Pass INT-25 better than Wilsenton R8?


I have recently purchased a Pass Labs INT-25. It replaced a Wilsenton R8 with NOS tubes (EL-34). I feel that the sound im getting from the Pass is not 5000.00 better. Has anyone purchased a INT-25 and not been blown away from the sound? I do think  that the 25 has a wider soundstage.

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Well, I have the same pass amp and you need to allow time for burn it and also make sure you leave it on 24/7. If you are starting it up after being off (cold) and expecting good sound it is not going to happen. Also, that amp requires careful speaker pairing as well.  That being said, for the extra 5k you are also getting an heirloom piece that will last generations if properly cared for. Pass customer service is probably the best there is. I have a friend that sent them his 30+ year old Threshold amp to be checked and recapped. They got it all up to spec and replaced the caps and charged practically nothing to do it. He was not even the original owner of the amp. When you call Pass you get a real human that picks up and if you email them you will get a response from an engineer usually on the same day. They are incredible.

I have both the R8 and a new  INT25 hooked up in the same space and getting a better soundstage than R8 but will keep going back n forth and spend time listening to the changes over the first 0-300 hours. Connected to a pair of Dynaudio HS’s and have my original Tekton Impact Monitors nearby 

I have a similar amp to the R-8 (Cayin CS-55a), I found it sounds much better with the KT-88 tubes. I am using Gold Lions right now. The sound is much more clear and detailed than with the EL34.

I had the amp-only version, Pass XA-25, driving a 97db efficient speakers. There were certainly remarkable things about the amp, most notably imaging. But when I pushed it a bit I could hear distortion. It might have been clipping, but probably from when it went into AB mode. I couldn't live with it.