pass labs xa30.5 vs aleph 3

Peterayer,

I'm wondering how hot your XA100.5 amps run?
I know everyone thinks Class A is Class A.
I have seen amps that run even hotter than my Aleph 2s.
My (former) Pass dealer had a Plinius stereo amp several years ago, on demo from the distributor. It was one that runs Class A or Class A/B with a switch on the faceplate.
In Class A that amp ran so hot nobody would touch it.
We speculated the amp needed more heatsink area......
I bet the caps in that amp fried sooner than other amps.

One thing I noticed is that when an aleph 3 is listed for sale here, they don't last very long. there was one for sale just a couple days ago and it's gone already. someone here has a really nice review of the aleph J, these don't last long either, they go pretty quick.

I have had the Aleph 3, Aleph 5, Aleph 2, XA160 and now the XA100.5. I wrote a review here on Audiogon detailing my impressions of the evolution. I briefly heard an X250 at a dealers, but was not moved. My current XA.5 are by far my favorite, though I did keep the Aleph 3 for my separate TV system. I agree that the Aleph 2 represents an incredible value in today's used market. I just found the bass somewhat lacking. I too would like to read a comparison of the Aleph J with the XA30.5.

Danielk141

the aleph 3 is the amp that Erick uses for his main amp. I think that is the only aleph amp he has. He was a good canidite for the follow up reviews. I have been thinking about trying out aleph J which is suppose to be the best aleph yet. I have family in mesa and, I know how hot it gets in Phoenix, I'm surprise you use the aleph 2's in the summer. I have a smallish dedicated music room in my basement. the aleph 3 gets hot but not bad. My basement is cool year round. I live in Michigan so it does not get that hot here. I've been tempted to get a pair of aleph 2 but I think the heat would be too much for my small 2 channel room. I believe the only difference between the xa sereis and the xa.5 series is that the xa.5 can drive harder loads, i don't know this for sure.

Syntax, I have never listen to the xa30 and 30.5. I would have like to do the comparison myself. one thing the new pass amps are more complicated design than the orignal aleph designs. The thing that made the aleph sound the way is does was the simplicity of the circuit. to me the purity of the signal is more preserved in the alephs than the new amps, this is what I believe and read about. I believe the xa.5 series amps has 3 gain stages vs 2 for the aleph and the xa.5 will go into class ab and the xa.5 I believe are push-pull amp, alephs are single ended. The alephs I believe has a shorter path to the output. Nelson pass made the xa series with the alephs output stage and the super symmmetry "x" front end, so what does that mean? I think he wanted to get the aleph sound back because, the "x" series did not have the sweet sound the aleph series did. I did listen an x150 and was not impressed, it sounded clean and dynamic but, it sounded more solidstateish, that is the word that comes to mind.

Tiverson,

Let me start my 2 cents by asking why he used an Aleph 3?
I owned an Aleph 3, two Aleph 30s, a pair of Aleph 60 monoblocs, a pair of Aleph 2 monoblocs, and an X150.5
The Aleph 3 was easily bested by the Aleph 30s, they just sound better top to bottom. The Aleph 60 monoblocs have the same sound as the 30, more power and obvious monobloc advantages. I also owned an Aleph P preamp and an X1 with full size power supply.
I still own the X1 and the Aleph 2 monoblocs. The Aleph 2s are supposed to be an older design than the Aleph 60s,
I just wanted to keep the more powerful amps.
These amps drove my Apogee Mini Grands easily, no doubt helped by the Mini Dax rolling off the panels at 80 hertz.
I live in Phoenix. The Aleph 2s are unusable here in the summer. It's 115 here today, class A amps are not an option.
I regret selling my X150.5, I'll probably buy another one used or move up to an X250.5. I never liked the first generation X amps. The .5 X amps are way better, to me.
I heard the XA100 amps at my former Pass dealer. I was unimpressed. I'm sure the .5 XA amps are a big jump forward in sound quality. That's just the way Pass amps evolve.
I'm consistently surprised when I see Aleph 2 monoblocs languishing used for $2500.00 here on Audiogon. These sound noticeably better than the earlier 3 stage Aleph amps (Aleph O, Aleph OS, Aleph 1 monoblocs) in my opinion.
I've watched the used XA30.5 ads here on Audiogon. For $1K less, you can have a pair of Aleph 2 monoblocs, 160 watts into 4 ohms, with monobloc channel separation & ease of amp placement, to boot.
I'm currently listening to my Avalon Avatars, driven by Murano P1000S monoblocs (with the ICE module).
This fall, I'll be listening to my Rowland Model 2, or my Aleph 2s. The Muranos will be in my video system.

I listened a few times to the XA30 and 30.5 and the higher ones. I was using Aleph 3 and later on the 0 Monos. Well, I am not a technician, but from my experience the Aleph was never made to drive heavy loads, I used it with high efficiency speakers, 8 ohms and I never understood why the X (and XA) series should be superior. Maybe they are technically different and more modern, but from the Sound the Aleph is still one of the real timeless Designs for me . It closes the gap between Tube and Sand. An outstanding Design from Pass, but to be honest, the later ones never moved me an inch (the X-series was dead and thin for me).