Anyone Hear the New .8 Amps Yet

MDP

MDP

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I'm just wondering if anyone has auditioned the new .8's. I'm dying for David to get his, so I can demo them.
 
I've had my xa60.8 for a few weeks now. LOVE them they replaced an x250.5 and seem to do everything better
 
Welcome to the forum SCB!

Congratulations on the XA60.8's. I'd love a pair. Please tell us more ....

Thanks!



scb said:
I've had my xa60.8 for a few weeks now. LOVE them they replaced an x250.5 and seem to do everything better
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Going from the x250.5 to the xa60.8, I'm sure some of the differences I noticed are indicative of going from x to xa and not necessarily just the .8 series. All I know is I love the xa60.8

My first thought when listening to the xa60.8 was "VOCALS!" Wow, the difference in vocals is huge. It sounds like the singers are in the room with me. Once I got past that, I realized that it sounded like everyone was in the room with me. Everything just seems so much closer and more detailed, even at lower listening levels. Great soundstage, and bass that is as tight or even tighter than my x250.5. I guess this is the unexpected part. The x.5 series is supposed to have tighter bass than the xa, right? The bass on the xa.8 seems as tight or tighter than the x.5.

I have noticed that I have to turn the volume up a bit more. Where the volume might have been at -20 with my x250.5, it's around -16 with the xa60.8.

speakers are Von Schweikert Unifield 3
 
scb said:
They get hot, but my x250.5 was hotter. The combined heat output for 2 xa60.8 is more than the x250.5, but each unit is cooler than the x250.5 got
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Thanks for joining us here at AS !!

And thanks for your input. The Pass .8's will be the last amp I audition before I make my buying choice.
 
scb said:
Going from the x250.5 to the xa60.8, I'm sure some of the differences I noticed are indicative of going from x to xa and not necessarily just the .8 series. All I know is I love the xa60.8

My first thought when listening to the xa60.8 was "VOCALS!" Wow, the difference in vocals is huge. It sounds like the singers are in the room with me. Once I got past that, I realized that it sounded like everyone was in the room with me. Everything just seems so much closer and more detailed, even at lower listening levels. Great soundstage, and bass that is as tight or even tighter than my x250.5. I guess this is the unexpected part. The x.5 series is supposed to have tighter bass than the xa, right? The bass on the xa.8 seems as tight or tighter than the x.5.

I have noticed that I have to turn the volume up a bit more. Where the volume might have been at -20 with my x250.5, it's around -16 with the xa60.8.

speakers are Von Schweikert Unifield 3
Click to expand...

scb, welcome to AS!:hi: Congrats on the xa60.8! Love your description! How's the noise floor and speed compared to your x250.5?



madfloyd said:
I get mine on Friday!
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Ian, I am SOOO looking forward to hearing your impressions with the Alexias! Please report back ASAP!

And congrats to you, too, Ian!:D
 
I haven't heard the XA.8 amps yet, but I did hear the monster XS300's a while back with TAD Reference One speakers and the sound was incredible. From what I've heard the .8 amps are supposed to deliver most of the magic of the XS series. The Pass amps are very preamp dependent since they're transparent, so you can get a spacious, smooth sound with most tube preamps or you can get a very detailed, concise sound with solid state preamps. Either way, Pass is a great option. I owned an X350.5 and it was a great amp. I sold it recently so I could purchase one of the new models. The X series is similar in sound to the XA series as it runs the first 30-60 watts in class A depending on the model. So there's very little difference at low power outputs.
 
Welcome to the forum dfwmediagroup. Thank you for joining.

Thanks for your thoughts on the new amps.
 
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