Best SS Amp - Pass Labs X350.8 vs. Luxman M900u vs. Ayre VX-R Twenty

Keithr,

         I am a female vocal lover, and you mentioned Rowland amp.,which model you mean? Could you tell us?

How funny a combination.  3 of those amps are one's I recommend people listen to for themselves becuase they are so different to my ears.  You will come to strong opinions on your own.

I almost never get to listen to JR so I won't comment on them at all.

Pass - Not my cup of tea, at all, but they seem to be the most speaker dependent. 

Ayre - Very smooth, has a kind of darkness about them, sometimes the effect is as if they are sucking noise right out of the room.  It's ... honestly a little odd but if you like velvet black backgrounds from which your music shoudl emerge this is your choice.

Luxman - Among the very best amplifiers I've ever heard.  Best traits are awesome extension at the bottom and top octaves along with an absolutely tube-like midrange to treble presentation.  Absolutely not a hint of grain or edge anywher while at the same time providing effortless extension.  Lesser amps make the same speakers sound smaller by comparison.

I strongly believe you should listen to the Pass in contrast, because you might find that like many here, you prefer it, or you really don't like it, and either way I don't think it will be close, but who am I to tell you which you should like? :)

Please enjoy listening and let us know what you decide.

Forgot to mention, my setup will be used 70% of the time for HT & 30% for Music. I’ll be eventually adding a Tube PreAmp & another Amp for the remaining 3 channels for HT.

@jjss49 : I agree with you. The 5 figure price factor limits the marketability of an Amp. And when the brand/ model doesn’t have a solid following or recognition, it further reduces your possibility to sell.

Another factor is at what % price you got your product. Assume there are Two similarly speced products at $20k MSRP & are normally available used between $10-11k. Out of those if you end up getting one at say $7.5k, I would jump on that because that’s a good value.

@ keithr : I usually listen to Male Vocals. If m900u doesn’t have the desired bass, will using a powered sub compensate for the low frequency?
 

And the last point, it’s not possible to audition 2 Amps side-by-side when you’re shopping around in the used market. So that possibility is ruled out. Henced asking here in the forum to people who are way more experienced than me. 

After a lot of deliberation & a little hesitation, I ended up buying the Luxman m900u.

I'll update you after I plug it in but not sure how much that will help as I haven't listened to any of the Amps discussed here. The only comparison I can make is with my previously owned Parasound Halo A51.

Good to know it’s the Luxman M900U which got the nod.

This post may not add much value to the thread. I noticed there are few comments here on the bass of the Luxman that’s lacking in comparison to other options. Although I don’t own the M900U, I do have the L-590AXII integrated and it’s currently the best sounding amp I have experienced in my system after more than 20 years in this hobby messing around with different types of amps. The bass may not be Luxman’s strong trait in terms of visceral power and slam but it’s quality bass. It may sound slightly lean or lightweight but it’s a defined, layered and textured bass with good refinement and detail. You will hear all the detail and nuanced layering in the bass if it’s in the recording instead of a "one-note" bass. The appeal or strength of the Luxman is mainly in its detailed and neutral presentation, sounding a little light on its feet with a slight hint of sweetness and warmth in the midrange and treble.

At the end of the day, the amp needs to match the speakers. Synergy is the key to great results.

Good luck.