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Confession of a poor power cord pairing for a Pass Labs XA-25

I recently purchased a Pass XA-25 to replace my Nuforce STA-200. I had replaced the power cord on my Nuforce with an entry level Silnote power cord which made a tremendous difference in sound for the Nuforce. However, when I received my XA-25, I apparently was in an extreme hurry and did not install the cord that Pass Labs included.
This evening as I was sorting through a big box of interconnects and power cords, I discovered a power cord that still had its factory twisty tie intact. After a few minutes of deliberation, I realized that this was the power cord that was included with the XA-25. I hooked it up and wow!.. Detail and Bass that I didn't know this amp was capable of.
Moral of the story.... Just because it's factory power cord.. doesn't mean it can't be good.

128x128coachpoconnor
phomchick's avatar
phomchick
209 posts
 
The Pass Labs XA25 manual says if you replace the power cord, make sure it is good enough. This is Nelson's sly jab at after market power cords.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Nelson's power cord is "good enough." That's correct.

Too bad for Pass, I listened to him. Had I not, I'd likely have the 30.8 as my go to primary amp. : )
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Thanks for sharing this experience, Coach.  I too have an XA-25, which is a wonderful amp as you know.  I've never tried using its stock power cord because it is too short to be suitable for my setup.  Instead I use a 12 foot Signal Cable MagicPower Digital Reference cord, and I've been very pleased with the results.

That cord is nominally intended for use with digital components, but I selected it because (a)I wanted the double shielding it provides, to prevent possible coupling of amplifier-generated noise into my phono stage which is in close proximity to the cord, and (b)the 12 gauge conductors it uses are fine in terms of voltage drop, given the 2 amperes that are drawn by the amp as long as it is not asked to supply so much power that it leaves class A (which means the vast majority of the time in my case).

Enjoy!  Regards,
-- Al

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