Pass XA200.8 Review - Fun measurements

@erik_squires 

I think it depends on set up and taste as to what works best. My point is you don’t need to spend a fortune on power amplification to get a warm tubey sound. SS power amps that try to emulate tubes like McIntosh are going to colour everything coming through them. The beauty of a tube preamp is you can play your DAC directly or through the tube preamp - just a couple of interconnect connections....

Low order harmonics (up to 3rd order) and higher even order harmonics are pleasing - of this there is no doubt!

I don’t think you need a 20K x 2 monoblock power amps to achieve this. Although a Pass amp will certainly do the job eminently.

The stereophile measurements are excellent except for the IMD at 4 ohm (might not be a good fit with low impedance speakers like Magico or B&W)

My current “musical” solution is to take the Benchmark DAC3 (SOTA in measurements for low distortion and noise floor) and large ATC Active speakers (also ultra low or SOTA in all forms of distortion and Class A to 2/3 power) and place a tube preamp in between them! My current favourite flavour is McIntosh C2600 (admittedly nowhere near the same league as ARC Ref and so NOT SOTA) with Telefunken NOS in the phono stages and a combination of a 1950’s RCA long black plate with a JJ stock McIntosh tube on the line stage. It just sounds so sweet and musical and I can roll tubes whenever I want without breaking the bank. I think great musicality can be found at many price levels - even entry level - all depending on personal taste. I recommend the tube preamp route as being a great way to “cook” to your taste!

So I agree Pass designs are not SOTA for measurements but they are excellent for their musicality (SOTA for musicality). Furthermore some Pass designs are better than others (no surprise) and the XA60.5 is perhaps his best sounding ever!