First Watt moves to Pass Labs

SIT 1 monos are on my radar. I've confirmed with Pass on my end. I'm good to go with First Watt! Should be a great solid state option for pairing with Avantgarde.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I am wondering how many Pass Labs fans have ever played around with Nelson Pass's personal playground gear, First Watt.

I have been reading a ton about them and after having an e-mail exchange with Papa Pass I just had to give one a try.

With my recent playing around with a classic ARC amp it confirmed to me that top quality low powered amps give me more of what I am looking for.

Having two powered subwoofers I do not worry about if the main amp can't provide the low end....

My SS amp was way too much power for me, but a buddy of mine having large Focal speakers with large woofers was needing more power. So we are trading. A First Watt F6 with very low hours is arriving next week. I am really looking forward to playing with it.

Since this was originally bought before Pass Labs took over building them I am pretty sure Nelson built this one :)...
 
Nelson Pass is a hoot of a person in real life. I've enjoyed some of his lectures.


I also enjoy reading some of his interviews, and this one relates to breakin

"
GB: Do you believe in audiophile "break-in"? If yes, do you think it is measurable, if we knew which parts of the brain to measure?



NP: I am a strong believer in breaking-in audiophiles. Most of them can hear pretty good after an hour or so, but a couple weeks is sometimes required. Their wives are another matter. "
 
With a few e-mail exchanges with Nelson I can say he is a very interesting, and funny guy. He told me once that he decided that he was not going to invent/build a transporter machine because he heard that the original dies and a copy shows up on the other end, so he would be afraid to use it :)... I told him I was very depressed since I was about to place an order for one from him :D...

Very cool guy and love that he plays around with his designs with no worries about marketing and commercial considerations.

I am so hoping that the First Watt blows me away!
 
I'm itching for the new XA25 amp from Pass. Too bad it's single ended only.
 
After listening to the First Watt F6 for a few hours.... all I can say is WOW... and the XA25 looks to be a F6 reworked with a Pass Lab skin!
 
Ha!

Maybe a Marantz PM-10 :)

attachment.php


a.wayne said:
Yamaha First .......
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • L_pm10_u_b_fr.png
    L_pm10_u_b_fr.png
    558.9 KB · Views: 86
Randy Myers said:
A couple friends from our audio club were over yesterday comparing the First Watt and Audio Research amplifiers. Well one preferred the FW and the other the ARC. I am neutral although maybe leaning towards the FW. The one who liked the ARC better is an Audio Research fan/owner from way back, so his heart was with ARC from the get go... and he really liked the VT50.

We all came to a definitely consensuses however that they are both pretty spectacular and fairly close. The ARC may have a little more "air" around it, especially in the highs while the FW probably has a fuller mid range and female vocals especially are startling good. Mid base very much favored the FW. Especially on a Fiona Joy SACD where the lower piano notes just had a more solid bottom residence. And the FW has probably a better and more stable image. Both are extremely good in this regards.

The ARC definitely has more power, but both are able to drive my MC's (which should be a very hard to drive speaker, 85 db, 4 ohm) to very high levels. Honestly, it is a really good problem to have :), and a very nice change of pace in amplifiers...
Click to expand...

This is where the blindfolds (or sleeping masks from Walmart) come in handy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
No sleeping listening to these amps... ok, I have feel asleep... probably sooo relaxed (maybe the brandy also) :D...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top