I would say they are in the "team photo". So yes, among the best. Great resale, sound, and support.
Love my 250.8 and XP22.
Love my 250.8 and XP22.
Are Pass Labs amps probably the best ever you can buy ?
I have about 15k to spend on an amp/preamp/integrated amp.
I mostly listen to smooth jazz like Dave Koz, Rippingtons, Brian Culbertson etc.... and loud.
I have yet to hear any amp that comes close to Pass Labs.
Your experiences pls ?
I mostly listen to smooth jazz like Dave Koz, Rippingtons, Brian Culbertson etc.... and loud.
I have yet to hear any amp that comes close to Pass Labs.
Your experiences pls ?
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i’m curious on pass resale. the last time i purchased a pass amp securing a pretty deep discount was not difficult( 25-30 %off). has that changed? if big discounting is occurring resale usually takes a hit. the unit was a 250.8 as i recall. no motive here. just curious. it ‘seems’ that pass is widely used by agoners as well as ps audio. is discounting a factor in these two brands having so many users? i’m guessing the sound quality is pretty good too. |
The "Nelson Pass", designed amplifiers I have tried. "And I believe that I have tried most if not all of them" at this point, Are not "Just a cut" above other SS amplifiers out there. They are WAY above the others. Even the old "Denon" mono-blocks are nice! But the A-400 is probably my favorite. For many reasons including but not simply because, of the sound. And It still runs great! It is now kept in an all "Threshold", tri-amplified system. People keep bringing up, "Giant Killer" types out there. I have yet to meet one. And I have searched, and will continue to do so. But anyone looking to just, "Best", Nelson Pass designed amps? I do not think it can be done. Different perhaps, but better? Or even near as nice? THAT, is a tall order to fill! |
I took an entire year to research my new audio system. I put many, many, hours into reading reviews and forums culminating in an actual all day audition of some of the top amps in the world. I visited with many very knowledgeable and experienced audiophiles. I even flew from my home in Iowa to Sarasota, Florida to audition amps. I auditioned amps by Pass, Gryphon, Naim Hegel, VAC Audio, Simaudio, and Luxman among others. I finally picked the Pass Labs INT 250 and couldn't be happier with my choice. I'm pairing it with some superb sounding Harbeth Super HL 5+ 40th Anniversary model speakers. I'm also running the INT 250 with an MSB Discrete DAC with dual power supplies and Roon Nucleus. I can't imagine a better sounding similarly priced system. I'm sure there are systems that sound as good, but just different. I very, very, highly recommend the Pass INT 250. Mine is just now really getting broken in and is sounding sublime. I also auditioned the INT 60 and was similarly impressed with it. BTW, the heat issue with Pass amps is, IMHO, totally irrelevant. I can lay my hand on my INT 250 all day long and never get uncomfortable. It's really a non-issue. It gets "warm" but definitely NOT hot. If you want to feel hot, lay your hand on a tube amp. That's HOT. An INT 250 might raise the ambient temperature of a small room a degree or two in warm climates. But so will some other amps. Especially tube amps. My listening room is about 12' x 27' and I don't even notice the room heating up any when my amp is on. But, after having said all the above, use your own ears and audition any amp you're interested in. It'll be time very well spent. Lots of great choices in amps and other components out there. |
From one point of view, they may be the best, but I would not use them because they would break my home power budget. The specifications for our speakers recommend an amplifier in the range of 125-250 watts, although more or less can suffice. (I currently have more!) So, I started looking for suitable Pass amplifiers and looked closely at the XA100.8, which is “only” 100W. It is a mono amp, so I would need two: https://www.passlabs.com/amplifier/xa100.8 When idling, two of these together would draw a total of 900 watts from the wall. Our home solar and battery system do not provide all of our power needs, but through most of the year, the system allows us to totally avoid buying on-peak power, which costs about 8x as much as off peak power. The large household power users (e.g. pool pump) are all scheduled for late night so that they can use off-peak power from the grid. Air conditioning runs when it needs to throughout the day, which can’t be helped. When AC and the pool pump are not running, the house consumes about 500-600 watts (standby appliances, stereo system, refrigerator, ceiling fans, computers and network.) If I were to add two XA100.8’s to the mix, turned on, this typical power consumption would more than double. The Pass amps would be the third largest power-user, after the AC system and the pool pump. This would destroy the strategy for avoiding on-peak power purchasing by a large amount. Now, I could leave the amplifiers powered down and power them up only when I needed them, but:
I’m afraid that, for me, this puts the Pass products in the
same categories as LP’s and tube amps as being more trouble than they are worth,
especially when equal performance alternatives are available. So, I wish many
more happy years for our existing amplifier so I can delay indefinitely what will be a very
difficult choice. Perhaps I am just not that dedicated of an audiophile.
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