More Info on the New.8 series Amps

madfloyd said:
More info on the .8 series

More Heat Sink

Part of the “more and bigger hardware” is more metal. One of the first things you will notice is that the smaller amplifier models, the X150.8, X250.8, XA30.8, XA60.8 and XA100.8 have new and larger heat sinks (and also more output devices). This upgrade was essential to dissipate the energy of the larger bias currents.
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I would appreciate if anyone can provide a comparison on the amount of heat these new amplifiers generate as compared to the X.5 series (and to the Xs series for that matter). Reading the text above, I am assuming that they will generate more, but would like a feel for "how much" more. I ask because the XA.5 series amps produced enough heat in my room that it was not practical to run them in the warmer months. A pity too, since they were outstanding amplifiers. Strangely, on paper the numbers for one X350.5 (600W @ 53 deg C) and two XA100.5 (300W @ 53 deg C) look like they should generate similar amounts of heat, but for whatever reason I found that the pair of XA100.5s seemed to heat up my room more. So, ideally if someone can comment on their opinion of the relative heat transfer of these amps vs. the others in a real-world environment vs. on paper; I would be grateful. Of course I will try to locate these myself once they are more readily available.

Thanks again for any information.
 
laynesaddiction said:
I would appreciate if anyone can provide a comparison on the amount of heat these new amplifiers generate as compared to the X.5 series (and to the Xs series for that matter). Reading the text above, I am assuming that they will generate more, but would like a feel for "how much" more. I ask because the XA.5 series amps produced enough heat in my room that it was not practical to run them in the warmer months. A pity too, since they were outstanding amplifiers. Strangely, on paper the numbers for one X350.5 (600W @ 53 deg C) and two XA100.5 (300W @ 53 deg C) look like they should generate similar amounts of heat, but for whatever reason I found that the pair of XA100.5s seemed to heat up my room more. So, ideally if someone can comment on their opinion of the relative heat transfer of these amps vs. the others in a real-world environment vs. on paper; I would be grateful. Of course I will try to locate these myself once they are more readily available.

Thanks again for any information.
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Welcome to AS! I owned the Pass XA160.5's and loved them. But I had to sell them because they melted me out of my room (a second story room in Florida!). Compared to my tube amps, the Pass were still much hotter. How hot? They could heat my room from 70 degrees to 82 degrees in one hour. My tube amps (VAC phi 200's and CARY CAD 211 FE's) raise the room temp about 4 degrees in one hour. My Mcintosh 601's and D'Agostino amps don't even move the needle.

That being said, if I was buying today, Pass XA60.8's would be high on my list - provided your speakers are at least 90db efficient (that's just an approximation). Not too much heat, and still the great Pass sound!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
laynesaddiction said:
I would appreciate if anyone can provide a comparison on the amount of heat these new amplifiers generate as compared to the X.5 series (and to the Xs series for that matter). Reading the text above, I am assuming that they will generate more, but would like a feel for "how much" more. I ask because the XA.5 series amps produced enough heat in my room that it was not practical to run them in the warmer months. A pity too, since they were outstanding amplifiers. Strangely, on paper the numbers for one X350.5 (600W @ 53 deg C) and two XA100.5 (300W @ 53 deg C) look like they should generate similar amounts of heat, but for whatever reason I found that the pair of XA100.5s seemed to heat up my room more. So, ideally if someone can comment on their opinion of the relative heat transfer of these amps vs. the others in a real-world environment vs. on paper; I would be grateful. Of course I will try to locate these myself once they are more readily available.

Thanks again for any information.
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Not sure about the heat from the new XA Point 8s, but if I pressed, I'd guess they ran a bit cooler at idle but a bit hotter under full load.

The difference between the X and XA Point 5 lines, heat wise, is that the XA puts out pretty much full output even at idle so it always runs pretty hot, while the X runs cooler while idle but heats up quite a bit under load.
 
Howard - I always found the XA amps run a pinch cooler the harder I pushed them. The opposite of AB. Maybe I'm wrong....but that's what I remember.
 
I could be wrong, but I was always under the impression that Class A amps always ran at 100%. The power that wasn't used, turns into heat. So I always assumed that the more power you used, the cooler the amp would run.

If I'm wrong, please correct me.
 
MDP said:
I could be wrong, but I was always under the impression that Class A amps always ran at 100%. The power that wasn't used, turns into heat. So I always assumed that the more power you used, the cooler the amp would run.

If I'm wrong, please correct me.
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I believe you are correct Mark. I have to wonder if one is considering a Class A amp, they go one amp lower than they think they might need and drive it harder to keep heat down. Crazy idea? Maybe....


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Mike said:
I believe you are correct Mark. I have to wonder if one is considering a Class A amp, they go one amp lower than they think they might need and drive it harder to keep heat down. Crazy idea? Maybe....
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Crazy? Coming from you Mike, I'd say yes. :P
 
Mike said:
“For an idea that does not first seem insane, there is no hope.”

- Albert Einstein
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Ah yes Master, very good...

images


Hey, did you get those Cary's yet?
 
Yes. Listening to them right now. Patricia Barber on Vinyl.

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ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390017419.192870.jpg
 
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Mike said:
Welcome to AS! I owned the Pass XA160.5's and loved them. But I had to sell them because they melted me out of my room (a second story room in Florida!). Compared to my tube amps, the Pass were still much hotter. How hot? They could heat my room from 70 degrees to 82 degrees in one hour. My tube amps (VAC phi 200's and CARY CAD 211 FE's) raise the room temp about 4 degrees in one hour. My Mcintosh 601's and D'Agostino amps don't even move the needle.

That being said, if I was buying today, Pass XA60.8's would be high on my list - provided your speakers are at least 90db efficient (that's just an approximation). Not too much heat, and still the great Pass sound!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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Mike, Howard, All,
Thank you for your replies.

Mike: When I had the XA100.5 amps (also in a second story room), I would routinely get an increase of about 8 degrees in the first hour, peaking at about 10 degrees steady state. While this was less than your 12 degrees increase, you can see why I also had to sell them. I understand by definition of Class A one must deal with the inefficiencies of the design, but I was hoping somewhere down the line the laws of physics might be bent such than you could reap the Class A harvest without the drawbacks (perhaps the X.8 series).


It is interesting to hear you state that if you were buying today the XA60.8s would be on your list. Does this mean that to your ears you would prefer these to some of the units you currently have (particularly the D’Agostino amps)? I ask because prior to switching to the Momentums recently, I have been a dye-in-the-wool Pass guy since the late Threshold days. So, you absolutely don’t need to convince me that Mr. Pass is a world class designer that produces fantastic equipment. However, to my ears, I found the Momentums to be more to my liking across the board over the XA series. Of course, you might argue that is comparing apples to oranges (from a design and price pov) and that I should compare the Xs series (of which I have not yet heard). Given you have experience with both the X.8 and Momentums, I would be curious to hear your contrast of both designs. To my ears, I just found the Momentums to be more musical and enjoyable and they run cool as a cucumber to boot. This, again, is not meant to slight the Pass amps as they have a glorious midrange and served me well for many years.

If this is getting off topic for this thread, I apologize (sorry, still new to this board), I would be happy to take it offline or move to the proper thread with you (just let me know).
 
joeinid said:
Anthony,

Love your avatar. Who is she? :)
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Joe,

I normally just tell people that was me before my sex change, but that tends to scare them. She is a Chinese actress (English name Gong Li) who I have followed since I first saw her at a Chicago film festival in the early 90s. If I already wasn’t married to my soul mate (also imho a beautiful Chinese woman), I might take a shot at convincing her to marry me as she is now single. ;-)
 
Wow. Very nice. Thank you.

Ha! Funny. If that was you after the sex change, we'd talk.
 
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Audiofan101 said:
Another Chinese actress for you to check out is Zhang Ziyi :)
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Zhang Ziyi. Sigh….

The “Gong Li wannabe” or even “the little Gong Li” as some call her. No offense as Zhang Ziyi is a beautiful woman, but to my eyes and when seeing both in person, Gong Li has a presence and elegance that Zhang Ziyi will never have. Once her beauty fades with the years, I don’t think that Zhang Ziyi will have much left to offer. However, Gong Li will have grace and beauty when she is 90 long after her physical attributes fade.


Anyway, I agree with you that currently Zhang Ziyi is (as the direct Chinese translation says ) “eyes eat ice cream”.
 
Thanks for asking, Joe, was curious myself. :P

Gong Li vs. Zhang Ziyi. Think they're both beautiful in their own way. Joan Chen, another Asian beauty, has certainly aged gracefully.


Back to topic...:D
 
socfan12 said:
Thanks for asking, Joe, was curious myself. :P

Gong Li vs. Zhang Ziyi. Think they're both beautiful in their own way. Joan Chen, another Asian beauty, has certainly aged gracefully.


Back to topic...:D
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+1

OMG! Yes. :heart:
 
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