Pass X-150 or Cary V-12?


Does anybody have any experience with either of these amps? I am looking for a new amp for my B&W N803 speakers and am using a Placette Passive Line Stage for volume control/source selecting. I don't want to spend more than 4k and have already tried a number of amps to no avail (including Krell, Mark Levinson, Musical Fidelity, Conrad Johnson, Aragon, etc.). Thanks for any opinions on these two pieces.
blackie

Showing 1 response by brulee

Hi Blackie, you say you have tried a number of amps to no avail. What kind of problems are you having with these other amps you have tried?
My amp of choice is the Viva Sentesi. I use the Coincident Total Eclipse and the Sentesi's 12 watts is sufficient most of the time. I also own the Cary V12 and think this amp is a bargin at it's list price of $4000. A friend of mine owns the Pass X350 that he loaned me for over a week. I thought the X350 to be a good amp but never did much to get me really involved in the music. It was a bit flat in it's dimensionality, not as full sounding and would leave me bored after 20 minutes. The V12 had a bigger soundstage with much more life and energy than did the pass. The tonality of the V12 wasn't as dry as the pass and the dynamiccs were also better than the Pass. It is hard to say if you will have the same experience as I did having different speakers and probably different tastes. I hope this helps. I wish you much success.