would always choose the better sounding preamp regardless if it was truly balanced or "rca only". In my case, the CJ's sounded better than my previous fully balanced preamp. Running the Pass with rca's is fine. For me it was a case of 5 steps forward (better preamp) and 1 step backward (not being able to use the balanced input). Net gain was 4 steps. I just wanted better and got it.
onemug
784 posts
 
I have the 100.5's and 30.5.

First, does the needle on your 30.5 stay still or is it bouncing around?

If it's bouncing, maybe moving up to the 60.5's would be beneficial but I don't think day and night.

If it's not bouncing, I would urge you to think about getting the best preamp you could afford. I found great synergy with Conrad Johnsons newer preamps (CT-5 and ACT 2.2). They are: tube,class A,zero feedback,no cathode follower,only "one" gain stage,teflon capped preamps. Designs are great on paper but I can say they sound great with my Pass's. The CT-5,used,should easily be in your price range.

I haven't heard the Esoterics so I can't comment on how much improvement going to separates would be. Good luck.
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