Auditioning amps

Mike said:
Woot! Congrats. 250.8 is awesome. A bit warmer than the 350.8

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Thanks Mike, appreciate it. And yes, I think I will like it.


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walesi said:
Awesome! Some people act faster than others do :)
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I did not start the process when I wrote the first posting on this thread [emoji3]. Also, I had pretty much set my eyes on the Pass already, but then took a couple of detours.

But I did indeed not expect it to be delivered tomorrow. Sometimes you just need to ask.


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Appreciate it Bart, I think Pass and Magico are quite a nice combination.


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Congrats, Kuoppis! Great choice. I've also been thinking about 250.8/350.8 for a long time, esp. 350.8, but I now changed the direction to integrated.
 
kzhtoo said:
Congrats, Kuoppis! Great choice. I've also been thinking about 250.8/350.8 for a long time, esp. 350.8, but I now changed the direction to integrated.
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Thanks - let me guess, Gryphon?


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Kuoppis,

Just curious as to what tipped the scales for you in favour of the 250.8 over the 350.8? I haven't heard the 250.8 but have heard the 350.8 and thought it was fantastic. Although no doubt 500W into your 4 ohm Magicos will be more than enough!

Andrew
 
Andrew, I think they are equally great. While both display the known Pass qualities of good bottom end grip and the airy top end; the X350.8 is slightly more neutral sounding versus its smaller brethren. In comparison the X250.8 has an audibly more clear sonic similarity to the XA series.

While I do Iike both and could even imagine something like Soulution or Nagra in the future, and don’t mind a neutral sound signature, the X250.8 is a good way to enjoy a more open sound signature in the highs while maintaining the ability to maximize vocal jazz in the midrange. Further, I listen mostly to vinyl and find that the X250.8 just very slightly better conveys the vinyl qualities.

As to the power, I believe even with the X250.8 I will be hardly leaving class A, as I typically do not listen at very loud volume levels and my music room is not very large. And 500 wpc on the Magicos is already plenty. I do like the fact though, that the Pass adds 150 wpc @4ohms compared to the Ayre, as that is very good for dynamics, speed and transients.

And funny enough, a minor but existent factor was the lesser power consumption for the sake of the environment (I know), but as you see I’m still a Class A guy and not ready for Class D just yet [emoji3]. The importance of that factor will however grow for my system - not because I have to, because I can.


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I asked Kent English at Pass for his thoughts on the differences between the X250.8 and the X350.8. Here is his reply:
"I've had both at home, if we take both in real world listening I find the X350.8 has more dynamic impact and contrast and the X250.8 a tiny bit more warmth in the lower mids. Depending upon the speaker's integration into a room I could go either way.. IF you want more "jump" then the X350.8.... if you want a bit more romance in the mids then the X250.8."
 
AJR said:
Thanks for that!

Excuse my ignorance but what does “jump” mean?
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Dynamics. It’s a more dynamic sounding amp. 250.8 is warmer. 260.8’s more neutral. 350.8 more dynamic and to my ears, ever so slightly sweeter.
 
Mike said:
Dynamics. It’s a more dynamic sounding amp. 250.8 is warmer. 260.8’s more neutral. 350.8 more dynamic and to my ears, ever so slightly sweeter.
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I've always wondered about the term "sweeter" in the audiophile context.

What does it actually mean? I would have thought the warmer amp ie. the X250.8 would sound "sweeter".
 
sweeter would be the famous Pass Labs top end pronounced a tad more with the bass & midrange that are world class, to the point of rendering ones experience "sweet", quite simply, because it has it all!! What one needs to remember, is, when you have a system that is in the playing quality arena of Pass Labs & Magico, we are talking about single percentage gains.
 
Take a look at the Bryston cubed amps. I have a pair of 28b3s in my room and they sound fantastic


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I might give a Boulder power amp a spin next week, let’s see.


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Congrats! I am sure you will like the Pass, they are great sounding amps and I also liked the no-nonsense approach of Pass.

I just wondered why you didn’t take Grandinote into considerations as you’re already own their phone pre. Grandinote will shortly present a new top of the line integrated that could have met your expectations.


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Audiophon said:
Congrats! I am sure you will like the Pass, they are great sounding amps and I also liked the no-nonsense approach of Pass.

I just wondered why you didn’t take Grandinote into considerations as you’re already own their phone pre. Grandinote will shortly present a new top of the line integrated that could have met your expectations.

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Thank you, very kind. I think the Demones would have been the only Grandinote option, but a demo opportunity did unfortunately not present itself.


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Yes I know that unfortunately the German importer does not always have a pair for auditioning on stock.... a real pitty! Even in Italy I had to wait some months in order to audition them at my place.


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