Stereophile, Pass Integrated and personal taste

mtdining, you are so far off the mark it’s not funny. :(

I am reviewing a Pass amp currently, and I was in conversation with Nelson a couple days ago about OB speakers. He is part of the industry that concern themselves with more esoteric sound in terms of speakers, not just what's popular. 

I am only going to say this at the moment; Imo Pass Labs is putting out a far superior sound now than in the recent past. Want to know more, wait for the review.  

BTW, you want to single out Pass for what kind of system is used? You would be shocked at the rigs used in the industry by many very well known companies. I have knowledge of companies that use what wouldn't even be considered high end audiophile gear in their design process. It's possible products you own have an insipid testing and development audio system.  So, I wouldn't get too fired up as though you know something important about Pass Labs. 

I guess no one has ever heard of running changes to production. 

jsautter, what is your system; what speakers are you running and which Berning? I can certainly see how/why you might select another amp as preferred over the past Pass designs. No secret that people have strong preferences as to make and sound signature. 

How do you think the Berning would do with my Kingsound King III electrostatic speakers? My initial reaction to looking at the specs is that I think it would choke. Perhaps that is mistaken, but I am open to being corrected if Ihave missed something about the Berning amp's in relation to driving something let's say a bit different than a Sadurni. So, what if it could not drive the King III anywhere near as well as the Pass? Does that make the Pass light years better? 

In other words, generalizations about which amp/manufacturer is better would be more helpful if speakers were included to give some perspective. I use a variety of speakers along the spectrum, so an amp that can drive all with authority is very important to me. In many cases amps with robust power can drive all the speakers well enough, but lack the erudite nature of the finer amps. On the other hand, several along the lines of the Berning, at about 100 or so Watts have been utterly incapable of driving the King III well. 

There is a cute phrase, "Don't jump to contusions."  :)

jsautter, fair points, good comments. I wish I could get my hands on more overseas components, but it’s hard to review, recommend a product that does not have a distributor in N. America.

Ha, I was presuming initially that you were discussing Berning amps, not preamps. Now, I see that you were probably referring to preamp. Yes, there can be very wide differences between preamp designs. I have heard shocking differences between brands and models of preamps. So, I get your strong preference in that regard.

If you attempted to pair the Pass preamp with the VAC Phi200 I very much understand if you did not care for it. I would not think the two would be ideal. Manufacturer’s house sound plays a huge role in matching gear, and some combinations are simply not ideal, whereas others are seen as heavenly.

Nice looking speaker; I presume you mean the M5 passive. Well, that’s 8 Ohm, 91dB, so yeah, 110 watts is plenty. It’s been several years since I worked with the VAC Phi200, and having been through many more amps, there is more in terms of resolving power and depth that can be achieved if you wish, and you could go either with a second unit in mono or move up the line if you chose. Moving to another brand of amp would open up the "can of worms", however, another amp I can recommend that would provide some variety with similar tonal palate would be the Wells Audio Innamorata. If you adore the sound, getting a second Phi200 and going mono would be a big bonus. You have room to roam in terms of improvements. It would make your speakers seem more formidable and refined at the same time. It’s also important to try different power cords with the Phi200. :)

You have a very fine system, and it is at a level where the changes will reveal very strong, distinct characteristics. No wonder you feel strongly about the matching. I get that. We tend to anchor to our "prime component" and work off of it. The direction one takes with a different brand is either going to be horrid or heavenly. So much depends upon synergy between brands/models, cables and speakers. I have had a few preamps, amps, etc. that were not impressive with one speaker work stunningly with a different speaker. If you heard it with the first, you would say it is overrated, while hearing it with the second you would say it is sublime.