Delightful experience when calling Pass Labs; INT-250 on order

[aardvarkbark]

A certain Chicago-area dealer with whom I had purchased two systems previously recently suggested the Ayre AX5Twenty to pair with B&W 803's when I was doing a system upgrade. Yeahhhhh....not so much.

Searching for a replacement integrated with the necessary power to develop low-end clarity, the PASS INT-250 was a clear contender. I called PASS yesterday and this fellow Kent answered the phone. He was well aware of the current requirements of the B&W's. We chatted at great length about my needs and expectations, and PASS specs and performance.

WOW! What a refreshing difference from when I had called Ayre a few months ago and got a bitterly cold 'we-don't-talk-to-consumers-that's-what-dealers-are-for' response. (Charlie -- seriously -- y'all need to get over yourselves!)

With assurances from Kent that Mike is indeed one fine customer-focused dealer, I placed my order yesterday and am anticipating delivery in a couple of weeks.

So far, an all-around great experience. Looking forward to it only getting better!

[joeinid]

Pass Labs is certainly a great company for gear, customer service and support.

I have had to talk to Ayre recently and had a few conversations with them on different concerns. I think Michael and I spoke several times and once to another employee (I forgot his name). Both were awesome and my issues were quickly and promptly resolved.

[Mike]

Congrats John!

[aardvarkbark]

wow...THAT's what I'm getting?!?!

Hubba-Hubba!!

Shoulda mentioned -- every chat with Mike has been just as pleasant as the one with PASS.

[La Dolce Vita]

Pass Labs is certainly a great company for gear, customer service and support.

I have had to talk to Ayre recently and had a few conversations with them on different concerns. I think Michael and I spoke several times and once to another employee (I forgot his name). Both were awesome and my issues were quickly and promptly resolved.

Joe...I missed this...you've been calling Ayre recently to have several concerns addressed? PM me or shoot me a text at some point. Hope everything is working ok and you remain generally satisfied.


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[joeinid]

Easy Andy, nothing sinister, I just wanted a smaller/lighter remote control for the KX-5/20 preamp (which I received) and asked about upgrading my fuses in my MX-R/20's .

I LOVE my Pass XA60.8's (and I am sure the X350.8 too) and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Ayre gear. Destination for me.

We talk soon.....

Joe...I missed this...you've been calling Ayre recently to have several concerns addressed? PM me or shoot me a text at some point. Hope everything is working ok and you remain generally satisfied.


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[La Dolce Vita]

Easy Andy, nothing sinister, I just wanted a smaller/lighter remote control for the KX-5/20 preamp (which I received) and asked about upgrading my fuses in my MX-R/20's .

I LOVE my Pass XA60.8's (and I am sure the X350.8 too) and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Ayre gear. Destination for me.

We talk soon.....

Whew Joe you had me worried for you... These aren't concerns they're curiosities! Glad the Ayre gear continues to do it for you.

(Just in case, please give me a call when you are ready to sell the MX-R Twenties.)


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[KeithR]

Alex @ Ayre is a great guy and helped me demo product and answered my questions. I look forward to meeting Charley in a few weeks.

ps. Alex personally uses an AX-5 for his home

[joeinid]

Ha!

You'll have to come to the reading of my will to find out what's going to happen with them.

Yes, my earlier post had a poor choice of words and I should have corrected it. Ayre and me are simpatico.

Whew Joe you had me worried for you... These aren't concerns they're curiosities! Glad the Ayre gear continues to do it for you.

(Just in case, please give me a call when you are ready to sell the MX-R Twenties.)


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[joeinid]

I'd love to get the AX-5 for a second smaller system. Wonderful tone, meat on the bone and just an all around pleasure to hear.

Alex @ Ayre is a great guy and helped me demo product and answered my questions. I look forward to meeting Charley in a few weeks.

ps. Alex personally uses an AX-5 for his home

[joeinid]

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled topic.

Pass Labs customer service is outstanding.

I am sure we all have good and bad experiences with mfg's. I suspect that Pass is bigger than Ayre and can afford a little more one on one time. I have been lucky in my travels and the only company I was not crazy about from a customer service standpoint was Burmester. Sorry, not feeling the love for them.

[Musicfirst]

I too am using the AX-5 Twenty for my main system. It's awesome. I compared it to the Pass INT60 in my system. Probably should have tried the INT250, but for me, the Ayre was the clear choice. Simply outstanding.

(sorry for the OP deviation)

Yes PASS labs customer service over the phone is beyond reproach. Easily the best I've ever experienced. They helped me set up my REL subs with the INT60 with very detailed instructions.

[aardvarkbark]

....I suspect that Pass is bigger than Ayre and can afford a little more one on one time....

hmmm....I wonder. Nonetheless, customer web comments reference primarily one individual at each who handle calls (I don't think either has a 'department'). The response I got from the fellow at Ayre: 'ask your dealer.' From PASS: 'thanks for choosing to buy one of our amps! How can I help you?'

I too am using the AX-5 Twenty for my main system. It's awesome. I compared it to the Pass INT60 in my system. Probably should have tried the INT250, but for me, the Ayre was the clear choice. Simply outstanding....

I guess it comes down to system synergy. The AX5Twenty just can't drive the low end of my B&W 803's. Too many have told me that due to the nature of these speakers ('current hogs, the specs are misleading'), I shouldn't have expected a 125wpc integrated to deliver confident clear low end on them. It'll soon be driving (for the time being) Dyn Focus 160s in the home office. I'll appreciate its low heat generation in that application, for sure.

[aardvarkbark]

With about thirty hours on it, it's clearly a vastly superior match for the 803's than was the AX5Twenty. My bass drivers actually work! And gone is that harsh brightness in the mid and upper ranges. Plus, for all sonata performances, I've been transported from ten inches above the piano strings to center loge at Orchestra Hall. Warm timbre with detail and now breadth, depth, even height, especially noticeable in symphonic pieces. Such an improvement all around.

And the guys at PASS simply couldn't be more customer-focused and accommodating. When I expressed concern over added exposure to potential damage the longer it would be in UPS/FedEx's possession, they kindly offered to ship direct to me, and on a day that would result in delivery when most convenient for me. When I had asked the same of Ayre, they were unwilling to do either.

[KeithR]

With about thirty hours on it, it's clearly a vastly superior match for the 803's than was the AX5Twenty. My bass drivers actually work! And gone is that harsh brightness in the mid and upper ranges. Plus, for all sonata performances, I've been transported from ten inches above the piano strings to center loge at Orchestra Hall. Warm timbre with detail and now breadth, depth, even height, especially noticeable in symphonic pieces. Such an improvement all around.

And the guys at PASS simply couldn't be more customer-focused and accommodating. When I expressed concern over added exposure to potential damage the longer it would be in UPS/FedEx's possession, they kindly offered to ship direct to me, and on a day that would result in delivery when most convenient for me. When I had asked the same of Ayre, they were unwilling to do either.

congrats- yeah, B&Ws typically like high power so I'm glad it worked out in the end.

[a.wayne]

All speakers love power , the more you have the better the realism.....

[aardvarkbark]

All speakers love power , the more you have the better the realism.....

I guess I'm still trying to figure this out. I knew that more power would give me more bass (or read enough posts on forums about B&Ws to believe it), but I frankly didn't expect the better realism. AAMOF, I was concerned that it would only magnify the high-end harshness, but the PASS has actually mellowed that and removed the edginess.

Plus, I'm now hearing what folks refer to as 'the speakers disappearing'. There are three dimensions that weren't there before. Is that simply a result of more power?

This also opens up the whole issue of just how relevant speaker reviews or auditions are if they aren't made with the exact same amp that one owns. With the addition of the PASS, my B&Ws are a whole new speaker that are doing things I didn't know they could.

[aardvarkbark]

Couple weeks later and just want to reconfirm that this company, its people, and its product (I only know first hand of INT-250) are phenomenal. I couldn't care less what their website is like.