Ribbon cable inside amplifiers

I ran XP12 and XP22 with XA30.8 and X260.8. Good synergy. Recently compared XP22 and Audio Research Ref6. The ARC preamp is a good companion to Pass amp, but you’re sticking with solid state…so Pass is a good choice. 

@daledeee1 yup about an hour to come to temperature and start to really sing but even cold my X260.8 monos sound great.

And you’ll have many more days of happy listening! My Pass Labs amps and preamp put a smile on my face every time I sit down for a listen.

Enjoy!!!

donavabdear

452 posts

01-21-2024 at 11:43pm 

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In the future sound systems will come in a chip and the silly discussions abut audio cables will filially stop. 
 

how will the said chip be powered? Solar? Batteries ? A miniature built in nuclear reactor to eliminate the need for a power cord. Will that chip also reproduce music and will render speakers obsolete, thus also eliminating speaker cables?

Just trying to envision such a device…and my imagination is failing me…help me out here…

oh man…seeing Erik defend Pass I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake…just kidding…

@silverfoxvtx1800 stop trolling. Angela amps looked interesting to you but Pass Labs amps look odd because you saw a ribbon cable? You don’t think it’s odd to see gallons of melted breast implants dumped over the shitty point to point spaghetti that gilbert puts in his amps? Now he’s wearing a skirt and calls himself Angela? Thanks bud, I’ll stick with Pass.

@donavabdea you have posed this same question on the why cables matter thread and I think in few other places as well. You’re beating a dead horse. The discussion here is ribbon cables. Those are used for non-audio-essential tasks such as control boards and meters. 
What matters is that good designers use good parts in critical places where they matter the most. They also take great care to voice their components to sound their best. I had Rogue preamps and ST100 tube amp that were wired with Cardas wire. That didn’t make Rogue sound better than Audio Research or Pass. It’s a moot point. You’re stuck on something insignificant and…probably time to move on. 

Ok. Not trolling. Nervous. I get it.
How does the XA25 sound?

I see. Streaming speakers then. Something like the wireless KEF LS50 or LS60. There are still amplifiers inside those speakers and they need to be plugged in, like you said. And that ties you up to the built in amplifier. The power delivered to those speakers still matters though. But what you’re saying is we’ll be able to make an in-app purchase, i.e. Nordost Valhalla 2, and the speakers will sound, when that mode is activated, like they are connected with a full loom of the Valhalla 2 cables, correct? Is my understanding of what you’re envisioning correct?

I’m lost though….cause I thought you are of the opinion that the expensive cables are a scam and they’re not needed. But paying for the app, instead of the cables, to replicate what those cables do is OK? That isn’t a scam? I suppose there’s also going to be a “vinyl” mode where the processor will add an occasional pop and tick here and there and alt the frequencies so it resembles listening to a record…oh wait don’t Weiss DACs already have that?

I can totally see myself listening to something like that while enjoying the complex flavors of a 3d printed steak, washing it down with a glass of bio engineered1869 Château Lafite Rothschild that costs as much as a two buck chuck.
…the future looks bright…