Pass XA200.8 Review - Fun measurements


Hello everyone. 

Yet again, Stereophile has produced an interesting set of measurements:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/pass-laboratories-xa2008-monoblock-power-amplifier-measurements

Mind you, I'm as interested in why people like certain sounds as I am about absolute performance, if not moreso. 

There are lots of Pass fans out there, or they could never afford to sell amps at $40k per pair. But take a look at the measurements. Plenty of distortion by-products. 

Is it possible Pass has hit on a euphonic recipe his fans adore? 

What do you fans and detractors think? Are we seeing the magic Pass recipe here? 
erik_squires

Showing 1 response by sfischer1

I read the measurements and they are quite respectable and aren't pejorative in substance or assessment.  I'm not sure of the point of this post, other than an axe to grind with the concept of Pass?  These amps are massive, heavy, and there are two of them. Adjusted for inflation, the XA100.8 pair would have been about 6.5K in the mid 80s, back when a Levinson 200W, unbalanced, stereo ML-3 was 5K. A pair of ML-9 amps was 6K which would be about 18-20K today.

Want to spend less? Choose the X60.8.  I have a pair of XA100.8 which replaced the XA60.5 which replaced Classe MA-600 and Luxman M800a, which replaced a pair of Bi-Amped Accuphase A50s, all of which were excellent.