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Pass Labs XA30.8

All, 

Do you think Pass Labs XA30.8 has enough power to drive 86 dBL Dynaudio focus 380 speaker well? My room size is 23'x18'x8' and I sit about 8' away from the speakers. Usual loudness is about 50 to 67 dBL when measured with noise meter app using my phone.

Also, what sonic improvement will I hear going from Bryston 4B Cube to XA30.8? 

Thanks.  
128x128panerai557
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
I can't imagine you'd have any troubles driving those speakers with the XA30.8, especially at the listening levels that you indicated you prefer.  People seem to forget that doubling your wattage only increases to volume by 3dB.
panerai557's avatar
panerai557 OP
65 posts
 
@audiotroy, 

Is Audio magic mini reference 2 conditioner much better than Audioquest Niagara 1000? I was also considering PS Audio P12 power generator? Which would be most effective to create that 3D effect? 

Thx! 


w1000i's avatar
w1000i
70 posts
 
Pass Labs XA30.8 will not do it and Dynaudio focus 380 need more power to shine especially in the bass frequency as it will go below 4 ohm.

I'd recommed Luxman M-700u as it can give 120 W/8Ω to up to 840 W/1Ω instantaneously exploits the full potential of speaker characteristics under any load conditions.
tswisla
176 posts
 
Have you heard an xa30.8!? It is far more powerful than 30w. It is rated at over 100w a/b into 8 ohms. It can easily drive a 4ohm load.
scothurwitz
113 posts
 
Hey panerai557

Admittedly, it's been a while since I've heard my friends Bryston amps. He has the 600 wpc mono blocks (I don't know exactly which models he has) they were the model 3b's (I think), I know they were not the 4B's which I remember as sounding very good with his PMC large stand mount speakers. To my ears they were a little bright and slightly on the analytical side (for my taste) but had tremendous bottom end drive. All in all they did sound pretty good. 

I have owned the Pass Labs XA30.8 for over 5 years. This is one piece of equipment in my system that I just can't get rid of. No matter which speakers it's connected to or what preamp is in front of it, it always sounds fantastic. I'm very picky and if a piece of equipment isn't what I consider to be great and turns out to be just good, chances are I will sell it after 1 - 2 years. This is an amp I couldn't part with because it has a very special musicality. 

Do not be fooled by the 30 watts per channel rating. I had that amp connected to a pair of Magnepan 3.7i's with a pair of their DWM woofers wired in parrallel which drops the load down to a constant 2 ohms and it sounded unbelievable. I had that system for 3 years and really enjoyed it. It not only drove that load effortlessly, but it always remained musical! That load would have killed most amps out there but it just laughed at that load. For the money, and considering the reliability, and how musical it is, I think it would be tough to beat. All I can say is two words, Nelson Pass! 

Scot      
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