Anyone Hear the New .8 Amps Yet

mdkim said:
I've spent time with the 160.5s and now the Xs150s and would not say there is a "hump" or any bass exaggeration. But, the high current and architecture, IMO, makes Pass a far cry from bass shy or "lean." Now that I've experienced it over time, I find it difficult to listen to a system that doesn't share Pass' "fullness."
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Your last statement seems to match what Pass said to me yesterday:

"The Point 8 amps are definitely closer to the Xs amps than the Point 5's.
There is a lot more bass information with the Point 8 amps and it may seem a little much in the beginning but once you listen for a while, you will notice that it provides a solid foundation for the music that you will miss if you don't have it."
 
Pass amps are in the house! Let the shootout begin!!

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1395939670.755520.jpg

A friend loaned me his 100.5's.


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dfwmediagroup said:
One cautionary note. The XA100.5 sounds different from the newer .8 series. I know because I've heard both.
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Me too...and I agree. But I want to hear Pass XA with Alexia's. I'm trying to understand what Ian is hearing or not hearing. Hopefully some .8's will come my way for review soon.


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dfwmediagroup said:
One cautionary note. The XA100.5 sounds different from the newer .8 series. I know because I've heard both.
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I agree, at least for the XA160s. And the XA160.5 sounds different from the XA100.5. I compared both in my system driving the difficult Magico Mini2 and the 160.5 was considerably better: improved bass control, extension and much more effortless sound. Much more power and current into the 4 ohm load. The Alexia is a more difficult load than even the Mini2 is. That impedance dip around 1.5 ohms or so was too much for the XA160.5 that Ian had, at least in his larger, open room.

I have heard Ian's Alexia with the D'Agostino stereo amp, the Doshi monos, and the XA160.8. The latter is the only one of the three that can drive the speaker properly in his room, IMO.

I'll be interested to read what Mike thinks about the XA100.5 driving his Alexias. Room size, volume, and type of music may also be factors.
 
Mike said:
Me too...and I agree. But I want to hear Pass XA with Alexia's. I'm trying to understand what Ian is hearing or not hearing. Hopefully some .8's will come my way for review soon.


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Mike I bet those XA100.5 would sound great with the Magico S5 and Pass XP15 phono. Any interest in trying that combination also?

You may also want to borrow a Pass preamp, if your friend has one, to get a bit closer to what Ian has right now. The D'Ag and Cary preamps may effect the results with the Alexias.
 
PeterA said:
Mike I bet those XA100.5 would sound great with the Magico S5 and Pass XP15 phono. Any interest in trying that combination also?

You may also want to borrow a Pass preamp, if your friend has one, to get a bit closer to what Ian has right now. The D'Ag and Cary preamps may effect the results with the Alexias.
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Peter - the S5's are all crated up ready to go to their new owner. But yes, Pass and Magico is great synergy. Michael Kim loves the combo as does Ian.
 
My XA160.8s will be here late next week. Then it'll be my turn to do a little comparison with the XA160.5s (with my XP-30 preamp and Magico s5s).
 
Well, the Pass amps have gone home. We had a thoroughly enjoyable day comparing the various amps and preamps at our disposal. My friend was most interested in comparing his Pass XA100.5's to the Cary amps. At the end of the day, the Cary amps offered more air around the instruments, SLIGHTLY better/sweeter vocals and a much greater dynamic presentation. The Pass amps offered a very "meaty" - full sound - much like the McIntosh 601's, with a slight sweetness and a much sweeter, fuller midrange than the 601's (but not quite as good as the Cary). The Pass amps exhibited the same loose/puffy bass control I remembered from when I owned the XA160.5's. Going from memory of my long listening sessions at CES, the Pass XA.8's offer greater dynamics and better bass control over their predecessor. I kept thinking today, "boy, I wonder how the .8's would sound in my system."

The one thing we uncovered was the terrific synergy between the Pass XA100.5's and the Cary SLP-05 preamp. What a great combination!! My friend Charles might be on to something with his tube preamp pairing with his XA100.5's.

We briefly compared with the D'Agostino amp/preamp. The D'Agostino once again exhibited the same great dynamics and bass control with a degree of sweetness they always do. But alas, this combo is out of reach for my friend....so we listened only briefly.

At the end of the day, the Pass amps reminded me very much of my McIntosh 601's. Oh, so musical and enjoyable to listen to. Where the Pass betters the 601's in the midrange, the 601's offer slightly better dynamics. But both the 601's and XA100.5's are the type of "set and forget" amps I love. They both engage the "musical" side of your brain and park the "audiophile sound" side of your brain quietly at the curb. If you find yourself listening until the wee hours of the morning totally engrossed in the music, chances are you will have an amp like the 601's or XA100.5's accompanying you.

I definitely think the XA100.8's or 160.8's would be fun to try in my system and I hope I get that chance one day.
 
Mike said:
Well, the Pass amps have gone home. We had a thoroughly enjoyable day comparing the various amps and preamps at our disposal. My friend was most interested in comparing his Pass XA100.5's to the Cary amps. At the end of the day, the Cary amps offered more air around the instruments, SLIGHTLY better vocals and a much great dynamic presentation. The Pass amps offered a very "meaty" - full sound - much like the McIntosh 601's, with a slight sweetness and a much sweeter, fuller midrange than the 601's (but not as good as the Cary). The Pass amps exhibited the same loose/puffy bass control I remembered from when I owned the XA160.5's. Going from memory of my long listening sessions at CES, the Pass XA.8's offer greater dynamics and better bass control over their predecessor. I kept thinking today, "boy, I wonder how the .8's would sound in my system."

The one thing we uncovered was the terrific synergy between the Pass XA100.5's and the Cary SLP-05 preamp. What a great combination!! My friend Charles might be on to something with his tube preamp pairing with his XA100.5's.

We briefly compared with the D'Agostino amp/preamp. The D'Agostino once again exhibited the same great dynamics and bass control with a degree of sweetness. But alas, this combo is out of reach for my friend....so we listened only briefly.

At the end of the day, the Pass amps reminded me very much of my McIntosh 601's. Oh, so musical and enjoyable to listen to. Where the Pass betters the 601's in the midrange, the 601's offer slightly better dynamics. But both the 601's and XA100.5's are the type of "set and forget" amps I love. They both engage the "musical" side of your brain and park the "audiophile sound" side of your brain quietly at the curb. If you find yourself listening until the wee hours of the morning totally engrossed in the music, chances are you will have an amp like the 601's or XA100.5's accompanying you.

I definitely think the XA100.8's or 160.8's would be fun to try in my system and I hope I get that chance one day.
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Mike - Great report. I agree that Pass is musical sounding, in the sense that they help a system sound like real music - if they are appropriately matched to the speaker load. Did you hear the XA.8 at CES driving the Alexias or were they in the Pass suite driving the Sony speakers? If the latter, then the Sony is a much easier load than the Alexia.

I wonder if the lack of dynamics and bass control that you heard with the XA100.5 driving your Alexias was because they just don't have the power or current to handle such a difficult load. I found this to be the case when I owned these, so I replaced them with the 160.5. I found that both the XA160.5 and XA160.8 are able to drive Ian's Alexia, though the latter certainly controls the bass better and sounds a bit more effortless.

How big is your room and how loud did you listen?
 
Thanks Peter. My room is 14 feet, 1 inch x 25 feet with 8 foot ceilings. I heard the .8's with the Sony speakers. We weren't listening terribly loud (probably 90db) and the needles on the amps were barely moving.

I loved having the Pass amps back in my system. They are so musical and liquid with that gorgeous midrange.
 
The Sandman said:
My XA160.8s will be here late next week. Then it'll be my turn to do a little comparison with the XA160.5s (with my XP-30 preamp and Magico s5s).
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This should be very interesting and I look forward to your report. Pass/Magico is a great combination.
 
PeterA said:
I agree, at least for the XA160s. And the XA160.5 sounds different from the XA100.5. I compared both in my system driving the difficult Magico Mini2 and the 160.5 was considerably better: improved bass control, extension and much more effortless sound. Much more power and current into the 4 ohm load. The Alexia is a more difficult load than even the Mini2 is. That impedance dip around 1.5 ohms or so was too much for the XA160.5 that Ian had, at least in his larger, open room.

I have heard Ian's Alexia with the D'Agostino stereo amp, the Doshi monos, and the XA160.8. The latter is the only one of the three that can drive the speaker properly in his room, IMO.

I'll be interested to read what Mike thinks about the XA100.5 driving his Alexias. Room size, volume, and type of music may also be factors.
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I don't agree with Peter's assessment. The interesting thing is that while the bass is a tad slower and looser with the XA160.5's the bass is very articulate. With the XA160.8's the bass is faster but boomy and thick (although to be fair this is probably because there is increased bass energy, particularly in the deep frequencies which is hard to tame in my room).

Pass had this to say in response when I asked if the .8's were closer to the .5's or XS series:

"The Point 8 amps are definitely closer to the Xs amps than the Point 5's.

There is a lot more bass information with the Point 8 amps and it may seem a little much in the beginning but once you listen for a while, you will notice that it provides a solid foundation for the music that you will miss if you don't have it."
 
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