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Thread: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
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May 31, 2021, 04:35 PM #1
Warm-up time for Pass amps?
Hey gang,
I know many folks here love and enjoy Pass Lab amps.
Some of you may remember I built up two Nelson Pass-designed Amp Camp amps last summer.
I've set these up again over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend to get some real hours on them and on my (also DIY) GR-Research X-LS Encore speakers (which I recently found out need 400 hours of running in), and have an anecdotal observation that they seem to require about an hour of warm-up time to fully come "on song". When I listen to them as soon as I switch them on, they seem to be a bit thin and 2-dimensional sounding. Once they've been on for an hour so, though, they really do sound very good, especially when run as a pair of bridged monos.
Here they are set up on the floor in a quickie set-up configuration (sorry for the quality of the quickie iPhone 12 "snapshot")
Is this observation consistent with your experiences? What do you guys that have a Pass Class A amp typically do? Do you leave the amp on all the time, or fire it up for listening sessions?
Lastly, I'm not telling you guys anything you don't know, but Nelson Pass is a genius.
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May 31, 2021, 04:50 PM #2
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
Nelson Pass IS a genius!
Pass amps usually sound really good after about 20-30 minutes but I've found an hour or more really opens them up and makes them sing.Fleetwood Deville by Oswald Mills Audio, Vienna Acoustics Haydn Jubilee, Wharfedale Linton w/ stands, Klipsch RB-75, Klipsch RP-160M.
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First Watt SIT-3, Job 250 Monos, NuForce STA200, AkitikA GT-102 amp, ASL Wave monos, Dennis Had 45 monos. Absolute Audio Labs PCF 25 amp (improved First Watt F7 super clone)
Topping D90, RME Audio ADI-2 DAC FS, ModWright Ultimate Sony XA-5400ES.
Burmester 948, McIntosh MCLK12, Kimber Kable, Siltech, Cardas, Avanti Audio cables.
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May 31, 2021, 05:06 PM #3
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May 31, 2021, 05:14 PM #4
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
My old XA60.5 amps sounded superb after an overnight run in and even beat MC2301's for a lot less money.
Last edited by joeinid; May 31, 2021 at 06:25 PM.
Fleetwood Deville by Oswald Mills Audio, Vienna Acoustics Haydn Jubilee, Wharfedale Linton w/ stands, Klipsch RB-75, Klipsch RP-160M.
Job INTegrated. Luxman L-595aSE
NAD C 658 streamer.
First Watt SIT-3, Job 250 Monos, NuForce STA200, AkitikA GT-102 amp, ASL Wave monos, Dennis Had 45 monos. Absolute Audio Labs PCF 25 amp (improved First Watt F7 super clone)
Topping D90, RME Audio ADI-2 DAC FS, ModWright Ultimate Sony XA-5400ES.
Burmester 948, McIntosh MCLK12, Kimber Kable, Siltech, Cardas, Avanti Audio cables.
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May 31, 2021, 06:10 PM #5
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May 31, 2021, 06:13 PM #6
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
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May 31, 2021, 08:27 PM #7
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I play one album as background before critical listening and don’t notice much change after that, so approximately 45 minutes. This has been consistent with a number of different Pass amps that I have owned over the years.
Morgan
NEW SYSTEM UNDER CONSTRUCTION
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May 31, 2021, 09:25 PM #8
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June 1, 2021, 02:06 PM #9
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Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I've always left my Pass Labs products on 24/7 unless I was leaving for an extended period of time (usually several days) or there was a storm rolling through the area. The couple of times I did listen from cold, the only thinness I noticed was in the XP-10 and XP-22, not the X250.8. But. like others have said, give it 30-60 minutes and that sound was gone.
Electronics: Pass Labs XP-22, Pass Labs X250.8
Digital: T+A DAC 200, Auralic Aries G1, Sony UBP-X800M
Analog: Pro-Ject X2 w/ Ortofon 2M Black, iFi Phono3 Phonostage
Speakers: Janszen Audio Valentina P8, SVS SB13-Ultra
Other: David Laboga Custom Audio/Shunyata/Audioquest cabling, PS Audio PowerPlant 15
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June 2, 2021, 12:04 AM #10
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I've been listening to my little Amp Camp amps as bridged mono blocks since the beginning of the long holiday weekend, and I have to say that now that they are getting more hours on them, they are starting to sound very good indeed. Nelson Pass, I tell ya what...
And...for 654 bucks, they're rather amazing.
😻
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August 16, 2021, 08:12 PM #11
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
My pair of xa160.5 takes 4hrs of being on before they sound their best. So I turn them on and wait at least 4hrs before listening to music.
George
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Aurender ACS10 Music Server > Holo Audio May KTE R2R Ladder DAC > Pass Labs XP-30 Preamp > Pass Labs XA160.5 Class A Mono Blocks > Martin Logan Renaissance ELS 15A Speakers
Powered By 2X BPT 3.5 Signature Plus Ultra Isolators | Shunyata Research Hydra Triton + Typhon | Shunyata Hydra 2 Power Conditioner
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August 17, 2021, 08:29 AM #12
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
X260.8's here, they sound great from the moment I feed them a signal and my mind convinces me they sound even better after the first LP or second dram, which ever comes first !
Cheers ! …. Dave
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August 17, 2021, 10:52 AM #13
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Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
Congrats!!!
The 260.8s is what I presently own as well. They get better and better.
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August 17, 2021, 02:39 PM #14
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Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I think George is just about spit on with the 4 hour warm-up.
Unlike George, I like to listen to mine as they warm. For the first 30 to 45 minutes the sound is a bit hard and constrained between the speakers. Then it suddenly opens and then gradually blooms over the next few hours.
When I do let them warm up unattended, I find that even if fully warm they only reach full potential after 30 minutes or so of playing music.
After 4 hours and playing music I don’t notice further improvement.
This holds true for all the Class A Pass Labs amps I’ve owned… XA 160.5s, XA 160.8s, XS 150s and XS 300s.Howard
Pass Labs XS 300's, XS Pre | Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference Series 3, Alpha USB Series 2 | Aurender W20SE, ACS10 | Magico S7's with MPOD's, QSub 15 x 2 | Shunyata Denali 2000T x 2 with Sigma HC | Shunyata Everest 8000 w/ Omega XC | MIT Heritage and Oracle Interconnects and speaker cables | Critical Mass Maxxum rack
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August 17, 2021, 09:42 PM #15
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
One of the forerunners of the current products were the Threshold class A and class a/AB amplifiers. In the owners manual of the Threshold S/550e amplifier, there was a graph of time (x) and temperature (y) which showed that the heatsinks temperature of that model stabilized at 50C in about 1 hours time. One of the ways to check the correct amplifier bias was to measure the heatsink temperature after that time had elapsed and adjust accordingly. I also owned a pair of the Aleph 2 class A mono blocks and they had a similar warm-up time. I never noticed much sonic improvement after that time.
The preamps I owned (X0.2, XP-20, Xono) took longer, and the XVR-1 crossover I still own takes 2-3 days for the sound to stabilize.
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August 17, 2021, 10:15 PM #16
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
Bud
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR for source, Denali 2000 (2) for amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson four shelf maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
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August 18, 2021, 11:24 AM #17
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I just turn mine on and start listening, hell I'm getting to freaking old to wait hours to listen to music. Nelson sad one hour in the manual. Also a user on another forum emailed Nelson and got this " I just talked to Pass Labs and he said the reason the amp sounds better is simple: Heat. The caps reach full capacitance quickly but the mylar needs heat to sound best. As the current and bias come up, the radiant heat affects everything in the amp... obviously in a good way. He mentioned that they can actually put a dead cold amp on the 'scope and watch the distortion curve deepen and then decrease as the amp warms up, which is why final tuning isn't done until the amps are at full boil. "
2chl : Vincent Sp331MkII, W4S STP-SE Stage 2, Kef 201/2, KEF 140, Vapor Breeze, Lumin, Bryston CD, BHA-1, Quicksilver Headamp, HD650, HD800s, HD820's, Dan Clark 1.1, Focal Stellia, OPPO 203, 105. ( Boxed up: Pass Xa-30.5, VPI Classic, Dynavector DV-20XL, Manley Chinook, Cadenza Bronze)
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August 18, 2021, 12:07 PM #18
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August 18, 2021, 03:20 PM #19
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Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I suspect that the Class A and A/B amps don’t warm up at the same speed. Further, the power output, number of chassis involved (1, 2 or 4), whether they’re stacked, racked, or separated from other components, and the ambient conditions in the room might all have an effect on time until “full boil” is reached.
Howard
Pass Labs XS 300's, XS Pre | Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference Series 3, Alpha USB Series 2 | Aurender W20SE, ACS10 | Magico S7's with MPOD's, QSub 15 x 2 | Shunyata Denali 2000T x 2 with Sigma HC | Shunyata Everest 8000 w/ Omega XC | MIT Heritage and Oracle Interconnects and speaker cables | Critical Mass Maxxum rack
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November 11, 2021, 04:00 AM #20
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I keep my XP-32 on all the time. And for my X600.8, I believe they sound pretty good at the time I turn them on, and become even better when fully warmup in less than 1 hour.
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November 11, 2021, 06:33 PM #21
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I keep my Int-60 on all of the time, but not just on, it's playing non-stop.
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November 11, 2021, 06:40 PM #22
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
It took my Pass XA-100.5’s four hours to fully warm up and start sounding magical.
Ken"No summit worth climbing is easily attained."
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Source: MSB Select II DAC with Two Mono Powerbases and Femto 33 Clock; Renderer V2 Digital Input Module and Roon Nucleus Plus; MSB UMT V Signature Transport
Amps: Vandersteen M7-HPA Mono Amps; MSB M204 Mono Amps
Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7 Mk2
Power: Two AudioQuest Niagara 5000’s with AudioQuest Dragon and Hurricane Power Cords
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November 11, 2021, 09:59 PM #23
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
I keep my XP-27 on all the time.
_______________
Mike
Amplification: MBL 6010D, MBL 9008A Monos
Analog: Kuzma R, Kuzma 4Point (11”), MSL Ultra Eminent EX
Phono Pre: Pass XP-27
Digital: Esoteric N01XD Esoteric K05
Speakers: MBL 101E MKII
Subwoofers: REL Carbon Specials
Conditioner: Shunyata Triton 3
Power Cables: Shunyata Sigma 1 & 2, Alpha 2, Delta and Venom
ICs and SCs: Wireworld Platinum 8
Rack: Artesania Exoteryc
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November 12, 2021, 02:38 AM #24
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
"No summit worth climbing is easily attained."
--------------------------------------------
Source: MSB Select II DAC with Two Mono Powerbases and Femto 33 Clock; Renderer V2 Digital Input Module and Roon Nucleus Plus; MSB UMT V Signature Transport
Amps: Vandersteen M7-HPA Mono Amps; MSB M204 Mono Amps
Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7 Mk2
Power: Two AudioQuest Niagara 5000’s with AudioQuest Dragon and Hurricane Power Cords
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November 12, 2021, 12:08 PM #25
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November 12, 2021, 01:13 PM #26
Re: Warm-up time for Pass amps?
One minor quibble is that the XP-30 and XP-27 aren't amps. They are preamps. I keep my XP-22 on 24/7, but I just turned my X600.5 amps on to warm up for music tonight.
Bud
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR for source, Denali 2000 (2) for amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson four shelf maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
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November 12, 2021, 02:03 PM #27
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November 12, 2021, 02:05 PM #28
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