Pass vs. Edge

I compared the Pass X-250 to the Edge 10. The Edge was faster, slightly more dynamic and a bit clearer sounding. But on some recording, I felt the Pass was more accurate to the instruments, and held notes a little longer which again depended on the recording as to which one I liked better. I ended up with the Pass mostly because of the price difference $6K versus $10K for what may have turned out to be a slight improvement. The extra money helped me to buy a really good preamp.

Happy Listening.

Bigkidz's description of the differences is very good, though it was the early, now discontinued PASS amps that were hailed as sounding musical in a tube-ish manner - and that was a long time ago and now these amps are considered to sound somewhat veiled (though based on a kickin' design, both electrically and visually, there is no doubt still a future for these classics).

However, when picking a new amp,there are a few caveats:

In a well-balanced system the EDGE will win hands down, everytime, including in the areas of naturalness and note decay mentioned above. They have all the advantages of solidstate but do not sound harsh or... solid-state-ish.

But, for example, if your system is sounding a little muffled, then the PASS X-series will help compensate, and help balance out the sound of the system as a whole. I would suggest this is a house of cards and leads to some amount of fustration over time as the weak components can make any added superior components sound 'bad'.

Another perspective is that, if the some other part of your system needs serious upgrading, then, for example, a $4K preamp + $6K amp may very likely improve your system beyond that contributed soley by a $10K amp.

EDGE does make less expensive amps that sound very much like their big brothers. If you care about the amp not sounding ... one might say rude and obnoxious and overly agressive... while at the same time being transparent and not artificially sweetened or muffled - and you want to use solidstate, then in our experience you have to look at the EDGE, HALCRO & HOVLAND (for certain easy-to-drive speakers), LAMM & TENOR (solidstate hybrids), and from what we hear from our overseas friends, perhaps the DARTZEEL and FM ACOUSTICS amps.

Enjoy!
-Mike (Dealer for EDGE and LAMM who had a very fustrating battle with a house-of-cards system in his youth for waaaay too long)

I went from an X350 to an Edge NL-12. The Pass's bass was more oppressive and much less nuanced than the Edge. The Edge's bass has more dexterity and is more natural, deep but not pushy. The Pass is slightly more silky on voices, but barely so, but the Edge has more air and again sounds more natural. In fact, I would say that the Edge's greatest strength is the airiness of all musical components, and the ability to place these components in their own space. The Pass has more of a golden glow that can be very appealing on lesser-quality recordings, while the Edge will show the flaws in these recordings. The Edge is more open and relaxing. The Edge portrays complex orchestral passages with ease and no sense of compression. The Pass was slightly compressed. The Pass ran very hot & would heat up the room so much it left me sweating. Both the Pass & the Edge have smooth, not-tizzy highs. The Edge is never more than warm. I am very happy with the Edge. I heard my Kharma speakers with good tube amps and I prefer the Edge, which has a feeling of purity. Perhaps it would be more fair to compare the X600 to the NL12, but I never did hear the 600s. 'hope this helps.

When comparing amps of this quality, you better have AT LEAST a good dedicated 20 amp line just for the amp.

As a side note, the newer Pass amps are using better quality rectifiers in the power supply, so the bass should sound both more defined and more nimble. Some have complained that the Pass amps aren't the fastest in terms of bass attack and impact ( as i have ) and this should help clear some of that up. Sean
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