Our Fearless Leader’s Question to NP answered

RDSChicago said:
Great interview of Nelson by Steve Gutenberg. He answers questions posed to him, by, among others, Mike!

https://youtu.be/-Prz6IpHlSg
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Ha! That’s me. I found it interesting that there are still a lot of customers still ordering XA.5 amps around the world and Nelson himself has a XA.5. Since not everyone can afford XS300’s, if they could have just tightened the bass a little on the XA.5’s, they would have a true tube beater SS amp IMO. I like the XA.8, but I’m not sure it has garnered the true cult like following that the XA.5 series had.

NOW, that being said, the X.8 is vastly better than the X.5 series IMHO and I think that’s one of the reasons we see today many many more X.8’s being sold than XA.8’s.

Just my two cents....

Now that I know we can get some XA.5’s, maybe I’ll sell a few of those.
 
Yes the interviews are very interesting. We have been watching them the past few weeks. If find it intriguing that many people prefer the X250.5 vs the 250.8 and they will still make the 250.5 upon request. I am going to eventually sell my original X250 and buy a 250.5 or 250.8. From the reviews I might prefer the heavier sound of the 250.5. The rest of my gear gives me all the air and transparency that I need. I definitely like the well rounded Pass sound. Not clinical, overly detailed or overly fast paced. Bass could be a bit tighter and dampening factors could be a bit higher although I don't like overly tight bass. If you listen to live music, bass is anything but very tight IMO.
 
Good interview/conversation with Nelson Pass. Have never owned any of his products but do admire and like his work - e.g. X350.8, XA160.5/.8, X600.5/.8 and XA 200.5/.8.
 
Mike said:
Ha! That’s me. I found it interesting that there are still a lot of customers still ordering XA.5 amps around the world and Nelson himself has a XA.5. Since not everyone can afford XS300’s, if they could have just tightened the bass a little on the XA.5’s, they would have a true tube beater SS amp IMO. I like the XA.8, but I’m not sure it has garnered the true cult like following that the XA.5 series had.

NOW, that being said, the X.8 is vastly better than the X.5 series IMHO and I think that’s one of the reasons we see today many many more X.8’s being sold than XA.8’s.

Just my two cents....

Now that I know we can get some XA.5’s, maybe I’ll sell a few of those.
Click to expand...

Terrific question, Mike. I owned both the XA-100.5 and XA-100.8 monoblocks. I am adamant in my belief that the XA-100.5 sounds more like live music than the XA-100.8. Interestingly, the XA-100.5 sound more to my ears like pure Class A than the XA-100.8, which are more heavily biased into Class A. After 4 hours of warm up, the XA-100.5 deliver a tube-like magic that few solid state amps can match. It’s great that they can still be purchased for those who want them.

Ken
 
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