PASS LABS XA-30.5 vs XA-60.5

I did go with the XA-60.5's and there was a significant improvement in sound within my system.

Thanks for the response and recommendation. The needle on my XA-30.5 has always stayed right at 12 o'clock. The amp idles with the needle at 12 oclock and even at very high volume levels, the needle stays right at 12 o'clock (It's in class A all the time).

Any recommendations on speakers in the $5500-$7000 (used a'gon prices) if I upgrade my totem hawk speakers??

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
Shunyaa Python CX power cords

Thanks

Greg

Erndog: I agree and have decided to "pass" on the XA-60.5's for now. The weakest link is certainly the hawks, so I am on the hunt for speaks... My room isn't too big thgough - 16' x 12' x 8' ceilings so the hawks are no slouch in there.

Honest1: Yes, it sure was a big hole. I used shovels, and 6' heavy metal bar to loosen things up, and a post hole digger with extended/modified handles. It took about 8 solid hours. New Hampshire isn't named the Granite State for nothing, but I did hit small stones, clay and sand so it really wasn't too bad.

Emdog and Denon1:

I agree, and am in the process of negotiating the purchase of a pair of preowned Daedalus Ulysses speakers.

With the Esoteric X-03SE single box player, I could not tell the difference between these two amps. As soon as I moved up to the Esoteric P-05 and D-03 I tried the shootout between them again, and it was an improvement that wasn't subtle. The XA.5 amps take a LONG time to burn in properly, which is critical. I had similar results to your comparrison early on, but once the 60.5's had about 300 hours on them, they really came to life... much smoother in the mids and highs. Hope this helps.

I've talked with other Pass dealers who hear the same improvements I noted above, within various systems. I also did a/b shootout with several audiophile friends listening and we all came to the same conclusion without question. The 60.5's are better all the way around...

TVAD:

You ask my opinion and them slam me for it....nice. This is the last discussion I will participate in.

Tvad: I totally agree with both comments. I don't feel the XA-60.5's would sound any better than the XA-30.5 with efficient speakers. I also feel with good match of impedance, it doesn't make a difference between single ended and balanced in short runs (unless there's a system specific noise which I have never encountered). Anything over say 2 meters long, I think the balanced cable would then sound better.

I think if there's noise in the system, the ground should be looked at. I have a VERY ELABORATE GROUND SYSTEM which I have had truly fantasic results with. Here's the skinny:

I'm usiing wattgate audiograde receptacles with a 20 amp dedicated audio circuit. I run a single 10 awg wire from circuit breaker directly to the receptacle - ungrounded.

The reason for this is because I have a 15' long section of 3" diameter type K (thickest available) copper pipe tubing buried vertical in my back yard outside of my stereo room (yes, this was a job to bury). I then have thick insulated copper litz wire that Stealth custom made for me (spades both ends) running from the copper pipe into the house and it's connected to the ground screw on the back of my BPT 3.5 sig ultra power conditioner. I then plug all my components into the bpt. The bpt is the only item plugged into the ungrounded receptacle. It's a design that Serguei Timachev from Stealth and Chris Hoff from BPT helped me design. It's aweome. I have the litz wire connected to the copper pipe with copper fasteners. The top of the pipe is exposed and sticks out of the ground 2" (low enough so I can go over it with the lawnmower). I have a rubber compression style cap with a hose clamp that I can unscrew to remove the cap. Once a month I go out and remove the cap and fill the tube to the top with water (as this increases the conductivity) and improves the sound when compared to an empty gound pipe. The trick is to fasten the litz wire as far down on the pipe as possible because you want the wire connection to stay as wet as possible. Fastening the litz wire to the top of the pipe isn't nearly as good, because the water dries out of the pipe from the top down (water level decreases from tube about 1/2" per day).

It's the best diy audio ground design out there IMO.

Improvements are much tighter bass with more weight and "heftyness" in the low end. The mids and highs are just as sweet as the XA-30.5

The 60.5's have more clarity, and overall are smoother than the XA-30.5

I don't like using the sound muddy or cloudy, but honestly when going back from the 60.5's to the 30.5 at any volume, the 30.5 sounds somewhat veiled. It was the same thing as a few years ago when I was going from the X-250.5 to the XA-30.5
In my opinion, the sound just gets more and more refined as I continued up the XA line to the 60.5's. They drive the totem hawks much more effortlessly with added nuances and microdynamics that I just couldn't hear with the 30.5

I'm upgrading speakers to the new Daedalus AP Ulysses. Lou at Daedalus strongly recommended the XA-60.5's and didn't think the XA-30.5 would have enough effortless power really needed to obtain the full effect. This was also the case with my totem hawks.