Agreed with @lucky_doggg7 - you unleash full potential when you pair a pass amp with a pass preamp. When I bought my XA30.8 I was driving it initially with the Rogue RP-5 (previously mated with ST100). Replacing the RP-5 with Pass XP-12 took my system to another level.
Back when I had my X250.5 I used Audio Research LS-25 and Ref1 preamps with it. I recall it sounded really nice albeit having a slightly higher noise floor than the solid state combo I’m running now.
Pass Then vs. Pass Now
Hi 'Goners.
Long time lurker, first time poster hoping to receive some wisdom from the community. Thinking about an upgrade (aren't we all?) Currently powering Devore Gibbon 3xl with a Rogue Audio Sphinx v3 and am inclined to try out some class A solid state amplification. I was a long time happy owner of a little Adcom GFA535. (I bought it in college in '88 and just let go of it two years ago!) That got me interested in trying out another Pass design. I have been weighing a Threshold400A vs. an XA30.8
Anyone have experience with Devore Gibbons and either of those amps, or thoughts on whether the newer PASS is worth triple the going price of the vintage piece?
Open to any other suggestions on where to go from here with the system as well. For discussion, I live in an apartment and use it almost exclusively for vinyl. I am a musical omnivore. The front end is a Clearaudio Performance DC with Tracer tonearm and Hana SL running through a Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2. If I upgrade the amp I plan to continue to use the tube pre in the Rogue Audio integrated, for now.
Thank you in advance for your input. Your time is much appreciated.
Shawn
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i have to say, reading your entries on this thread it seems you are doing just that you have owned pass kits and really old pass stuff, you don’t have experience with modern pass/fw gear, you say you are interested in other’s experiences with big pass amps given that, it would make sense that you should perhaps say less and read more? this thread and numerous other threads comparing modern pass amps exist on this forum. with many many happy users reporting and discussing their experiences... just seek and you will easily find... |
here are some very informative threads that i have personally found helpful in the past https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/are-pass-labs-amps-probably-the-best-ever-you-can-buy |
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