Pass Aleph vs. McCormack: What to Expect?

I would say yes, but it would be FAR more noticeable if you went into an active crossover. I would contact your speaker manufacturer first before even thinking about this though. They might also have other suggestions as to what they think will give you what you are looking for in terms of amplification. Sean
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The Aleph 3 is a little power house and is more musical than powerful and 30 watts is still only 30 watts. The Aleph will reasonalbly control the bass drivers and do it similar to a well controled tube amp.

If you are after more bass and control find an amplifier that can deliver what your speakers require. I don't think b-amping 3's will satisfy in the end.

An Aleph 5 will give you approximately 3db more volume and control the drivers slightly less well than the 3 while giving more tube like qualities and offering a balanced input. The 5 is tremendous value compared to the 3.

What you pay for in the original Pass Aleph 3 is exotic metalwork compared to the Aleph 30. From an electronic standpoint, identical components are used internally, the patented Aleph current source is utilized, and Pass tweaked the circuit to offer a much higher differential input impedance (52K ohms run balanced, 47Kohms run single-ended), an extra TO3 output device per channel, and the option of a balanced input (single-ended only on the Aleph 3 due to physical constraints of the chassis size). The Aleph 30 is a spectacular value, particularly now that it is closed out and being blown out, and considered by Pass Labs every bit the equal of its predecessor. That Volksamp could not sustain itself as a corporate entity does not abrogate the value of this product. Anyone who owns an Aleph 30 has a unique piece of the Pass legacy, and might be enjoying the sonic performance of the amp, as well!

In my humble opinion, of course.

Cheers!

Quin

That higher input impedence is a real plus. The Pass designs tend to be low enough in this area to cause potential mismatches with some tube preamps.

I would like to try an Aleph 5 to see how it compares in sound to the Aleph 3. The Aleph 3 has such a nice sound, and my Proac 2.5's do OK on the bass, though there could be more. What is disconcerting is that I have to turn the volume control on the Rogue 66 up to 75% to get loud levels. With the Berning ZH270 (70 wpc) it's less than half that. But having to turn the volume up past 50% doesn't seem to degrade the sound. The owner of Rogue said there would be no problem matching this tube preamp to the Aleph 3, using the 1:10 impedence matching rule. Would this be any different if I biamped the Aleph 3's? Can anyone tell me how to bridge them? Thanks.