annapurna Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Recently I bought a Passlabs power amp which I found to be very good sounding and suit my taste. I thought maybe I should start a thread on Passlabs so that owners or potential owners can share their experiences. Attached are some pixs of the amp in my system. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest francishuang Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Wa...very swee.... How is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpongsong Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 thanks for sharing... hope to own them one day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Wa...very swee.... How is it? Well, I have to say it is not fully run-in yet as it was delivered last Thursday by High End Research. It has just gone pass the 30hrs mark and as it is, the sound is very smooth, similar to a tube amp and with very good resolution. The bass control is superb and I am hearing plenty details. It is very musical also and this is especially important to me as I am so used to the sound of tube pre and power amps for so many years. For me, it is a very worthwhile upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimi1624705950 Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Chio! Will raise ur excellent system by a few more levels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Chio! Will raise ur excellent system by a few more levels! It certainly did. I have never really enjoyed listening to digital in my system as I find its performance far behind my analog setup. However after having the Passlabs, I realised that I have been listening to my digital playback continuously for the past few days. Somehow the improvement in sound to digital is significant. As for analog, the improvement is still there but the gap between digital and analog has narrowed in my setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Teh Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Chio! Will raise ur excellent system by a few more levels! Wow. Bro, where have you been hiding ? Haven't seen you post for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FG Chong Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nice. I love amplifiers with meter. :) :) Understand that the sound signature differ from the precious X/XA models... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJQ Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Hi End indeed :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpongsong Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nice. I love amplifiers with meter. :) :) Understand that the sound signature differ from the precious X/XA models... +1, ESP with the blue light..very hypnotising Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest francishuang Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Lets go hear the XS series! Nice. I love amplifiers with meter. :) :) Understand that the sound signature differ from the precious X/XA models... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazysurfer Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 It has just gone pass the 30hrs mark and as it is, the sound is very smooth, similar to a tube amp and with very good resolution. The bass control is superb and I am hearing plenty details. It is very musical also. Nice. I love amplifiers with meter. :) :) +1, ESP with the blue light..very hypnotising Trying to emulate the familiar look & sound of the legendary Mcintosh Amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nice. I love amplifiers with meter. :) :) Understand that the sound signature differ from the precious X/XA models... The current series point 8 is not as warm as the previous point 5 series and is to me more transparent too. In some bright systems, the point 5 would be a better choice but for me point 8 suits me perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Lets go hear the XS series! Already heard the XS300 from my friend's setup driving the SF Aida which makes me decide to go for the XA100.8. XS300 is a different beast altogether as it comes with a separate box power supply and has plenty of power reserve. It sounds amazing driving the Aida and it is effortless. Btw, one pair of XS300 can buy 4 pairs of XA100.8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Already heard the XS300 from my friend's setup driving the SF Aida which makes me decide to go for the XA100.8. XS300 is a different beast altogether as it comes with a separate box power supply and has plenty of power reserve. It sounds amazing driving the Aida and it is effortless. Btw, one pair of XS300 can buy 4 pairs of XA100.8. Pixs of the excellent Passlabs XS300 amp in my friend's setup shown here. Note the amp was later stacked together with the external powersupply at the bottom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphys33 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nice. I love pass and has been an owner for some 10 years. And like yrself started.with tubes. Pass is very good value for the money. Congrats! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nice. I love pass and has been an owner for some 10 years. And like yrself started.with tubes. Pass is very good value for the money. Congrats! Thanks Murphy. Which Passlabs model do you have? Any tips to make it sound better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annapurna Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Trying to emulate the familiar look & sound of the legendary Mcintosh Amps? The looks maybe but I don't think Passlabs current point 8 series sound anything like Mcintosh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazysurfer Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 The looks maybe but I don't think Passlabs current point 8 series sound anything like Mcintosh. Looks Mcintosh may win hands down but in terms of sound, anybody ever compared with similar amps from both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest francishuang Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Very different different sound ;) I'll take a pass lab over mc anytime, personal perference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alvin1118 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 coincidentally, saw this from Harbeth facebook post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazysurfer Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Very different different sound ;) I'll take a pass lab over mc anytime, personal perference Bro Francis, for you price no object, it's ok, but for those price conscious, like most of us here, what is the price to performance between these 2 brands? That's to say to achieve the same performance, how much are the price point for their respective amps or simply put, which is cheaper? That's what I'll need to consider first. Personally, I prefer the looks of the Mcintosh but performance will still be priority but then if factoring price into the equation, then will have to see how much will be the impact in terms of cost to performance ratio. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimi1624705950 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Wow. Bro, where have you been hiding ? Haven't seen you post for ages. Yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphys33 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Thanks Murphy. Which Passlabs model do you have? Any tips to make it sound better? I had various pre and power models. The last I used was a Pass X350.5. I had the Xp20 which was swapped to a audio ref ref 5se. Pass was under symposium platforms and footers. Pass amps need to left on for at least 2 hours before they start singing. I used to.leave it on 24/7 could not take heat and electricity bill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey8811 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Well, I have to say it is not fully run-in yet as it was delivered last Thursday by High End Research. It has just gone pass the 30hrs mark and as it is, the sound is very smooth, similar to a tube amp and with very good resolution. The bass control is superb and I am hearing plenty details. It is very musical also and this is especially important to me as I am so used to the sound of tube pre and power amps for so many years. For me, it is a very worthwhile upgrade. Did you compare the X 0.8 models to the one you bought? Just wondering what the difference in sound is like. I have a X350.8 which was recommended by Pass for my speakers which have a low impedance dip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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