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CDLehner

CDLehner

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OK Pass guys; how the hell do I move these to the Listening Room? :happy:

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No...it's not a matched pair, unfortunately. It's a 30 v. 150 shoot-out; .8 of course!
 
Mike said:
Should be fun! I expect the 30.8 to win - hands down.
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Yeah Mike; I try to go in with an open mind. But I'd be lying if I said, I wasn't leaning toward the class-A 30 :audiophile:

Couple of reasons:

1) My experience with NP designs, started with the First Watt M-2. OMG; what a glorious-sounding, little amp. I've had one other class-A unit, and I also loved it's "always on" pace and propulsion. I also happen to think, that class-A presentation; will give my otherwise other-worldly PMC FACT 3s...the extra bit of meat they need.

2) Those who don't understand class-A...don't realize just how STOUT it is. They see 30/60, and they doubt it's drive; but Srajan in his stellar review for 6moons 6moons audioreviews: Pass Labs XA30.8

concluded with this...

What would, with pretty much its present hardware, the XA30.8 be capable of in output power were it biased in class A/B with, say, just the first 5 watts in class A? "If I wanted to bias the amp with the existing supply for 5 watts Class A (rms), then it would draw about 1/3rd the power for about 100 watts of draw at idle. If I wanted to set the supply rails for the same amount of heat at idle but biased for 5 watts in Class A, then it would do something like 300wpc into 8 ohms."

That's the beef! But...the 150.8 will get its turn too. I kind of see it as 150.8 with my Aerial 6Ts, against the 30.8 with my FACT 3s; and then...everybody switch (and the incumbent ARC DS-450 gets a fighting chance too).

As Mike said...should be FUN! :woot:
 
End over end, then unbox close to the speakers.

I love my Pass XA-60.5's. They are not going anywhere.
 
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well it should be pretty easy to tell- doesn't the meter swap to the right if it goes into A/B mode?

I assume Mark @ Reno sent them both out? really nice guy. Bought the SIT-2 from him and he offered to send me the 30.5 when it wasn't enough power.
 
Seems like a hard one to call. Pass amps are known for a rich presentation. I'd say either one may have great synergy with the Fact 3s.
 
Hey Jaxwired and CD whats up! "Garman" here! ;) I am a huge Nelson Pass fan and owned several of his Threshold Amps and Pre/Amp and even today I think the Threshold T-800D and the T2 pre/amp were among one of my best systems. The T-800D was a 125lb beast with beautiful VU meters on it, the problem when he left and started Pass his Amps jumped considerably in price. Now I been trying out some Class A/B and Class D Amps with some good results...
 
joeinid said:
End over end, then unbox close to the speakers.

I love my Pass XA-60.5's. They are not going anywhere.
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Yes. I had to 'walk' my X600.5s from the garage, up two steps, then through the dining room, kitchen, and into the living room, stopping at the rack. Opened the box, turned it over, and out came the amp. Then get it right side up, oriented to the rack, and lift the rear onto the bottom shelf, then push in.

When I got them I used them with Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers, and they sounded great. Enjoy.
 
So...the plan, was to set both amps up; and also both sets of speakers, in the room. Turns out, my back had other thoughts :whoa:

I mean...I've hauled some pretty heavy amps, up to my Listening Room (yup...it's on the 2nd floor); but these Pass take the cake. Plus...they're so freakin' BIG; I'm not sure there's even enough room, for 2 at a time!

So as it turns out...the XA was the first to get un-boxed; and it had to run(-in), with the 6Ts.

WoW; first note, cold right of the box...this thing really impressed. The 6Ts, are rumored to need ~400 hours of break-in; and to this point, I hadn't really gotten them to open up much. They sounded very good of course, comparatively; but there was definitely some "congestion"...that I was hoping was a symptom of the stiff (Scandinavian) drivers.

I have to say; they sounded much better with the 30.8. A fellow 'phile asked why I thought, and my best guess is...better control of the bottom-end, is causing the mids to smear less. Presentation sounds more cohesive...whereas before, there was that bloat somewhere in the low-mid FR (to be fair...I had also been giving them more time. Initially, I was breaking-in with my ARC LS-15/DS-450 combo. Even though they were supposed to "need" 400 hours, I thought after a few days...they'd at least be on their way. When I was still experiencing congestion...I decided to really put some time on them; but I didn't want to run the tube pre-amp 24/7. So I pulled a spare Wyred4Sound mINT, and let that do the heaving lifting. So A) I do have more hours on them now, than when I last heard them with the DS-450 and B) I am coming off hearing them...when I would peek-in, to see how they were coming along...with the $1k class-D IA, lol. Still...I'd have to say, as far as the 6Ts; 30.8 is a better pairing, than the DS-450).

I'm so impressed with the XA...I'm almost hesitant to open the 150 up; sell it as brand new. IDK; I'll have to ruminate on that a bit. Meantime...as soon as the back is rested; I'll move the FACT 3s back into the room (probably tomorrow). :audiophile:
 
I have a pair of the XS-150 monoblocks coming, after hearing Mike's pair. I too am dreading moving those bad boys in place. Luckily, I am setting them up in my warehouse HT room.....and will be using a pallet jack for transport to their final destination !!
 
JDLaudio said:
I have a pair of the XS-150 monoblocks coming, after hearing Mike's pair. I too am dreading moving those bad boys in place. Luckily, I am setting them up in my warehouse HT room.....and will be using a pallet jack for transport to their final destination !!
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Right on Jerry! Congrats!!!


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Mike said:
Cool Chris. Any further thoughts?


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Mike, the early leader...is the XA. As soon as I switched from the 30 to the 150 (this was with the FACT 3s in rotation)...I could hear the difference in their presentation.

The 150 is on the 6Ts now, and I will say; when you get in that combo's sweet-spot...it's pretty dynamite. It almost feels as if the X needs a few more hours break-in, before it might blossom.

I'll let it have it, of course; and continue my sighted A/B. But I have a feeling, the XA is more my taste. :audiophile:
 
JDLaudio said:
I have a pair of the XS-150 monoblocks coming, after hearing Mike's pair. I too am dreading moving those bad boys in place. Luckily, I am setting them up in my warehouse HT room.....and will be using a pallet jack for transport to their final destination !!
Click to expand...

Using a pallet jack:afraid: you know that's cheating right :D
 
CPP said:
Using a pallet jack:afraid: you know that's cheating right :D
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After hauling a pair, up to my listening room; the first of which, was without the foresight...that the handles allow you to more or less dead-lift the amp, and use your legs rather than your back :wacko:

I couldn't agree more!
 
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