Pass X350.5 Heat Output

Magnepan will play better with the X.5 series. This has to do with the demand of your speakers.

This might be the 1st downside I have found to living in Florida! Would love some XA! Too much heat me thinks.

Like Bo said the 350.5 has more speed at the bottom end and more jump factor but the XA160.5 has more mid bass detail and purity the advantage the 160.5 has over the 100.5 is more details can be heard. If I needed a sub woofer amp I would choose the 350.5 but for everything else in my system the 160.5 was superior. Good Luck Hasse

The X350.5 will have more drive and speed. I would go for the X350.5. I owned the XA100.5 for 2 years. I still has a lot of drive. It has a more musical sound and a more touchable image. But the 350.5 has more drive and speed. I play with the X250.5 now. The X.05 series has a bit more air in the high freq. I later will go for the X600.5. I prefer the drive and air above the more musical sound and better blacks.

Needfreestuff and Bo, how does the bass compare between the X350.5 and the XA100.5/160.5? I am considering either the XA100.5 or the X350.5 for my Magnepan 3.7´s.

The xa160.5 is like listening to tubes, very easy on your ears, with a blacker background and a cleaner sound across the board it also has more density, a richer sound, the 350.5 brings loads of detail from the midrange and higher but lacks the fullness and detail in the midbass perhaps a little thin in that area but it has excellent jump factor, tremendous speed, hope that helps Bmwmcab I'm not real good with words.

I have a 64 inch Samsung F8500 plasma, this gives even superior more heat than my X250.5 :)

I currently run a projector in my small room - 11x12 - which brings the room up to heat levels I am fine with. I wonder how the X250.5 / X350.5 would compare heat wise. They would not run simultaneously.

Here are the projector specs if anyone cares to help decypher - I see max power consumption at 265w:

http://cdn.billiger.com/dynimg/pkg9yMQtm7-X90aFpmTDmHt4H9rycHjeBa9LTdXG2DAftl8k2TQLunfg1iMqD3qXlM9QtcwsVdWkWoG8B-gS5o/Bedienungsanleitung.pdf

The 160.5 has a more overwhole warm sound and better resolution. They cost 2 times the amount of the X350.5.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rcabl&1362580561

What I said earlier; use a Purist Audio powercable. Wenn you buy a X250.5 it will give you the feeling you bought a X350.5. Goodluck!

Needfreestuff-what is the sound difference between the x350.5 and the xa160.5 do you notice?

Great. Thank you for all the responses. My listening sessions are usually 1-2 hours so the X350.5 might be fine. I have been advised that the X250.5 puts out 40% less heat so that might be just right.

i would have auditioned Pass amps but for the amount of heat they generate.My room is appx. 11x13 and because of the heat issue,(also run a projector for movies) we just bought a pair of Ampzilla MK.II.These amps at 300 watts run COOL.Even when I play music for my wife,and she loves to listen at high levels,I can rest my hand on the amps heat sinks and they are merely warm.I have had VTL 100 and replaced a BAT vk-200 which also ran very hot.
I love these amps!!
Jofi

I owned the pass labs 350.5 and heat was never an issue, I currently own the pass xa 160.5 monoblocks and they can produce enough heat to be uncomfortable at times. Good luck

I also have the XA30.5, and find it runs quite cool relative to my tube amp.

A couple of moderating factors: 1) It's in my main living area (about 900 sq. feet) so the heat it generates is not a problem. 2) My speakers (the Acoustic Zen Adagio's are an easy load for the amp at 6 ohms and 89 dB efficiency.

I will say that it generates less heat that my Audio Research VT-100 Mk II does. So if you're coming from another solid state amp, particularly a Class D amp, you will notice that it runs warm. However, if you are coming from a tube amp, however, you might find it runs cooler.

I owned the XA-30.5 as well. The X-250 is bigger and gets only a little less hot compared to the XA-30.5. But because of its size I think it gives more heat. I have a big room and to be unnest I really don't care about the temperature. Sound is what matters! Goodluck

Go to the Pass website and look for yourself: https://passlabs.com/products/amplifiers/x.5/x350.5

The X350.5 - 600 watts
The X250.5 - 300 watts
The XA30.5 - 200 watts

I'm in a 10' x 12.5' room and as much as I liked the sound of the XA30.5, I was sweating. It doesn't even run as hot as the X250.5 or X350.5.

Maybe the heat won't be as confined when you move to the larger room, but right now be ready for the heat.

It's sad, because as much as I really, really liked the XA30.5, the heat made it so uncomfortable that I couldn't enjoy it. Then again though, you may not be as bothered as me by the heat.

Chuck

https://passlabs.com/images/uploads/manual/x.5_specs.pdf