Revel Ultima Solon 2s w/ Pass Labs amps

The Salons are a very neutral speaker and sound fine with pretty much any Pass equipment I've heard. They can sound grand with as little as 20 watts, but they will absolutely spring to life with 300 or more quality watts.
I've been considering the Pass XA100.5 or XA160.5's for my updated Salon one's, but haven't been able to find a pair I could bring home for a real audition.

Regards Tim

Thanks for the response and pardon my spelling (Salon). I was told by a local dealer that 300 watts were as you said, "makes them spring to life". He also represents a couple lines of solid state amps but not Pass. I have been thinking of upgrading to the XA-100.5...I believe they double down to 200 watts @ 4ohms. The Salon 2s are listed at 6 ohm 87db, if my memory is correct. I'm not sure what the output of the Pass XA-100.5 is once it switches into A/B operation?
My current setup Audio Physic Virgo IIs w/ a pair of Rel Storm III subs takes up too much room (in my wife's opinion) The Salon's footprint is slightly larger that the Virgo's but once the subs are history she gets some space back.
Anyone heard A.P. Virgos or Avantis and can compair the sound with the Salon 2s?
Thanks, Greg

Everything depends on your room size and absorption characteristics, and how loud you like to listen.

The Salon 2s are rated at 86db/2.83v @ 1 meter. If you like to listen to music with peaks of about 95db at your listening position (loud, but not overly so), and your listening position is at least 10 feet from the speakers (typical for Salon 2s) you're going to find the peaks at 1 meter will be in the range of 8-10db higher than at your listening position. So let's assume you need 103db peaks at 1 meter from the Salon 2.

If 86db at 1 meter takes about 2W, then 89db takes about 4W, 92db about 8W, 95db about 16W, 98db takes 32W, 101db will take 64W, and 104db will take 256W. So as you can see with the Salon 2 it is very easy to project needing at least 250W/channel. If you like listening to relatively loud music in a large room you might need easily need 300W/ch. That Aleph 1 will get you to about 98db at 1 meter, which might sound okay in a modestly sized room, but you're not really hearing what the Salon 2 is capable of.

I'll second what your dealer and Tmsorosk said about the Salon 2s coming to life with 300 watts of power, especially in a large room. I'm using a Plinius SB-301 to drive mine (310 wpc into 8 ohms and 470 wpc into 4 ohms, so around 400 wpc at the Salon 2's nominal 6 ohm impedence).

While I seldom turn the dial past 11 o'clock, these things with their six woofers absolutely gobble power and will dive deep into an amp's reserves even at less than ear-splitting volumes. So while I envy your Alephs' Class A output, I do think Salon 2s would be a bit watt-challenged with them.

Oops, I just noticed a math error from an edit I did. 104db would only take 128W. Still, 107db isn't extraordinary at one meter in a large room, so the 300wpc recommendation is still valid.

Thank you all for your insight. I do have a large room and yes I listen to music loud when I'm playing Rock and the little lady is gone. I listen 70% of the time to Jazz and acoustic music. I have yet to dig up info on the Pass Labs XA-100.5's A/B output. I am a class A fan and believe Nelson Pass makes the best sounding class A amps for my ears. My fear of going larger than the XA-100.5 is the electric bill skyrocketing as it did when I had the original XA-160s. They did not double down with a 4 ohm load and pulled 600 watts each. When you have 1200 watts plus the other gear and listen to music as much as I do...I will need to take out a loan to pay my electric bill! The Salon 2s have a good WAF + great reviews and are looking more and more like my next speakers. I would love to hear other thoughts on how they compare with speakers with similar qualities. I know my wife would not go for Wilson Sashas or large panel speakers.

I had 300 watts on the Salon 1 and found it needed more. I then switched to 700 watts and found it a better match. The room I had was a little large and I listened at a high volume (not ear bleeding).

You really need to pick up the phone and give Pass a call, they will be able to answer all of your questions without doubt. I think the XA-100.5 doesn't leave class "A" and go into A/B until a little over 100watts and no signs of clipping until 175 watts. Using most mfg.'s methods they could easily call them XA-175.5's.

I have a new pair of XA-100.5's on their way to me, should actually be here tomorrow-I can't wait!!

Anyway, give Pass a call, they'll take care of you. Good luck on your search.